Leicester Lives Podcast – Episode #7

Leicester Lives Podcast – Episode #7

The Scott Eustace story – Part One

From Premier League Leicester City to a police cell at Lincoln City.

A gripping insight into 1990s professional football culture and how bad life decisions shape your entire future.

This first part covers his football career until retirement, the second part will deal with his rollercoaster life after football.

This is not to be missed.

Okay everybody Welcome to the Leer lives podcast in association with no liter coffee NYC quality New York coffee for your home delivered directly to your home and as always I’m going to ask a request as you’re watching on YouTube please hit that subscribe button at the minute we’re getting plenty of views but

We do need more subscribers so just take 10 seconds of your time please go over to that subscribe button hit it and I’ll be your friend forever now really looking forward to this one today because with me I’ve got Scott eustus I think we can safely say he’s had an

Interesting Leicester life and very much a roller coaster of a football career Scott thanks very much for coming in today and being a guest on the Lester lives podcast good evening good evening to you Justin and uh viewers uh nice to be here grateful to be here and uh

Hopefully tell my little story and see you where it text me fantastic I always say let’s roll it all the way back to the start tell me about growing up in Leicester Scott yeah a bit of mixed emotions from growing up myself uh I’m from a broken family so I spent some

Time in this area uping Road area um my father bless him who’s not with us any longer bar very proud football supporter of me growing up um he had a brother that lived in th lodge area where I went to school and uh then my mother she

Lived in Theron where I went weekends spent the time there weekends so uh sort of there There and Everywhere how would you describe your childhood Gott happy yeah I’d say so um take my hat off to my my dad uh done done the best he could

For me um many years on his own working all our was God sends uh and I was a black child in a a difficult area back in 75 and he was not my real father but he is my real father if you get what I mean so applaud it to him

And yeah growing up it was sort of had friendships in three four different areas so I knew a lot of people and uh that stood me in good stad as I got older I got on well with a lot of people and the footb side of things I didn’t

Really play much football as a kid it wasn’t like a mad passion for me um it sort of came later uh coming up to the end of my first school terms how did you find school I enjoyed school cuz i’ I’m kind of a social person you know like all

Kids like playing around don’t know and having a laugh and this and that and the other I thought I was quite not too bad academic but when I got told off I used to get told off three or four different times because obviously I was raised by

My uncle my dad when he finished nights and then I’d have to wait till weekends and get told off again at weekends so it’s pretty much of a domino effect of being bad limited really so when did the interestes in football first come about

Then you see the size I am now I weren’t really much obviously a lot more weightier now but I wasn’t really much shorter at the age of 10 10 years old and I I just started playing football in the playground at that age and there was always a school

Football team and I used to spend time at my mom’s at weekends uh which was Theron and being where the football my my school was thur be large it was difficult so the boys were asking me for a long time to play can we play can we

Play cuz I was I was quite decent in the in the playground quite a fast runner and strong strong um physically strong as well so I gave I gave into some of them in the end and uh but it was on the credentials that my football coach teacher at school came to

Fetch me so he came all the way to Thurston every Saturday morning to pick me up to play for them that was been the end of year five then at year six I sort of excelled very quickly uh I think I was quite a fortunate because the East

Leester manager was the manager of Riot s school where my good friend Ian Thompson played who played for England and he was a center forward and I was a center off and I had good games against him so it sort of got me straight more

Or less into the before I knew I’d been played 10 games I played for Lester boys were you always a center half or did you fancy yourself up front in the early years I think I should have always been a center off to be honest but I um

Everybody likes to score a goal now and again didn’t so on the Sunday teams I played in Midfield which I was decent in Midfield but the higher you go up the more technical the players are and you you know your limits so get to the backjack so when did you first think

Scott that football could become a career because it’s one thing you’re enjoying your football as you’re getting older but it’s a big jump to becoming a pro footballer without without sounding like I’m being big edit or like like I’ve just gone back to that 10 games and I was playing for East

Leicester things just was successful for me from from playing there to to going up to senior school to passing the trials and then it was like there was about eight or nine of us that every year we had to have the trials but we knew we was getting in so everything I

Touched at football was like a success and before I knew it there was scouts watching from Leicester and I went down there played a game there got signed on after one game on school boy forms so there was no real thoughts of anything at the age of 13 14 other than then then

Were just playing a whole leap of football I’m playing for the school I’m playing for Leicester boys I’m playing for Lester year playing for the county I’m playing for Leicester city training on a Thursday I mean every day was more or less football there was no thoughts

Of anything until it came to like 15 where managers was starting to come to Big games you know like the Cup finals of your Sunday League team and Scouts were coming to watch because the scouts were having to make a decision then of who’s making the school boy cut to having a

Two-year apprenticeship at Leicester so before I left school it was already offered to me I was going to have an apprenticeship at leester and I don’t know nothing was really a surprise at them times and I really ain’t being beeded but but when the apprenticeship did start it was a

Massive shock to the system because me and my m in Thompson he was my close Ally he we he was my enemy at school but on the football pitch because he went to a different school he went City leester I when amilton um and he always used to

Score even though I’d have a good game but he always used to score he’s a brilliant footballer by the way and uh yeah we we presumed cuz now when they have an academy is the sort of nurture them into it but back then other than playing a few games for the olders and

That on a Saturday then going to the Leicester City match as a school boy you’re not really down there training in the holidays and I’m I’m talking like 35 years ago now so obviously a lot of things have resolved since then revolved since then so we thought we were just going to

Be going down there playing football you know like we had no idea of running up mountains in that every day for 3 weeks and that’s like doing the runs for when the pros come back in so we’ve done three weeks of running and then we got

To do another two weeks of running when the pros come back in and that and we didn’t really see we didn’t really kick a football for three weeks and we were going home we couldn’t walk some days when we went home and um it was yeah it

Was an eye opener and when you’re around technically better players when the balls do come out you sort of have to up your game now you know like I’ve never been used to not being in the team uh no matter what level I played at until I became an apprentice I found

Myself not in the team at the start of the season because they’ve got the second years as well you know so the second years they’re more experienced they’re more stronger they’re probably technically better technically accustomed to everything so yeah it’s a bit of a culture shot to me being uh on the subs

Bench in the first years of my PL ship but it’s a learning curve isn’t it everything was a learning curve and who was the Leicester manager then and who were the main players well there was a new there’s a new crew took over when we started so when we started it was

Already set in place that Brian little had just taken over for the the oncoming season where which was going to be my first season so his staff consisted of himself um John Gregor Alan Evans um and my youth team coach was Steve hunt who was magnificent by the way um and David

Nish was sort of the chief out uh who had a lot of he had a lot of input with our youth team as well so he was very close to us and they were all great footballers in the day as well and I always as I’ve grown up bypassing some

Years and we’ll go back to it but any coach that tried to coach me or wanted to coach me if they couldn’t do it themselves I didn’t have the same effect as myself is when somebody could do it themselves for example um Roy McFarland became my um Cambridge coach when he would demonstrate

Something he could do it and like because he played 56 times for England as well in my position and he could still do it at 58 years old whatever he was I was in a of him you know like and he’d make me go out there he wouldn’t he

Make me myself right he’s showed me what to do now he don’t need to show me again but when somebody like say Andy King when I was my man man’s field cut uh manager was telling me how to head it and he couldn’t head the ball himself it

Didn’t matter to me that he played for England and he he played for Everton and been played in the top League because he was just ranting and raving all the time but he couldn’t do it himself so I didn’t respect that element of my coaches that I played on so that was a

Pretty strong coaching lineup at Lester at the time very strong I mean I’d heard of Alan Evans John Gregory um he sounds a bit bad towards Brian but I’d not heard of Brian little I’d heard of Steven CU I used to collect Panini stickers and that as well when I was a

Kid and I was like I said I wasn’t hell bent on football as a three to NY old and then it obviously it came more and more and more but yeah they was a very good staff the good staff members very high quality they all knew what they

Were doing and they all put big leg work in as well I suppose most coaches do but I can only sort of address what I was around at the time Leicester city is a very big Club it’s my hometown club and I was in a part of a very good setup and

The four years that they were there they got to Wembley three out of three years obviously they lost the Blackburn they lost to swinden they beat dber and then the fourth year I was there was in the Premier League so quite a good success story from Brian it was

Rain and because of where we’re going to explore Flor in a short while what was the sort of culture around the club was it was it a drinking Club I mean you hear the stories of you know Arsenal at the time Tony Adams and the like you

Know he always said training all the players straight out I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say it was a drinking Club excuse me I’d say it was it was segregated with certain members that did go out on a Wednesday after the game and you had the Sunday NE Sunday night

Drinking team that went to bran so there was there was all different segreg they didn’t drink as a whole um I can’t really comment too much when Martin O’Neal was there but I did hear that they had a good gang of Drinkers and it sort of what Martin O’Neal did in

His day he carried it through and he he he was okay with it like the big players and it disappoints me that I wasn’t involved with that because it was just sort of after left that Martin took over from Martin McGee and the big players that one of the best Leicester teams

I’ve seen to be honest um they they they got silverware they won the Coca-Cola cup whatever it was called they got there another time and they were going like places like man united and winning you know like it was a good team very good hardworking team and I enjoyed watching that

Era because I think a lot of people would or maybe a lot of young people now would be surprised that football did you do you enjoy going out I I remember back when mallister and mckin signed together and they were standing at the Holiday

Inn and we used to go there for a drink after the match and I mean they must have been quick shower change and they were in the bar at the Holiday In by 6:00 you know you just never see that these days no I mean the games evolved a

Lot to back in them days I’m not saying it weren’t a tough game then but the the early barly start of the Season there’s always a s Tuesday game but like in the Top Flight the the levels that that they demand and did these players go I don’t think drinking

You can’t be found wanting no more do you know like the Saturday Tuesday I mean some of them top players they’re playing like 70 games a season you know like and it’s Saturday Tuesday Saturday Tuesday Saturday Wednesday Saturday then there Champions League sometimes it’s like Saturday Tuesday Saturday Monday

It’s ridic ulous and it just don’t go hand in math or tongue in cheek or whatever the’re saying is um I couldn’t I couldn’t visualize it being how it was back in the day I mean even like your ke ke and that one of my heroes like I love

Watching Roy Keane play football I love him as a pundit but he was a big drink card you know like that’s not many years that’s like 15 20 years ago he he stopped playing and I don’t know how they got through it I don’t know how

They did it back then CU he played Champions football but but like him he’s his knees were his body was failing him you know maybe I can’t really I’m not in no era to criticize or whatever but maybe these are the reasons why he didn’t sustain a longer career you know

Like he got a lot of injuries Ro did in his hips but was that how he put himself in or was that because of his culture drinking culture I don’t know no so you’re you’re on the apprenticeship scheme at Leicester you got the first year presumably you lose a few of the

Boys at the end of the first year not everybody goes on to the second year you’re pretty confident in your own ability uh after the first year is gone and I see how Cutthroat it is cuz I think from our second year Lads three players got taken on um and

One of my good friends Tony Thorp his name was he got released and he was talented but I didn’t believe he did enough in his second year to to get a contract either but he went on to great things at Luton like he he ended up

Scoring 30 plus goals at Luton Lon town and um scoring the winner against Newcastle in the FA Cup um getting bought for a million pound from Fulham and so there is the other side to getting released where if you still have that hunger for football and you have the

Ability it’s not sometimes it’s somebody needs to take a chance on you you know or believe in you I mean he’s gone there and he’s more or less in the first team like within a year you know and then he never looked back everything he touched

Turned to Gold so going into my second year I wasn’t The Confident lad I was when I was 14 15 because there’s a lot of there’s a lot of self-doubt because of you’re up against or you’re competing against like I was competing against somebody that was in my position that

Had been at Lily show cense of Excellence for England from under 11s and you think to yourself well he must be this he must be that he must be this he must be that but you have to find that inner strength to believe in yourself and I think there was a there’s

One particular game where I I think we got beat at home and the youth team and I managed to just pull off some some some Channel balls that I’ve been trying practicing in training and um the the first team coach there John Gregory now the mental torture that these coaches give

You on these season Pros I didn’t understand it at the time but to get praise off them it’s like wow do you know like wow what did I do there and you remember what you did and you remember remember how you infiltrated it and and it just came and then all the

Practicing you done the timing of this cuz I could defend I could head a ball I could do this but my distribution wasn’t that good at that time and then when you used to play at um Beaver drive it was like playing at wemble cuz like the pitch was just

Immaculate so I was went from strength to strength by that one little bit of Praise from the coach that it didn’t just sabotage me it sabotage everyone but then I there’s always um professional that would take you under his wing like because when you used to try and train with the big boys

If he wasn’t Julian joim who was my age and he was exceptional you know like he was he was smashing it in the first team when he was 17 absolute phenomenon like and this Pro that t me on his wing it used to say to me do you know when

These Pros are bang at you in your head and the they’re testing your mental strength because one day you’re going to be out there in front of 20,000 people and they’re going to be your wingman it’s like going to war so there 11 of us going out there and you’re going to get

Fans that are Bing for your blood wait wanting you to make a mistake we need to know if you’re going to go under or you’re going to sink or swim so if you can’t take it on this football training field how are you going to take it out

There and who was the Senior Pro who took you under his wing his name David low he’s uh he was a Scala uh I think we signed him from Wigan uh always used to practice he wasn’t the greatest stri off but he was always stay behind and he’d get me to

Stay behind cuz my touch wasn’t that good I was bit heavy footed and we just used to do this feel like feel the ball just touch it up here and while we spending hour or hour and a half two or three times a week it sort of nurture

You like of what lies ahead do you know where when you trying when you’re trying to make a name for yourself or trying to be seen and you’re training with the pros and they’re all slaughter slaughtering you and the coach is slaughtering you it’s an easy place to

Go under but for him to just give that guidance and like he said look you’re a big Center off do you know like when you’re marking like David speeder Mark him out you’re playing for your life Scott just just CU he shouts at you swears it y go through him CU like back

In them days you could go through him you could go through people you know like it was a part of the game um Rich Smith he was one of my Idols at leer my mate cleaned his boots I cleaned W she’s Bo one tough guy one tough guy but he used

We used to learn from him in a different way he didn’t need to talk to us I could just be on his side and he could just guide me with positioning and do you know and he was softly spoken for an odd man he wouldn’t but we he commanded the respect

For how tough he was he was the Top Dog in my eyes and and um my mate’s eyes but he he was a friend to us as well as a senior Pro cuz I think Rich was about 25 or something when we were about 24 when

We was about 18 19 wasn’t that much older but he was in the first team he was a HomeTown boy that’s right and a lot of his friends were our friends as well became our friends because he South leester lad and we love Rich Smith yeah terminated call

Job so when the thoughts start to turn to the first team truthfully they didn’t um sometimes we it was a bit bit weird really because when I was a second year yts I played 32 games for for the reserves out of a possible 30 four or something or probably not that many

Probably 29 out of 34 whatever I more or less played the lot and then the start of the second year the start of my first year professional um there was a lot of Pros that were out the first team when the season started so they had to play according into the management

Because they needed to be seen in the reserves to be able to be sold but that’s that weren’t no good for me so obviously I was a bit of su in a tantrum so when I was playing away at Blackpool and weren’t even in the squad on the reserve

Games there were no sign of the first team in my eyes like I was know I’ve I’ve done a you know like cuz I’m training well I’m training this training that and there’s nobody to come and console you and say like look keep doing this keep doing that this is what’s

Happening so you just have to have a vision in your head of what’s going on then I just plugged away plugged away plugged away and there was an injury crisis because at the time I think there’s about eight Center offs in front of me then if someone didn’t play center off

Then they get M Mickey Whitlow to play Cent left Center off Simon Grayson could play about nine different positions at the time Mark Blake could play center off every man in his dog would be at Center off before I’d get a chance you know from nowhere I didn’t even um the

Squad didn’t get put up on the Friday the squad’s normally up on a Friday um so we’ve just reported to the game uh at home against Bristol C many moons ago I think I was 18 so I was like 30 years ago someone said to me to me oh you’re

Um you’re on the bench I’m said what cuz obviously if I knew then I would have found my parents and like my dad and that so um you’re not allowed no phones on when going in the changer room and that so I’m like I feel like a school

Kid I’ve put me put me hand up in the [ __ ] changer room sorry about the swearing put me hand up in the change room and I’ve said Gaff can I uh use my phone please he said uh phone phone he of course you can so of course you can’t

Because you phone your dad I CU yeah yeah yeah so this is at like qu to 2 my dad obviously don’t drive and he lives two buses away so I phoned him and said oh Dad I’m on the bench blah blah blah uh he’s a [ __ ] over the moon he static he got

Down there left him tickets and uh he came to the game I got on for the last 13 minutes so but it ended up about 20 minutes because of the the the the injury time and that and I had about 7even eight touches the ball in that

Time great time to come on 3-0 up at home um The Game’s in the bag the fans are o Bristol City weren’t even try no more and I got a lot of touch of the ball I think at the time I think I got £450 for the win I think I got

300 for the appearance I think I was on 200 basic a week and I got about 150 for the clean sheet I went I bought a car bought a car the following week when that wages went into my bank um but big kicking the the nuts bring me back down

To earth after the game um the reserves have to run around the pitch like that were not involved so I’m like getting stripped off of the kit all on cloud n you know like ready to go in the bath uh John Gregory’s gone like get

You get your kick back on got do nine laps around the pitch with the reserves so I thought I’d escaped that but had to go run with the stiffs around the around the pitch after the game but I think I got the best times I’ve ever got you

Know CU I was on the crest of a wave uh I didn’t really Excel from there I could have I should have kicked on and it coincided with injuries coming back to the fold but i’ had a taste of it and if I’m honest I wasn’t really hungry

Enough to have aate I should have been more hungry I should have trained harder if but some may but then I ended up going on loan to Ireland out to a team in Ireland called shellborne to gain some physicality I was a big lad but being against big Irish Center forwards

Was what was thought was needed you know like Saturday competitive football rather than Reserve games where we played against big teams but the big teams like the leads and the man United’s they had players sing in the reserves but weren’t really bothered weren’t really striving to get in the

First team so it was more beneficial if I tried to gain some experience as an 18yearold playing Saturday 3 pm football in Ireland that didn’t pan out and uh when I came back all my uh managerial staff had left and gone to Aston Villa what sort of standard was it over in Ireland

What would you sort of compare it To it’s a difficult one because I only played two games so I’d like to say the championship to which used to be division three um but I don’t think I’ve played enough games to pass judgment because I played against uh top four side and then I played against the mediocre like

Mid-table team that beat us uh when you’re a young lad that has no idea how your team members play either and it was sort of thrown into the thrown into the the the splitfire is that the right word I don’t know um so I don’t know I can’t really I can’t really

Pass judgment on that one so when you come back you’re only a young lad you tasted the first team action but now you’re at the picture it must have been playing on your mind now well come back I’m sort of rubbing me hands and day two training session I train

With the youth team been carted off to the youth team the day before and I’m quite I’m not backwards at coming forwards and saying what I think so I’ve got and wrapped the coach’s door and introduced myself and telling I’m like I’m a second year Pro I’m not training

With the youth team again so I’ve trained with the youth team I’ve then played every Reserve game the last 15 Reserve game captain in the reserves for the last nine games I think we beat man united 3-1 I think it was had this family night football we did really well and I went

Into to knock the manager’s door with confidence cuz like going back to what I said earlier everything I touched in football had had worked for me whatever team I wanted to play for sign for or I didn’t have trials with leester Leicester city I got offered school boy

Forms I got offered apprenticeship I got offered a probe contract I didn’t go in confidently because of everything’s worked for me I went in confident because I was playing I was playing really well I was the captain of the reserves I felt like I would probably knocking on the door to

Get into the already relegated Premier League first team Mark McGee was in there and he told me straight the way no conversation there’s 91 Cent or halfs ahead of Y that I have to offload my my um first thoughts and priorities to try and keep Leicester in the Premier League which

Was already relegated well not mathematically but and he had his feet on the table smoking a cigar and I just didn’t wait wait around it hurt cuz this is my hometown club and in hindsight when he’ left three months into The Following season and Martin

O’Neal took over a lot of the young Lads was still there and he gave a lot of them a chance including my friend Sam M Stewie Wilson um uh and a few others and yeah I feel that things were different things might have changed you know turned out

Differently as well but do you almost feel Scott because it had almost come easy to you you know when you were sort of growing up you were the best player in the team it just organically happened that you became a footballer did that make you less able

To sort of cope with the disappointment of maybe not making it into the first team uh it’s a bit of a tricky question really um I understand the question but cuz I’ve never felt that before I felt my reaction to it by asking the manager I think it was March uh my

Contract expired in June I didn’t sit still I typed letters to all the clubs in the Midlands uh at the lower levels your Northampton your mansfields etc etc and they all responded but they all responded that they don’t need anybody but thankfully at the time our reserves played Mansfield and our

Reserves are littered with experienced first teamers and I was the youngest lad in the team that found it very easily playing with these the were qu of superstars really for that ponting’s League Play Mansfield outfit that were playing the youth team and first year cled they lited with young kids

Technically very good but obviously it was easier and after that game it fell for me again like Andy King i’ add me letto the club would return the letto but he’d now see me play in in the flesh and he spoke to me after the game took my number two days later it

Offed me a contract and I obliged uh so things fell for me again like because of that Reserve game but I don’t know I feel like I had the bit between my teeth to make something work you know like I didn’t I didn’t rest on my Laurels

Because it’s a tricky time when your contract expires in June and if nothing’s in the pipeline you then go have eight weeks break and then you’re coming back to no Club so I mve quickly bit of a culture shock going from Premier League Leicester City to

Mansfield Town it was a culture shock as well yeah so from The Dizzy acts of going in training at atast 9 in the morning we’ve or your uh your shorts your socks your towel your slips your flip-flops your boots all on your peg where you are to turning

Up with your own kit at Mansfield cleaning your own boots to a certain degree and taking your own kit and washing it every single day um the training pitches at Le start are like playing at wembler and then you’re training at schools at Mansfield or on

The carpet of the top where there’s no youth team putting the goals out for you you’re putting your own goals out and you you you helping pick up all the bibs and the cones and yeah and then cleaning your boots afterwards yeah massive culture shop but

Like anything you you soon get to grips of it and how did the the fans at Mansfield take to you because you know we said earlier it’s it’s a tough old place man’s field I go up there a fair bit for work I think fans are fans ain’t no um

The there there there’s fans like Cardiff which I’ve never seen anything like in my life um still racist bags on the red clue clut CL but you give your all to a to to a football team and the fans the fans can work out a kiddo and

They can work out somebody that gives a role they’re they’re forgiving but if if you’re giving your all and you’re making mistake after mistake of mistake then it’s the managerial side of the to take out of the fold I mean we had a player called Jimmy Willis at

Leicester I’ve never seen anything in my life like it um we had a four all draw at Christmas against Watford and he had an absolute nightmare but I was sat next to his family and his child and his wife it was brutal and if I could rescue somebody I would have rescued Jimmy

Willis that day to be fair to him he never played again for about a a year and a half and he worked hard at his game and Alan Evans had one game in charge as caretaker manager against Arsenal and Jimmy Willis played that game in the Premier League Markin INRI and Alan

Smith and he was phenomenal absolutely phenomenal so in football it’s never over until it’s over that bloke trained every day with that brutal attack never ever played in the first team again for a year and a half that’s probably something like 35 games where he was in the reserves every

Single week and he just got on with it he had stick off the lads in training and he just got on with it got on with it and it was a nice touch to see him be on a winning team and have a such a great performance against a fantastic

Arsenal team and I’m very proud I was very proud to to go in next day and tell him shake his hand look him in the eye and say you know what if anyone deserve that it was you because going back to what you’re saying about the fans the

Fans turned on him very badly that day remember remember it was awful boxing day it was you were at Mansfield enjoying your football now but you’re out at about in Mansfield you’re getting to know the local area what was what was happening at this time well you

Know I as a person sort of I escaped the years of raves and tekes and things like that that my mates were doing when I was 16 17 i’ worked hard at my apprenticeship my my Pro contract at Leicester i’ go out now and again but it

Would neither Ina there so when we got to Mansfield um I chose to live in Mansfield I could have traveled 45 miles of the road but I wanted to take myself away from Temptations and I did that and I lived in in Diggs in Mansfield but

There was four three of four of lads that lived in the digs with me now every Wednesday when the season gets going because we were sponsored by Mansfield bitter our presentations were not like opening schools or restaurants or going to hospitals they were going to the local Boozer playing darts and dominoes

And pool with the locals and getting given 11 gallons by The Bu to drink on a Wednesday night and there was a lot of families in our football team like Lads that lived in donc cast that were married with families that didn’t want to come all

The way back to Mansfield to do the presentation so we found ourselves putting our hands up and doing them every week I became good at drinking um um something I left behind and escaped from and never had no interest in so I was out every Wednesday uh I

Always fought the scales of we used to get weighed Monday on Fridays and I was like bribed or blackmailed if I’m over this such weight I won’t be playing on the Saturday and this that and the other so because of the heavy drinking sessions on Wednesdays I then had a

Awful training session on Thursdays I’d be in the gym Thursday night on the bicycle on the rower I’d have a black bin liner on I’d be in the sa like a jocker just to get these pounds off um I always played if I was 3 pound over or

Whatever I was but yeah um the Wednesday nights became ridiculous um over a period of time it wasn’t doing damage at the time but later years it led to uh damage when I go out my behavior would be responsive differently if I hadn’t been out or hadn’t been

Drinking to that if I was at home in bed so give me an example of that then Scott so you’re enjoying your football you’re up in Mansfield you’re getting maybe a bit of a reputation as a drinker maybe within in the club but I mean the fans

Still see you as a professional athlete but then you’re going out into Mansfield and it’s it’s not the biggest place in the world either is it yeah I mean it it weren’t so much Mansfield it was the later years at Cambridge but obviously it’s embedded in me that I can drink a

Lot uh I didn’t really I wasn’t really want for going out if I to get injured or this or that or the other or there was a lad’s night out something would always happen and I would be involved or i’ be around the person that that’s caused it not not necessarily the

Proprietor but I was always in the mix one time for example we we we play Bolton no we didn’t play Bolton we had Bolton next round we played rexam in the FA Cup fourth round ferv is Cambridge have ever got big FA Cup uh footage like

There was around the club all week um the proper FA Cup came around there was on Match of the day it was good it was a good week of of of show what the what the town’s about um we went went out for din um broadcasted on

BBC 1 match of the day we beat Rex home away then our gaffa fantastic gaffa one of the best managers I ever worked for Roy M farand what he did was he sort of assembled a team from um rejects from all the big clubs uh anyhow he came on the the the

Microphone um at the end of The Journey back from rexon telling us how proud of his proud of us he is and emphasizing listen every man and his dog is going to want a piece of you boys tonight Cambridge is going to be buzzing um if you’re going to go

Out get off back to your own towns and go out there and celebrate there do not go out in Cambridge whatever you do that would be old me and two others go out in Cambridge and we have a great night to be honest and and um I’m having a little

Pee at the side of an Alleyway later on for the Kebab shop and uh one of my colleagues decid to put a big brick through a next window and police involved I was about and that’s that’s one of the episodes the same guy we had

A we had a dinner do about four months later we’d gone out drinking in the afternoon and uh these presentations was generate money for the club because it we needed sponsors so was a sponsored dinner Duncan Edwards was a talker excuse me he’s uh put drink in

The speaker you know so when this big icon football is speaking it’s all crackling I’m giggling because it was actually fun but obviously I’m part of it again and it’s all getting documented and it just sort of it carried on from there just going on to the FA Cup

Incident I mean you’ve said mfar has said don’t go out in Cambridge so difficult conversation with him on the Monday yeah it’s uh it was the the same Three Musketeers like many times to be honest and I was one of them Musketeers I wasn’t the ring leader uh

It wasn’t really a conversation it was right this is what’s happening sort of thing two weeks wages and it was documented but at the time I was playing really really well uh and it was another one of them ones I wanted to move to Cambridge but because

Of how expensive the living was down Cambridge the contract that was on was never letting me afford to live down there so I had to commute and uh I wanted a longer contract and I wanted more wages for The Following season I was going to say let’s put it into some

Sort of chronological order so leester to Mansfield correct Mansfield on trial to Lincoln and um Chesterfield a week before the season there’s only three months I’d signed for Chesterfield then I’ve ended up at at Cambridge from the Autumn till the end of the season I got a contract renewed we won promotion and

Then I did the whole Following Season at Cambridge and then I signed for Lincoln where uh the wheels really fell off I was going to say the infamous one appearance at Lincoln I believe what was the story there Scott the story was um I’ve dropped down a league for um about

Four times as much money uh if the season ran how I presumed it would run where I’d be the first team for the whole season probably six times as much money and the contract getting ripped up and doubled so I’ve gone to Lincoln and I’ve done it again um I’ve come away from

Leicester uh I’ve asked them to put me up in a hotel they put me up in an hotel for eight weeks during the vigorous um training regime that they had Lincoln was like an army barretts um very very tough training but I was prepared for it

I was coming there not to make up the numbers I was coming there as now an experienced campaigner with 150 League games under his belt to help get Lincoln out of that Division and um the manager at the time was Phil Stant who i’ marked as a center forward many times we played

For bar very talented he was Army reg he was in the Army himself and um yeah I I got off to a good start um I played preseason friend something uped to my knee um I don’t know what it was but it all

Tied up um so I rested it for a few days came back training rested it came back training it came to the conclusion that I needed surgery unfortunate but it it would have been only been a six week thing I did play a mere 20 minutes leading up to

This but it was no good my leg was no good I went out had a drink um um got done for drink driving um in my eyes it’s not it’s not really it’s not it’s my own punishment um but because the club heard about it they decided instead of finding there they

Decided to give me a written warning which it wasn’t worthy of the written warning but I just thought yeah I don’t really get in trouble forgetting about all the situations I had prior the season at Cambridge I’m not really trouble um then the two weeks later the managers organized the players get

Together for all the new signings that it assembled so an all day golf day and then we all go out on the drinking session I remember one of the lads came up to about 1:00 a.m. in the morning says Scott I’m going back to the digs

Come on we’ve had a good day come with me rare this that the other I said no I’m having a great time it’s all right me it’s all right I’ll get me own way back didn’t go B with him then some frackers happened outside a kebab shop

And like I said the Scot that would be walking out the training gate Soo if I got abused or insulted I can easily walk away but the Scots that drink field that gets abused is a total different character and the frackers ended up getting me sacked and from there that’s

Where my career sort of descended and were you literally sacked immediately next day no I wasn’t sacked I was um I got arrested Ed the night it happened and obviously I denied this that and the other but then when it came to the court proceedings the guy that I had the

Frackers with didn’t turn up at Court it was it was threatening words of behavior that the two girls that he was with that I got sent to court for and the punishment was nothing it was a nothing thing so my solicitor just said plead guilty to it and you you’ll get a fine

And that’ll be it done finished so when I pleaded guilty to it then um I’ve lied to the club about not being involved in XY and Z but I was thought they’d be happy that it’s just a fine and it’s done and dusted but obviously I got my contract ripped up

And uh I was left without a football club with an inur so what happens next do you literally sort of pack up from Lincoln back to Leicester well because um I was on pration and I had a I had a lease on a properer cuz I’d moved out of the hotel

Cuz is now 3 months down the line four months down the line I was only in the hotel for8 weeks so I stayed in Lincoln for a while um waited till I got the surgery um got the surgery done and then I I came back to leester um then the PFA

Got me to go to Lily Shaw where I spent nine weeks um doing my rehab but after the nine weeks it came to light that the the operation that I got oper they’ done the wrong operation on my knee and and uh I still have the same

Injury and how are you feeling mentally at this time because we know where you are physically you’re without a club with a knee injury but I mean that’s got to be now from the heights of like you said 150 League appearances to suddenly being without a

Club bad reputation in the game yeah the the name had uh gone around like it’s like a circular in it like a manager will ask a manager that they’re familiar with w what’s with car with this that the other one oh no they clear all it’s just like

Any industry real if you’re a plaster and you don’t turn up on Fridays it gets other Plastering firms get wind of it and I’ve been in trouble a couple of times it don’t take a lot to pick up a phone on somebody get give you bad press

You know they’re not really going to pick up the the phone to the manager where you’ve played 100 games and you’ve been reliable and you’ve never been in trouble either they’re going to pick up the latter ones where you have been in trouble so no complaints there um um I

Didn’t really know anything else so it surrendering at that time was never like really in my resume so I had a friend from football Su M um he was at stevenage I asked him can I come and see your Physio and lo and behold they had a injury they

Had a player that had the same injury it’s called um a release on your ILO Tio band you got a band that goes from your hip on the outside down to your knee uh it just needed a snip where it would release the tension because it was stretched it’s similar to your

Achilles and I had the operation and I was back ready to play in 6 weeks but it had T taken 18 months to two years because I didn’t have a club and they didn’t know what the problem was and I’d had surgery and i’ been here and I’d

Been there and I’ve been everywhere so I’m now 26 27 26 27 I’d signed for stevenage to sign me on and uh they couldn’t get me a game in the first team so they leased me out on loan to hinley United that was the original Hinkley

Wasn’t it before the it flip it was the original yeah uh Dean Thomas was the manager who was he was a character as well he was a character and at that time they were conference north south were they yeah conference north um we had a

Good cut run there as well um we got to the first round proper so we to get to the first I think we you go through four prary rounds so it was it got quite a bit no we got to the second round it got

A good lot ofit bit of revenue for incle United and uh the fa cut with there as well and when you went sort of back well say back into football back into playing after the injury have you now curbed the drinking or is the drinking culture still there because you know it’s you’re

Still a young lad to be honest when I first signed for hler and on loan um I was going out drinking on a Thursday quite a lot thinking I could just turn up uh I’ve been out the game now two years I was thinking of the

Levels I was at to the levels that this is more for me um after about six games uh Dean tried to sign someone from Leicester Center off uh it didn’t go through on time on the the first FA Cup game we had so I managed to get a

Game um I knew I was on my way out I curbed the drink in the deal didn’t go through I played in the replay we won and from there I was exceptional for the rest of the season but the drinking went um I thought I could just I’ve been back in Leicester for

About 6 months and going out on a Thursday was a regular thing but it it uh it came to an all and yes I had a very good last 25 games for hler but I was on Peanuts I was working all I was God send in a job yeah I didn’t pay

Anything so I then got a trial back at Cambridge I Domin again ended up at Telford and then my first child were born and it sort of filed filed out of it and how did your favorite tford because I mean they’re a club that’s bed under the leagues had some good cut runs

Over the year is they’re fairly prominent aren’t they without yeah I mean Roy farin’s good friend took over I forgot his name now um but the assistant was my assistant manager at Cambridge David priest who Sadler passed away a few years after that he used to play for

Luton had a wizard of a left foot uh very good assistant manager at Cambridge yeah again the pay structure problem of me not having a club it’s like tord was signing like people like Lee Mills from Port Vale putting him on ,500 a week and then because I’ve not

Got a club they sign me on a month to Monon contract putting me on 350 a week I’m a 27 28 year old man now big man like with a child my first child and everything was month to month with me you know like six months contracts here

Contract there contract there never had that three years to relax or could have going get a mortgage or could have go get this going at I mean the time I did get a secure contract at Lincoln that happened so those S were grapes but it was

Difficult so you drift out the game and it must be difficult having been to those Heights to just get on with a normal sort of nino5 graft I believe the PFA were very good to you weren’t they there was there was um football clubs not so good

Y are you there yeah okay the take care of you even leester City like there’s no stopping leester City from giving you some tickets now and again to go and watch a game but nothing uh but going back to the PFA brilliant absolutely brilliant and I suppose when I’d let myself down

Through the troubles that I got myself into um you you you find yourself cuz I got done for drink driving so I was going on a train all the way to Manchester where the headquarters were quite regular and I was dealing with someone called Brendan Batson and I

Thought I was going to my head mustard you know like I’m in trouble again but they don’t look at you like that they look at you you you’ve got a problem and they’re going to solve it you know and they’re going to help you solve it so

Because they looked at my record on which is all documented um I think there’s about six or seven drinking incidents over the period of two years in Cambridge and Mansfield Cambridge and Lincoln so they sent me to the PRI clinic in Notting G whether was going to

Pay £350 a night for me to get rehab for being an alcoholic so the SAT me down with the doctor and within five minutes the doctor’s telling me I’m an alcoholic I’m telling him no then within six minutes I’m telling him yeah maybe getting in your head I don’t I

Don’t think I’ve ever been an alcoholic I just think I can drink excessively and don’t stop uh but he then asking questions like did your behavior change which he did do yeah um I admitted to that so he classing but they’re connected to the privary clinic and obviously they’re getting

3,000 odd pounds you know I mean more than that they’re getting like how much is 30 times 300 £10,000 for me to stay there so I just asked the PFA look I’m I’m needy in debt so I’d rather you w me up in the finances than send me I don’t

Think I’m an alcoholic and they they paid off my finances for me and they released my um retirement Monet and they also released my pension and they also gave me £5,000 to for further education which I did my La license with so yeah so presumably the driving band’s

Over so you think yeah well I didn’t use it I left it in the pot for for a while CU this is this all happened in 2000 and I mean everything was going around in me head at the time so obviously I tried to get him back into football in a period

Of time and then once that ship had sailed and I’d spent months and stacking shelves in tesos on a night shift massive culture shock like one minute you’re playing against the M right uh for burle when he was coming to the end of his career in front the 25,000 fans

And the next minute you’re hiding on a night shift in Tesco stacking shelves trying to earn some money to feed your kid it’s funny I was going to ask you about you know looking back maybe couple of the highs and a couple of the lows and there’s there’s almost with that

Little Paradox a high and a low in itself isn’t there you know the the Y and Riot and the stacking shelves you know yeah I mean as much as uh people like him right were I’m not going to use the word Idol I don’t know what weren me Idols but I

Absolutely adored like these Superstars that banged in goals every week or Center offs like Tony Adams that I could stand when I was at Le on they’re in the tunnel and I’m standing next to them and I’m looking I was in a of them but then

When I’m on the pitch with these players like and ra he was on the bench this particular game um I was at Cambridge I’m playing for my month Toom contracts you know like I need to be playing out my skin I’m not on but I’m not I’m not

Interested you little mouth on the bench and then you coming on and you trying to say take your time and take this I can’t stand you I play football against you and you may any i’ got no time to talk small talk with you or anything like

That but then after the game I want to sh I want to talk to him in the bar he’s he’s he’s he’s achieved so much in the game and yes I am in all of them sort of players and the low point if you had to pinpoint one particular well let’s go

For two low points one a football in low point and then possibly sort of post career because like we said you know it is a big culture shift you know from being a pro footballer to cracking on with cracking on with normal life think biggest the two low points was the day I

Got released by Leicester from Mark McGee and if it was from Brian little where the contract had run its distance like I’d been under him for four years I’ve been under they’ seen you day in day out and you just wasn’t good enough to make the Breakthrough then fine but

Somebody that I’ve been at Leicester since I was 13 years old and I left at 20 and some somebody that was bought in with put on a lot of money and the magnitude in what he released me with his feet on the table smoking a cigar

And the fact that he left off my hometown Club The Following season after seven eight games and went to wolves to somebody have your career in their hands like that and not in my eyes not even give a care in the world and then just go on to better things himself

What he presumed would be better things that that was the low point but obviously I didn’t rest on it cuz I went on and whatever and achieved x amount of League games the other low point was uh the decision not to go with my friend

When he asked me to uh you coming back to the uh room with me when I was at Lincoln because it’s like sliding doors if if you get on the train this might have happened if you missed the train that might have happened if I’d have

Gone home with him I know it definitely would have happened so that was a low point it’s interesting you say about McGee because I think those of us of a certain age you mention McGee’s name in this city you won’t hear one positive thing will you from any any supporter of Leicester city

I mean there were a couple of a good I remember that that one nil away win they had at Manchester City where Mark Robin scored but just the way he left the club it still well there a Judas there’s a Judas chance in there I mean you asked

The question earlier about the fans like the fans the the the the ones that pay the money do you know like some of these people work all hours God sends to go and kick the kid out and just this and then when you do what I did and just leave and

Just go on to you didn’t even give Leicester city a chance it just shows shows me personally it was all about money that’s all it was about and I I don’t begrudge anybody money if you you work your craft I mean I’m the F believer if you if your name is Step

Gerard you shouldn’t because you’ve had a great career gone straight to the top at management I don’t believe in that I think you should earn your craft and work your way up and yeah then if you get the good money and this and that the other and you want to

Leave that club where you’ve done a good job for two or three years and you then go on to better things not come and Nick money off Leicester city and then after three months of the next season you mean you started the season okay you I mean

Started the season okay and at the minute this always seems doomed to failure anyway you know Lampard Rooney exactly you could just carry on listing them for the rest of the evening you know it just doesn’t work I don’t quite understand why clubs keep keep going

With that M I don’t understand it either I mean you look at Eddie how uh I mean he’s done his he’s done his he’s done his own work in he he’s been at Bournemouth he’s brought Bournemouth up through two divisions you know the the other team that come up like I mean that

That blo has brought Luton up you got no money you know like they all get overlooked a lot you know um I mean I was a fan of Sam Ali last he’ done his he done his timing like I used to play against Knox County when I was at

Mansfield he was manager Knox County he took Knox County up he took Bolton up he went back down took Bolton up again and he’d earn his stripes to be able to go on to bigger things if he needed to do you know like he got a post at West Ham

And he got a post at Newcastle so when you’ve done your you P ar aren your stripes being a manager then yeah if if you’ve been successful then yeah g to a bigger post but giving players that have been phenomenal players them big managerial roles it’s total different

Ball game being a manager you know as a player you yeah it’s mental game and you you’re playing in front of a lots of fans but you’ve just got yourself to worry about then you got to be a team player but being a manager you got to

Think about how the foods been know how the what what training sessions the coaches are going to put on who we play next week the coaches the the the dinner staff this staff that stuff that you thinking about 50 different Avenues of the football club and then you’ve got

Board meetings and then you got your technical director your sports director who’s buying this player what what money we got mindboggling job being a manager mindboggling and last couple of questions Scott and there’s one that I’ve wanted to ask you does the 48-year-old Scott eustus look back at

His career and think that was one hell of a ride or do you look back on your career and think what if a bit of both if I’m honest um I look back on my career and applaud myself for getting where I got because no disrespect to my parents

Or anything I felt like I got there on my own um being critical I feel if I had had a father figure and I feel like football clubs noways I feel if they had a mentor more mentors there because as young boys I don’t know how it is nowadays but

Going back to my day you’re competing is everything’s a competition like you’re playing against the next man there to try and get in the team or try and get a contract or try and this and try and that try and renew a contract sometimes young young boys are

Playing for the dad that didn’t make it or they’re playing for the dad that absolutely loves football and as a young kid you don’t ever want to let Dad down now the boys that ain’t got dads like I had a dad but I didn’t have a dad that was there at

Football you’re playing for yourself but you’ve got nobody to talk to do you know like you seemed as like a little kiss ass if you’re going up to the the coach and asking the coach this that and the other so I feel like if you had a mentor

There where the mentor would go and check touch base with the child to see what his background was like I mean I didn’t support Manchester United but I was a fan of Alex Ferguson because Alex Ferguson knew every background of every one of his players even the the players

That were not even like the beckhams when they were 14 years old he knew his Grandad supported he knew his dad supported he went to watch youth team games and got a plane from whatever youth Team game to to the first team game he touched base with what what

Meant a lot to families do you know like if David Beckham seen him going to his dad’s house like know this guy cares do you know what I mean yeah and I don’t think there’s enough of that in the game and just for young Lads trying to make it out

There I feel they should enjoy football from a young age and if they’ve still got the hunger and the desire then believe in themselves never stop trying to get get to your goals if you want a career in football you do need a lot of luck but you need the effort and you

You’ve got to put the maximum effort in and drinking like I found out does not go with sports it doesn’t go with sports is you’ve got to do one or the other if you want to if if you want to try and be have a career in in in in sport then you

Just leave the drink the drinking will always be there and the last question Scott I suppose two parts to it what does the future have in store for Scott ECE and how do you view football the sport now I really enjoy football at the top the top

End of it watching the top end of it uh players at the top of the game who do it week in week out how they live the lives how they conduct themselves I love to love Paul skes he was never in the papers everything that I dear to is

Something that I didn’t do myself and what I’d like to do I’d like to be a mentor the things that I talk about I’d like to go to Leicester city once I am in a good place myself um not saying I’m in a bad place but you get bills and you

Get kid problems and you get this and get that so once I am stable myself more stable than I am at the moment I’d like to go to a the city and say to him like you know is there a role for me where I

Can tell my story or just be a mentor to kids and be a platform because I’ve had the highs of playing in front of these fans and i’ had the highs of experienced this much money and then I’ve been here and I’ve been in hostals and I’ve been

On the street and I’ve about to stack shelves in tesos and i’ about to learn to do this job or that job or learn to work with people that have had no experience then try and try to trade and try this trade and try that trade or

Learn to be a lorry driver M and adapting so if there’s just something that could nurture young boys that have to deal with disappointment because there’s not a role for football for all them boys that get taken on as an academy player and even when they’re not

Making it at 25 they still have no idea what they’re going to do yeah so between the ages of 16 and say 25 26 when they’ve not made it I’d like to see if there’s a role for Scott Eustace um in the envir en where I could nurture kids

And just be somebody to talk to do you know to guide them I think you’re absolutely right because it’s not just football experience it’s life experience it is life experience yeah and you you you you’ve lived that life and you can pass on that that knowledge that experience advice guidance yeah and

Maybe I’ve definitely wore the bought the ticket worn the t-shir in a lot of avenues of life and that’s I’m here today and uh I I don’t really have words for young Lads because I didn’t have them thoughts of being a footballer at a young age but

Those that I’ve got them thoughts then you listen to your parents and and a word for parents as well let your kid enjoy football as well and let your kid do it for himself and not for you not not don’t let the kid Live Your Dream Let Him Live his own

Dream and if he wants to live his own dream Back Him support him push him but don’t drown him and sometimes you take a child to so many different teams there’s four or five different clubs teaching him different things and it can bambooz alone let your child Express himself the

Footballer he is and let him enjoy it once the enjoyment goes the interest goes I think that’s a fantastic way to end this podcast Scott it’s been an absolute pleasure we said that hour quickly indeed the hour thanks very much for your time pleasure