Paul (Maxie) Miller

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Mrs Perryman

Supporter
I'm a Cockney Malteser 👑
Couldn't see a thread for Maxie, so here goes. Maxie was Robbo's latest guest to his Friday night dialin.
Maxie joined Spurs as a 12 year old and was the first player to go out on loan - to Norway. Great development experience as a player and as a person, and advocates it for most young players hoping to make it.
He got his chance in 1978 after we lost heavily against the Scousers and Woolwich, alongside a number of our young reserves (Falco, Hazard, Hughton, Galvin were mentioned).
His first taste of success was in the '81 Cup Final and winning in the style we did was as important as the victory. He felt that it was every kid's dream to play at Wembley and finds it sad that there isn't the same feeling for the FA Cup now.
The following season was a long one, as we were in the hunt for 4 trophies right to the end of the season, and we played 68 games (mentioned Mr P had played all of them!), the overwhelming feeling at winning the FA Cup in '82 was sheer relief. He along with Robbo and Galvin could only play in the final after having 4 or 5 injections. He said that around that time most players were fully fit probably only 10% of the time (think that was a little dig at some of the modern players and how spoilt they are now).
'84 UEFA Cup Final was for Maxie the most prestigious trophy that he won, because back then the European Cup was for champions only, so the teams contesting the UEFA Cup were strong opponents. He scored the goal in the 1st leg (away) and gave us a well deserved lead, a great header it turned out (he confessed that he was trying to headbutt the centre half who was marking him, but missed and headed the ball instead!). Unfortunately Tony Parks dropped a ricket for their equaliser and he got a right rollocking (not the words Maxie used on the night!). Funny how he turned out to be the hero for the second leg. No-one really gave us a chance for that game as we were missing Hod, Clem and Ossie, albeit he came on for the last 10 minutes, and Mr P was suspended, so winning it was a huge achievement.
He got on OK with Burkinshaw, thought he was a straightforward, honest guy, loyal (sometimes too loyal) and developed a great team spirit, which is still evident today as a lot of the players from that side are still in contact, playing golf regularly. Maxie touched on the reason that The General left was because Scholar wanted to bring in players that he liked and Keith was supposed to just coach them. Maxie acknowledged that Scholar was a Spurs supporter, very knowledgeable, but a w***er and so up his own a*** (his words, not mine). Bad decision to get rid of Keith and put in Peter Shreeves, thought he was a very good no 2.
When Pleat was appointed, Maxie likened it to a guy going from running a corner shop to managing Harrods, his opinion was that we were too big for him. He alienated most of the senior players who were at their prime. Robbo was equally scathing of his man-management skills, as he couldn’t cope with anyone who was a bit of a character or had an opinion. He upset Glenn and Ossie, got rid of Chrissie and bought in Mitchell Thomas, and generally broke up the side. He also dismantled the youth/reserve sides by selling most of them to Norwich. What made me smile is that Maxie let slip that Falco’s wife worked at the police station Pleat was taken to after his kerb crawling charge – bet they all had a laugh about that!
Robbo and Maxie obviously loved playing together, and had a great understanding from the off, with a mutual respect for each other’s talents. Both hard as nails and gave everything on the pitch.
Maxie then transferred to Charlton, played in the very first play offs and finished his career there, at 32. He got into corporate finance in the City, as he didn’t want to continue in football.
His and Robbo’s feelings about how our Club has gone about its business is so like ours. He feels that the rot started back with Scholar, as he bought in Pleat and nearly bankrupted the Club, leading to the Sugar regime, which apart from the ’91 Cup win, was pretty grim.
He was sad that Poch left, we should have pushed on with refreshing the squad with a couple of players at each TW, and that he should have been given to the end of the season.
He feels that Jose is a good PR man, very bright but a bit of a dinosaur.
He didn’t mince his words when it came to assessing our current players – he described Aurier as a calamity, and Sissoko is spending all his time guarding him; doesn’t think Tanguy can pass and has a weight and attitude problem; Sonny’s off the pace; Moura plays in fits and starts; Lamela is a good sub; Winks needs to move the ball forward; Jan & Toby are past their best; Lo Celso needs better players around him for us to get the best of him; feels sorry for Kane as he receives no service; Lloris has been our most effective player since the restart.
Other observations mentioned - we bought the wrong Fernandes; we haven’t properly replaced Walker and Rose; we need a minimum of 4 new players; shouldn’t have let Trippier go, as all the players who played in the World Cup struggled with their fitness; the players looking leggy after lockdown, no energy evident; most of the games have been pretty rubbish; VAR is ruining the game and turning people off; players missing the crowds.
Best player he played with was Ossie, because he made Glenn an even better player.
I asked about what he thought about the Amazon documentary, and he thought it was a definite no-no. Apparently, when Ossie wanted to speak to Poch about something, Poch took him into his car to get away from the cameras for some privacy, so they must be everywhere.
He spoke about how the players used to go out and socialise together as a group, this was suggested by Clem (who isn't very well at the moment) when he first came to the Club. Also, if there were any problems between players, this is where they sorted it out, so it was done and dusted by Monday morning. He feels that modern players don’t have the same passion for the game, they are spoiled rotten and too scared to give each other any verbals. Thought that Lloris having a go at Sonny was a good thing, as at least it shows he cares.
Someone asked about his ex-father-in-law, Morris Keston. The more mature supporters amongst us will know all about Morris, he was the ultimate supporter, travelling all over to see games. He used to host all the best parties, and after a NLD on New Year’s Day, he invited all the players to the Ritz Carlton casino (at that time, casinos were the only places open on New Year’s day).
He recalled his first away game, when he was paired up with Stevie (who is a snorer apparently!), his mum used to pack his case for him, and she had packed a suit, a blazer, smart trousers, three shirts, a silk nightgown and leather slippers – they called him David Niven after that. He admitted that he was a very tidy person, verging on OCD.
Although he was proud of his East End roots, he couldn’t wait to get away from it. He remembered some gaffes he made when he first started to go to posh restaurants – he didn’t know what whitebait was; he asked for steak tartare to be served medium; he didn’t want any Chateaubriand, because he didn’t want a drink.
When asked about the current board, it was put forward that Joe Lewis has nothing to do with the running of the Club, it’s all left to Levy. FFP will not allow huge spending, and it is likely that ENIC will sell the Club somewhere down the line, probably to an American concern.
He feels that the people planning to fly a plane over the stadium are just embarrassing us.
His best moments, apart from the trophy wins, were his debut at Highbury and his testimonial against Rangers.
He is good friends with Liam Brady, who detests Woolwich, didn't elaborate too much but something to do with him being asked to be an ambassador.
He came off Twitter as too many idiots on there and he took exception to someone who insulted Mickey and his family.
The best story was the one he told about Bobby Moore, which he takes great delight in repeating to Spammers. Maxie was first introduced to Bobby when he was 13, and as he had a large number of clubs wanting to sign him, Bobby suggested that he would be better off staying in London to stay close to family, so it was either us or the goons. At a much later date, Bobby told Maxie how much he wanted to come to us, as he would have loved to have played with Pat, Mike England and Jimmy. Unfortunately he wasn’t allowed the move, and Greenwood put a block on it, as terms couldn’t be agreed. Bobby despised Greenwood and he felt he was treated badly by the club. Bobby had a share in a couple of pubs in the East End - Mooreo's and Tipples - I saw him and Lampard Snr in there one night - can't remember which one was which, but one of them used to be the Salmon and Ball, on the corner near Bethnal Green station.
I love these dial ins, especially when the speakers show their love and commitment to our Club, and when they shoot from the hip.

Can’t wait for next week’s – maybe Robbo will manage to tie down Martin Jol.
 
Couldn't see a thread for Maxie, so here goes. Maxie was Robbo's latest guest to his Friday night dialin.
Maxie joined Spurs as a 12 year old and was the first player to go out on loan - to Norway. Great development experience as a player and as a person, and advocates it for most young players hoping to make it.
He got his chance in 1978 after we lost heavily against the Scousers and Woolwich, alongside a number of our young reserves (Falco, Hazard, Hughton, Galvin were mentioned).
His first taste of success was in the '81 Cup Final and winning in the style we did was as important as the victory. He felt that it was every kid's dream to play at Wembley and finds it sad that there isn't the same feeling for the FA Cup now.
The following season was a long one, as we were in the hunt for 4 trophies right to the end of the season, and we played 68 games (mentioned Mr P had played all of them!), the overwhelming feeling at winning the FA Cup in '82 was sheer relief. He along with Robbo and Galvin could only play in the final after having 4 or 5 injections. He said that around that time most players were fully fit probably only 10% of the time (think that was a little dig at some of the modern players and how spoilt they are now).
'84 UEFA Cup Final was for Maxie the most prestigious trophy that he won, because back then the European Cup was for champions only, so the teams contesting the UEFA Cup were strong opponents. He scored the goal in the 1st leg (away) and gave us a well deserved lead, a great header it turned out (he confessed that he was trying to headbutt the centre half who was marking him, but missed and headed the ball instead!). Unfortunately Tony Parks dropped a ricket for their equaliser and he got a right rollocking (not the words Maxie used on the night!). Funny how he turned out to be the hero for the second leg. No-one really gave us a chance for that game as we were missing Hod, Clem and Ossie, albeit he came on for the last 10 minutes, and Mr P was suspended, so winning it was a huge achievement.
He got on OK with Burkinshaw, thought he was a straightforward, honest guy, loyal (sometimes too loyal) and developed a great team spirit, which is still evident today as a lot of the players from that side are still in contact, playing golf regularly. Maxie touched on the reason that The General left was because Scholar wanted to bring in players that he liked and Keith was supposed to just coach them. Maxie acknowledged that Scholar was a Spurs supporter, very knowledgeable, but a w***er and so up his own a*** (his words, not mine). Bad decision to get rid of Keith and put in Peter Shreeves, thought he was a very good no 2.
When Pleat was appointed, Maxie likened it to a guy going from running a corner shop to managing Harrods, his opinion was that we were too big for him. He alienated most of the senior players who were at their prime. Robbo was equally scathing of his man-management skills, as he couldn’t cope with anyone who was a bit of a character or had an opinion. He upset Glenn and Ossie, got rid of Chrissie and bought in Mitchell Thomas, and generally broke up the side. He also dismantled the youth/reserve sides by selling most of them to Norwich. What made me smile is that Maxie let slip that Falco’s wife worked at the police station Pleat was taken to after his kerb crawling charge – bet they all had a laugh about that!
Robbo and Maxie obviously loved playing together, and had a great understanding from the off, with a mutual respect for each other’s talents. Both hard as nails and gave everything on the pitch.
Maxie then transferred to Charlton, played in the very first play offs and finished his career there, at 32. He got into corporate finance in the City, as he didn’t want to continue in football.
His and Robbo’s feelings about how our Club has gone about its business is so like ours. He feels that the rot started back with Scholar, as he bought in Pleat and nearly bankrupted the Club, leading to the Sugar regime, which apart from the ’91 Cup win, was pretty grim.
He was sad that Poch left, we should have pushed on with refreshing the squad with a couple of players at each TW, and that he should have been given to the end of the season.
He feels that Jose is a good PR man, very bright but a bit of a dinosaur.
He didn’t mince his words when it came to assessing our current players – he described Aurier as a calamity, and Sissoko is spending all his time guarding him; doesn’t think Tanguy can pass and has a weight and attitude problem; Sonny’s off the pace; Moura plays in fits and starts; Lamela is a good sub; Winks needs to move the ball forward; Jan & Toby are past their best; Lo Celso needs better players around him for us to get the best of him; feels sorry for Kane as he receives no service; Lloris has been our most effective player since the restart.
Other observations mentioned - we bought the wrong Fernandes; we haven’t properly replaced Walker and Rose; we need a minimum of 4 new players; shouldn’t have let Trippier go, as all the players who played in the World Cup struggled with their fitness; the players looking leggy after lockdown, no energy evident; most of the games have been pretty rubbish; VAR is ruining the game and turning people off; players missing the crowds.
Best player he played with was Ossie, because he made Glenn an even better player.
I asked about what he thought about the Amazon documentary, and he thought it was a definite no-no. Apparently, when Ossie wanted to speak to Poch about something, Poch took him into his car to get away from the cameras for some privacy, so they must be everywhere.
He spoke about how the players used to go out and socialise together as a group, this was suggested by Clem (who isn't very well at the moment) when he first came to the Club. Also, if there were any problems between players, this is where they sorted it out, so it was done and dusted by Monday morning. He feels that modern players don’t have the same passion for the game, they are spoiled rotten and too scared to give each other any verbals. Thought that Lloris having a go at Sonny was a good thing, as at least it shows he cares.
Someone asked about his ex-father-in-law, Morris Keston. The more mature supporters amongst us will know all about Morris, he was the ultimate supporter, travelling all over to see games. He used to host all the best parties, and after a NLD on New Year’s Day, he invited all the players to the Ritz Carlton casino (at that time, casinos were the only places open on New Year’s day).
He recalled his first away game, when he was paired up with Stevie (who is a snorer apparently!), his mum used to pack his case for him, and she had packed a suit, a blazer, smart trousers, three shirts, a silk nightgown and leather slippers – they called him David Niven after that. He admitted that he was a very tidy person, verging on OCD.
Although he was proud of his East End roots, he couldn’t wait to get away from it. He remembered some gaffes he made when he first started to go to posh restaurants – he didn’t know what whitebait was; he asked for steak tartare to be served medium; he didn’t want any Chateaubriand, because he didn’t want a drink.
When asked about the current board, it was put forward that Joe Lewis has nothing to do with the running of the Club, it’s all left to Levy. FFP will not allow huge spending, and it is likely that ENIC will sell the Club somewhere down the line, probably to an American concern.
He feels that the people planning to fly a plane over the stadium are just embarrassing us.
His best moments, apart from the trophy wins, were his debut at Highbury and his testimonial against Rangers.
He is good friends with Liam Brady, who detests Woolwich, didn't elaborate too much but something to do with him being asked to be an ambassador.
He came off Twitter as too many idiots on there and he took exception to someone who insulted Mickey and his family.
The best story was the one he told about Bobby Moore, which he takes great delight in repeating to Spammers. Maxie was first introduced to Bobby when he was 13, and as he had a large number of clubs wanting to sign him, Bobby suggested that he would be better off staying in London to stay close to family, so it was either us or the goons. At a much later date, Bobby told Maxie how much he wanted to come to us, as he would have loved to have played with Pat, Mike England and Jimmy. Unfortunately he wasn’t allowed the move, and Greenwood put a block on it, as terms couldn’t be agreed. Bobby despised Greenwood and he felt he was treated badly by the club. Bobby had a share in a couple of pubs in the East End - Mooreo's and Tipples - I saw him and Lampard Snr in there one night - can't remember which one was which, but one of them used to be the Salmon and Ball, on the corner near Bethnal Green station.
I love these dial ins, especially when the speakers show their love and commitment to our Club, and when they shoot from the hip.

Can’t wait for next week’s – maybe Robbo will manage to tie down Martin Jol.
Excellent Mrs P. It's amazing just how much 'inside information' comes out of these kind of exchanges. Thanks for sharing.
 
Couldn't see a thread for Maxie, so here goes. Maxie was Robbo's latest guest to his Friday night dialin.
Maxie joined Spurs as a 12 year old and was the first player to go out on loan - to Norway. Great development experience as a player and as a person, and advocates it for most young players hoping to make it.
He got his chance in 1978 after we lost heavily against the Scousers and Woolwich, alongside a number of our young reserves (Falco, Hazard, Hughton, Galvin were mentioned).
His first taste of success was in the '81 Cup Final and winning in the style we did was as important as the victory. He felt that it was every kid's dream to play at Wembley and finds it sad that there isn't the same feeling for the FA Cup now.
The following season was a long one, as we were in the hunt for 4 trophies right to the end of the season, and we played 68 games (mentioned Mr P had played all of them!), the overwhelming feeling at winning the FA Cup in '82 was sheer relief. He along with Robbo and Galvin could only play in the final after having 4 or 5 injections. He said that around that time most players were fully fit probably only 10% of the time (think that was a little dig at some of the modern players and how spoilt they are now).
'84 UEFA Cup Final was for Maxie the most prestigious trophy that he won, because back then the European Cup was for champions only, so the teams contesting the UEFA Cup were strong opponents. He scored the goal in the 1st leg (away) and gave us a well deserved lead, a great header it turned out (he confessed that he was trying to headbutt the centre half who was marking him, but missed and headed the ball instead!). Unfortunately Tony Parks dropped a ricket for their equaliser and he got a right rollocking (not the words Maxie used on the night!). Funny how he turned out to be the hero for the second leg. No-one really gave us a chance for that game as we were missing Hod, Clem and Ossie, albeit he came on for the last 10 minutes, and Mr P was suspended, so winning it was a huge achievement.
He got on OK with Burkinshaw, thought he was a straightforward, honest guy, loyal (sometimes too loyal) and developed a great team spirit, which is still evident today as a lot of the players from that side are still in contact, playing golf regularly. Maxie touched on the reason that The General left was because Scholar wanted to bring in players that he liked and Keith was supposed to just coach them. Maxie acknowledged that Scholar was a Spurs supporter, very knowledgeable, but a w***er and so up his own a*** (his words, not mine). Bad decision to get rid of Keith and put in Peter Shreeves, thought he was a very good no 2.
When Pleat was appointed, Maxie likened it to a guy going from running a corner shop to managing Harrods, his opinion was that we were too big for him. He alienated most of the senior players who were at their prime. Robbo was equally scathing of his man-management skills, as he couldn’t cope with anyone who was a bit of a character or had an opinion. He upset Glenn and Ossie, got rid of Chrissie and bought in Mitchell Thomas, and generally broke up the side. He also dismantled the youth/reserve sides by selling most of them to Norwich. What made me smile is that Maxie let slip that Falco’s wife worked at the police station Pleat was taken to after his kerb crawling charge – bet they all had a laugh about that!
Robbo and Maxie obviously loved playing together, and had a great understanding from the off, with a mutual respect for each other’s talents. Both hard as nails and gave everything on the pitch.
Maxie then transferred to Charlton, played in the very first play offs and finished his career there, at 32. He got into corporate finance in the City, as he didn’t want to continue in football.
His and Robbo’s feelings about how our Club has gone about its business is so like ours. He feels that the rot started back with Scholar, as he bought in Pleat and nearly bankrupted the Club, leading to the Sugar regime, which apart from the ’91 Cup win, was pretty grim.
He was sad that Poch left, we should have pushed on with refreshing the squad with a couple of players at each TW, and that he should have been given to the end of the season.
He feels that Jose is a good PR man, very bright but a bit of a dinosaur.
He didn’t mince his words when it came to assessing our current players – he described Aurier as a calamity, and Sissoko is spending all his time guarding him; doesn’t think Tanguy can pass and has a weight and attitude problem; Sonny’s off the pace; Moura plays in fits and starts; Lamela is a good sub; Winks needs to move the ball forward; Jan & Toby are past their best; Lo Celso needs better players around him for us to get the best of him; feels sorry for Kane as he receives no service; Lloris has been our most effective player since the restart.
Other observations mentioned - we bought the wrong Fernandes; we haven’t properly replaced Walker and Rose; we need a minimum of 4 new players; shouldn’t have let Trippier go, as all the players who played in the World Cup struggled with their fitness; the players looking leggy after lockdown, no energy evident; most of the games have been pretty rubbish; VAR is ruining the game and turning people off; players missing the crowds.
Best player he played with was Ossie, because he made Glenn an even better player.
I asked about what he thought about the Amazon documentary, and he thought it was a definite no-no. Apparently, when Ossie wanted to speak to Poch about something, Poch took him into his car to get away from the cameras for some privacy, so they must be everywhere.
He spoke about how the players used to go out and socialise together as a group, this was suggested by Clem (who isn't very well at the moment) when he first came to the Club. Also, if there were any problems between players, this is where they sorted it out, so it was done and dusted by Monday morning. He feels that modern players don’t have the same passion for the game, they are spoiled rotten and too scared to give each other any verbals. Thought that Lloris having a go at Sonny was a good thing, as at least it shows he cares.
Someone asked about his ex-father-in-law, Morris Keston. The more mature supporters amongst us will know all about Morris, he was the ultimate supporter, travelling all over to see games. He used to host all the best parties, and after a NLD on New Year’s Day, he invited all the players to the Ritz Carlton casino (at that time, casinos were the only places open on New Year’s day).
He recalled his first away game, when he was paired up with Stevie (who is a snorer apparently!), his mum used to pack his case for him, and she had packed a suit, a blazer, smart trousers, three shirts, a silk nightgown and leather slippers – they called him David Niven after that. He admitted that he was a very tidy person, verging on OCD.
Although he was proud of his East End roots, he couldn’t wait to get away from it. He remembered some gaffes he made when he first started to go to posh restaurants – he didn’t know what whitebait was; he asked for steak tartare to be served medium; he didn’t want any Chateaubriand, because he didn’t want a drink.
When asked about the current board, it was put forward that Joe Lewis has nothing to do with the running of the Club, it’s all left to Levy. FFP will not allow huge spending, and it is likely that ENIC will sell the Club somewhere down the line, probably to an American concern.
He feels that the people planning to fly a plane over the stadium are just embarrassing us.
His best moments, apart from the trophy wins, were his debut at Highbury and his testimonial against Rangers.
He is good friends with Liam Brady, who detests Woolwich, didn't elaborate too much but something to do with him being asked to be an ambassador.
He came off Twitter as too many idiots on there and he took exception to someone who insulted Mickey and his family.
The best story was the one he told about Bobby Moore, which he takes great delight in repeating to Spammers. Maxie was first introduced to Bobby when he was 13, and as he had a large number of clubs wanting to sign him, Bobby suggested that he would be better off staying in London to stay close to family, so it was either us or the goons. At a much later date, Bobby told Maxie how much he wanted to come to us, as he would have loved to have played with Pat, Mike England and Jimmy. Unfortunately he wasn’t allowed the move, and Greenwood put a block on it, as terms couldn’t be agreed. Bobby despised Greenwood and he felt he was treated badly by the club. Bobby had a share in a couple of pubs in the East End - Mooreo's and Tipples - I saw him and Lampard Snr in there one night - can't remember which one was which, but one of them used to be the Salmon and Ball, on the corner near Bethnal Green station.
I love these dial ins, especially when the speakers show their love and commitment to our Club, and when they shoot from the hip.

Can’t wait for next week’s – maybe Robbo will manage to tie down Martin Jol.
Pretty much agree with all of that, although on the plane, the club have already embarrassed us and let the fans down due to most of the bold bits and charged a fortune. Wembley, new stadium delay and obvious lying etc.

Good to read that an ex-player shares so many views that a lot of the support do.

These are great, cheers Mrs P.
 
Bit harsh on Pleat maybe? I am pretty sure I have seen somewhere that he quickly realized he was wrong about Hoddle and Ossie. Also, the Luton team he put together was a very good one. Shame we didn't bring Ricky Hill in rather than Mitchell Thomas though.

No anti-aircraft guns on the new stadium apparently. I blame Levy.
 
Couldn't see a thread for Maxie, so here goes. Maxie was Robbo's latest guest to his Friday night dialin.
Maxie joined Spurs as a 12 year old and was the first player to go out on loan - to Norway. Great development experience as a player and as a person, and advocates it for most young players hoping to make it.
He got his chance in 1978 after we lost heavily against the Scousers and Woolwich, alongside a number of our young reserves (Falco, Hazard, Hughton, Galvin were mentioned).
His first taste of success was in the '81 Cup Final and winning in the style we did was as important as the victory. He felt that it was every kid's dream to play at Wembley and finds it sad that there isn't the same feeling for the FA Cup now.
The following season was a long one, as we were in the hunt for 4 trophies right to the end of the season, and we played 68 games (mentioned Mr P had played all of them!), the overwhelming feeling at winning the FA Cup in '82 was sheer relief. He along with Robbo and Galvin could only play in the final after having 4 or 5 injections. He said that around that time most players were fully fit probably only 10% of the time (think that was a little dig at some of the modern players and how spoilt they are now).
'84 UEFA Cup Final was for Maxie the most prestigious trophy that he won, because back then the European Cup was for champions only, so the teams contesting the UEFA Cup were strong opponents. He scored the goal in the 1st leg (away) and gave us a well deserved lead, a great header it turned out (he confessed that he was trying to headbutt the centre half who was marking him, but missed and headed the ball instead!). Unfortunately Tony Parks dropped a ricket for their equaliser and he got a right rollocking (not the words Maxie used on the night!). Funny how he turned out to be the hero for the second leg. No-one really gave us a chance for that game as we were missing Hod, Clem and Ossie, albeit he came on for the last 10 minutes, and Mr P was suspended, so winning it was a huge achievement.
He got on OK with Burkinshaw, thought he was a straightforward, honest guy, loyal (sometimes too loyal) and developed a great team spirit, which is still evident today as a lot of the players from that side are still in contact, playing golf regularly. Maxie touched on the reason that The General left was because Scholar wanted to bring in players that he liked and Keith was supposed to just coach them. Maxie acknowledged that Scholar was a Spurs supporter, very knowledgeable, but a w***er and so up his own a*** (his words, not mine). Bad decision to get rid of Keith and put in Peter Shreeves, thought he was a very good no 2.
When Pleat was appointed, Maxie likened it to a guy going from running a corner shop to managing Harrods, his opinion was that we were too big for him. He alienated most of the senior players who were at their prime. Robbo was equally scathing of his man-management skills, as he couldn’t cope with anyone who was a bit of a character or had an opinion. He upset Glenn and Ossie, got rid of Chrissie and bought in Mitchell Thomas, and generally broke up the side. He also dismantled the youth/reserve sides by selling most of them to Norwich. What made me smile is that Maxie let slip that Falco’s wife worked at the police station Pleat was taken to after his kerb crawling charge – bet they all had a laugh about that!
Robbo and Maxie obviously loved playing together, and had a great understanding from the off, with a mutual respect for each other’s talents. Both hard as nails and gave everything on the pitch.
Maxie then transferred to Charlton, played in the very first play offs and finished his career there, at 32. He got into corporate finance in the City, as he didn’t want to continue in football.
His and Robbo’s feelings about how our Club has gone about its business is so like ours. He feels that the rot started back with Scholar, as he bought in Pleat and nearly bankrupted the Club, leading to the Sugar regime, which apart from the ’91 Cup win, was pretty grim.
He was sad that Poch left, we should have pushed on with refreshing the squad with a couple of players at each TW, and that he should have been given to the end of the season.
He feels that Jose is a good PR man, very bright but a bit of a dinosaur.
He didn’t mince his words when it came to assessing our current players – he described Aurier as a calamity, and Sissoko is spending all his time guarding him; doesn’t think Tanguy can pass and has a weight and attitude problem; Sonny’s off the pace; Moura plays in fits and starts; Lamela is a good sub; Winks needs to move the ball forward; Jan & Toby are past their best; Lo Celso needs better players around him for us to get the best of him; feels sorry for Kane as he receives no service; Lloris has been our most effective player since the restart.
Other observations mentioned - we bought the wrong Fernandes; we haven’t properly replaced Walker and Rose; we need a minimum of 4 new players; shouldn’t have let Trippier go, as all the players who played in the World Cup struggled with their fitness; the players looking leggy after lockdown, no energy evident; most of the games have been pretty rubbish; VAR is ruining the game and turning people off; players missing the crowds.
Best player he played with was Ossie, because he made Glenn an even better player.
I asked about what he thought about the Amazon documentary, and he thought it was a definite no-no. Apparently, when Ossie wanted to speak to Poch about something, Poch took him into his car to get away from the cameras for some privacy, so they must be everywhere.
He spoke about how the players used to go out and socialise together as a group, this was suggested by Clem (who isn't very well at the moment) when he first came to the Club. Also, if there were any problems between players, this is where they sorted it out, so it was done and dusted by Monday morning. He feels that modern players don’t have the same passion for the game, they are spoiled rotten and too scared to give each other any verbals. Thought that Lloris having a go at Sonny was a good thing, as at least it shows he cares.
Someone asked about his ex-father-in-law, Morris Keston. The more mature supporters amongst us will know all about Morris, he was the ultimate supporter, travelling all over to see games. He used to host all the best parties, and after a NLD on New Year’s Day, he invited all the players to the Ritz Carlton casino (at that time, casinos were the only places open on New Year’s day).
He recalled his first away game, when he was paired up with Stevie (who is a snorer apparently!), his mum used to pack his case for him, and she had packed a suit, a blazer, smart trousers, three shirts, a silk nightgown and leather slippers – they called him David Niven after that. He admitted that he was a very tidy person, verging on OCD.
Although he was proud of his East End roots, he couldn’t wait to get away from it. He remembered some gaffes he made when he first started to go to posh restaurants – he didn’t know what whitebait was; he asked for steak tartare to be served medium; he didn’t want any Chateaubriand, because he didn’t want a drink.
When asked about the current board, it was put forward that Joe Lewis has nothing to do with the running of the Club, it’s all left to Levy. FFP will not allow huge spending, and it is likely that ENIC will sell the Club somewhere down the line, probably to an American concern.
He feels that the people planning to fly a plane over the stadium are just embarrassing us.
His best moments, apart from the trophy wins, were his debut at Highbury and his testimonial against Rangers.
He is good friends with Liam Brady, who detests Woolwich, didn't elaborate too much but something to do with him being asked to be an ambassador.
He came off Twitter as too many idiots on there and he took exception to someone who insulted Mickey and his family.
The best story was the one he told about Bobby Moore, which he takes great delight in repeating to Spammers. Maxie was first introduced to Bobby when he was 13, and as he had a large number of clubs wanting to sign him, Bobby suggested that he would be better off staying in London to stay close to family, so it was either us or the goons. At a much later date, Bobby told Maxie how much he wanted to come to us, as he would have loved to have played with Pat, Mike England and Jimmy. Unfortunately he wasn’t allowed the move, and Greenwood put a block on it, as terms couldn’t be agreed. Bobby despised Greenwood and he felt he was treated badly by the club. Bobby had a share in a couple of pubs in the East End - Mooreo's and Tipples - I saw him and Lampard Snr in there one night - can't remember which one was which, but one of them used to be the Salmon and Ball, on the corner near Bethnal Green station.
I love these dial ins, especially when the speakers show their love and commitment to our Club, and when they shoot from the hip.

Can’t wait for next week’s – maybe Robbo will manage to tie down Martin Jol.
Wonderful stuff Mrs P.
Thanks and keep them coming.
 
Bit harsh on Pleat maybe? I am pretty sure I have seen somewhere that he quickly realized he was wrong about Hoddle and Ossie. Also, the Luton team he put together was a very good one. Shame we didn't bring Ricky Hill in rather than Mitchell Thomas though.

No anti-aircraft guns on the new stadium apparently. I blame Levy.
I was taken aback by the animosity towards Pleat, TBH, as some of the football we played in '87 was pretty spectacular, but like now, we couldn't take the final step with regards to actually bagging a trophy. Suppose both Maxie and Robbo had an axe to grind, especially Robbo after the remark that he could go and kick a few up in Scotland. My beef with Pleat was the shame he brought to the Club with his kerb crawling antics.
 
Pretty much agree with all of that, although on the plane, the club have already embarrassed us and let the fans down due to most of the bold bits and charged a fortune. Wembley, new stadium delay and obvious lying etc.

Good to read that an ex-player shares so many views that a lot of the support do.

These are great, cheers Mrs P.
I suppose that they can't really come out and criticise the current regime too much, as they both still take part in hosting duties.
 
That’s by far the most I have ever read in a post on here!
If it’s longer than 3 sentences l don’t bother lol

Thank you!
I'm much the same, especially if it's about tactics :harrysmile:

I try to keep it as brief as possible, but it's a two hour long call, so have to go on a bit. As long as people enjoy reading them, I'll carry on. It's a bit of a chore as, considering I'm a PA, my typing is not that quick or accurate
:levywhoa:

Next week is Matt Le Tissier, think I'll dial in, as always thought he was our type of player.
 
I'm much the same, especially if it's about tactics :harrysmile:

I try to keep it as brief as possible, but it's a two hour long call, so have to go on a bit. As long as people enjoy reading them, I'll carry on. It's a bit of a chore as, considering I'm a PA, my typing is not that quick or accurate
:levywhoa:

Next week is Matt Le Tissier, think I'll dial in, as always thought he was our type of player.

Please keep 'em coming Mrs P.... Your reports have been a lockdown highlight and your no-fluff style makes for a great read.

Your efforts are thoroughly appreciated.:freundgoal:
 
I was taken aback by the animosity towards Pleat, TBH, as some of the football we played in '87 was pretty spectacular, but like now, we couldn't take the final step with regards to actually bagging a trophy. Suppose both Maxie and Robbo had an axe to grind, especially Robbo after the remark that he could go and kick a few up in Scotland. My beef with Pleat was the shame he brought to the Club with his kerb crawling antics.
In that 1987 season Gough and Mabbutt were there on merit. I would not put that on Pleat, any manager would have done the same.
 
Scholar wanted to bring in players that he liked and Keith was supposed to just coach them. Maxie acknowledged that Scholar was a Spurs supporter, very knowledgeable, but a w***er and so up his own a***

sounds familiar :levyeyes:
 
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