Throughout his 17 years as a professional footballer, Paul Walsh played and scored goals for some of the biggest clubs in the country.
He won the First Division title and FA Cup with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, as well as representing England on five occasions - scoring one goal in the process.
Now a pundit, the 52-year-old has recently released his autobiography, entitled Walshy. Sports Mole caught up with the former striker to discuss the book, as well as what the future has in store for the likes of Harry Kane and Christian Benteke at his old stomping grounds.
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Most ex-footballers tend to release books shortly after their retirement, but there has been a big gap for you. What was it about now that made it the right time for you to write your book?
"I did a synopsis about 10 years ago, but it didn't go anywhere. I just left it after that and didn't think that it was going to happen and then all of a sudden I got approached to do it. The Uwe Rosler book is from the same publishers and that did quite well. Uwe and I played together [at Man City] and the [publishers] thought because of the clubs I played for, I had a decent story to tell. We made an agreement and off we went."
Is there anything that you wish you had added? Or perhaps something that you now wish you had left out?
"There will be someone I've forgot or should have mentioned, especially when I read through it again properly and ponder things. I was trying to write it during a very busy period in my life, so it was difficult to fit in with the deadline. I was under pressure at times, but I managed to get through it."
Your time at Liverpool was particularly fascinating, especially the relationship that you shared with Kenny Dalglish when he took charge from Joe Fagan. How demoralising did it become for you at Anfield?
"There were two massive moments that changed my life at Liverpool. The first was Heysel because Joe Fagan had brought me and he played me. I wasn't fazed by being Kenny Dalglish's replacement, I actually loved every minute of it. I had massive respect for Kenny as a player and loved him as a player.
"But, out of Heysel came the disaster and Fagan leaving. The spinoff from that was the man that I had been signed to replace becomes player-manager. That changed the dynamics quite substantially and that's the bit that people miss and the impact that it had on me.
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"The 1986 double-winning season was my best season, but the other turning point, I got an injury with 10 games to go that kept me out for seven months. I end up trying to justify myself, but I got in the PFA Team of the Year still - Ian Rush didn't and nor did Dalglish. When people that you played against are saying that you were one of the best players in the league, that's quite an accolade and evidence of how well I played that year.
"But, then I was injured for a while and Liverpool signed other players. It became difficult and I wasn't one of Kenny's signings. The demoralising part was the way that Kenny treated me in the last year. He took me to every game and hardly played me or even put me on the bench - I hardly touched a ball."
The way that you describe Liverpool behind the scenes at that time and in particular the medical side of things was shocking. Just how were they so successful?
"They had good players. You can dress football up - even today's football - with all the analysis, but if you've got good players, you've got a decent chance. Liverpool had the best players with a strong and winning mentality. The medical side of things, it was ignorant, but it was born to make it a tough environment. If you got injured, you were an outcast. That's bad enough in itself, but when you've got people dealing with you that are completely inept as you try to come back from an injury, it's even worse.
"It was unfair on Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans that they were put in that position really. The club should have been employing proper qualified people. I'd come from Luton, who had a physio called John Sheridan and he ended up going to Tottenham. You got proper treatment and proper knowledge. I had ruptured a ligament, not just a strained ankle. They didn't have a clue what it was."
You openly admit that you lacked professionalism at Tottenham Hotspur. Your former teammate Paul Gascoigne always says that he wished he'd move to Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson when he had the chance. Given your admission, would working under Ferguson have been just what you needed?
"I'd like to think so. You can blame everyone else, it was still my weakness. But, I could have done with a stronger manager. The last year at Liverpool, I had no game to look forward to and I just consoled myself with nights out and enjoying myself. When I get to London, I was living in a hotel and I just carried that on.
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"There is no way in a million years that I blame Terry Venables for any of that. The team that he put together - and that includes me - he brought a bunch of rogues. The dressing room was the most ill-disciplined joke that I've ever been in, albeit it with some good players in it. Everyone was more worried about where we were going out after rather than winning anything."
You mention in the book that you've done some of the coaching badges, but at the same time you seem disillusioned with the way that things are done in this country. Why is that?
"The point I was making is that coaching, once you get into the first team, is overrated. There should be man-management and organisation and that's about it. When you've got a player aged 18 or 19, he can learn and get more experience, but he is what he is. The important part of coaching should be from 11 to 16 - that's when you can change a player and improve him.
"When a player reaches 18, that's when it's about getting experience. For example, when Ashley Cole came through at Arsenal at 18, he stayed the same great player for 13 or 14 years. Nobody changed him or tried to change him, all he got was experience. If you've got Ashley Cole, it doesn't take a rocket scientist or Jose Mourinho to see he's going to be a great left-back."
One youngster that faces a big season is Harry Kane. As a former striker that broke through with both Charlton and Luton, what does Kane need to do to ensure that he carries on from where he left off?
"I said at the start of last season that I wasn't sure Harry Kane was the answer for Tottenham. I'd seen him on loan at Millwall and Norwich City in the Championship and he didn't tear that up. But, all of a sudden and this is what I love about football, he burst into life by scoring some Europa League goals and has drove himself on.
"He's good in the air, he can run with the ball and run in behind - there isn't much that he can't do. The attention will be hot now, but he will have to continue doing that. People are going to be much more aware of him and teams will put their best defender on him. They will be pushing him away from goal, but sometimes good players find space and that's what he has got to keep doing."
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There is plenty of speculation at the moment that he is a £50m target of Manchester United. Would that move suit him, or would he benefit from staying with Spurs for the time being?
"You can never tell. After one season, £50m is a huge gamble. You saw with Angel di Maria, he cost more than that and he struggled [at United], despite being an established international footballer. Kane could have an average season this year and not progress how we expect and then all of a sudden Spurs are looking for another striker! In football, you just don't know.
"He could go to Man United, move on to another level and strike up a great partnership with Wayne Rooney. The big doubt is that he's only done it for one season. But, he's kicked his game on from his days in the Championship and I love his attitude when he talks. I like the things he says and he's always looking to improve."
Is Christian Benteke the right centre-forward for Liverpool? A lot of his goals towards the end of last season for Villa were scored with his head, but Brendan Rodgers does not tend to play with wingers that swing crosses into the area.
"His goal return is good and granted a lot of them are with his head. Liverpool did get a few more crosses into the box against Stoke [at the weekend]. Brendan Rodgers seems to be aware that he has got to take advantage of that side of his game, it would be ridiculous if he didn't do that. Why buy a player that is great in the air and then take that side of his game away?
"What I've seen of Benteke, he runs offside a little too easily at times. He doesn't always show a real striker's instinct along the line and make clever runs, which he needs to get better at. I'm not sure technically how great he is with the ball at his feet in and around the box. When teams play tighter against Liverpool, that is going to test him.
"But, that's the market Liverpool are in. They are not in the £50m market, they are in the £30m range and for that money that's what you get - Benteke. You don't get the very best for that money."
Walshy, RRP £16.99, is available for £11.99 here
Liam Apicella
