GRAEME
SOUn ESS56 September 2019 FourFourTwo
raemeSounessswaggers.He
strutsevenwhenhe’ssitting
down.Whenhespeaks,people
listen.The66-year-oldScotis
a naturalbornleader.There
weretimesduringhisbrilliant
careerwhenit seemedlikehe
wasbentonheadinga suicide
mission,butSounesswasthe
greatestcaptainthegamehas
seen.Fearless,uncompromising
andsometimesbrutal,former
team-matestalkaboutthemantheystillcall
‘ChampagneCharlie’withawe.
“ItwasallaboutleadershipwithCharlie,”
saidSteveNicol,whoplayedalongsidehimfor
LiverpoolandScotland.“Apartfromthefact
hewasa superb,brilliantfootballer.”
ThegreatDiegoMaradonaagrees,recently
namingSounessinthismagazineasoneof
thetwobestBritishplayersofhisgeneration
(seeFFT301).TheotherwasBryanRobson,
whosenicknamewas‘CaptainFantastic’.Both
wereinspirationalskippersbuttheLiverpool
midfielder’sexploits– andmedalhaul– push
himabovehisManchesterUnitedcounterpart.
Sounesshasbroughthiscombativenature
topunditry.Heis aslikelytodivein two-footed
ina Skystudioashewasoutonthepitch.His
forthrightcriticismofPaulPogbalastseason
wasentertaining,butanyonewhothinksthis
is a caseofa bitterex-professionallashingout
ata flamboyantyoungstaris mistaken.The
analysisis basedoncold,hard,footballlogic.
“Idon’tthinkhislifestyleis theproblem,”he
tellsFFT. “Pogbahasgotexceptionalphysical
attributes.It’sa classiccaseoftoomuchtoo
soon.Unitedmadea bigmistakelettingZlatan
Ibrahimovicleave,ashehadhighstandards.
Playerslistentopeoplewhohavebeenthere
anddoneit.Ibrahimovicworkedhardandset
a greatexample.I don’tthinkPogbawillever
fulfilhispotential.”
TheScothasnoissueswiththe26-year-old’s
off-the-pitchactivities.Afterall,he’shardly
onetopreach.
“Iwasa weebitflashinthewayI dressed
andthecarsI drove,”hesays.“Butyoucanget
awaywithit whenyou’redoingthebusiness.
“IlearntatLiverpoolthattherewasa time
toenjoylifeanda timetowork.Wehadfun–
therewasnothingwemissedouton.”
FROMNEWBOYTOKINGPIN
HisnicknamewasbornafterbossBobPaisley
lambasted hisplayersinthewakeofa poor
performanceinthelate1970s.“Abunchof
playboysandChampagneCharlies,”fumed
theLiverpoolmanager.Themonikerstuck.
Souness,likemostofhisteam-mates,was
a regularfixtureinMerseyside’sclublandand
regularlyspottedaroundtown.It helpedkeep
himgrounded.
“IactuallylivedinLiverpoolwhenI played–
mostofthesidewereupinSouthportoron
theWirral,”hecontinues.“Peoplewerenever
slowtogiveanopinionif thingsweren’tgoing
well.Themodernplayerdoesn’tgeta chance
tomixwiththepeopleofthecity.Agentsand
pressofficersprotectthem.”
BorninEdinburgh,Sounessbeganhiscareer
atTottenhamin 1968,butaftera stintinthe
NorthAmericanSoccerLeaguewithMontreal
Olympique,hemovedtoMiddlesbroughfour
yearslater.Heearneda reputationforbeing
a manwitha delicatetouch,pinpointpassing
rangeandnastystreak,andallthreeattributes
attractedPaisleyin1978.
“Mostmidfieldsaremadeupofa buzzer,
a cruncheranda spreader,”saidtheLiverpool
gafferafterpayinga club-record£350,000to
bringSounesstoAnfield.“Thisboyis allthree.”
“I was 23 whenI wenttoLiverpool,”hesays.
“Irelishedit – I lovedbeingchallengedevery
dayintrainingandworkingwithplayerswho
movedquickerandthoughtquicker.”
It washerethatSounessstartedformingthe
attitudesthatwouldlaterdefinehiscareeras
a player,a manageranda pundit.
“Itwasbrutal,”hesays.“Myfirstgamewas
atWestBromwichAlbion.Noneofthestaff
hadsaidanythingtome,sointhedressing
roomI askedBobhowhewantedmetoplay.
Hesaid,‘Fuckoff,we’vepaidallthismoneyfor
youandyou’reaskinghowtoplay?’”
Anfield’sBootRoombrainstrustwereharsh
taskmasters,andPaisleyandhislieutenants–
JoeFagan,RonnieMoranandReubenBennett- weresavage.
“Joeusedtosay,‘We’vetoldyouonce,told
youtwice,wewon’ttellyouagain.You’llbeon
yourwayoutthedoor’.Youhadtolearnfast.”
TheBootRoom’simpossiblyhighstandards
hada hugeimpactonSouness.“Ronniewas
thesinglebiggestinfluenceonmycareer,”he
says.“Hewasthemoaner-in-chief.Hisattitude
was,‘Yeahyou’regood,butnotasgoodasthe
playerswe’vehadinthepast’.HimandJoe
wouldbetalkingaboutnextseasonwithin 10
minutesofthefinalwhistleofthelastgame.
Assoonasyouwona trophy,theystopped
caringaboutit.It wasstraightontothenext.
“A dressing room full of footballers is like a pack
of wolves. They smell blood. There’s an animal
instinct at work. They hunt the ball down like
a pack, get it and then want to show off. And
Souness was an alpha male.”
Craig Johnston
Liverpool 1981-88
If there was only one trophy for the pre-season
team photograph, it was a disaster for them.”CHAMPAGNE CHARLIE
While Souness wore the captain’s armband –
between 1981 and 1984 – the team won at
least two trophies every season, culminating
with the European Cup in Rome.
Champagne Charlie enjoyed flaunting the
success, too. Even the relentlessly downbeat
Paisley embraced his skipper’s ostentatious