Dr James's One Cap Wonders: Chris Sutton

It's a fantastic form of club levels and a different chance here today. It makes it a national debut. You're listening to Dr. Jean to his one cap wonders. He asks, "Was one enough or was it one too many?" You know, I'd played sort of pretty regularly for the under-twenty ones and then when I moved to to Blackburn and got my opportunity that was in 1997, 1997 that was and this was the season I won the Golden Boot. As he approaches his 50th birthday in this week's episode we hear from Chris Sutton as he looks back at where it all began for him as a professional footballer. So I used to spend the 40-45 minutes every morning kicking a ball against the wall and then a quarter to eight my dad would come in and there'd be other teachers and another keen local pupils or pupils from the school who would come in and they'd do these fitness circuits which were really I mean really quite intense sort of squat jumps pull-ups lunges or you know all that sort of some rope climbs, shuttle runs. Chris's hometown club gave him this stability and platform to build a career which lasted for more than a decade. You know there was there was a great deal of competition but pathways are really important and there was a clear pathway at Norwich City if you were doing well in the youth team you get picked in the reserves, you were doing well in the reserves there weren't big squads like there are nowadays in the Premier League because you know Norwich City were the old Division I which was the equivalent of the Premier League but you were doing well in the reserves you were the next one in and that's what happened to me and I made my debut when I was in my second year of that apprenticeship the YTS so I'd come on as a as a first team player when I was on 35 pounds a week in that in that second year. Mike Warp was my reserve manager who ended up becoming the the first team manager when Dave Stringer left and you know that ended up getting a you know regular spot in the first team and you know looking back as a long time ago now but that was you know I'll give you one of Norwich City's greatest year as finished finishing third in the Premier League that victory against Bayern Munich in the Olympic Stadium you know people look back on that and that was a special special time and I was lucky to be part of it. Do you resonate how important you have been to certain chapters of history for certain clubs because you seem to have been at clubs during the best times for most of those clubs when you look at Norwich look at Blackburn look at Chelsea look at maybe not Chelsea but still you know a positive era Celtic as well you've you've always been there at the right time Is that luck or I can't I can't I can't claim Chelsea unfortunately you know they they were a club on the you know on the up granted but I you know I can't claim that I had you know played a played a major part in that. No I think I think I was very lucky as well because of the you know the circumstance of Norwich City being a division one team at that particular time had a lot of good older players who had had a major influence on me you know we were we were a good team you know finishing third in the Premier League I mean we were actually top going into the new year I think which was pretty amazing that you know the inaugural Premier League season we are favourites for relegation you know I just think about that I just I can never remember anybody within the dressing room thinking we were going to go on to to win the Premier League. There's something the fans have wanted for him for such a long time he finally gets his first international cap. And while the club success was permeating throughout and it was bubbling along very very well were you hopeful of an England cap or where were you when it came to the international stage. You know I've played sort of pretty regularly for the under-21s and then when I moved to Blackburn and and got my opportunity that was in 1997 1997 that was and I this was the C's and I won the Golden Boot I think for Blackburn a good partnership with Kevin Gallagher and so I go into the the team I got I came on as a sub bum remember who I came on for against Cameroon at Wembley and not that I did a great deal in that particular game was like 10-12 minutes to go. When the next squad was picked a couple of months later against Chile my form was pretty good at Blackburn still I think there was a couple of injuries within the squad and so naturally I felt that honestly at the time I felt that not only would I be in the squad that I would start the game I wasn't expecting to be captain just yet but you know I would that I would you know I was playing this is you know about packing orders at the at a particular time and and then hold on picked the squad and he put me in the in the B squad so you know I lost I lost my head a little bit but you know looking back I couldn't honestly tell you right now who was picked in the squad I don't think Shira was picked but looking back at that particular time and I'll probably miss some players off Shira sharing him even right incredible the player even right was Les Verde and then he was you know wonderful finisher QPR the new castle then then Tottenham you know all these like Robbie Fowler a wonderful natural finisher Michael Owen Andy Cole yeah it is yeah it wasn't an out-and-out striker or a search for a talented player I've mentioned Michael I don't know Deon Dublin was you know around that there's even people like David Hearst I hope David Hearst is English he was at Sheffield when say he's a good golfer Stan Tolley Moore yeah you know there was there was a hell of a lot of competition and so you know I look bang and think Blindness you know it's as I say you know not easy for an England manager to pick but I understood that you know there was a packing order and I mentioned those players and the thing blind me you know but you know I made a rash decision and told Glenn how hello I'm happy I was with his decision and I worked with Glenn now a bit you know I had no right to do what I did and he quite rightly you know pop me in my place and and tell me what he thought of me and you know looking back at the time I you know I you know I thought I was absolutely spot on and right and I clearly wasn't I you can't you can't speak to you know personally in that position in England managed it the way I did and you know of you know that's something which I had to regret do you think if you if you had reacted differently if you were at a different stage of maturity in your life you and have reacted in different way it would have changed your international path or do you think it was just you were living and working in an era when as you mentioned there was about a 10 or 12 phenomenal forwards for England yeah I just think I was an idiot well yeah you know I do I do what was I thinking well I wasn't but you know I don't think I'm to that extreme now but you know I thought I was right and you know what in a way I still you know you think well you know my thinking was justified but the way I actually acted absolutely not so you know I've not apologized to you know to explain that it was you know it was cute I mean talking about you know cutting you nose off to spite your face it was really a very dark thing to do wasn't it but you know I mean you know that's in a long list of dark things which which I've done throughout my career when the managers changed at England and you were doing so well in Scotland and you were scoring in the Champions League which not all English forwards were did it cross your mind that when Alan Thompson got capped and did you think to yourself as well maybe there's a there's a comeback here on the cards well Sven came to the event this game didn't he which you know was one of the better games which which I had and you know that partnership with Henrik and I always thought then if Sven's not going to pick me after that then you know what what game was he watching that evening you know I really don't I don't know there wasn't many times I was always as a player I always admit yeah this all comes from from my dad and you know I don't know how people would view this whether this is a positive or a negative but I always used to come off the pitch and be very sort of very analytical about the way I played and I was used to think one of my driving forces was you know what can I improve on what what what didn't I do well then I what didn't I do well at so I'd always I would always sort of use that as a because I wanted to get fed there and that always used to use it as a motivation I remember coming actually coming off after that event this game and I think Barra header which I could have done but I think I might have even had a bit of cramp late into the second half where I didn't hit the target you know I had a pretty good game that night so I mean as you know the irony is this spend was there to watch me and as I say he must have he must have been on his phone or something because you know if he wasn't going to pick me up to that performance and you know he's never going to happen because what we see players getting cat later on in life both for Ireland for Scotland Jamie Vardy as well later merger did when did you acknowledge I suppose that that door had shot or was it at that point at that night with your ventors? nah that sort of I didn't I don't think I certainly carried it around with me you know as a as a millstone realm around my neck and as a you know as a as a massive burden I got you know it was pointless me sort of thinking about it you know I was still aware of you know there was still a possibility but I couldn't I don't think I could let it bother me you know my regret was all be it not at the time and not for a long time that you know I'd said the wrong thing to Glenn Hoddle and you know that was that was the that was the student sort of angle and aspect with it where you know am I sure I would have had more England caps yes because you know there was that really dark period where were international teams were sort of making 12 subs at after I mean yeah I went through that period whether they were lacking anybody on I think it would have had more caps maybe against the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea and the dream of some of the some of the some of the smaller nations whales and you talked about being an analytical individual and reflective and how your father may have been part of that but did you ever hear his voice or was he part of your professional journey like was he there with you not like a little budget on your shoulder but was was he always part of your decision making and your professional career or was it more he done his job to get you to into Norwich at that later age and that was it or was there a kind of a rapport remained no you know I don't know I don't need to think I'm a complete lunatic but I you know I mean my dad's passed away over two years now and I still sort of think about him every day and in terms of keeping fit and I've got a run machine at home and I'll go out running and sometimes I feel like stopping and then I think God you know what would my dad think if I stopped I mean that's it's here and that you know that keeps me going you know I said that my daughter's 11 now and she's a she's a funny little thing and I sort of use I always use things like when she's doing a sports at school and whatever and I say you know make sure you make sure you try hard what was I mean she hates cross country and yeah absolutely hates it and I think as we all did and I said make sure you know make sure you don't walk and I don't care you know just get round you know she's not an Olympic athlete by any stretch of the imagination as I always say what would your granddad think and so that's you know that's the thing which you know we've always done but you know he was you know it in terms of my thought process in the way I think I think you know that all that all comes from from him in fairness in terms of or not in fairness but in terms of he he was I think super tough on me when I played when I was when I was younger used to referee use my school referee of course being the PE teacher and if I went down injured it run past me and sort of say get up your whim and all that stuff but you know once I started getting into into Norwich's team and he used to come and watch me and you know he he you know he had a much softer approach then and you know in terms of you know thinking you know maybe think about this you know putting this into your game think about you know don't come to the ball all the time you know stretch try and stretch defenders the other way just you know he he'd soften by then but you know he's ideally his his job was done I suppose once I'd once I'd gotten into the Norwich team but that certainly wasn't his his motive or desire for me to you know for for for to become a professional football it wasn't everything to him it was about you know about about standards listen when I got the job at Norfolk County Council I was happy just playing football like at a grade local football which I would have done of course like a grade local cricket in the summer and I love my cricket I love my football and I was happy I you know I was happy doing that but you know I was I was fortunate that those high school years that bass which which you know I got in or you know that bass which had formed under my dad's sort of the tutorship that put me in a really good position what advice would you have to someone who was about to try and embark on the journey that that you've been on in essence from as a professional to eventually get to their international stage to get to get cap for their country and to win the leagues and to win the titles what message would you have to a younger Chris Sutton um similar to the message which you know with that uh you should tell me you simply do more do more than everybody else uh there are you know there are some very talented people out there and everybody has different levels of you know of of talent and ability but I think that if you look at most people in most industries and you know you can't compare like for like but most people get high up in the you know in the in the food chain by by working hard and uh and that's you know and that's that's that's the biggest message which I think you know I don't know whether you heard of the 10,000 hour rule you probably have the sort of Malcolm Badwell you know to become a an expert in you know a field you have to you know do a um do a minimum of 10,000 hours worth of purposeful practice well it wasn't like for life but my 10,000 hour rule was kicking a ball against the wall in the gym for four years for four years and there would have been other boys around the world I'm sure um you know kicking a ball as frequently as me but there would have been you know uh most other boys or you know that particular time certainly wouldn't have done and I wasn't you know I certainly wouldn't have described myself as like an incredible local football I was okay you know I was I was one of the number of boys who I played against school circuit and Sunday circuit that who uh did yeah you know pretty good but I wasn't I wasn't stand out and I'm sure those those four years and that you know I mean you you'd you'd have seen me play I don't know how old you are but I suspect you might have done I'm not saying you're that old if his doctor James is one cap wonders he's on the hunt for the Chumbo Wimbals of International Football before we just wrap up and thank you so much for joining us on one cap wonders I've just got a few rapid fire questions right okay um which would you pick between a Chinese takeaway or fishing chips all fishing chips that's it and if you had to pick for someone to take a penalty that your life depended on it who would you go with Larsen Zola or Shearer I've been telling me really you've got some record yeah yeah yeah he's incredible he's a very very talented young man regarding uh the length of time you spent at club if you could spend 10 years anywhere where would you have spent it the Celtic and uh your favorite place to holiday without giving away any particular GDPR issues favorite favorite place to holiday uh oh this is bad uh florida big fan of Disney world do you do magical magical place on a magic kingdom animal kingdom wrap car I love I'm a big fan it's Epcot they're ones with the different countries it is it's Epcot where you go around the different yeah that's quite good that's a good place yeah that one yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I can't I can't remember going around or like I can remember starting off round there but after you've sort of been through six countries and tried to drive an alcoholic beverage from each of the countries it all just merges into one and you feel globalized yeah who is your favorite manager to play under um that's that's that's a that's a difficult one you know for you know I love Mike Walker and what he did for me at Norwich Love Kenny Douglas um but you know my favorite time was uh under Martin it was one of the only people do I still fear really in life Martin each of the terror strip off your Martin wouldn't they so yeah no I that I you know a lot of respect for what the Martin and what he uh what he achieved I like my time at uh well I like my time at all my clubs but that that era at Celtic with him at the helm was pretty special do you think if he kept going with the law he would have been quite a fearsome judge or a fearsome barrister or a solicitor well that's to say I mean it's there's one person in the world you wouldn't want to get an argument where that would be Martin I mean yeah he's uh he's that he's so clever I mean he's absolutely brilliant thank you very much your time Chris much appreciated this has been Dr James's one cap wonders thank you very much for listening go forget to subscribe to keep up to date with all of our latest episodes