Tony Carr and the Academy production line

Enjoyed reading Tony Carr's A Lifetime in Football at West Ham United. It contains interviews with Tony's Academy proteges Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steve Potts and Mark Noble, all with their own views on life at West Ham. We learn about Carr's youth growing up in the East End and playing football at Victoria Park, his early days in youth football coming up against the likes of Charlie George and then his apprenticeship at West Ham where he gets to train with Moore, Hurst and Peters and is awestruck to be offered a lift by the great Bobby Moore. 

After breaking a leg he never made it at West Ham and spent an unsuccessful season with Barnet. By that time his heart was set on coaching and he worked his way up via teaching at schools and eventually at West Ham where he learned a lot about seeing a picture of where you are going to play the ball before you receive it under Ron Greenwood. Some of the most fascinating material is on the players who had the ability but didn't make it; Lee Hodges apparently had all the skill but suffered a bad injury while Bertie Brayley, who had a very good non-league career, is another player Carr feels could have achieved more. Adam Newton and Izzy Iriekpen are two others who might have had better careers and Carr also regrets the premature sale of Chris Cohen. 

The sad note of the book is the way Carr was shuffled sideways and let go by West Ham after 43 years of service. He should surely still be with the club mentoring the youth coaches. This is a rewarding read for any West Ham fan with plenty of anecdotes about the various managers Tony has worked with.