MY DEAR WATSON

TITLE          My Dear Watson
AUTHOR         Penny Watson
PUBLISHER      Arthur Baker Ltd.
ADDRESS        91 Clapham High Street,
               London SW4 7TA,
               UK.
DATE	       1981
ISBN NUMBER    0 213 16814 6
PRICE          Lent!

Thanks go to David Butler for lending me what must be a fairly obscure book, both in terms of its rarity and its authorship. The book is a biography of Dave Watson, the defensive rock on whom City's mid-70's success was built, but written by - and from the unusual perspective of - the player's wife. The book is 137 pages long with 16 black and white photos, about half of which fall into the 'friends and family' category. It originally cost £5.95, and would probably cost around that today, though I've never come across a secondhand copy.

The format of the book is a basic chronological biography, but commencing from around the point when the couple first met. Watson was just starting his football career, somewhat belatedly, after false starts as a farm labourer, an electrician, and latterly one of 'Maggie's Millions', but pre-Maggie as it were! He was the youngest of five brothers, all of whom had connections in one form or another with football. One of them arranged a trial with Notts County, where he quickly made an impression, soon being snapped up by Tommy Docherty for Rotherham. Here he began to make real progress, so much so that he was attracting attention from the big clubs, which led to 'The Doc' slapping a rather inflated £90,000 price tag on him. This quickly backfired though, when The Doc moved to QPR, wanted to buy Watson, but couldn't due to the asking price - couldn't have happened to a nicer man!

It's here that we get a flavour of how press speculation can upset a player and lead to unrest - or even transfer requests - when otherwise none would have been made. All the press hype led to Watson putting in a transfer request, 'to fulfil his potential', only to find that the speculation was largely tabloid generated. Consequently, he had to suffer the indignity of withdrawing his request when no prospective purchasers were forthcoming. However, the naturally shy and introverted Watson, who would have stagnated at Rotherham, was pushed onwards and upwards by his wife, who persuaded him to put in another transfer request. He eventually ended up moving to Sunderland for £100,000.

Roker Park clearly had a 'big club' atmosphere at that time, which was immediately brought home to Penny Watson on her first match day, when it became clear that the players' wives were mainly there to score points off each other in the sartorial stakes. There was also a big change for Dave Watson on the pitch, with tours to Australia (including laid-on groupies!) and a Cup run which culminated in the much celebrated victory over Leeds United. However, although Watson's life on the pitch went from strength to strength, off the pitch things took a turn for the worse. Penny Watson evidently incurred the wrath of one of the other players' wives and was virtually ostracised by the ruling clique. Although she claims never to have got to the bottom of it, it's alarming to think that your best player can be unsettled by the off-field antics of the other players' wives! Amazingly, the situation became so serious that she ended up seeking medical help for depression, and although Watson didn't leave that season, it undoubtedly played a significant rôle in his final decision. After being let down by the club in a business venture, he put in a transfer request and made his move to Manchester, where he joined his best friends, Dennis and Joan Tueart. City paid £275,000, which was a great deal of money, but extremely well spent.

Watson was a real collosus at Maine Road, towering at the back, and capable of scoring at the other end - after all, he did start out as a centre forward. Certainly one of the most memorable goals I've ever seen was scored in the dying minutes of a game against a high-flying Ipswich team in the mid-70's. Watson soared into the air and crashed a header towards the North Stand which almost burst the net - sheer raw power. It was certainly news to me to read that Watson suffered severe and prolonged back pain at Maine Road. He ended up having an operation which cost him his England place. Astoundingly, even when fully recovered and turning in star performance after star performance for the Blues, he failed to regain his England place. Any of you who experienced the idiosyncratic team selections of Don Revie will be mightily unsurprised by the dropping of a man who would go on to hold the record for consecutive England appearances (33). Just how many would he have had if it weren't for the reviled Mr Revie? When finally selected, Watson was apparently still so upset at his treatment that he was determined not to play, only being talked round at the last minute by his wife and Tony Book.

The authoress and Watson himself talk affectionately about his time at Maine Road. Watson calls Swales: 'The best chairman in football' and states that his MCFC years were the best of his life. He did eventually ask for a transfer in the hope that a move to the continent would help to secure his future, financially. For once, City did the right thing and offered him a lucrative contract to end his days at Maine Road. However, things took a turn for the worse with the return of Macolm Allison. Watson's wife gives us a taste of life at Maine Road during those turbulent months, telling us of Watson's despair at having to endure another dire day's training with Allison, and watching in disbelief as stars were sold for a pittance and replaced by expensive unknowns. Watson was so miserable at this turn of events that he put in a transfer request which resulted in a disastrous stay at Werder Bremen. He was finally rescued by Lawrie McMenemy and brought to Southampton, where the book catches up with real time.

I wasn't particular looking forward to reading this book as I'd essentially prejudged it as being a dull, 'me too' sporting biography. However, the different perspective is something new, and we do get to see a side of football that is rarely discussed, namely, the effect the game has on family; the fading friendships due to continual moving; and the tiresome traveling. All in all, a valuable insight.