Lee Frederick
Honest, original, revealing and a good read were some of the words used to describe Sol Campbell’s recent bio. Whether you love or hate him, find his views and life-journey interesting or self-serving and delusional, for those who read it dispassionately they would have gained a greater insight to the true motives behind decisions he made during his career. It was an opportunity to better assess the personality and character of a player who has historically polarised opinion and this was, probably, made possible by the unorthodox choice of a novelist as author.
For me, Stuck in a moment…, is in another league in terms of both the football and human story. Stewart Taylor leaves very few stones unturned in telling Paul Vaessen’s all too common tale of the sporting dream that comes true before turning into the ultimate living nightmare when disappointment comes knocking.
The author goes more than the “extra mile” in chronicling one of the most balanced, without judgement, accounts you’re ever likely to get of a footballer whether past or present. Warts and all! There are numerous extracts from the local and national press together with contributions from family, friends, team-mates and club officials, the ladies in his life and the relative strangers he would spend his time with in his final years.
Was he over-indulged and spoilt as a youngster to the degree that he was ill-equipped to deal with loneliness and rejection? Was he afforded too much freedom by the Club? Was there a void deep within that was filled while playing for Arsenal and only surfaced with the untimely end of his career? Was the adulation of Arsenal fans the ultimate high he could never replicate or replace? Could Arsenal have done more? The usual debatable questions.
Vas’ parents, brother, neighbours, close friends and the two mothers of his children provide a detailed description of the footballer’s true nature. Don Howe, Terry Neill, Kenny Sansom, Brian McDermott and Raphael Meade reflect on what he was like to work with and there are also valuable inclusions from the likes of Gordon Taylor, Pat Rice, Liam Brady, Gary Lewin, Terry Burton, Fred Street, Pat Jennings, John Devine, Brian Talbot, Alan Sunderland, Frank Stapleton, Sammy Nelson, John Hollins, Steve Walford and Dermot Drummy.
As someone who would know more of Vaessen’s predicament than most, Tony Adams’ foreword gets the book off to a flyer with the candid admission that, as his own drinking problems worsened, he saw the hero of Turin as “a druggy and a no-hoper” but when in recovery was able to “identify with Vas’ problems, thoughts and feelings”.
The three distinctive parts of "Stuck..." are Vas’ early life and rapid rise to short-lived fame, his battle with injury (and Arsenal fans) and the subsequent descent into depression and addiction. Tom Watt helpfully provides an analysis on events that would leave the striker feeling intense bitterness toward Arsenal fans for many years after his forced retirement.
Far from portraying Vas as a victim the book provides examples of (and commentary by) other promising stars who, when faced with a premature end to their football-playing careers, accepted their altered circumstances and either used the experience to serve others or to change course with regards to their life goals. There also the inevitable references to Gascoigne, Best, Greaves, Merson, Tommy Caton, etc.
A commonly held view is that, as individuals, the way we see ourselves is, often, not how others see us and for this reason the long list of contributors provide a collage of the South Londoner's story that is likely to be at least as accurate as Vas' own account would have been in his most lucid moments. Definitely a riveting and absorbing read.
Stuck in a Moment: The Ballard of Paul Vaessen by Stewart Taylor – rrp £18.99 hardback published by GCR Books - ISBN 978 1 9090500 6 8
Ed’s note – another review of the book published by Gooner contributor Brian Dawes can also be read online here.
The next issue of The Gooner, available on Sunday outside Wembley at the Community Shield game, features an interview with author Stewart Taylor about the book.
Additionally, this Friday sees AISA and GCR Books hold an event at the stadium to mark the anniversary of Paul’s death, which will feature a Q&A with Paul’s former team-mates Brian Talbot, Graham Rix and Steve Walford. Copies of the book will be available on the night for £12. If you would like to attend email [email protected]
