The Big Interview / Ralph Ellis / 10 September 2009 / Leave a comment

Betfair had not long sent our money off to Amazon to buy Tom Watt's new book in which he's interviewed a host of Premier League stars talking about their childhood, when we bumped into the Arsenal fan and former Eastenders star at Wembley and couldn't resist the chance to ask him more . . .

"He was protected from that by football - and his dad smacking his arse when in any kind of trouble! The point is that the game transformed those kids’ lives. All of those guys now play Champions League football, and however difficult it was at the start it’s been transformed by the game, not just now but while they were kids."

So Tom, not that we're jealous but here you are, successful actor and TV star, and now top football writer, do you have to pinch yourself sometimes at how well it's going?

I don't know about pinch myself, you are always scratching about for the next bit, aren't you? I don't do too much sitting on my arse feeling pleased with myself, really. For both careers it's the life of a freelance that there's not really ever a time when you sit down and go: 'I've cracked this!'

Actors grow up with insecurity, don't they?

Yeah, I've had a lifetime of it!

Is that because of the amount of rejections you have to deal with when you are going to auditions and so on?

Probably, although I didn't' really start like that. I ran my own small scale touring company for the first four years of my professional career so it was not really so much rejection as absolute poverty! You get used to living on porridge. That's easier to cope with than rejection because at least you are working every day, even if you are not earning.

If you lived on porridge you could identify with some of the players you interviewed for this book who came from poor backgrounds.

Yeah, these things are relative, though, aren't they? I had a comfortable upbringing, my parents were both teachers, so I never had to worry about where the next meal was coming from. You talk to some of the lads in "A Beautiful Game", particularly some of the African and South American players, and you can't imagine that kind of upbringing.

Who had the most horrific story?

Don't know about horrific, but these guys are talking about really difficult upbringings whether it's poverty in somebody like Emmanuel Eboue, or the background of Benni McCarthy in Cape Flats that's just gangland. He was protected from that by football - and his dad smacking his arse when in any kind of trouble! The point is that the game transformed those kids' lives. All of those guys now play Champions League football, and however difficult it was at the start it's been transformed by the game, not just now but while they were kids. There's a fantastic quote where Kanu is talking about how he was when he was a boy. He goes back to Nigeria now and says he sees kids like he was, running about just playing football from first light till dark, not thinking about anything but football, not even about where their next meal will come from. He says "football is their food". He means that literally, not just metaphorically. The game can just take kids lives and transform them as people.

Is that why the book is UNICEF backed?

Yeah - it was David Beckham's idea because he's a goodwill ambassador. But they are one of many bodies that recognise the power of sport to go in and change people's lives. You don't have to be spotted by a European club and turn up earning 50 grand a week in London to have your life changed for the better by football Sport gives kids a sense of self worth.

So David Beckham helped and he's one of the people you interview - but whose idea was it in the first place and where did the germ of it come from?

It was mine. Amongst other things I do I produce educational resources for kids who are struggling with maths and English. I've done work with Arsenal's community department for 20 years now, and I was talking with Alan Sefton, who runs it, about producing a book that could be used in schools for geography and history using football as a way to connect with them. You think about the schools in London or any big city, it's an incredible mix of backgrounds, races, creeds, cultures, and it occurred to us that if you are talking about a classroom in Islington or Tower Hamlets probably the only place that's as diverse is a Premier League dressing room. That was the start of the idea. We wanted to celebrate the differences but celebrate how football could bring them all together. It was going to be a little book just for schools but I got introduced to a publisher and it all took off.

We've sent Amazon the money for our copy

Good news, and I think you'll have only paid a tenner then! I'm so pleased because it started out aimed at kids but turned into a grown up, and it's out all over the world, but it's still priced so that the ones it was originally meant for can access it too. That was who I wanted it to be for in the first place. A tenner? That's a ticket for a Carling Cup game at The Emirates. It means I won't get such a good wedge on it but I'm really happy!

That brings us on to Arsenal - it's been a great season so far but the second half at Old Trafford was a blow

I thought we were magnificent there, and to be honest from first whistle to last. Obviously the keeper had a rush of blood, but other than that I thought we were in control of the match from first to last, as we were in the 0-0 draw at the end of last season when they ended up being crowned Champions.

People who aren't Arsenal fans find it hard to understand why your support is so divided between those who back Arsene Wenger and those who moan they haven't won more. Where do you sit in that argument?

I get hammered by the anti brigade. But then I've been watching Arsenal a long time, I've had a season ticket since 1971 and I've been going since the mid 60s, so I do have a sense of perspective. I just look and think: 'Here's this team playing the best football I've ever seen, and have done for the last 12 or 13 years, the most successful period in the club's history, ever, the best new stadium in Britain, the best training facilities, and it's a viable business, and I'm thinking: ******* hell, how can you complain? Alright there's decisions the gaffer makes that drive you mad on the day, for instance why didn't Arshavin play against Chelsea in the semi-final of the FA Cup last year, but over the piece, I just think wow.

As non Arsenal fans we'd settle for our club playing that football every week whether we won anything or not. Is that how you feel then?

No. Eventually you have to win things. If you just play pretty football and it never goes anywhere then ambition goes and players leave. It's about silverware and medals, about winning. The fact we compete at the level we do both domestically and in Europe using a viable business model rather than countless millions put in by benefactor or huge debt that could be called in at any time, that's fantastic. But eventually that's not enough and to be fair it won't be enough for Wenger either. He's not in it to compete, either, he's in it to win.

So given the great start can you win the Champions League?

Yes. I think Arsenal can win the Champions League and the Premier League. They can do either or both.

Is that the football pundit or the fan talking?

Absolutely the pundit. You look at the performance at Old Trafford and you say this is a team that can win. Although there's a huge fuss made of those games against United, Chelsea and Liverpool, but those aren't the games that win you the league. United came to us early last season and got beat and still finished 18 points ahead at the end of the season. It's whether you can consistently beat teams home and away from outside the top four that makes the difference, because when Arsenal line up against any of the other "big clubs" I fancy us every time, home and away. A bit more maturity will help that.

Isn't that the argument about Wenger's refusal to buy big players?

I know some people moan that he's not spent more money, but you look at what he's spent on Arshavin and Vermaelen in the last two transfer windows, and if you can tell me who's spending money better than on those two players then well done. I just think the addition of those two, and the younger players being a year older, and fingers crossed a bit more luck with injuries, then we can not only compete we can win things.

Thanks for your time and we've a free £50 bet for a favourite charity

That can go to UNICEF. Doing this book I've learned so much about the good work they do all over the world. And I'll have £25 of it on Arsenal to win at Manchester City at [2.52], and once the market is set up I'll put the other £25 on Robin Van Persie to score.