Theo Give Us a Ball

Theo Foley

Description

Theo Foley has been involved in professional football for over six decades as a player, coach and manager. During the early days of his playing career, whilst captain of Northampton Town, Theo ran a pie and chip shop to supplement his income from football, a far cry from the riches enjoyed by footballers today. In his autobiography, Theo Give Us a Ball: A Life in Football, co-authored with his son, Paul, Theo details the highs and lows of professional football in a bygone age. From kicking a ball about on the streets of 1950s' Dublin to captaining a First Division team during the 1960s and becoming assistant manager at Millwall and Arsenal, this book provides a fascinating insight into football in the days when a love of the game came before wealth and fame.During his time at Highbury, Theo became a local legend and fans would chant 'Theo, give us a ball,' to which he duly obliged. In this honest account, Theo reveals the highs and lows of his life in football and shares his memories of working with some of the football greats of the past.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 09 août 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781911476207
• Langue: English

Extrait

THEO GIVE US A BALL
A Life in Football
Theo Foley and Paul Foley





First published in 2018 by
Apex Publishing Ltd
12A St. John’s Road, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO15 4BP, United Kingdom
www.apexpublishing.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2018 Theo Foley and Paul Foley
Cover design: Hannah Blamires
The right of Theo Foley and Paul Foley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The views and opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Apex Publishing Ltd or Andrews UK Limited.



About the Authors
Theo Foley
Theo is a retired professional footballer who has played in all four divisions of the Football League and for the Republic of Ireland nine times. After an extended career coaching and managing professional sides in and around London for over 30 years, Theo now works as a corporate host at Charlton Athletic FC.
Theo is a keen golfer but he is still in love with the game that has given him so much joy and success for more than 60 years. His previous published works include coaching and fitness manuals.
Theo lives with Sheila, his wife of 58 years, in the same house he bought upon moving to Charlton in 1968. He is a grandfather of ten and has two great grandchildren.
Paul Foley
Paul grew up in a football family, where meal times involved discussing tactics with the salt and pepper pots with his two brothers and sister. School summer holidays were spent collecting balls every day at Queens Park Rangers’ Greenford training ground for his father, Irish footballer, Theo Foley.
Paul has played non-league football for a number of Kent and South East London clubs. He is a Chartered Surveyor and Residential Developer operating in South East England. Paul is the father of three girls, only one of which has an interest in football.





For Joe and John



Foreword by Co-Author Paul Foley
For years I kept asking Dad to write a book about his life in football. He would always reply, ‘Now, who would want to read that?’ While I admire his modesty and humble approach to everything he has achieved, I always disagreed, as I felt it was a life definitely worth writing about. For various reasons, it has been a rewarding and difficult task for us both in equal measure but we got there and I, for one, am glad we got it all down. What was particularly pleasing was the undoubted warmth and love people still have for him which says more than any of his achievements in the game. Talking to former players he coached or played with and hearing the kind words means more than any medal or trophy to Dad. As he always says, ‘It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice,’ or ‘self-praise is no recommendation.’ The number of times I have heard both of those sayings over the years, they are mantras by which he has lived his life and, hopefully, these beliefs come through in this book.
He has enjoyed a unique professional career in football that spans over 60 years taking in all four Football Leagues, playing in World Cup games for Eire whilst achieving the Holy Grail of the old First Division title as assistant manager of Arsenal. From the streets of Dublin to the hallowed Turf Moor at Burnley he started out on a journey as he has said many times ‘with just his boots in a bag’. These real football people are now few and far between and in these heady days of Premier League money and fast cars, we should remind ourselves of the real reasons why we love the beautiful game. As you will see from these pages and his character, and the things he had to do, he was, and still is, a pure football man with no ideas above his station. He has loved the game his entire life and appreciates all it has given him. Whilst I have always loved the game and enjoyed playing, my appreciation is minimal compared to his. He would watch a kickabout in the back garden with the same enthusiasm as a World Cup game.
His journey as a player took him by ferry to Burnley and then on to the south west Coast at Exeter City where he met and married my mum. From there he joined Dave Bowen’s progressive Northampton Town. The Cobblers’ remarkable journey from the Fourth to the old First Division brought the FAI scouts to watch their inspirational full back captain. Full Eire caps soon followed with some rave reviews in the Irish press for his 1966 World Cup qualifier displays. In the months leading up to the World Cup in that golden year for English football, he tossed the coin at Upton Park with the great Bobby Moore in the First Division and over the course of the season played against the entire England World Cup winning squad. Not to mention playing against the likes of Dennis Law, George Best, Dave Mackay, Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles, Johnny Haynes and Ron Yeats - giants in the game of football. For the full sweep, he lined up for Eire in Dublin against Franz Beckenbauer and the West German World Cup finalists. After transferring from Northampton, he headed to South East London and Charlton Athletic as a player with a nagging, troublesome injury.
This injury meant just a handful of appearances at The Valley and marked the start of a longer, and arguably, more successful career on the coaching/management side. This ‘second career’ spanned nearly 40 years taking in spells at Charlton, Millwall twice, QPR, Arsenal, Northampton Town, Southend, Fulham, Leeds and, finally, Tottenham Hotspur.
For me, summer school holidays meant I could go training with him every day for six weeks, kick a ball all day and just soak up the magical world of pro football. What a thing for a young football-mad boy. This all seemed very normal to me but I now realise how lucky I was to be immersed in this wonderful sport and life. The odd treat of a McDonalds at Shepherds Bush or an ice cream from the parlour at the Elephant & Castle on the way home made it even more idyllic for a 10-year-old.
During secondary school days, I would stagger down the stairs in the morning to see the smiling face of the late David Rocastle sitting in the front room waiting for Dad to head to London Colney together. Hearing Dad on the radio or seeing him on TV seemed normal back then. To us he was just our dad, but to others he was Theo Foley. Hearing the famous North Bank at Highbury sing in unison, ‘Theo, give us a ball, Theo, give us a ball,’ is a strange thing to witness but also one to make an 18-year-old boy unusually proud of his dad. That’s the key message really here, from all of his family - how proud we all are of him.
This is his life in football.
Paul Foley



Foreword by George Graham
When Theo asked me if I would write a foreword for his autobiography I didn’t hesitate as I consider him to be one of my best friends in the game. It got me thinking about how we first crossed paths and when I sat down recently with his son, Paul, we looked at the records and they showed that we had played against each other only twice, either end of 1965, in January and December.
Theo was the right back and captain of Northampton Town at the time who were on their amazing rise to the First Division and I was a young lad trying to make my name at Chelsea. We beat them in January 1965 in the third round of the FA Cup 4-1 at a packed Stamford Bridge with Theo scoring their only goal from the penalty spot but he also scored an own goal, something I shall have to remind him of forever more now. Northampton were a strong Second Division side back then and, in the following 65-66 season, we played them again at the Bridge in their one and only season in the top flight. We won again, this time 1-0. Two games and two wins so, as he proved to be many years later when we worked together, Theo always was a lucky omen for me.
Little did we know that those fleeting encounters on the pitch in the mid-60s would end up with the highly successful management pairing we had at both Millwall and then Arsenal in the 80s, not to mention the early success we had at QPR with the youth players. We still meet up every Christmas with a few of the ex-coaches and scouts for a meal and we are still the same with each other, we will always have that strong bond. We had some great times together as a management pairing with plenty of laughs along the way. Theo is a lovely, warm character who is well thought of in the game and by those who have worked with him. People always talk fondly about him when I meet up with ex-players or staff. He was the king of the banter in the dressing room, always in the thick of it, that’s where he belonged.
Our first involvement working alongside each other came at QPR when Theo was the reserve team manager and I was looking after the youth team. Theo was the more senior guy back then and I fed players into his side to prepare them for the first team. Well, we hit it off straight away and I remember him making an impression when you first met him - I thought what a friendly, likeable guy and a larger than life character.
We helped so many players along in that outstanding youth system at QPR and got a huge thrill out of seeing these young lads making the grade and carving out careers. We won our