Ted Buxton - My Life in Football

Ted Buxton

Description

As a professional football coach and football scout, Edward 'Ted' Buxton is well-known in the world ofprofessional football. He has travelled the world, scouting, assessing and negotiating for players working in theUK, USA and China. But had it not been for football, Ted's prospects would have been no better than otherworking class lads from South London...A tough Docklands upbringing during the Blitz, and subsequent conscription for national service, lead 18-yearoldTed away from playing football, to Malaya and the brutal realities of war. But it is here that he developed hisinstinct to survive: kill or be killed. After the war, knowing he'll never make the big time as a player, Tedrealised his aptitude for coaching and spotting talent.From ordinary butcher boy and soldier, to Chief Scout and assistant to Terry Venables at the England squad, thisinspiring book recounts life alongside many legendary football managers - Gordon Jago, Bobby Robson, BrianClough, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sven-Goeran Erikkson and Arsene Wenger. Not forgetting the numerous players -from George Best to Rodney Marsh, Alan Shearer, Paul Gasgoine, Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, Pele,Beckenbauer, Maradona - to name but a few.The book is packed with anecdotes and encounters with the famous and infamous - from Ella Fitzgerald to theKray Twins, and behind-the-scenes at Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.

Informations

• Publié par: RedDoor Publishing
• Date de parution: 07 septembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912317271
• Langue: English

Extrait

‘Ted Buxton is a football man through and through. He has lived and breathed the game we all love at every level. He is also one of the kindest and most loyal men I know, and I am honoured to call him my friend’
Terry Venables
‘Ted is an old-school football legend and has lived an eventful life. I know that this book will give anyone interested in football or sport more generally, a fascinating insight into life behind the scenes in this great game’
Frank Lampard OBE
‘Ted Buxton is a real football man, a great character with experience of the game second to none. He has worked at all levels from the base of the pyramid to the top and his stories are a must read for any football lover’
Gordon Taylor OBE, Chief Executive, PFA
‘Ted Buxton was my chief scout at Millwall FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL USA. His ability to select and recommend players at both clubs assisted us in gaining promotion with Millwall FC from the English Third Division to the Second Division and Reaching two finals of the NASL and winning the NASL Indoor Championship. His added ability of scouting and first class reports on opponents was also so valuable in our success over many years’
Gordon Jago MBE
‘Ted Buxton is someone I have known for a very long time and he’s football from grass roots upwards. He has always had many a tale to tell, and his book is the ultimate behind-the-scenes for every football fan’
Roy Hodgson
‘Ted Buxton is a really, really good man. He is what every football club wants and needs. With Ted there is never a dull moment, and his glass is always half full’
Steve Bruce
‘Ted was a great help to me throughout our time at Tampa Bay Rowdies and then subsequently at Gillingham. He has always been positive and definite in his opinion of the players − a great quality for a chief scout to have. He is an excellent judge of a good player, and has been a loyal and trustworthy friend for thirty-seven years. He was such a big asset to have around the players and in the dressing room area, as he always had a great story to tell − he was a real character’
Keith Peacock
TED BUXTON
MY LIFE IN FOOTBALL
Published by RedDoor www.reddoorpublishing.com
© 2017 Ted Buxton
The right of Ted Buxton to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
ISBN 978-1-912317-27-1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the author
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The author apologises for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Cover design: Clare Connie Shepherd www.paintedbyclare.com Typesetting: Tutis Innovative E-Solutions Pte. Ltd
Dedicated to my sister, Edie, and brother-in-law, John, who have always been there for me
CONTENTS
My Friend, Ted Buxton by Terry Venables
Foreword by Frank Lampard
Death in the Jungle
An East End Boy
Early Days
A Rude Awakening
Malaya Bound
Life on Civvy Street
Sabotage Ted
Coaching and Curries
Uncle Sam Calls
Adventures in the Beautiful Game
Savagery in the Desert
Back to Blighty – Part 1
Family Matters
From Lyons Corner House to The Ritz
A Rumbustious Life
Gazza
Winds of Change
The Wailing Wall
England, my England
Aston Villa
Football’s Coming Home
Eastward Bound
An Eastern Eye
Back to Blighty – Part 2
He’s Only Being Modest
A Leeds Misadventure
New Horizons
Looking Back
Playing for Charity
Match (Not) Over
Acknowledgements
Picture credits
Index
About the Author
MY FRIEND, TED BUXTON
When I was a young player of seventeen, having just broken into Chelsea’s first team, I still couldn’t get enough of football. Whenever I wasn’t playing, I would always attend other matches all over London. It became a bit of a joke between Bernard Joy, a senior football journalist for the London Evening Standard, and me, as he would always find me at games. Bernard happened to be a great player himself and even represented England as an amateur player.
Bernard recognised well enough what I was doing at such games, as I felt you could only really learn about football by watching as much of it as possible. Consequently, I was always watching matches even when I didn’t have to, and I always learned something from every game I saw.
Ted Buxton knows this only too well and I suspect there aren’t many people alive who have seen as much live football as him. Even now his appetite for watching games at every level is still there for everyone to see, and I reckon he has probably seen more matches than almost anyone I know.
He is one of the straightest, and most honest men you could ever meet and as soon as I met him, it felt as if I had known him all my life.
I always found his judgement on players to be absolutely spot on. His advice and insights came with no frills attached, as he had this great ability to keep it simple and to the point.
I had absolutely no hesitation in making him my chief scout at Tottenham and also at England, and as a man, the players loved him. With his barrel chest and deep-throated laughter, and sheer passion for the game of football we love, it is little wonder he attracted such admiration from players everywhere.
It wasn’t, however, just for his humour that players responded to him – it was also for his sheer knowledge of the game. There was many a time when a shrewd word in a player’s ear by Ted at half-time has transformed a second half performance.
His tactical understanding of football was also exceptional. Any of you who might have had the pleasure of reading one of his scouting reports will know exactly what I mean. They were concise, insightful and always revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of a team.
One of the proudest moments of both of our lives came during Euro ’96 after England’s 4–1 destruction of Holland. Sir Stanley Matthews came up to Ted as they were leaving Wembley and said ‘Ted, tell Terry that that was one of the greatest England performances I’ve ever seen at Wembley, and I would have loved to have played in that team’.
Ted Buxton is a football man through and through. He has lived and breathed the game we all love at every level. He can get as much enjoyment from spotting talented youngsters, as working at international level with some of the greatest professionals.
He is also one of the kindest and most loyal men I know, and I am honoured to call him my friend.
Terry Venables, September 2017
FOREWORD
When Ted first asked if I would write a contribution to his book, I had no hesitation whatsoever in putting pen to paper. After all, how could I refuse the man who showed such faith in me from the very beginning?
Since I was a young kid, Ted has been an integral part of my football career. In the early days at the West Ham Academy, Ted came to watch me play – a lot. In fact he watched so many games I’m amazed he didn’t get sick of the sight of me! His commitment was and still is, second to none.
So from an early age I was lucky to have someone as knowledgeable and dependable as Ted. He offered me invaluable advice and support, both on and off the pitch. Rising up through the ranks at the Academy, I took quite a lot of stick from the West Ham crowd because of my family ties. Ted was on hand to constantly reassure me, telling me not to worry – he really helped me to handle the situation, which was a pretty tough one for a teenager.
During Euro ’96, whilst Ted worked alongside Terry Venables in charge of the England team, he played a major part in inviting me to train with the full squad at their training camp just outside London. I found the experience incredible and a huge factor in my development. Ted’s part in arranging this, and his words of wisdom throughout the week I spent with the team, will always be in my mind and are hugely appreciated as I look back.
Ted always knew I could work harder and achieve more. Thinking about it, I probably was playing too defensively at the time, and I remember that Ted mentioned this to my dad, Frank Senior, and that he thought I could break in beyond the main striker. And I did – and that’s when I started being an attacking number 8, breaking beyond the main forwards and soon began to score goals. It was a good set up and obviously Ted had the foresight to predict it.
This is my personal experience of working with Ted, but I know he has helped, guided and supported many like me. The fact that he is still so involved with his local football team, particularly the youth side at Chalfont, shows that his commitment to the game goes far beyond just a job. He is an old-school football legend and has lived an eventful life. I know that this book will give anyone interested in football or sport more generally, a fascinating insight into life behind the scenes in this great game.
Frank Lampard OBE, September 2017
DEATH IN THE JUNGLE
It was a typical hot and steamy afternoon in the jungle of Malaya. The terrain was rugged and the sweat was pouring from the lads, including me, all no more than boys, who had been asked to be men in our National Service tour of duty in 1952. But in Malaya, you had to grow up fast. You had to do things, hear things and see things that you never would have thought would have been part of your life.
We six rookies had set out at first light. We headed for the highest ridge around the target area and there we were to watch and listen. By the time it had got to midday, we had gone far enough. Leeches were everywhere all over our bodies and could only be prise