'It's a mess' - Tony Cottee's verdict on former club Everton
We meet Tony Cottee, who speaks on his new charity venture, his football career, players to watch this season. Plus he gives his verdict on former club Everton.
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00:00So, Tony, just tell us a bit about the charity that you've become an ambassador for, obviously,
00:06you know, quite an interesting one with the motor neurone disease.
00:10Yeah, nice to meet you, Charles. It's called Challenging MND, obviously motor neurone disease.
00:20It's a disease that I've been aware of for quite a long time and I think, you know, a
00:24lot of people sort of know about it, but it's just something that sort of I felt that I
00:31could maybe contribute towards, you know, I've got a friend of mine, a guy called Steve
00:35Redgewell, who's a big West Ham fan, and he sort of said, like, you know, do you want
00:39to sit down, have a little chat, see if there's something you can help out with? And I thought,
00:43yeah, and then I had a chat, met Alex Gibson, the founder, and, you know, we got on really
00:48well, and Liana as well, who's the CEO, and, yeah, we had a lovely chat, a nice cup of
00:55tea over in Brentwood, and, yeah, we felt it was something that, you know, I could perhaps
00:59be involved in and put my name to, and, you know, I mean, obviously, I can't work miracles,
01:04I know that, but I think it's just nice sometimes just to, you know, with the awareness and
01:09just, you know, doing some fundraising events and, you know, for me, giving my time and
01:14turning up, and there's a ball on November the 23rd, as an example, and I'm going to
01:20use my skills as an auctioneer to try and fleece everyone out as much money as possible
01:24to go towards the charity and obviously make as much difference as we can, but I think
01:29I was particularly sort of drawn to Rob Burrow, really, and Kevin Sinfield, and, you know,
01:37the two rugby boys and their relationship they had, and to watch what happened over
01:41the course of the two years, and, you know, that sort of bond they had together and that,
01:45and I think that sort of struck a chord in me. I know it's rugby, but, you know, with
01:49football as well, you know, it could happen to anyone, and, you know, it's not a nice
01:54disease, and it's just, if I can help in any small way, Charles, you know, I'll do my best
01:57to do that, and it's, you know, it's great to be an honorary patron.
02:01Well, you've answered a few of my questions in one there, mate. In terms of your career
02:07highlights, I mean, you seem to be a bit of a cult hero wherever you went. Obviously,
02:11you know, you are before my generation. I've done my bit of...
02:13You're too young to remember me, Charles.
02:15Yeah, just about. But, I mean, in terms of your football career, quite a long time as
02:21well, was there a sort of favourite period of your career where, you know, you really
02:27sort of enjoyed it and you really were happy with how things were going?
02:31Yeah, I think, I mean, I was very fortunate to play for three, you know, big Premier League
02:35clubs, West Ham, Everton and Leicester as well, amongst other clubs, you know, that
02:40I played for. I played for my country, et cetera, you know. So, you're right, I had a
02:45wonderful career, 20 years spanning. And, you know, I think it's only when you've retired,
02:51really, that you can sort of take stock and look back and sort of reminisce, really, on,
02:55you know, where the good times were and that. And, you know, although I enjoy playing at
02:59all my clubs, I think my best spell, really, as a player was probably my first spell at
03:03West Ham. I was only a teenager playing with Trevor Brookings and Billy Bonds and Frank
03:09Lampard Senior and, you know, some wonderful players at the football club. And I don't
03:13think you quite appreciate it at the time, but it probably was my best spell, the most
03:18productive in terms of the goals and that. So, yeah, it's sort of hard to say, in a way,
03:22that the first spell was the best spell. But, you know, you've got to be honest and realistic
03:26about things. And although I scored goals at, you know, Everton, I went back to West
03:30Ham, I scored goals for Leicester, I think that first spell back in the 80s, it was a
03:34great time to play football. It was very primitive, very basic, and there was a lot going on off
03:39the field, as I'm sure you're well aware of. You know, it wasn't just about football,
03:44the other stuff that was going on, but, you know, the pitches were horrendous and, you
03:49know, it was just, there was something special about it. And I think those of you that, you
03:54know, that are old enough to remember that, not yourself, Charles, obviously, but, you
03:57know, if you're from that generation, I think we look back with great fondness to the 80s
04:01and I had a great time there as a West Ham player.
04:04Yeah, and getting the England call-up, do you sort of recall, you know, getting the
04:09news and how was that for you at that time in your career? You know, such a massive
04:15achievement. I mean, you know, sometimes you look at squads that players get into an
04:20England call-up and you're lucky to get one appearance. I mean, you got seven, it was
04:23a fantastic time for you. What was that sort of like for you at that time?
04:27Well, I just missed the Mexico World Cup, which was 1986, which was the famous Diego
04:32Maradona handball World Cup and, you know, England had done really well. So, for me to
04:37get in the squad for the start of the following season, September, was always going to be
04:41difficult and there were so many great players in the squad at the time. You know, they got
04:46quarter-finals in 1986 and obviously in 1990 got to the semi-final. So, you know, there
04:51was a lot of good players around, the likes of Lineker and Beardsley, Clive Allen, Mark
04:55Hapley, Kerry Dixon, Mick Harford, good centre-forward. So, it was really hard to get Steve Ball and
05:00no-one at walls. You know, there was good players there and for me to get in the squad,
05:04I remember I got an official letter, no mobiles in those days, no emails. It was just an old
05:09school letter and I remember John Lowe, the West Ham manager, calling me in and saying
05:13congratulations. You know, but I'd been in the first team for three years, been banging
05:18the goals in. So, you know, I think I was really pleased and proud of that fact and,
05:23you know, although again with my England career, I look back and think perhaps or maybe I should
05:28have won more caps, but I still won seven caps and it was an era where it was hard to
05:33win caps. There was a lot of good English centre-forwards. There was only one or two
05:36subs. You didn't have the 15 subs they have nowadays. So, it was a lot harder to win England
05:41caps. So, I look back and, you know, I'm very proud of the fact that they're sitting up
05:45over my shoulder and, you know, there's seven England caps for me to look back with great
05:49pride about really.
05:52And in terms of the new Premier League season, obviously excitement's been building and we're
05:56back into the swing of things now. You know, it sort of is a bit of a rollercoaster until,
06:01you know, the start of next summer. Just in terms of a standout player for you,
06:06you may be looking at throughout the season. Obviously, Phil Foden had a brilliant one,
06:10and you can claim that player of the season last season maybe didn't back it up at the Euros.
06:15But in terms of a player, who do you sort of think could be a standout in terms of the
06:19top flight this year?
06:20Well, I'm always a big champion for the English and British players, Charles. So, yeah,
06:25Phil Foden's someone I'm looking forward to seeing this season. And the other one for me
06:29is Cole Palmer because I think he was sensational at the Euros. I couldn't believe that he didn't
06:34get a starting place in that team because he'd been so good for Chelsea last year. And
06:39he just looks such a laid-back character. He doesn't look like anything phases him. You know,
06:44even if he was playing in a World Cup final, I don't think he would even be worried about that.
06:48And, you know, in terms of penalties, he looks as ice-cool as anyone I've seen taking penalties. So,
06:54I'm looking forward to seeing Cole have another good season. And, you know, ultimately,
06:58we want over the next couple of years, we need Cole Palmer, we need Phil Foden and all the other
07:03good youngsters that are coming through, Kobe Maynard, etc. You know, we need those boys to
07:08keep developing over the next couple of years because, you know, as a proud Englishman,
07:12I want us to try and do well with the World Cup in 2026 coming up. And, of course, the Euros
07:17are going to be in the UK in 2028 as well. So, I think there's a couple of really good
07:21opportunities for England to, under a new manager, of course, but, you know, to hopefully,
07:25you know, win that elusive trophy that we've been waiting so long for. But Cole Palmer is
07:29the one for me, you know. We all love the Premier League and I'm looking forward to seeing him.
07:33I'd better mention Jared Bowen as well as the West Ham boy, you know, another Englishman.
07:36I want to see how well Jared does after a fantastic season last year. It'd be nice
07:40to see him getting another 20 goals. And just on Everton, I mean, a lot's going on,
07:47you know, you had a great spell there as well. A lot's going on in terms of their situation
07:51financially and, you know, the last few years, they've been nowhere near the sort of standards
07:55that they were and it's been a bit of a fall off. They're obviously going to the new stadium
08:00next year as well. What are your thoughts on what they've been through, what they're
08:04going through and, you know, a bit of a shame really for Everton. What are your thoughts on that?
08:10Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, just there's been a lot of mismanagement. I think off the
08:14field, there's been mismanagement and certainly on the field as well. There's been a lot of
08:18money spent on players that, you know, in my opinion, aren't good enough for Everton Football
08:22Club. You know, the last three or four years have been really, really, five, six years have been
08:27heavy spending by the club, you know, and not that many of the players that the big money was spent
08:33on have been wise investments. And, you know, we always talk about recruitment and recruitment's
08:38the most important thing in football. You've got to get the signings right. Obviously off the field,
08:43you know, there's been all the well publicized problems, you know, obviously the points deductions
08:48and that. And there's a, I think there's a chance of another points deduction coming up as well,
08:52which won't help things. Disappointing start to the season as well. I haven't seen the highlights
08:56yet. I haven't had time. But, you know, obviously losing at home to Brighton is not a good start
09:01for the season. And, you know, I think it's just so important that come the end of this season that
09:06Everton Football Club give Goodison Park the send-off it deserves, really. You know, it's a
09:11fantastic stadium. It's a historic stadium. It's been down for years and years. I had a great time.
09:16All my goals were scored there. And, you know, I want to see the stadium being given the send-off.
09:21It deserves. And the one thing we don't want is give the stadium a good send-off and then,
09:26of course, be playing championship football in, you know, in Bramley Dock next year. That doesn't
09:30do anyone any favours, you know. So there's a, it's a bit of a mess. I've got to be honest. It's
09:34got to be sorted out. They need to take over to go through whoever that, the new owners might be,
09:39need that as quick as possible. And you need, you know, just as importantly, if not more importantly,
09:44the players on the pitch have got to step up and get the results. They've got a good manager.
09:47Sean Dicey's a good man, good manager. And, you know, I'm confident they'll stay up. But
09:53I do think it's going to be another rollercoaster season for Everton, which no one wants to see
09:57that. We want to see Everton, you know, doing what West Ham have done over the last three or
10:00four seasons, which is pushing and playing in Europe, really. And, you know, there's a lot
10:05that needs to be sorted out, but I'm confident they'll get there eventually.