Stuck in a Moment:
The Ballard of Paul Vaessen
Author: Stewart
Taylor
With a Forward by Tony Adams, a Preface by Gordon Taylor and
contributions from Ken Friar, Terry Neill, Sammy Nelson, Fred Street, Liam
Brady, Kenny Sansom, Brian Talbot, John Divine and many others.
Arsenal fans of a certain age will be familiar with the name
because the then 18 year-old Paul Vaessen scored a very famous goal for the
Arsenal. It was in Turin on 23rd April 1980 against Juventus with
seconds remaining in the second leg the European Cup-Winners' Cup semi-final. At that time Juventus
had never been beaten at home by a British Club and were intent on reaching the
final with a goalless draw thanks to their away goal in a score draw at
Highbury. The enormity of Paul's fine headed goal was to have lasting repercussions. Nothing was ever again to provide Paul Vaessen with the buzz to match
that brief experience as a goal-scoring substitute. This was essentially his 15
minutes of fame because his short career in his beloved football was to be
cruelly curtailed.
Although the long-term build up to this goal from street
kick-abouts to professional footballer is well dealt with here thanks to some assiduous
research this volume is way more than just a football tale. It is an important account
of addiction which ruined more than one life and seriously effected many
others. It is a tale of how one young top quality footballer did not anticipate
and could not begin to cope with life without football. Paul’s career at
Arsenal was very brief due to unfortunate circumstances and ended even sooner
than most due to serious knee injury. His connections with the wrong kind of
people and a drug habits that surfaced in his early teens accelerated this particular
decline and fall saga. Make no mistake, this is certainly no happily ever after
fairy tale ending type book, but rather a heart-breaking and tragic story.
What makes this particular title special is the caring way in which
Stewart Taylor has been able to get so close to the truth of Paul’s addiction
by earning the confidence of Vaessen’s close family, especially his mum, dad
and brother and then relaying their take on Paul’s decline with honesty and
sensitivity. Early friends, girl-friends and work colleagues have also contributed
to the warts and all commentary. While well-known fellow players, coaches and management
staff, including many from his time with Arsenal, have contributed quite freely.
The tale which unfolds is not a pretty one because it exposes character flaws
which couldn’t be overcome. It has an almost inevitably sad ending and confirms
Paul’s own predictions to those close to him that he’d never live to be 40. He
didn’t, he died aged 39 and the painful description of his accelerated demise is
a sorrowful read, but essential in the understanding of Paul’s decline and
battle to survive.
Hopefully because this well written work helps to confirm
through the experiences of others that more needs to be done for the many young
players who'll fail to make the grade, others will take up that baton and act
upon it.
The general impression given is that Football Clubs are
certainly far more aware of the psychological effects on the dismissal of young
players than they were in the early 80’s, but this doesn’t really mean they’re necessarily
doing enough today to combat the problems for such players. If this tragedy of
one specific individual helps to enlighten the footballing community it can
only be a good thing and makes this a book of real importance worthy of widespread
reading within the industry.
Although Tony Adams book ‘Addicted’ was a real eye opener, this
title manages to convey a far sadder story with meaningful sensitivity.
Stuck in a Moment:
The Ballard of Paul Vaessen by
Stewart Taylor £18.99
Hardback published by GCR Books - ISBN 978 1 9090500 6 8
Official Publication date is 8th August 2014, although
it is on general release as at the beginning of June. Available through any decent
bookshop or your favourite on-line bookseller. Or for the best deal I’ve found
it is available here for £13.99.
Book review by Brian Dawes @Gooner48
No comments:
Post a Comment