Charlie Hurley
CHARLIE HURLEY CHARLIE HURLEY “The Greatest Centre Half the World has Ever Seen“ Mark Metcalf This book is dedicated to Noble Metcalf, who died in June 2004, and his grandson Charlie Metcalf, born January 2008. CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix Foreword – Niall Quinn xi Prologue xiii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Growing up in Essex 7 Chapter 2 Signing for Millwall 14 Chapter 3 A career-threatening injury 28 Chapter 4 Seven and six, was he worth it? 45 Chapters “You’ll be seeing them” 65 Chapter 6 Tying the knot and having his best season 76 Chapter 7 Fatherhood but no promotion 91 Chapter 8 The arrival of Brian Clough 107 Chapter 9 Pipped at the post 117 Chapter 10 Back where they belong 133 Chapter 11 First Division football 158 Chapter 12 Injury and heartache 174 Chapter 13 Bust-up with Baxter 187 Chapter 14 McColl and Baxter leave 196 Chapter 15 Thanks, Charlie, it’s time to go 208 Chapter 16 Burnden Park and the end of a great career 217 Chapter 17 Management at Reading 226 Chapter 18 Aftermath and missing football 239 Bibliography 246 Index 249 Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the help of many people. Special thanks must go to Brian Leng, Dave Hillam, Andy Forsyth, Gordon Sharrock, Chris Bethell, the staff at Colindale Library, London and at Sunderland Social Studies Unit, Plunkett Carter of the Cork Evening Echo, Gavin Reardon, Jim Fox, Norman Howe, of the Sunderland ex-players association, John Harvey, Ross McKee, Gordon Taylor – chief executive of the PFA, Roger Pugh, Paul Days, Paddy Crerand, Tom O’Shea, and former players from Sun- derland and Millwall, among them contemporaries of Charlie such as George Mulhall, Stan Anderson, Am- brose Fogarty, Len Ashurst, Malcolm Finlayson, Stan Anslow and John Shepherd.
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