Tim Sansom reviews John Wark's new autobiography.

On the way to a recent Town game, I had to explain one of my most favourite TV game shows to a few friends. I struggled to explain the point of Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right and rattled off the various catchphrases in a very dodgy Forsyth accent. My friends looked blank and I suddenly realised that they just believe that Bruce Forsyth, the ‘legend' of light entertainment, has only ever presented Strictly Come Dancing.

I wondered whether you can gauge the age of a person by the programme that they most associated with Bruce Forsyth. My parents will warble on about Sunday Night at the London Palladium and the Generation Game the 1970s. I will wax lyrical about Play Your Cards Right, the Generation Game of the 1990s, and the youth of today will talk about Strictly.

In some ways, you can play the same game with Town fans when talking about John Wark. The word ‘legend' is overused in football speak, but Wark can be accurately described as an Ipswich Town Football Club legend. His memories of an eventful playing career coupled with recollections of his time at Liverpool and for the Scottish national team make for an interesting and thought-provoking autobiography.

For someone who provoked Steven Gerrard to garble ‘Oh my god! and provide a bottle of champagne for his table at a recent PFA Awards dinner, you could possibly believe that Wark On will be nothing more than a list of stats and figures from an illustrious playing career. It soon becomes clear in the early pages that John Wark will provide a brutally honest account of himself and this book is a refreshing read.

For the fans who believe that the very best footballers were born with the greatest skills, the first chapters of this book debunk that myth. His childhood years are told, without the syrupy gush that pollutes today's reality shows.

We follow Wark through his early years as he makes his first trip to Ibrox to catch his beloved Rangers in action. Wark pays tribute to his brother and sister for steering him towards his dream as a professional footballer, which reaches a new level when he signs apprentice terms at Ipswich Town.

In this current world of alleged instant success for young footballers, Wark's early years at Ipswich Town are marked by slow progress towards his first team debut, then securing a regular place in the senior squad. It is important to read about a period of Town's history, which seems to be often (and perhaps understandably) overshadowed by the later FA and UEFA Cup victories. It must not be forgotten that the 1974/75 season could have ended in the league championship title coming to Portman Road.

Wark talks about his career taking "off in a big way” during the 1976/77 season and we get a player's perspective about the 1978 FA Cup final, as well as Wark's startling 36-goal contribution during the 1980/81 campaign.

The pride in these achievements is complimented by some interesting background information about squad pranks, various drinking games and a trip to the Phantasialand theme park before the UEFA Cup semi-final second leg showdown against Cologne in 1981. All of these stories give a more rounded picture of the Town players instead of the impression that Wark, Mariner, Cooper et al were just football automatons.

After Bobby Robson leaves to become England manager in 1982, Wark documents the decline of a great team. It is a painful read and difficult to grasp for someone who was only three in 1983 and had more interest about the goings on in Pigeon Street than Portman Road. Wark leaves for Anfield in 1984 and plays for Liverpool during the Joe Fagan years, as well as at the start of the Dalglish era.

It is a mixed era for Wark with prolific goalscoring and an appearance in the 1985 European Cup final contrasting with a drink-driving ban and a snapped achilles tendon ruling him out for the majority of the 1985/86 season. The Liverpool years dribble away with a return to Ipswich in January 1988 for a period that is punctuated with a spell at Middlesbrough.

The Ipswich Town Football Club which Wark discovers on his return, is mightily different from the outfit he left in 1984. This period starts to ring some bells in my mind, including Wark's defensive partnership with David Linighan and the John Duncan years.

After a seemingly stormy period in the North East of England, Wark returns to play a key part in Town's promotion push in 1992 and the latter chapters talk about the Premiership years of the early 90s.

There is also some comment on Wark's time with Scotland and the 1982 World Cup. Like so many events, Wark is able to offer a fresh perspective about matches and tournaments that have not always been given even exposure.

This book can work for a Town fan on a variety of levels. You can read this account to provoke a few happy memories of past games and past players. After all, it is difficult to think of a Town legend that is not name checked in this book.

However, to view this book as just another piece of Ipswich Town nostalgia would do this book is a disservice. This is a valuable story about a player who has been a true servant to Town and walked into many Town fans' hearts however old they were.

Photo: Action Images

tallguy6767 added 10:42 - Dec 19 HE`S HERE HE`S THERE HE`S EVERY F**KIN WHERE JOHNNY WARK!!! LEGE!!
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