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You
probably think you know a lot about John Hartson. We all do. After
all, he's been a larger than life character - a larger than life
footballer - for the last dozen years or so, performing at the top
of the game, scoring goals, frightening defenders, upsetting opposition
fans.
You probably think that "Big Bad John" is as you see him
on the field. Brash, aggressive, in your face. A fully paid up member
of the awkward squad.
If you though that, then you don't know much about the real John
Hartson. Neither did I.
When you encounter John Hartson away from the football field, you
can't help but be taken in by the reputation that he's earned over
the course of 530 senior games, over 200 goals and a few appearances
in front of various disciplinary committees.
Yet in fact, the "Big Bad John" moniker that's stuck with
him over the years is some way off the mark, even on the field of
play. Hartson's disciplinary record is nowhere near the way it's
been caricatured over the years, but mud sticks. You can't help
but feel that the big man has been the victim of that reputation,
something that perpetuates itself.
When you actually meet the man, you couldn't ask for better company,
particularly as an interviewee. Articulate, engaging and always
willing to accommodate any question, John is as far removed as you
can get from the cartoon image that's been created around him.
Hence the recently published autobiography, which looks to set he
record straight by giving his own view of his life and career to
date. So let's have a look at the edited highlights before you nip
out and buy the thing.
It was because of John's physique as a youngster that he turned
to football rather than the more obvious Welshman's choice, rugby
union. But not for the reasons you'd imagine.
"Funny enough given the way I eventually developed, I was always
very small when I was at school. When you look at pictures of me
as a kid, I was one of the smallest in my class. There are some
big lads in Wales when you're playing rugby, so I didn't fancy getting
bashed about too much.
"Football was always my game because my dad played and I used
to go and watch him play. On top of that, from an early age I used
to go and watch Swansea City play as well, they were my team. So
although rugby is obviously very popular in Wales, for kids growing
up, football is just as big and that was what I latched on to. I
followed rugby a bit as well and I still love the big international
games especially, but there was never any doubt I'd be playing football.
"My dad was a good player, he played to a high standard in
the Welsh League, played for Merthyr Tydfil, Harverfordwest, he
was on Swansea's books though he never made it to the first team
as a kid, so he did the non-league scene and as a teenager, I used
to travel round the country with him. I'd get on the bus with the
players, I remember watching him playing cards with the rest of
the players at the back of the bus, I was always watching him, so
he was a big influence. Then when I started getting selected for
local teams, you need your dad to take you all over the place to
get to games and he was very supportive of me as a kid. I owe him
a lot."
With just the two teams to choose from in south Wales, you'd think
it would have been easy for John to get a trial at Swansea. Another
misconception.
"I didn't get a chance to have trials with Swansea as a kid.
I had trials with Cardiff City, Leeds, Manchester City, but it was
always Luton that gave me the best feeling. They were always very
good to me, they put me in the best digs, I liked the coaches, the
set up was good, so I decided to go with them and I joined at 16.
I thought they'd give me a chance to break into the first team at
a younger age than I would have if I'd gone to a bigger club, somewhere
like Leeds, who were in the top division then. And it worked out,
I made my debut at 17, I was in the first team regularly from there.
That's so important, that's when you really learn how to be a player.
"David Pleat was a good manager to work for at that stage of
my career, especially at Luton where he was a legend. I was in the
youth team to start and you'd see the manager but you wouldn't dare
talk to him, you were in awe of him, so to be called up at 17 was
an amazing experience. When you get into the side as a kid, you
need looking after. It's the same here now with the likes of Stuart
Nicholson and Jared Hodgkiss, when they break through, they need
a bit of protection, nursing through. It was the same with me and
there was nobody better for that than David Pleat. In the end, I
didn't stay there too long, but that was partly because the club
helped me develop pretty quickly. I had 50 or so games in two years
and then George Graham took me to Arsenal at the age of 19.
"That was a huge thing at the time. I was Britain's most expensive
teenager, £2.5million, it stood for a few years until Lee
Bowyer went to Leeds from Charlton. So there's pressure that goes
with that, but it was a great place to be. In the same dressing
room as all these great internationals like Tony Adams, David Seaman,
Ian Wright, the England centre-half, the England goalkeeper, the
England centre-forward. You couldn't want for anything better than
that, it was an incredible experience.
"People ask me if it was hard going into that dressing room
at that age, but it wasn't that hard because I was so young. I think
it would have been more difficult at 28, 29. When you're that young,
you take things in your stride, nothing really worries you. I get
more nervous now than I did when I was 19. People think because
you're 31, played so many games, cup finals, internationals, it's
easy. The older you get, you feel like you've still got something
to prove, you have to keep showing people you can still play.
"The highlight at Arsenal was playing against Real Zaragoza
in the Cup Winners' Cup Final when we lost to that long range goal,
Nayim from the halfway line. I'd scored earlier, pulled it back
to 1-1, and there were just a few seconds to go. We'd beaten Sampdoria
on penalties in the semi-final, I'd scored mine, so I was getting
prepared to do the same again but that goal just flew in, and that
was out the window."
Although John enjoyed a brief spell working under Arsene Wenger,
with Arsenal being recast in a Gallic light, when West Ham came
in to secure Hartson's services in exchange for a handsome cheque,
Wenger allowed him to move on to Upton Park, beginning a golden
period in his career.
"I had a great time there. I've always had a good relationship
with Harry Redknapp, and he said they were in trouble, they needed
some goals and I was happy to go there and play. Paul Kitson joined
about the same time as well and we scored lots of goals in the last
10, 11 games of the season, only lost a couple and that kept us
up. It's a terrific club to be at, they've got great support, there's
a real atmosphere at Upton Park when things are going well and I
loved it there. I scored 25 goals in my first full season and it
was brilliant. Now, with hindsight, I probably left there too soon.
"Looking back, moving to Wimbledon was probably the only wrong
move I feel I've made. When I was at West Ham, we had a good side
and then coming through were this group of great young boys like
Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, there could
have been a great side there a couple of years on. You could always
see the talent of those boys. On a Friday when Harry would finish
training with a five-a-side, he'd always call Frank or Joe or Rio
over to play and you could see the quality then, you could tell
those boys had big futures ahead of them. Saying that, they've exceeded
all expectations, all England regulars at massive clubs and I'm
really pleased for them because they're very nice lads as well."
Typical of the way in which he's viewed, memories of Hartson's time
with the Hammers tend to focus on 15 seconds on the training pitch
and a bust up with one of his colleagues, something which has unfairly
obscured a lot of the good work he did there.
"The Eyal Berkovic incident is something that shouldn't have
happened, I regret that, but at the same time, the reporting of
it wasn't right. Me and Eyal got on well, he set up a lot of goals
for me and he was a nice lad.
But on the training pitch, every day, up and down the country, there
are bust ups going on, people squaring up to each other because
we live in a very competitive environment, we're all pushing ourselves
as hard as we can to try and get the best possible results for our
team. That's what football is, it's competition, it's about winning.
It doesn't make it right that people have arguments like that and
I'm really sorry it happened, I really regret it. But I think if
you ask any footballer, he'll tell you it's not unusual. Had it
not been caught on camera, things might have been different, but
it was blown up and that's given me a reputation that's gone before
me a little bit I think, and you can't shake that off. People who
know me know that's not what I'm about, but it's hard to change
people's opinions when they don't know you.
"But the Berkovic thing wasn't the reason I left. West Ham
got offered £7.5million by Wimbledon and after they'd paid
£2.5million for me and with the financial position they were
in, they couldn't turn down a £5million profit.
As it turned out, it was the wrong move but that's nothing against
Wimbledon. They were good people, great set of lads, I enjoyed my
football there. But it was at a time when things were starting to
go wrong for them. Not having a ground was making life very difficult,
and in my second season, we eventually went down - Bradford stayed
up instead on the last day of the season. I was a big earner and
because of that, I was moved on again. I failed a medical at a couple
of clubs because I had a knee injury at that time, but in the end,
once I was over that, I joined Coventry, mainly because Gordon Strachan
was so persistent in wanting me to go there.
"Coventry were right down the bottom of the table, I scored
6 goals in a dozen games, but it was too late really and we couldn't
save ourselves, so it was the Wimbledon scenario again, they couldn't
afford to keep me in the First Division. A few clubs showed an interest
again, Middlesbrough were one of them, but once I heard that Celtic
were after me, there was only one club that I wanted to join. It's
like joining an institution more than a football club, the size
of it, what it means to people, it's incredible. It's not quite
as big as Manchester United, but Celtic ain't far behind. I had
five great years under Martin O'Neill and then Gordon Strachan,
playing in Europe, playing in Old Firm games, cup finals, winning
the league, it was a fantastic time."
Which brings us to the latest chapter in the Hartson story, a typically
tumultuous one with plenty to report about his start to life at
West Bromwich Albion. It's not been dull. Has it?
"I came to West Brom to do a job for the club, to help us get
promoted. That was what Bryan Robson asked me to do when I came
here, and it was what he said to us all on the day he left, "Go
and prove you are the best squad in the division and get promoted",
which was a great gesture from him.
" I couldn't have had a better start really. Two goals on my
debut, the first three or four games I was getting chances, saw
the keepers make some great saves, but through September, I ended
up carrying a really nasty ankle injury. To be honest, I should
have come out of the team a month before I did, but when you join
a new club, you want to show what you can do.
Since then, I've had an injection in my ankle which has helped,
then I asked to play in the reserves against Birmingham to get 90
minutes under my belt and it's starting to turn around again.
Hopefully, I can get back to the top of my game quickly now.
" But that doesn't mean walking into the team. I've always
been a big believer that whoever is playing the best, he should
play. Reputation means nothing. If Stuart Nicholson is playing best
of the forwards, he should play, never mind that I'm here, Kevin
Phillips is here, Nathan Ellington's here.
I've always felt that if you're the best at the club, you play,
you pick teams on merit, and that's what brings out the best in
players. If I want to play, I have to be the best player in my position,
because with a new manager coming in, we all have to show him what
we can do and prove ourselves again. That's what you have to do
every day of your career."
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