Read on Twitter
Had so much feedback on this thread and related issues. Thanks to everyone who has been in touch. Lots of new leads and lots of food for thought. https://twitter.com/sportingintel/status/1287130968747397126
Made me think what was the most extraordinary / revelatory interview I'd done. The Mafia gangster? The spot-fixing Premier League footballer in rehab?
Ben Johnson on his "journey to hell with Gaddafi and Maradona"?
https://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2408056/Ben-Johnson-My-journey-hell-Gaddafi-Diego-Maradona.html
https://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2408056/Ben-Johnson-My-journey-hell-Gaddafi-Diego-Maradona.html
But I think the most effecting story, of a really ordinary bloke, who became a Premier League footballer then lost it all, that was really banal (and extraordinary) and involved someone who was empathetic, was Mark Ward's story. More to come...
Mark Ward, as many fans of Everton, Oldham, Man City, West Ham (especially), as well as Brum, Huddersfield and others will know, was a tricky winger who so very nearly made it to the very, very top.
But his career peaked just before the mega money. Then he fell on hard times despite all his best efforts, got involved with a drugs cartel as a cog in a cog in a cog. And took the rap when they were caught.
Long story short: May 2005 he was arrested for running a 'stash house' on Merseyside for a cartel. He wouldn't talk, obv, & while a minor player, ended up with an 8-year sentence for drug trafficking and supply, the biggest sentence for any PL player to date.
I corresponded with Mark for a while, via letters and his lawyer and short, sanctioned / monitored pay-phone calls. I asked the Home Office if I could visit him and they said no. Convicted prisoners can't speak to the Press, basically.
Then Mark used one of his VOs (visiting orders, or "coupons") that allow family and friends to visit, to get me in to Walton Gaol (aka HM Prison Liverpool), then one of Europe's biggest prisons with a woeful record on drug abuse and suicide among inmates.
So I went to Walton Gaol (aka HM Prison Liverpool) in early November 2005 to see Mark. Had to leave EVERYTHING except one layer of clothing in a lockbox in reception. No coat, jumper, phone, notebook, pen. Three cavity searches before getting to visit room.
About an hour after arrival at prison and multiple searches / confiscations, you end up in a 35-table massive room. Each table has one seat on one side (for handcuffed / chained prisoner) and a bench on other (for visitor, typically partner & kids).
Anyway, I speak to Mark for an hour. It's good after multiple letters and phone calls to look each other in the eye and assess what we think. (I find him nervous but sympathetic. He thinks I'm a nerd, he later tells me, an honest nerd. This is all good).
It takes a week or two because I then have to corroborate, including with police, that Mark was actually a minor player, roped in by circumstance. Then we ran a MASSIVE piece over 3 broadsheet pages, in mid-Nov 2005. That's here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/mark-ward-from-no-7-to-prisoner-number-nm6982-515481.html
I stayed in touch with Mark throughout his sentence. I helped him with his autobiography, which he hand-wrote over 4 years in prison. I was there when he came out, early one misty morning, years ago.
I occasionally look out for what he's doing. And I'm really pleased he's doing well these days. He's on here @mark7ward. Do buy his book. It's entertaining and enlightening.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Ward-B-wing-Premier-League-Prison/dp/0955934028
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Ward-B-wing-Premier-League-Prison/dp/0955934028
And Mark, if you're reading, give me a ring. I'm on the same number. Let's have a curry and a beer. And make a pitch to Netflix!
