"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play…it is war minus the shooting."
You don’t know me
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Clarke Carlisle, London, Simon & Schuster 2013. ISBN: 978-1-47112-854-7
This is an interesting and way above average sports autobiography, which gives a real insight into the life of the professional footballer in the lower divisions. He lifts the lid on team dynamics, the dressing room hierarchy – worrying, for example, when he goes to a new club where he will place in the pecking order. When he has a new manager he skips a training session just to see if he can get away with it. Then there are the team-bonding drinking binges – which often seem incongruous to continental players used to a healthy diet and little alcohol.
The anxiety that players face towards the end of the season with their contract expiring is well expressed. Will I get a new contract or a new club? Carlisle has to drop to 20% of his previous salary at one point. What if your only option is 200 miles away and it is only for one year – do you move the family, compute daily spending 6-8 hours a day travelling or do you move and the family stays? Carlisle had 14 addresses in 10 years! For the wife it can mean leaving all her friends at a moment’s notice to move to the other end of the country. I was fascinated too by his enduring love of football which often overcame temptations to see it as just a job.
Then there is the insecurity when you are injured or on the bench which is well expressed: “As a defender, if I’m on the sidelines I want the team to win7-6, but there’s always a part of me that wants my replacement to have an absolute nightmare, maybe scoring two own goals…The insecurity of not being on the pitch is all-consuming. Will I get straight back in the team? Will my replacement have a blinder and keep me on the sidelines when I’m fit?”
Carlisle’s personal story is pretty interesting too – attempted suicide, battles with alcohol, fighting racism and serving as chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association. The chapter “Part of the Union” dealing with racism is excellent, perhaps the best chapter. Incidentally rather than chapter 1, chapter 2 etc all the chapter titles have a catchy title.
As well as racism, Carlisle has taken a stand against bad language. “I’d been campaigning strongly and openly for our industry to clampdown on the language players use on the pitch, and have frequently lambasted colleagues for their lack of verbal control...it is often said that bad language is part of the culture or used in the heat of the moment, but I believe they are excuses, and bad ones at that. It’s only a part of the culture because we allow it to pass unpunished on a daily and weekly basis, and that’s what our kids are watching and learning. I believe we can change this”.
A very readable book, giving a different and interesting perspective on football.