Deaks Chats to Former England International, Tony Cottee
Tony Cottee is a former striker, having played for West Ham, Everton and Leicester in the top-flight of English football. He was capped by England seven times. Widely regarded as a Hammers legend, his career stats speak for themselves.
At the end of the 1985/86 season (a campaign in which he scored 20 top-flight goals for the Hammers, who finished third in the First Division) and aged just 20 years, he was named Hammer of the Year and was also voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
Born in 1965 in Forest Gate, Tony is a lifelong Hammer who has never made a secret of the fact he ‘bleeds Claret and Blue’ and never shies away from supporting the Club in his role as a broadcaster.
Deaks recently had the privilege of chatting with one of his heroes, Tony Cottee
Deaks: Hi Tony, thanks for speaking to Over the Edge. We’ve met several times in the corporate boxes and on flights out of Southend Airport en route to Portugal. As a Hammers fan, my best memories are of the eighties. I was there to watch your first goal, on your debut against Spurs on New Year’s Day 1983. My son James was known by the name of Cottee up until his teens because he played with your name on his back! Anyhow, enough of me as a fanboy, can you tell us about how you came into football? Were you always destined to play for the first team?
TC: Thanks Graham, it's a pleasure. I grew up in Collier Row and always played one year up for the local side, Romford Royals, from the age of six. I developed a good reputation in the youth ranks and was scoring lots of goals, and there was interest from Crystal Palace, Arsenal and West Ham. I had the chance of joining all three, but it was always going to be West Ham for me. I must admit to having very little interest in school; all I wanted to do was play football. I joined West Ham at 12-years old on schoolboy terms, and when I left school at fifteen on a Friday, I joined West Ham full-time on the Monday. I was lucky to have the best mentors in John Lyall, the West Ham manager, and Tony Carr, head of youth development. Tony went on to bring through Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson. My dad also had a big influence on my career.
Deaks: Is it harder to break into the first team these days, would you say? At West Ham, we had the golden generation that followed you, and more recently Mark Noble and James Tomkins, but I look at the current crop, and those before them who, whilst doing well in the academy and representing their countries, often do not make it at the club, or elsewhere. Why do you think that is?
TC: I’m firmly of the view that if you’re good enough, then you’re old enough. I do believe it is probably harder now to break into the first team of a Premier League club with foreign players making their mark in the English leagues, but as I say, if you are good enough, you should be able to break through. Players like Max Dowman, at Arsenal, Phil Foden at Manchester City, Cole Palmer at Chelsea and at my old club, West Ham, Freddie Potts and previously Declan Rice, prove that dedication and hard work will be rewarded.
Deaks: You’ve in the past been critical of the current West Ham ownership. I think it’s fair to say you’re aligned with the fans on that subject. Is it time for David Sullivan to sell up? At the time of writing, the Gold family’s shares are up for sale, I believe. I’m in the “careful what you wish for” camp, as there are some shocking potential owners out there, but I do think the club needs someone to take them to the next level. What are your views on the club’s current predicament, and what are your views on The London Stadium?
TC: I do feel that West Ham would benefit from a change of ownership, but fans have to understand that it’s not easy to bring about. Ultimately, the owners will sell up when the time is right for them and not before. As a West Ham fan, I’m frustrated that the club have repeatedly not built on previous success on the pitch. This failure to build goes back to our successful season in 1985/86, and more recently to the success in Europe under David Moyes. I share the fans' frustration and believe an immediate improvement would be the appointment of a football person on the board with first-hand football knowledge.
The London Stadium is a great arena, but as it stands at the moment, it’s not a football stadium. I loved The Boleyn Ground, but I understood and supported the move. However, it wasn’t handled well. Tottenham and Everton have shown how successful stadium moves should be done.
Deaks: I reckon I went to the majority of the matches during the 1985/86 season, along with Phil, who edits this magazine, and our respective brothers Kev and Malcolm. Chelsea away was outstanding, and my brother Kev and I travelled up to Goodison Park to see us play Everton for the last match of the season, where we were to be crowned Division One League Champions had Kenny Dalglish not ruined everything the preceding Wednesday! What are your memories of that season? Tell us also about playing with the legend, Frank McAvennie.
TC: They are great memories. Playing with Frank McAvennie was a dream, we just had such a telepathic understanding. I can honestly say that we thought we would win every match, and Frank and I thought that we would score every game. There was great confidence in the whole squad, and remarkably, we only used thirteen players all season long. It’s true we lost the title during the final week of the season, but people forget that we only won one of our first seven games that season, so that cost us the title.
Deaks: I know you and Frank are still pals, so please tell him he is very welcome to join us for a chat anytime. Moving on to your time at Everton, what was behind the switch? To be honest, I was actually surprised to learn that you were at Everton for another 6 years. You will always be Hammer, but did you enjoy your time at Goodison Park, and do you still get a good reception there?
TC: We touched on how the West Ham board failed to build on success, and after the 85/86 season, there were a number of high-profile departures with Paul Goddard joining Newcastle in 1987 and Frank leaving for Celtic the same year. I joined Everton in 1988 mainly because I wanted to win trophies, and Everton were a strong team in those days. I still get a great reception at Everton, as I do at all of my clubs. I probably don’t go as much as I would like, but I’m a season ticket holder at West Ham, and it’s closer to home. I attended the final match at Goodison Park, and all the old players got a great reception from the fans.
Deaks: The West Ham fans welcomed you back, as they did Joe Cole, and then you went to Leicester City. You did well at West Ham during your second stint, and at Leicester too. Then you had a year as a player/manager at Barnet. Was being a manager not for you?
TC: Being a player/manager didn’t particularly work out for me, but before other offers came in, I was offered a contract with Sky, and I went on to work for them for 20 years.
Deaks: What occupies your time now Tony?
TC: My time now is taken up with hospitality work, hosting events including golf days etc. I enjoy that very much.
Deaks: Thank you so much Tony. I really enjoyed talking to you very much, and I’m grateful for your time. Give my regards to Frank!