Gaffers by Trevor Keane Read Free Book Online

Bowl, which was the equivalent of the FA Cup in America, and Noel and I flew to New York to meet Dennis, who had to drive from Boston with his wife Helen. Alan Ball was playing for the Whitecaps, and his father, Alan Ball senior, had come over. I had actually been Alan Ball senior’s chairman at Halifax, so we all knew each other well. We had a cracking night catching up, and in the morning Dennis and Helen wanted to head back to see their kids. Dennis had agreed to drive us back, but we were to meet for breakfast first. I eventually got up but left Noel in bed. I only had a cup of tea, as I did not want to delay them any further, but there was still no sign of Noel. An hour passed and still nothing. He eventually turned up, by which stage Helen was exasperated. She wanted to go, but Noel said we might as well have some lunch. So, we had our lunch, and then Dennis went and got the car. We got 100 yards before being stopped at a light. Noel and I were in the back, and Noel says to me, “Should we go back and stay the night with Bally?” I said we’d better head home. The light turned green, we moved another 100 yards and hit another traffic light. Noel said the same thing again. Finally, by the third set of lights, he said to Dennis, “Stop the car. We’re staying.” We left our bags and everything. But the way he went about it, it was so hard to be annoyed with him. He was a great friend, and I miss him dearly, even now.’
    Kevin Keelan was Noel’s first signing for the New England Tea Men and he has a huge amount of respect for his old manager and friend: ‘Noel was an old friend of John Bond’s, and he came to Norwich to talk to me. I had been at Norwich for seventeen years at that stage, and I was due a testimonial. John told me that Noel wanted to sign me for the Tea Men, so I met with Noel and had a chat with him about the League and what he wanted from the team and from me. By the end of it I had committed myself to them for three years, but I also decided to stay on with Norwich. I played in the NASL for three years, during which time I commuted from the USA to England. I played football for twelve months a year. They were hard times but good times.
    ‘One time, I finished the season with New England, got on a plane on the Thursday and arrived in England to play for Norwich against Everton on the Saturday. We won the game 3–1, but at the end of it I was on my knees.
    ‘Before I went to the Tea Men, I had a call from George Best, who wanted me to come out to the LA Aztecs, but I decided I was better off where I was at the time. Then Noel came in and made me an offer. I remember we played the Aztecs when I got over there, and after the game we were in a bar having a chat when a young lad came over to me and said that Mr Cantwell wanted to talk to me in the back bar. I headed in there and there was Noel and Besty having a good chat. George was saying how he had tried to sign me, while Noel was saying how good I was. It made for good listening, but I think that if I had gone to the Aztecs, I wouldn’t have got the extra few years out of my career.
    ‘There was a lot of travelling in the NASL. It was not like with Norwich, where the furthest you went was the north-east of England. In the States we played in Detroit, LA, Portland and San José. We’d be on road trips for a week at a time. It was tough, but it was great fun. I saw places I’d never seen before. The League was an exciting thing to be a part of. There were some top players from England and elsewhere playing at that time.
    ‘He was a great man, though. He enjoyed a good rapport with the players, and the training was exactly the same as it was in England, so it was of a good standard. He worked great with Dennis Viollet. They really bounced off each other and had a good relationship. Like all managers, however, you didn’t want to go near him if the team lost. He hated to lose. That said, you could have a chat with him about the game over a