Cod Almighty | Diary

He's got long hair but we don't care

12 September 2014

Mardy Diary writes: So, tomorrow sees the visit of Torquay United managed by former Town youther Chris Hargreaves.

I read Hargreaves' autobiography last year. Well, part of it – I gave up halfway through. Not that it was bad – you should give it a go – but that the editing, or lack of editing made it difficult to read. I actually enjoyed what I read and the style was quite novel for a football autobiography: Hargreaves intermittently switches between the present day, coming to the realisation that his playing days are over and looking for work, and his history at the various clubs he played for (starting at Town). Where it struggles is where he gets carried away with a particular point and 'goes off on one'. There's one section when he has a rant about something in one paragraph, and then admonishes himself in the next for having a rant: "calm down Chris". A decent editor would have sorted that out.

Despite this, it's a good moral tale of a young lad breaking into his local side but getting easily led astray by his mates before finally moving away and getting his head straight. You feel it's this last bit that ultimately prolonged Hargreaves' playing career.

I found it hard to agree with Hargreaves' opinions of Buckley – or rather, what he perceived as Buckley's attitude to him. He felt he didn't get the chances when he first broke through at the club, despite showing very promising signs early on. He may be right there, but perhaps what he read as being ignored by Buckley was more Buckley trying to manage Chris's wild-boy lifestyle (whether successfully or not). Hargreaves himself admits that the lifestyle he lived at the time wasn't particularly good for a professional footballer.

Hargreaves moved to Hull after Town and did alright, but being so close to home meant the playboy lifestyle continued. He talks of partying all night with his mates who were all boozing and taking drugs but claims he didn't partake himself (of the drugs, at least). Although even if he did it, you feel it wouldn't be wise of him to mention it while he was still hoping to continue his career in football.

But the notion that Buckley had it in for him was disproved when his ex-manager took him to West Brom. Again, Hargreaves complains of not getting picked for games. But given that his previous lifestyle continued for a while with the Baggies, it's likely this was what kept him out of the team. It's clear that Buckley saw some ability there, but perhaps he was frustrated that he couldn't get Hargreaves to focus on his football.

What saved Hargreaves, ultimately, was the maturity that prompted him to start looking after his body and taking his health seriously, but by this point Buckley was long gone. Hargreaves went on to have a good career in lower-league football and seems to have been liked at all the clubs he's played for, so fair play to him.

Currently Torquay (the club where he ended his playing career) are the in-form team in the Conference and look more of a threat than Bristol Rovers, perhaps surprising a few people. It'll be interesting to see if the team Hargreaves manages today is instilled with the work ethic and fitness he developed for himself in the middle of his playing career.

Have a good weekend.