Ryan-Zico Black proudly shows off his story. (0596194)
SO THE football season is finally over and with the minor intrusion of an England-free European Championships, we can reflect and gather strength for another nine months of tedious, predictable Premiership football played out by a band of grossly overpaid, under-achieving, top-class players.
If, like me, you are tired of the Premiership, then the perfect antidote is available to you for a fraction of the cost of the cheapest seats at Old Trafford or the Emirates Stadium.
Local lad Ryan Zico-Black has written an autobiography which takes us through the trials and tribulations of a footballer trying to make the grade.
It is a motivating, moving and honest chronicle of someone driven by a real love of football and a stubborn Guernsey determination to succeed.
I made contact with Ryan as he was finishing the autobiography and was interested in his story for two reasons.
Firstly his book is a fascinating insight into football at the lower ends of the game.
I lost track of all the clubs with which Ryan was associated but it reads like an A-Z of the football pyramid.
By my reckoning his journey includes Southampton, Bournemouth, Northwich Victoria, Plymouth, Reading, Exeter, Preston, Squire’s Gate, Northern Ireland under-18s and under-21s, Morecambe (three times), Barrow, Glenavon, Lancaster and Kettering.
Secondly, his story should serve as an inspiration to all our young people who leave these shores to pursue further study or a chosen career.
It shows that it’s not easy and parents will recognise the phone calls home when things aren’t going well.
Also many of us can identify with experiencing dodgy bedsits, although it is typical of the lad that he goes that bit further and manages to flood one of his rooms and has to do a moonlight flit to avoid the angry landlord.
The first three chapters tell of his childhood in Guernsey and the beginnings of the move to non-league football.
For many locals this will prove the most enjoyable as he talks about his family, early experiences at Bels (annoyingly mis-spelt as Bells throughout but more of that later) and Vale Rec and his school days.
Ryan admits that school and studying weren’t his strong points but he is typically generous in his fondness for certain teachers, particularly Mr Darling and Mrs Maclure at Notre Dame and from St Peter Port ‘a Welshman called Mr [Emyr] Davies: he was a good teacher who tried to get me to attend the [PE] theory classes with little effect but knew I would do well for him in the football and basketball teams’.
The author acknowledges many of his friends and colleagues from Guernsey and I particularly liked his description of local basketball star Martin Yabsley and his footballing skills:
‘Our goalkeeper and my best friend during primary and secondary, Martin Yabsley, was massive even then. He is 6 foot 9 now and a professional basketball player but he was one useless goalkeeper but was big so we stuck him in there and he got in the way of most shots that came his way.’
The book then takes us through the various highs and lows of Black’s career.
There are highs aplenty and his honest accounts are usually written from a fans’ perspective.
That is particularly evident when he describes his excitement at top games such as representative games for Northern Ireland and Cup matches against Ipswich and Cambridge.
His pride at being on Match of the Day is something that we can all share:
‘The game was to be shown as featured highlights on Match of the Day. I couldn’t wait for that and for all my friends and family to watch me play on TV. I always watched Match of the Day growing up so I was excited to think that I would be on there to.’
He is equally frank about the lows.
His prolonged negotiations with Morecambe for a rise, for example, are obviously a struggle for someone who seems straightforward and honest and expects everyone to behave in the same way.
His experience in being transferred to Kettering as one of Gazza’s first signings shows the bizarre nature of football and, worryingly for the game, that episode does not seem exceptional.
He also relates the time that a new Lancaster chairman was announced and had grand ideas for turning the club into a Premier League side: ‘Gary rang me from Lancaster to tell me that the multi-millionaire businessman was a hoax and had been lying all the time and he was actually a door to door salesman and delivered newspapers.’
There are some shortcomings.
Ryan has been let down by his editor as the book is littered with spelling mistakes but after a while you get used to that and it ceases to distract.
The style compensates and the language seems at times like a modern footballing version of Ebenezer Le Page.
At times there are too many accounts of matches but, again, that is simply the product of a writer who loves his football and wants to share his experiences.
Some of the non-footballing elements are very enjoyable.
His love for his family and friends is clear and there is a touch of pathos when he describes visiting his dad in prison: ‘They say that if you ever have to do bird then the best place is Guernsey as it’s a nice prison as far as prisons go … I went to see him on the Thursday with Becky: that was a strange experience and not a very nice one … It was sad when the bell went and we had to go and leave him there.’
I took particular pleasure from Black’s attempts to woo his girlfriend, Becky. As a non-Guernseyman married to a Guernsey girl, I have a theory that local men are a bit clumsy on the courting front. Ryan confirms this:
‘I saw a girl at the bar and I said to one of the boys that I liked her. So I started talking to her and told her to sit down and have a chat. I was drunk and I don’t think Becky was too impressed but I did get her number.
‘I made sure it was the right number by calling her in the bar whilst we were talking. After a cople [sic] of phone calls that weren’t answered I saw Becky out in the nightclub Toast where I asked why there was no phone call. After a chat and I was sober this time, I said I will call you one more time and if there is no answer I won’t ring again. I texted her a few days later and we went on a date to the cinema and watched Meet the Fockers. The film was so funny I couldn’t stop laughing and I was anything but cool. We have been together for nearly three years now.’
The book is an easy read and refreshingly honest.
Despite the spelling mistakes I will be advising schools to buy copies as Ryan’s story should motivate us all and remind us that achievement is 5% inspiration and 95% dedication.
In his words: ‘There is no other job in the world that I would do rather than to play football and I am fortunate to be able to make a living from the game.’
Article posted on 2nd July, 2008 - 2.29pm
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