When your Hero Answers the Phone
your not sure what to say (part 2)
Del 2
16/ Tony Waddington was the manager of Stoke at this time, how did you find him as a person?
All the players got on well with Tony and respected what he had done for Stoke. He was forward thinking in his ideas and signed some very good players, as well as bringing on good young players from the local area.
17/ You scored a fair few goals for both Stoke and Villa, are there any that stand out? I remember a fantastic goal you scored for Stoke away to Newcastle United.
I remember the one at Newcastle because it was produced from some very good football, one against Villa because I headed it! And one against Everton which was a right foot volley.
18/ You were also Stoke City’s penalty-taker. I cannot recall you missing one. Did you?
I did miss one against Ipswich at Stoke, after already scoring from another I had taken. I did miss one for Villa after taking 3 Against Man’ City.
19/ Would you say footballers were well-off in those days? Could you save a lot of money for the future?
It was 1963, I think, when the maximum wage was lifted but up until then the car workers in Birmingham earned more. It gradually became a lot better for us from 1963 but you knew that you would have to get a job of some sort when you finished, which I did in 1975.
20/ Were players given money incentives e.g. if the team won, league position etc.?
We were given incentives, such as appearance money, in the first team, win bonus and league position bonus from 1st down to about 6th. We also had a bonus system for the F.A Cup and the League Cup for each round to winning the cups.
21/ Could/did you gain any extra income through advertising, giving interviews etc.?
In my day, which was 1957-1975, players did not make any extra income from advertising or interviews. You may have had the odd one or two but generally, no, in fact we always had to give interviews for nothing. We also did go to presentations in which we may have had a meal and the wife, a bunch of flowers.
22/ Who were your main friends in the Stoke squad in those days?
Probably my main friends where we would meet up outside of football would be Peter Dobing, Alan Bloor – but we mostly got on with all of the others – we had a good team spirit.
23/ Pre-season training nowadays involve clubs touring USA, China and God knows where. How was Stoke’s pre-season training back then?
For pre-season we would usually play teams in England and Europe but at the end of the season we played all over the world, including the U.S.A, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. We normally started back training 4-5 weeks before the season started which usually involved stamina training, running around Trentham Lakes.
24/ Could you take us through a typical match-day as a Stoke City player? British players were renowned for warm-up (or lack of it) in those days.
If we played at home we would meet up at the North Staff’s Hotel in Stoke and have a light lunch together. This usually consisted of poached eggs or a portion of boiled chicken, fish or steak, followed by rice pudding –but, the actual warm-up was in the dressing room doing stretching exercises.
25/ I always thought you should have played for England. Did you feel you were close for a call-up at any time?
I did play for England under 23 and I did go to a couple of training sessions with the full team, but there were a lot of very good players then and it was a lot harder to break through in those days.
26/ The saddest day for me as a Stoke supporter was when Arsenal equalised through a last minute penalty in the FA-cup semi-final of 1971. You played in that game, just how was it in the dressing room after? Was it the saddest moment of your career too?
The dressing room was very quiet to say the least because we had actually played very well that day. Being my first semi-final in the F.A Cup I would say it was one of my saddest moments. In the replay, although we lost, we didn’t play well enough so it was not the same feeling.
27/ At the start of the following season, you were badly injured. What happened?
It wasn’t long after we played the semi-final when we played Liverpool at home – I twisted my knee badly that day and had 2 operations – I was never the same after that. In fact, I was out for nearly a full season which was a long time.
28/ That season Stoke managed, at last, to win a title when the league cup was won. Obviously, if you were fit, you would have played. It must have been a day of mixed emotions for you.
It was mixed emotions and I would have loved to have played that day – but it was great for the players and for Stoke to beat Chelsea that day. It was also good that Stoke had, I think, 5 local players in the team that day.
29/ Despite getting your fitness back and scoring many goals in the reserves, you were never really given a chance to get your place back. So, understandably you moved on. Can you tell us about your move?
I thought I may have had a chance to get back but they had signed Hurst and Robinson who they had to play. I had decided to play another two seasons if possible and when Plymouth came for me they made it worth my while. So, it served my purpose for 2 years and then I retired.
30/ Was it difficult to motivate yourself at this stage of your career?
Yes, I did find it difficult – not being 100% fit with my knee and having further injured my hamstring badly, so, I decided to call it a day when my contract was up.
31/You retired in 1974. Did you not consider working as a coach or manager?
I did become a qualified coach and I also did some scouting and watching games for Plymouth when I finished playing but I had also got business interests up in the Stoke area so I packed that in.
32/ So what did you do after your football career?
I was a partner in a wholesale haberdashery business which I had started when I played with Stoke. I sold my shares in that and started a haulage business but that got hit by the recession at the time, so, my wife and I bought a pub which we held for 11 years, before selling that to buy the post office from which we are now both retired.
33/ Many old players have suffered with their bodies (mainly through poor medical care during their active years) in later life. How has your body held up?
I have had very good health apart from my knee injury which continued to be a nuisance. I have since had the knee replaced since retiring and it seems OK at the moment. Apart from that I am fit and well, enjoying my retirement.
34/ Many ex-players claim to have stopped watching football once their own career ended. What about yourself?
After the first 2 years when I watched games for Plymouth, scouting, I found I didn’t have the time because of my business interests, but I did start to go to Stoke again over the last 8 years and am pleased at the way they’ve progressed. I also get invited to the Villa 2 or 3 times a year.
35/ Have you seen many Stoke games over the years and do you keep in touch with your ex-team-mates?
In the last 2 years we have started an ex-players association so we are meeting up on a more regular basis. From my day, I now meet up at Trentham Gardens once a week and have a walk around the lake, ending with a coffee. The players usually consist of myself, Terry Conroy, Gordon Banks, Dennis Smith, Alan Bloor, Jimmy Greenhoff and John Ruggiero.
36/ What do you think of today’s footballers, with their fancy cars, model girlfriends, tattoos and in some cases more money than sense? It sounds wonderful (maybe), but there must be downsides too. Is your wife aware she is a WAG? Ha ha
It’s good that they have more security than we had in our days but I think the money involved now is too great. In our day we were more down to earth and probably more in touch with reality. With regard to the wives they never tried to be the ‘WAGS’ of today , who can appear to look for publicity more than the players in some cases. Depending on their mentality I imagine a lot of problems for some when they stop playing football.
37/ Last question: What do you know about Sweden and are you surprised Stoke City have following here?
I had heard that Stoke City have a following in Sweden. I am a little surprised considering that Sweden is a good football nation and produced some very good players over the years. Stoke City did tour Russia and Scandinavia in 1965 when I had just arrived from Villa. On the way we played in Stockholm – we only had two days but I remember it being a nice place. I also made my debut against G.A.I.S, as I said, in 1958 for Aston Villa when I was 17, winning 3-0 when they celebrated the opening of Villa Park floodlights .
Finally, I would personally like to thank you (and your daughter for helping us) for taking the time to answer our questions. It has been a great pleasure for me to have spoken to and to interview the player I always was when playing football on the playground in the late 1960s. Once again Harry: Thank-you very much.
From Harry;
It has been a pleasure to do this for you Nick and I hope you are settled and enjoying life in Sweden. My regards also to the followers of Stoke City and I hope that Stoke will carry on doing well for them,
Best Wishes
Harry Burrows
