Howard Gayle

[smithdown]

Extract from his book

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/03/howard-gayle-being-liverpool-first-black-player-was-difficult?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[The Hitman]

Doesn't come across very well in many accounts,Smith.

[miceal]

It's an interesting read, that extract from Howard Gayle's book. Met Tommy Smith a few times when I worked at the Echo many years ago. a***. 

[Kvarme Ate My Food]

Doesn't come across very well in many accounts,Smith.

I totally misread this comment at first.

Thought you were telling Smith(down) that Gayle doesn't come across well.

 

Tommy Smith is obviously a legendary player but he's a bully and a d****ead too.

[charlie clown]

I totally misread this comment at first.

Thought you were telling Smith(down) that Gayle doesn't come across well.

 

Tommy Smith is obviously a legendary player but he's a bully and a d****ead too.

 

I read that in exactly the same way first time round too.

[dorgie]

Must've been a terribly tough time for Howard Gayle, but it was endemic in society at that time as has been discussed here numerous times previously. Keegan and Hughes hated Smith too, as I'm sure many others did.

 

Not sure I see anything in the 'Digger' Barnes nickname though, other than Dallas was massive at that time. I think if we'd signed Peter Barnes instead, he'd have been called Digger.

Edited October 3, 2016 by dorgie

[Billy Dane]

That plus his initials are JCB

[downunder]

When did Gayle join us? He said Shanks told him to do something.

 

What Gayle went through was probably the same throughout the workplace then, it wasn't right, but I doubt we were any worse than anywhere else.

[Cobs]

I remember a story from the early 80s, Daley Thompson was training at Melwood and lined up to have a sprint race with Gayle. Grobelaar was the starter, he went 'On your marks, set, pick up your lips...' to which Thompson fell about laughing and Gayle (less surprisingly) went mental

 

lot of it about in them days...

[dorgie]

I remember a story from the early 80s, Daley Thompson was training at Melwood and lined up to have a sprint race with Gayle. Grobelaar was the starter, he went 'On your marks, set, pick up your lips...' to which Thompson fell about laughing and Gayle (less surprisingly) went mental

 

lot of it about in them days...

 

One only needs to look at clips of Love thy neighbour, Til death us do part, and to a lesser extent Rising Damp to see how 'everyday' it was at that time.

[muleskinner]

I remember a story from the early 80s, Daley Thompson was training at Melwood and lined up to have a sprint race with Gayle. Grobelaar was the starter, he went 'On your marks, set, pick up your lips...' to which Thompson fell about laughing and Gayle (less surprisingly) went mental

 

lot of it about in them days...

Read Out of His Skin by Dave Hill for further examples of what Gayle is talking about.

[Jarg Armani]

Must've been a terribly tough time for Howard Gayle, but it was endemic in society at that time as has been discussed here numerous times previously. Keegan and Hughes hated Smith too, as I'm sure many others did.

 

Not sure I see anything in the 'Digger' Barnes nickname though, other than Dallas was massive at that time. I think if we'd signed Peter Barnes instead, he'd have been called Digger.

 

I've never been keen on that nickname for the same reason Gayle says.

[dorgie]

I've never been keen on that nickname for the same reason Gayle says.

 

I can honestly say I never made that connection until I read that extract today.

[Cobs]

I can honestly say I never made that connection until I read that extract today.

 

same

 

always thought it was the JCB thing anyway

[Drexl]

I've never been keen on that nickname for the same reason Gayle says.

I agree with you. Did Barnes ever say anything?

[smithdown]

Must've been a terribly tough time for Howard Gayle, but it was endemic in society at that time as has been discussed here numerous times previously. Keegan and Hughes hated Smith too, as I'm sure many others did.

 

Not sure I see anything in the 'Digger' Barnes nickname though, other than Dallas was massive at that time. I think if we'd signed Peter Barnes instead, he'd have been called Digger.

 

There was around that time also a shout that went "digger, digger, digger, shoot that n...", but I don't now if that had died out before Barnes anyway. On a side note I remember someone trying to get a song about Grobbelaar going - "Bruce shot n..s in Zimbabwe doo dah doo dah".

 

Gayle does well there though when talking about Scotty and Noggsy. He's spot on.

[fred milne]

There was around that time also a shout that went "digger, digger, digger, shoot that n...", but I don't now if that had died out before Barnes anyway.

That was trigger rather than digger.

[smithdown]

That was trigger rather than digger.

 

I deffo heard digger

[RP]

Digger/N***** has never even occurred to me.

 

Nor has JCB.

 

 

The nickname came about because of Digger Barnes in Dallas.

[Case]

Yep

[Senrab_nhoj]

Digger/N***** has never even occurred to me.

 

Nor has JCB.

 

 

The nickname came about because of Digger Barnes in Dallas.

 

 

This....

[Hus]

I can honestly say I never made that connection until I read that extract today.

 

Same here

[David Hodgson]

I've never been keen on that nickname for the same reason Gayle says.

Yep. I hated that Digger crap. I've felt this for years. I'm glad Gayle has said this. He knew what word was in the head of so many white lads when they saw a black man, back then. 

[smithdown]

He didn't need a nickname anyway. Saying John Barnes and singing Johnny Barnes was boss. Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes. It was boss.

[scoose]

There was around that time also a shout that went "digger, digger, digger, shoot that n...", but I don't now if that had died out before Barnes anyway. On a side note I remember someone trying to get a song about Grobbelaar going - "Bruce shot n..s in Zimbabwe doo dah doo dah".

 

Gayle does well there though when talking about Scotty and Noggsy. He's spot on.

 

Nogsy defo used to be very white when growing up there. There were around 200 lads in our year in school (give or take 1 or 2) and only one lad was black.