Books

Ex-Gunner turned Villain

Author: Paul Merson with Ian Ridley
Title: Hero and Villain
Subtitle: A harrowing story of relapse and rehabilitation
Publisher: Collins Willow, 2000
Price: £6.99

In a nutshell: Merson moves from Boro to Villa and tries to shake his drinking and gambling demons while keeping his career and marriage on course. Paul's wife Lorraine is fed up of his self-confessed hopelessness at resisting anything but temptation. He's not spending enough time with his kids and stays for long periods at the Belfry Hotel near the Villa training ground. The rest of the family live in St. Albans. The marriage slides into inevitable oblivion when Merse is forced to admit to several drink and gambling-related misdemeanors. The book ends with Paul still at Villa having played his part in a pathetic Wrexham-style surrender to Chelsea in the last ever Wembley Cup Final.

Strengths: I have always had a soft spot for Merson, ever since our victory over Arsenal when I thought he was man of the match and it's always good to read about these flawed characters. The book is easy to read and gives a good insight into the atmos at Villa Park under John Gregory. Paul enjoys
several brushes with the England squad which seemed at that time to be drifting helplessly under Keegan. Amusing stuff there. It also features some interesting local references to some of my local watering holes in Birmingham, and a funny comment about Paul's 'mate' Gazza drinking Red Bulls to stay off booze and going with Jimmy Five Bellies to the bingo to stay off everything else.

Weaknesses: It never really hits the spot. Merse gains sympathy when you realise that he doesn't really want to be away from home and you find yourself admiring him for going to AA meetings and resisting his vices. He even gets into a tragically unconsummated honey trap in a club and pays a heavy price for it later. However he loses a great deal of credit for making off to Florida with his mate without telling anyone, not turning up for training and encouraging others to put bets on for him so the papers don't find out. The stuff he bets on is just plain stupid - snooker and a game of American Football in which he can't remember the teams involved and follows the game by looking at a diagram of field positions on the internet.

General Verdict: Well worth the cover price but the ghost-writer could have injected a bit more incident, and written a more accurate subtitle. There wasn't much relapse, even less rehabilitation and I can honestly say that I have been more 'harrowed' by Denis Smith's programme notes. There again, haven't we all!

Tim Lawrence