Alan Hansen: Player and Pundit

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0:00:04 > 0:00:06ALAN HANSEN, ECHOING: 'Indecision is final...

0:00:06 > 0:00:08'Terrible defending...

0:00:10 > 0:00:12'No pace and passion...

0:00:13 > 0:00:14'Diabolical...

0:00:16 > 0:00:17'Woeful...

0:00:18 > 0:00:19'Shocking...

0:00:20 > 0:00:21'Abysmal...

0:00:23 > 0:00:24'Time and time again...

0:00:26 > 0:00:28'Effort, attitude, commitment...

0:00:30 > 0:00:31'You can't win anything with kids.'

0:00:41 > 0:00:44HE WHISTLES

0:00:44 > 0:00:46Last time, this walk.

0:00:46 > 0:00:48- Your last time, Alan? - Last time, this walk.

0:00:54 > 0:00:55Do you want to go to the top?

0:00:57 > 0:00:59Final day of the season. One of the best seasons ever.

0:01:00 > 0:01:02Great time for me to go.

0:01:04 > 0:01:06Alan Hansen -

0:01:06 > 0:01:08football pundit,

0:01:08 > 0:01:10football player.

0:01:12 > 0:01:14He's a wee boy from Sauchie that made good.

0:01:14 > 0:01:16And here's Hansen...

0:01:16 > 0:01:19He made very good. Exceptionally good.

0:01:21 > 0:01:22A special one.

0:01:23 > 0:01:24He was a great player.

0:01:24 > 0:01:27He just oozed class. He was a fantastic player.

0:01:27 > 0:01:30Absolutely top, top drawer.

0:01:30 > 0:01:31And Hansen moving up again.

0:01:31 > 0:01:33He's been menacing in that role so far.

0:01:33 > 0:01:36He was just so different to what was around at that time.

0:01:36 > 0:01:38And he's through, and he checked and he scored.

0:01:38 > 0:01:39His reading of the game...

0:01:39 > 0:01:42He always seemed to have great composure and time on the ball.

0:01:42 > 0:01:44He's fearless.

0:01:44 > 0:01:48Never afraid to criticise even his best friends.

0:01:48 > 0:01:51Only the best players in the world can do that.

0:01:51 > 0:01:53He'd just say, "Al, you're rubbish."

0:01:53 > 0:01:55That's what he used to say. "Al, you're rubbish."

0:01:55 > 0:01:58Let me tell you, I had plenty ammunition.

0:01:58 > 0:02:00THEY LAUGH

0:02:00 > 0:02:03Never rubbish, but never quite what you expect either.

0:02:03 > 0:02:05He will now score!

0:02:05 > 0:02:06People think he's super-confident,

0:02:06 > 0:02:10but he's actually really shy and insecure.

0:02:10 > 0:02:11Came on the show, nervous as a cat.

0:02:11 > 0:02:13- He froze.- Absolutely. I froze.

0:02:13 > 0:02:15It was worse than that.

0:02:15 > 0:02:17And who and what does he truly love?

0:02:18 > 0:02:20He'd rather watch the golf!

0:02:20 > 0:02:24She's sweet and she's lovely, and he's horrible and he's miserable.

0:02:24 > 0:02:27On the TV, he's quite a serious, hard man,

0:02:27 > 0:02:29whereas he is the total opposite at home.

0:02:29 > 0:02:32He was there on football's darkest days.

0:02:34 > 0:02:35Two guys came on the pitch,

0:02:35 > 0:02:38and you could tell from the sadness in his eyes...

0:02:38 > 0:02:42He wasn't making it up. He says, "Al, there's people dying in there."

0:02:42 > 0:02:45And he reinvented himself under the bright lights

0:02:45 > 0:02:48and became king of the pundits.

0:02:48 > 0:02:51- Too right.- He was the original, wasn't he?- He's so good.

0:02:51 > 0:02:54If he's saying something on Match of the Day,

0:02:54 > 0:02:56then people take his word.

0:02:56 > 0:02:58Not all his words.

0:02:58 > 0:03:00You can't win anything with kids.

0:03:00 > 0:03:03He almost ruined my life that night, watching Match of the Day.

0:03:03 > 0:03:07It acted as kind of a motivational theme throughout the season, really.

0:03:07 > 0:03:09It was a line that made me!

0:03:09 > 0:03:13PHONE RINGS

0:03:13 > 0:03:14That's my phone!

0:03:14 > 0:03:15THEY LAUGH Turn it off.

0:03:15 > 0:03:18Almost an institution as far as Match of the Day's concerned,

0:03:18 > 0:03:21so I'm sure there'll be lots of us that are sorry to see him go.

0:03:21 > 0:03:23He's worked with the best.

0:03:23 > 0:03:24THEY CHEER WILDLY

0:03:24 > 0:03:27Any of you boys scored coming on as a substitute this season?

0:03:27 > 0:03:29- Not this season, no.- No. No?- No.

0:03:29 > 0:03:31Any of you boys scored at all this season?

0:03:31 > 0:03:33LAUGHTER

0:03:33 > 0:03:34- No.- No.- Well, that's fair enough.

0:03:34 > 0:03:37- He has been the best. - What are you talking about?

0:03:37 > 0:03:38'Can you get me Alan Hansen's autograph?'

0:03:38 > 0:03:40LAUGHTER

0:03:40 > 0:03:42- 'I suppose so.'- Brilliant!

0:03:42 > 0:03:44And now, Alan Hansen,

0:03:44 > 0:03:48my friend Alan Hansen, is calling it a day.

0:03:49 > 0:03:52What was the young Alan Hansen like?

0:03:52 > 0:03:54I was born in this mining village called Sauchie that...

0:03:54 > 0:03:58There were two choices, you either played football or played football.

0:03:58 > 0:03:59There was nothing else.

0:04:03 > 0:04:07John's the eldest, I'm the middle, and Alan was the baby.

0:04:07 > 0:04:12He's always been my wee brother, and always looked out for him.

0:04:12 > 0:04:16He was a very easy-going child.

0:04:17 > 0:04:22I think the way often third children are, everyone was fond of him.

0:04:23 > 0:04:26He winds me up constantly,

0:04:26 > 0:04:30but I know that there is this deep affection between both of us

0:04:30 > 0:04:32and my sister as well.

0:04:34 > 0:04:38When I got to secondary school at age 11, Jim Cousin,

0:04:38 > 0:04:40who was a history teacher,

0:04:40 > 0:04:43who had also been a professional footballer...

0:04:44 > 0:04:47his encouragement was total.

0:04:47 > 0:04:48Come on!

0:04:48 > 0:04:52He was the one that was taking me to the Scotland schoolboy trials

0:04:52 > 0:04:55and telling me, basically, that I was a great player,

0:04:55 > 0:04:57and I would have a tremendous future in the game,

0:04:57 > 0:04:59and I never, ever believed him, really.

0:04:59 > 0:05:01This way!

0:05:01 > 0:05:03I used to watch him playing and I was amazed at

0:05:03 > 0:05:05how proficient he was at the game.

0:05:05 > 0:05:07He was outstanding.

0:05:08 > 0:05:12He was absolutely tremendous in controlling a ball.

0:05:12 > 0:05:14It never bounced away from him.

0:05:14 > 0:05:17He always had it under perfect control, and he either went on

0:05:17 > 0:05:23an amazing dribble or he would put lovely passes on to other players.

0:05:24 > 0:05:26But he loved golf.

0:05:26 > 0:05:29Sometimes in the morning, I think he went out

0:05:29 > 0:05:32and had a game before he even went into football in the morning.

0:05:32 > 0:05:36We played three rounds every day, and we were relatively young,

0:05:36 > 0:05:38and he was always following me to the golf and I was...

0:05:38 > 0:05:39HE SCOFFS

0:05:39 > 0:05:42because I would be playing with big boys, and he'd chase me,

0:05:42 > 0:05:46and he wanted to play with me, and I threw him into a bunker,

0:05:46 > 0:05:49and a man came over and started shouting at me, and I said,

0:05:49 > 0:05:51"It's OK, he's my wee brother."

0:05:51 > 0:05:54As though that made it OK to throw him in the bunker!

0:05:54 > 0:05:56Golf's always been my first love.

0:05:56 > 0:06:00I stopped playing football at 15 and 17 to concentrate on golf.

0:06:00 > 0:06:03Right? My brother was playing football at the time,

0:06:03 > 0:06:05and he thought I was crazy.

0:06:05 > 0:06:07He just wanted to play golf. That's all he wanted to do.

0:06:07 > 0:06:11He played football as a side thing, but he was a golfer.

0:06:11 > 0:06:13Much to the dismay of my father,

0:06:13 > 0:06:15who always wanted me to be a footballer.

0:06:15 > 0:06:18Just to placate him, I went on trial at Hibs

0:06:18 > 0:06:20when I was 17, and it was a week before I was playing in

0:06:20 > 0:06:23the Scottish Boys' Stroke Play at Montrose, and Eddie Turnbull,

0:06:23 > 0:06:26after five days, brought me into his office, he was the manager,

0:06:26 > 0:06:27brings me in the office, and says,

0:06:27 > 0:06:30"Right, we want to sign you on professional forms."

0:06:30 > 0:06:33And I said, "Well, I'm just playing.

0:06:33 > 0:06:36"I'm going to Montrose to play in the Scottish Boys' Stroke Play.

0:06:36 > 0:06:39"I'm never playing football again." He says, "What? You're an idiot!

0:06:39 > 0:06:40I said, "No, no, I'm a golfer."

0:06:40 > 0:06:44I said, "I came here just to placate my father."

0:06:44 > 0:06:46He said, "Well, you've got a real chance here."

0:06:46 > 0:06:48I said, "Well, I don't care.

0:06:48 > 0:06:50"I'm going to play golf," and off I went.

0:06:50 > 0:06:54I was surprised when he switched from golf to football,

0:06:54 > 0:06:56because he desperately wanted to be a golfer.

0:07:01 > 0:07:03I'm pretty sure the time it changed it for him,

0:07:03 > 0:07:06we played Celtic in the League Cup final.

0:07:06 > 0:07:08'Partick Thistle, very much the outsiders.

0:07:08 > 0:07:09'Celtic in the home shirts.'

0:07:09 > 0:07:11Commentator, Archie Macpherson.

0:07:11 > 0:07:13Up comes Hansen for this...

0:07:13 > 0:07:16We were underdogs, Celtic were...

0:07:16 > 0:07:19They had won the league title ten years in a row.

0:07:21 > 0:07:22And it's there! It's a goal!

0:07:24 > 0:07:27They'd won the European Cup six or seven...

0:07:28 > 0:07:30What a goal!

0:07:30 > 0:07:34We had just been promoted from the league below us.

0:07:35 > 0:07:36And it's almost there...

0:07:36 > 0:07:40It's a goal! It's number three for Thistle.

0:07:40 > 0:07:41Almost unbelievably!

0:07:42 > 0:07:45But we won 4-1.

0:07:45 > 0:07:48A good ball in there. It is a goal!

0:07:48 > 0:07:50The final score for Partick Thistle, 4-1,

0:07:50 > 0:07:52the first time they've ever won the Scottish League Cup.

0:07:52 > 0:07:53And believe it or not,

0:07:53 > 0:07:55there were people who gave them no chance at all.

0:07:55 > 0:07:58CHEERING

0:07:58 > 0:08:02When we came off the park at the end, I looked up to the stand

0:08:02 > 0:08:05and I saw Alan sitting in the front row, and I've never, ever

0:08:05 > 0:08:09seen him so animated, and I think that was his time he realised.

0:08:10 > 0:08:13"I think I'm going to want to be a footballer here."

0:08:13 > 0:08:17Seeing the adulation, I think, for the players and the success,

0:08:17 > 0:08:22and how it was possible for dreams to come true,

0:08:22 > 0:08:26I can imagine that that would have had a huge impact on Alan.

0:08:26 > 0:08:30I was meant to be going to Aberdeen University to study history.

0:08:30 > 0:08:31I was a historian.

0:08:31 > 0:08:33Somebody then says, you're better becoming a PE teacher,

0:08:33 > 0:08:36because I played four different sports.

0:08:36 > 0:08:37Never got into the PE college.

0:08:37 > 0:08:40What am I going to do? Partick came and said, "Right, well,

0:08:40 > 0:08:43"we'll give you this to sign on, we'll give you this a week,"

0:08:43 > 0:08:45and I took it. And the rest is history.

0:08:45 > 0:08:48- Football, in many ways, was just a last resort.- Well, it was.

0:08:48 > 0:08:50It was great for us being at Sauchie,

0:08:50 > 0:08:52because they kept our feet on the ground,

0:08:52 > 0:08:54and it was great going to Partick,

0:08:54 > 0:08:56because it was just a fantastic team.

0:08:56 > 0:09:00The Hansen brothers together at Partick.

0:09:00 > 0:09:01The Jags.

0:09:02 > 0:09:05Nobody at Firhill got above himself, either.

0:09:07 > 0:09:09I had four great years at Partick, you know.

0:09:09 > 0:09:13If you think a crowd in England are cynical, in Scotland,

0:09:13 > 0:09:14multiply it by 100,000.

0:09:14 > 0:09:18And at Partick, they'd be shouting, "Hansen, you're a waste of time.

0:09:18 > 0:09:21"Hansen, you're this..." And I was one of the favourites!

0:09:21 > 0:09:23- They were right! - They were right as well!

0:09:23 > 0:09:24They were spot on.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27# Here I am stuck in the middle with you... #

0:09:27 > 0:09:30It was very difficult playing with him.

0:09:30 > 0:09:34Because he was really skilful and I was a really fast runner.

0:09:34 > 0:09:37He always assumed that you could do what he could do.

0:09:37 > 0:09:39And obviously, we couldn't.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45Was the young Alan Hansen cocky, know-it-all?

0:09:45 > 0:09:49- Mmm...I was very, very shy and introvert.- Really?

0:09:49 > 0:09:53I really was. I mean, I went to Liverpool at 21,

0:09:53 > 0:09:56totally inadequate. You know, I felt right out of my depth,

0:09:56 > 0:10:00and I was so nervous going there, I just didn't want to be there.

0:10:00 > 0:10:02I didn't want to leave Scotland.

0:10:02 > 0:10:04I think it probably surprised people

0:10:04 > 0:10:07when you say "I was a nervous individual."

0:10:07 > 0:10:09- Are you still nervous to this day? - Well, I'm...

0:10:09 > 0:10:11I mean, I've seen you on shows...

0:10:11 > 0:10:13I'm more nervous than ever.

0:10:13 > 0:10:16People think he's super-confident, but he's actually really shy

0:10:16 > 0:10:18and insecure and...

0:10:19 > 0:10:22Even after all these years on Match of the Day,

0:10:22 > 0:10:23he's still really nervous.

0:10:23 > 0:10:26The more experienced I got at Liverpool, I'm thinking,

0:10:26 > 0:10:29"The nerves'll disappear." But they never. They got worse.

0:10:31 > 0:10:35The nervous 21-year-old was signed by Liverpool in 1977.

0:10:37 > 0:10:42Anfield, the Kop, tests of anyone's nerves.

0:10:42 > 0:10:44CROWD SING

0:10:44 > 0:10:47I used to sit in the Liverpool dressing room in '77.

0:10:47 > 0:10:49They thought I was the coolest character ever,

0:10:49 > 0:10:51because I never warmed up, I'd sit there with a programme

0:10:51 > 0:10:53singing the Billy Joel song Don't Go Changing.

0:10:53 > 0:10:56# Don't go changing... #

0:10:56 > 0:10:58And, like, they'd look at me and go...

0:10:58 > 0:11:00"That's unreal, for a kid."

0:11:00 > 0:11:03I mean, but underneath it, I am, like, churning.

0:11:03 > 0:11:06- What was the feeling? - The feeling was just...sickness.

0:11:06 > 0:11:08- Were you scared? Of failure? - Yes, just scared.

0:11:08 > 0:11:13Ten minutes to go, the bell goes to go out onto the pitch.

0:11:13 > 0:11:17So I'd been stretching off and doing whatever, I said, "Alan.

0:11:18 > 0:11:20"Are you not going to get warmed up?"

0:11:20 > 0:11:23"Oh," he says, "Yeah." Just stands up.

0:11:26 > 0:11:29Gives it one of them and goes back in.

0:11:29 > 0:11:30"All right. Let's go."

0:11:30 > 0:11:33HE LAUGHS

0:11:33 > 0:11:35And he walks out onto the pitch!

0:11:35 > 0:11:38But as soon as I touched the sign, got down the tunnel,

0:11:38 > 0:11:40- not a nerve in my body. - How did you play in your first game?

0:11:40 > 0:11:44I played very well. It was the second game I didn't play so well.

0:11:44 > 0:11:45And then we had a bad run.

0:11:45 > 0:11:48I think we had three defeats on the trot,

0:11:48 > 0:11:50and Bob Paisley went in the papers and said,

0:11:50 > 0:11:54"The only person playing well in the Liverpool back four is Alan Hansen."

0:11:54 > 0:11:56On the Saturday, reads the team sheet out,

0:11:56 > 0:11:58and I'm the only one not playing.

0:11:58 > 0:12:01I then go and see him on the Monday and say,

0:12:01 > 0:12:04"How can you say in the papers that I'm the only one playing well

0:12:04 > 0:12:06"and you leave me out on the Saturday?"

0:12:06 > 0:12:08He says, "Listen, son, the longer you play this game,

0:12:08 > 0:12:11"you'll realise that experience is everything."

0:12:11 > 0:12:13And he was spot on.

0:12:13 > 0:12:16But for the first year, I was tremendously homesick.

0:12:18 > 0:12:19Souness.

0:12:19 > 0:12:21And there's Dalglish through.

0:12:21 > 0:12:23And is that going in? Yes, it is!

0:12:23 > 0:12:26I went home in the summer and after winning the European Cup,

0:12:26 > 0:12:28didn't want to come back to Liverpool.

0:12:28 > 0:12:30We were worried he wasn't going to settle,

0:12:30 > 0:12:32and there was lots of stories in papers

0:12:32 > 0:12:36about players going to big clubs and getting led astray and...

0:12:36 > 0:12:39But the best thing, I have said often,

0:12:39 > 0:12:43the best thing that ever happened to him was he met Jan, and Jan...

0:12:43 > 0:12:45You know, he's besotted with her.

0:12:45 > 0:12:47Even now, he's still besotted with her.

0:12:50 > 0:12:52They couldn't have met at a better time.

0:12:54 > 0:12:56But what about those nerves?

0:12:56 > 0:12:58Would he fluff his opening lines?

0:13:00 > 0:13:02'We met in a club in Liverpool.'

0:13:02 > 0:13:03I didn't follow football,

0:13:03 > 0:13:07so I didn't know what he did, and actually,

0:13:07 > 0:13:11when we did start chatting, he said he worked in insurance.

0:13:11 > 0:13:15Do you think you settled in better into Liverpool when you met Janet?

0:13:15 > 0:13:19Oh, she was...I mean, my whole family says she saved me.

0:13:19 > 0:13:22I wouldn't go that far.

0:13:22 > 0:13:24He is bone idle. He is bone idle.

0:13:24 > 0:13:29He will play golf, he will go on holiday,

0:13:29 > 0:13:32he will try to do as little as possible.

0:13:32 > 0:13:35The only thing that is going to prevent him doing that is Jan.

0:13:35 > 0:13:38She's sweet and she's lovely, and he's horrible and miserable,

0:13:38 > 0:13:41so you just don't really put them together.

0:13:43 > 0:13:45'We got married in 1980.

0:13:45 > 0:13:49'In the June, and then we had Adam a year later,

0:13:49 > 0:13:53'next June, and Lucy three years after that.'

0:13:53 > 0:13:55They make a very good couple.

0:13:55 > 0:13:58I think Mum's probably the only person

0:13:58 > 0:14:01who Dad would ever concede he's wrong to.

0:14:01 > 0:14:05He's totally himself when he's at home.

0:14:05 > 0:14:08On the TV, he's quite a serious, hard man,

0:14:08 > 0:14:11whereas he is the total opposite at home.

0:14:11 > 0:14:14He has a very soft side,

0:14:14 > 0:14:20which I think he would be at pains to hide from people,

0:14:20 > 0:14:23and when the chips are down, you can count on Alan,

0:14:23 > 0:14:26you know, for support, for love.

0:14:26 > 0:14:29'You'll never, ever see him at fancy parties, showbiz parties.

0:14:29 > 0:14:31'You'll never, ever see him

0:14:31 > 0:14:33'on Strictly Come Dancing or anything like that.'

0:14:33 > 0:14:36He just wants to be home with his wife and kids.

0:14:36 > 0:14:40We go everywhere as a family. The kids have been great.

0:14:40 > 0:14:43- They're not kids any more. - No, they're not, they're 32 and 29.

0:14:43 > 0:14:46The potential for them to grow up to be brats

0:14:46 > 0:14:48in that environment was immense,

0:14:48 > 0:14:50but you couldn't meet two nicer kids,

0:14:50 > 0:14:52and that's down to him and Jan,

0:14:52 > 0:14:56and that's, for me, that's his biggest achievement.

0:14:58 > 0:15:00Which is saying something.

0:15:00 > 0:15:03On the football field, Liverpool were flying.

0:15:06 > 0:15:11In seven seasons from 1978 they won the European Cup three times.

0:15:13 > 0:15:15The league five times.

0:15:15 > 0:15:17Four league cups.

0:15:19 > 0:15:21There would be more when he was captain.

0:15:21 > 0:15:24But this was the age of pure joy.

0:15:24 > 0:15:27In your playing career, so much success, highlight?

0:15:29 > 0:15:33- So many, I suppose. - European Cup final '78.

0:15:33 > 0:15:38- Double winning captain, '86. - '86.- '86, great year, that.

0:15:38 > 0:15:42'84 in Rome. Amazing in Rome.

0:15:42 > 0:15:45We are in the tunnel and we've got three guys that play

0:15:45 > 0:15:48for Middlesbrough, Graeme Souness, Dave Hodgson and Craig Johnson.

0:15:48 > 0:15:50They start singing this Chris Rea song,

0:15:50 > 0:15:52I Don't Know What It Is But I Love It.

0:15:52 > 0:15:55And so everyone started singing it. The Roma players,

0:15:55 > 0:15:58they looked at us like we were off our head, and we were!

0:15:58 > 0:16:01Bruce Grobbelaar has a chat.

0:16:01 > 0:16:07Francisco Graziani against Bruce Grobbelaar. Graziani! Over the top.

0:16:07 > 0:16:09It was such a great night.

0:16:09 > 0:16:13Alan Kennedy has won the European Cup for Liverpool.

0:16:13 > 0:16:16To go in there and win a penalty shoot-out was fantastic.

0:16:16 > 0:16:18Liverpool have won it for the fourth time.

0:16:18 > 0:16:21And the cup is lifted and it glitters silver.

0:16:21 > 0:16:23Who is the best player you played with?

0:16:23 > 0:16:26Kenny was the best player. And then Graeme was next.

0:16:26 > 0:16:29I go to Liverpool as a 21-year-old, first Scotsman and then

0:16:29 > 0:16:33I get followed by a couple of lesser known Scots, Dalglish and Souness.

0:16:37 > 0:16:43Hansen at the back, Souness in midfield. Dalglish upfront.

0:16:43 > 0:16:46And that is absolutely outstanding finishing.

0:16:46 > 0:16:49They can still knock a ball around. Sort of.

0:16:49 > 0:16:52We're not in Florida, you know.

0:16:52 > 0:16:54Don't want to show the dandruff!

0:16:56 > 0:16:59Only the best players in the world can do that.

0:16:59 > 0:17:03He just said to me it's 30 years ago

0:17:03 > 0:17:06since we played in the European Cup final.

0:17:06 > 0:17:09He remembers a ball he passed to me and I mis-controlled it.

0:17:09 > 0:17:14He did that quite a bit, to be fair.

0:17:14 > 0:17:16He used to come and try and take the ball off me and I would say,

0:17:16 > 0:17:21"What are you coming back here for? I am a better passer than you are."

0:17:21 > 0:17:23THEY LAUGH

0:17:26 > 0:17:29Shite!

0:17:29 > 0:17:32Kenny and I live really close to each other but Graeme lives

0:17:32 > 0:17:34in Poole somewhere.

0:17:34 > 0:17:37Graeme Souness is the type of person, you don't see him five years

0:17:37 > 0:17:39and you can pick up like that.

0:17:39 > 0:17:43At the start, when you came, I was the first Scot in that era.

0:17:43 > 0:17:46They didn't know what to expect.

0:17:46 > 0:17:47How long did it take you to become a bully?

0:17:47 > 0:17:50You two were 10 times worse than I ever was.

0:17:50 > 0:17:54Just because we tried to betray the Jocks as a master race.

0:17:54 > 0:17:59And that wasn't very difficult, because the average IQ was -6.

0:17:59 > 0:18:03It was... It wasn't difficult!

0:18:03 > 0:18:08The higher up you go in football, the dressing room banter is more severe.

0:18:09 > 0:18:11The humour is more severe.

0:18:13 > 0:18:18- You can't wait to get there because of the banter.- The mickey-taking.

0:18:18 > 0:18:22That's why it was so successful and good, because of the dressing room.

0:18:27 > 0:18:30We were one of the best professionals, trained properly

0:18:30 > 0:18:34but enjoyed a night out and maybe drank too much alcohol.

0:18:34 > 0:18:38- Speak for yourself. - Didn't eat the right food.

0:18:38 > 0:18:42And we were playing against teams like the Germans, Italians

0:18:42 > 0:18:43and still beat them easily.

0:18:43 > 0:18:45The longer the game went,

0:18:45 > 0:18:47the more tired they got and the stronger we got.

0:18:47 > 0:18:51- Comes down to desire.- It's a combination of everything.

0:18:51 > 0:18:54People used to turn up to watch us train with a notepad.

0:18:54 > 0:18:56From the first tier, right down.

0:18:56 > 0:18:58Walked a perimeter, jogged a perimeter, five-a-sides,

0:18:58 > 0:19:01sprints, five-a-sides, sprints, finish.

0:19:01 > 0:19:05Second day, they write down, The third day, there was no writing.

0:19:05 > 0:19:08The notepad was sitting next to them.

0:19:08 > 0:19:11These guys would say to me, "Do you come back in the afternoon

0:19:11 > 0:19:15- "and do tactical stuff?"- No. Do you come back in the afternoon?!

0:19:17 > 0:19:23I would go to Kenny's for Christmas Day and Kenny says,

0:19:23 > 0:19:25"Graeme's coming."

0:19:25 > 0:19:30So, you come through and the usual... What happens?

0:19:30 > 0:19:34The champagne comes out and this is the day before the game,

0:19:34 > 0:19:39and Kenny says we will have one glass and we go on the bus

0:19:39 > 0:19:43and I thought to myself, "We've had a bit too much

0:19:43 > 0:19:46"the day before the match, blah, blah, blah..."

0:19:46 > 0:19:49and we beat them 3-0.

0:19:49 > 0:19:52- We beat them 3-0! - And we all played really well.

0:19:54 > 0:19:58Remember when we used to win things. Win a trophy.

0:19:58 > 0:20:02There was a Jock picture, why did you never join in?

0:20:02 > 0:20:06Because I was always the outside. When it hit the papers...

0:20:07 > 0:20:11I got in the middle, but you'll love this,

0:20:11 > 0:20:14the best one is in the bar at Cameron House,

0:20:14 > 0:20:18there's 50 great Scotsman, the good thing is you're not in it.

0:20:18 > 0:20:23Anyway, Janet comes back to me and says, "50 great Scots,

0:20:23 > 0:20:26"you're in the picture." I'm like, "Am I?"

0:20:26 > 0:20:29So anyway I go to the bar

0:20:29 > 0:20:33and I'm looking everywhere thinking to myself, I'm not in it.

0:20:33 > 0:20:36And then eventually see a picture of him,

0:20:36 > 0:20:39European cup final in Rome

0:20:39 > 0:20:41and my right ear is in it.

0:20:41 > 0:20:45You can tell it's my ear, just my ear.

0:20:45 > 0:20:4850 great Scots and Al's ear.

0:20:49 > 0:20:52That ear-a!

0:20:52 > 0:20:56To have played with two of the great players was fantastic,

0:20:56 > 0:20:58but they were all great players.

0:20:58 > 0:21:01Every one of them that played on that team was exceptional.

0:21:04 > 0:21:07# Walk on

0:21:07 > 0:21:09# Walk on... #

0:21:09 > 0:21:13It's strange how this one worked out. Two of that great team who

0:21:13 > 0:21:16played together and both walked on into punditry.

0:21:16 > 0:21:19Still talking a great game.

0:21:27 > 0:21:30- It makes you feel invincible. - Every single time?

0:21:30 > 0:21:32And then down and out.

0:21:32 > 0:21:35You can hear the noise. Crescendo noise greeting you.

0:21:51 > 0:21:54Come on then. I've heard so much about this goal that never was.

0:21:54 > 0:21:55You say it was.

0:21:55 > 0:21:57Man United are top of the table,

0:21:57 > 0:22:00a point in front of Liverpool. Liverpool have a game in hand.

0:22:00 > 0:22:03It's 0-0, 21 minutes, 8 seconds into the match and I play it

0:22:03 > 0:22:07- to Souness. Graeme gets it. - No opposition?

0:22:07 > 0:22:12Everyone's moving, the whole thing has opened up and I get to here

0:22:12 > 0:22:16and I kept going and Ray Kennedy is edge of the box.

0:22:16 > 0:22:21I played it into his feet, Ray Kennedy has played it back

0:22:21 > 0:22:26- to about 22 yards.- 22 exactly? - 22 yards, three inches.

0:22:26 > 0:22:29And I've just put my foot back, hit through it

0:22:29 > 0:22:31and pinged it into the bottom corner.

0:22:31 > 0:22:34Did you look where Gary Bailey was?

0:22:34 > 0:22:37No, I just hit it on the right-hand side.

0:22:37 > 0:22:40A centreback has played 2-1-2s and run 65 yards

0:22:40 > 0:22:45and buried it in the corner and not one camera in the ground.

0:22:45 > 0:22:48- Not one camera.- You would love to see the analysis on this.

0:22:48 > 0:22:51Nobody has ever seen that goal. But the big thing there is...

0:22:52 > 0:22:54Nobody ever believes me when I tell that story.

0:22:54 > 0:22:57I'm finding it difficult, I must admit.

0:22:57 > 0:23:02Honestly, one of the greatest goals ever scored here. Allegedly.

0:23:02 > 0:23:05Dalglish is in here. Yes!

0:23:05 > 0:23:101986. Alan is now Liverpool captain and Merseyside rules.

0:23:10 > 0:23:14Liverpool and Everton going toe to toe in the league and in the cup

0:23:14 > 0:23:18- all the way to Wembley. - Is this three? It is!

0:23:18 > 0:23:201986, Kenny was the manager.

0:23:20 > 0:23:24- Great memories for you, of course. - Obviously not.

0:23:24 > 0:23:28I was at Everton at that stage and three times we played you

0:23:28 > 0:23:31- and I scored in all three games. - What did you win that season?

0:23:31 > 0:23:33- Precisely nothing.- Good.

0:23:33 > 0:23:37It was also a minor miracle because you were completely outplayed for most of it!

0:23:39 > 0:23:43- Well, I make a mistake in that game. - No, I outfoxed you.

0:23:44 > 0:23:49Lineker through the centre. Lineker for Everton. Saved by Grobbelaar.

0:23:49 > 0:23:52Lineker! 1-0 to Everton.

0:23:53 > 0:23:56And who else but Gary Lineker?

0:23:56 > 0:23:58For the first time in my life, I'm like that...

0:24:00 > 0:24:02If my head had been right that day,

0:24:02 > 0:24:06if you had been Usain Bolt you wouldn't have scored.

0:24:06 > 0:24:09But everything is about the results, as you well know.

0:24:09 > 0:24:13It was a great day just seeing the sea of blue and red together.

0:24:13 > 0:24:18It was fantastic going to Wembley and the Evertonians mixing with the Liverpudlians.

0:24:18 > 0:24:23It was a great example to the world, I thought, about how

0:24:23 > 0:24:25a city could come together.

0:24:29 > 0:24:32Never before have they won the league and cup double

0:24:32 > 0:24:35and now the moment is here.

0:24:37 > 0:24:39What a consolation for Alan Hansen in the week

0:24:39 > 0:24:42he was left out of the Scotland World Cup party.

0:24:47 > 0:24:50Four in the area. Lineker!

0:24:50 > 0:24:54For me, the '86 World Cup would work out OK.

0:24:54 > 0:24:57But for Alan, it was an immense disappointment.

0:24:59 > 0:25:03He was left out of the Scotland squad by a certain Alex Ferguson.

0:25:05 > 0:25:08It never entered my head that there was a possibility

0:25:08 > 0:25:10I was going to be left out.

0:25:10 > 0:25:13So, we played on the Sunday

0:25:13 > 0:25:17and Alec Ferguson was the manager of the home Scots.

0:25:17 > 0:25:20And he never said a word to me.

0:25:20 > 0:25:23I thought, that's unusual, because Alec always comes

0:25:23 > 0:25:25and talk to everybody

0:25:25 > 0:25:31and I thought, there's something strange here but still couldn't

0:25:31 > 0:25:34believe there was any remote possibility I would be left out.

0:25:34 > 0:25:36And then the dreaded phone call came on the Wednesday.

0:25:36 > 0:25:39But even then, when he told me, it never really sunk in.

0:25:39 > 0:25:43It was only when the reports started to come back from

0:25:43 > 0:25:45the training pitch at Santa Fe

0:25:45 > 0:25:49and onto Mexico that I felt really dejected.

0:25:49 > 0:25:53People keep saying, why do I hate Manchester United so much?

0:25:53 > 0:25:55And I would say, Alex Ferguson,

0:25:55 > 0:25:58because he didn't pick Alan for the World Cup.

0:25:58 > 0:26:01And it's harboured with us all these years

0:26:01 > 0:26:06because he was at the peak of his form, peak of his career

0:26:06 > 0:26:12and he took the two Aberdeen players because he had been manager at Aberdeen.

0:26:12 > 0:26:14Al never said too much but he was gutted.

0:26:14 > 0:26:16I just said, "I have to accept your decision.

0:26:16 > 0:26:19"You pick the team and the squad of players and you're the manager."

0:26:19 > 0:26:21And I just said I wish you all the best.

0:26:23 > 0:26:25Liverpool have won the double.

0:26:25 > 0:26:30If you had said to me, "Do you want to be a double-winning captain

0:26:30 > 0:26:33"or go to the World Cup?" you would probably say double-winning

0:26:33 > 0:26:37captain, so it more than made up for the lack of Scottish caps but what

0:26:37 > 0:26:39I achieved at Liverpool.

0:26:39 > 0:26:42So, I've no regrets about that in the slightest.

0:26:42 > 0:26:45You had lots of great times, lots of success on the field,

0:26:45 > 0:26:52you also lived through two enormous disasters, famously, Heysel in '85.

0:26:56 > 0:26:58I am afraid the news is very bad from Brussels.

0:26:58 > 0:27:01Hooliganism has struck again and I'm afraid

0:27:01 > 0:27:05the scenes are as bad as anything we have seen for a long, long time.

0:27:05 > 0:27:09An evening in late May 1985.

0:27:09 > 0:27:1439 people were about to die in the old Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

0:27:15 > 0:27:19My father had gone to the three previous European Cup finals.

0:27:19 > 0:27:24Wembley was fine. Paris, if you are a mile away from the ground and didn't have a ticket,

0:27:24 > 0:27:27they were hitting you on the head - Rome was the same.

0:27:27 > 0:27:31Heysel, every man and their dog was getting in there.

0:27:31 > 0:27:34My dad went in with a ticket.

0:27:34 > 0:27:37There was nobody at the turnstiles.

0:27:39 > 0:27:44We got on the pitch at 5:50pm to go to the Liverpool fans,

0:27:44 > 0:27:48there's a kids' game on the pitch. We had to go on the pitch to go

0:27:48 > 0:27:50to them because they had thrown missiles at us,

0:27:50 > 0:27:53the Juventus supporters, so I picked one up

0:27:53 > 0:27:56and I remember saying to Alan Kennedy, "Nobody brings

0:27:56 > 0:28:00"that into the stadium" and he says, "That IS the stadium."

0:28:00 > 0:28:05It was crumbling about them. We are in the dressing room, we're ready to go,

0:28:05 > 0:28:09they come and say, "There's a major problem," um...

0:28:09 > 0:28:11"And the game has been put back."

0:28:11 > 0:28:14And it was the pressure of movement down towards the running track which

0:28:14 > 0:28:16resulted in the wall giving way

0:28:16 > 0:28:21and people being pinned underneath it.

0:28:23 > 0:28:25Do you think it should have been played?

0:28:25 > 0:28:28The reason they played the game was they thought there would be

0:28:28 > 0:28:32more trouble if they didn't play the game. I go on the pitch and...

0:28:32 > 0:28:35I don't know how many were dead at the time, you only focus on one

0:28:35 > 0:28:38- thing, that's the game.- Still.

0:28:38 > 0:28:41Even that. You are only focused on one thing. It's the game.

0:28:41 > 0:28:45You focus on the game, playing the game and then you

0:28:45 > 0:28:48come into the dressing room afterwards and it is horrific.

0:28:48 > 0:28:50And it's like so sad,

0:28:50 > 0:28:53but we come home the next day.

0:28:53 > 0:28:57And then when you're home, you are removed from it.

0:28:57 > 0:29:00The Liverpool squad arrived home after the most disastrous

0:29:00 > 0:29:03European tie in history to more media attention than had

0:29:03 > 0:29:07they won the cup for keeps in front of peaceful crowds.

0:29:07 > 0:29:10Flags were flying at half-mast out of respect for the dead,

0:29:10 > 0:29:12and it seemed in shame as well.

0:29:15 > 0:29:19Could football ever go more tragically wrong then this?

0:29:20 > 0:29:23In very different circumstances, it could.

0:29:25 > 0:29:27Hillsborough was totally different,

0:29:27 > 0:29:29because we were still right in the middle.

0:29:30 > 0:29:35Four years later, FA Cup semifinal day.

0:29:35 > 0:29:38Liverpool against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in Sheffield.

0:29:40 > 0:29:44A huge crowd. Everyone looking forward to the match.

0:29:44 > 0:29:46Everybody bar one.

0:29:47 > 0:29:50I played one reserve game in nine months.

0:29:50 > 0:29:53Erm... There was a virus the night before.

0:29:53 > 0:29:56Kenny pulls me, he says, "You have to play."

0:29:56 > 0:29:57I say, "I don't want to play."

0:29:57 > 0:30:00I said, "I ain't ready. I've only played..."

0:30:00 > 0:30:02He said, "You're playing."

0:30:02 > 0:30:06How do you argue with Dalglish? Anyway, I go on the pitch...

0:30:06 > 0:30:09Again, you focus on the game. You can't see the crowd...

0:30:09 > 0:30:13- Could you tell there was something happening at all?- No.

0:30:13 > 0:30:16The first inclination I got was two guys come on the pitch

0:30:16 > 0:30:19and I go to them right away, "You'll get us in trouble here."

0:30:19 > 0:30:21And the guy looks at me and says...

0:30:21 > 0:30:25You could tell the sadness in his eyes that...

0:30:25 > 0:30:29he wasn't make it up. He said, "Al, there's people dying in there."

0:30:32 > 0:30:35- We got off the pitch... - The game was stopped.

0:30:35 > 0:30:37The game was stopped and then somebody comes in and says,

0:30:37 > 0:30:41"18 dead." And then it was 32 and then the numbers went up.

0:30:41 > 0:30:43It's a sense of shock.

0:30:43 > 0:30:45And then you go upstairs and you see the girls...

0:30:45 > 0:30:49and they're crying their eyes out. They're watching...

0:30:49 > 0:30:51coverage of the events unfolding.

0:30:53 > 0:30:57But you still never really knew the enormity of what had happened.

0:30:58 > 0:30:59It's been a black day for football.

0:30:59 > 0:31:02On a sunny afternoon at Hillsborough, Sheffield,

0:31:02 > 0:31:05no fewer than 93 football supporters died.

0:31:05 > 0:31:07On a day of such momentous tragedy,

0:31:07 > 0:31:10our sympathies go to the families of those concerned.

0:31:12 > 0:31:16It wasn't until the next day we went to Anfield and we see,

0:31:16 > 0:31:18on the Kop, flowers like you'll never believe,

0:31:18 > 0:31:22and it just suddenly hits you. That...

0:31:22 > 0:31:24this is much, much bigger...

0:31:24 > 0:31:26Much a bigger disaster than you ever thought.

0:31:29 > 0:31:34What was it like being part of the club at that time and under...?

0:31:34 > 0:31:36It was harrowing. It was harrowing.

0:31:36 > 0:31:40I mean, the next day, we go to the hospital.

0:31:41 > 0:31:46There is a mother, who has a son that's on a life support machine

0:31:46 > 0:31:48and they're going to turn it off.

0:31:48 > 0:31:50She wants you to come and speak to the boy.

0:31:50 > 0:31:52HE SCOFFS

0:31:52 > 0:31:57Well, I get up there and the kid's... Adam's eight at the time.

0:31:57 > 0:31:59And I look at the mother and the mother is like...

0:31:59 > 0:32:03She was really strong for the son. And...

0:32:06 > 0:32:07You say a few words...

0:32:07 > 0:32:09They had me in the corner in bits.

0:32:09 > 0:32:12I mean, I'm crying my eyes out in the corner. Erm...

0:32:12 > 0:32:17And then-then we get back and Janet says to me, "What about the mother?

0:32:17 > 0:32:19"You're crying your eyes out, but you're all right?

0:32:19 > 0:32:22"What about the mother?" You lose track of...

0:32:22 > 0:32:26You're maybe thinking about yourself and then you suddenly think,

0:32:26 > 0:32:29"What about the families?" For the rest of their lives...

0:32:29 > 0:32:33Erm... The emptiness is going to be there.

0:32:33 > 0:32:35Don't tell me you can understand what they're feeling

0:32:35 > 0:32:37because you haven't been...

0:32:37 > 0:32:40There's not a chance that you can understand how they're feeling,

0:32:40 > 0:32:43and they've been feeling it for 25 years. Erm...

0:32:43 > 0:32:45And then, you know, Kenny and Marina were phenomenal.

0:32:45 > 0:32:48They set up this thing in the players' lounge.

0:32:48 > 0:32:51We were going in there...and we'd be coming out in tears every time.

0:32:53 > 0:32:56- You went to a lot of the funerals... - Well, I went to about 12 and...

0:32:56 > 0:33:00I remember saying to Janet after the first one, "This will get better."

0:33:00 > 0:33:02It never. It got worse.

0:33:05 > 0:33:08Has it always lived with you?

0:33:08 > 0:33:11It's... When it's brought up, you will think about it and it's like...

0:33:11 > 0:33:14It is distressing.

0:33:14 > 0:33:18I mean, just the grief. The grief and the emptiness,

0:33:18 > 0:33:20and just the sadness.

0:33:20 > 0:33:24The sadness. It's a football match. 96 people at a football match.

0:33:26 > 0:33:29You never know if you're doing the right thing,

0:33:29 > 0:33:30like, talking about it on television.

0:33:30 > 0:33:33Are you doing the right thing? Do they want you to speak about it?

0:33:33 > 0:33:35Did they want you to play on?

0:33:35 > 0:33:38I mean, I don't think you could ever get a consensus of...

0:33:38 > 0:33:39Of what they wanted.

0:33:39 > 0:33:42You can't get a consensus of what's right and what's wrong.

0:33:42 > 0:33:45You just do what you think...is for the best.

0:33:45 > 0:33:51# You'll never walk... #

0:33:51 > 0:33:5425 years on, Hillsborough is still with us,

0:33:54 > 0:33:57still resolving the questions about what happened

0:33:57 > 0:34:00at a football match a quarter of a century ago.

0:34:03 > 0:34:0418 months or so after that,

0:34:04 > 0:34:07Kenny Dalglish quit as manager of Liverpool.

0:34:07 > 0:34:09Do you think Hillsborough was anything to do with it?

0:34:09 > 0:34:12- Hillsborough took its toll on Kenny. - Did he confide in you?

0:34:12 > 0:34:15He confided in me in virtually everything football-wise.

0:34:15 > 0:34:17He told me in '85, in the February,

0:34:17 > 0:34:21that he was becoming the new manager of Liverpool.

0:34:21 > 0:34:22But this time he didn't.

0:34:22 > 0:34:25He just came into the dressing room and said, "I'm leaving."

0:34:25 > 0:34:26I went, "What?"

0:34:26 > 0:34:28I just felt that...

0:34:29 > 0:34:33I've gone far enough and I didn't think I could delay it any longer.

0:34:33 > 0:34:36- NEWS PRESENTER:- Having played over 500 games for Liverpool,

0:34:36 > 0:34:38and with a record eight Championship medals,

0:34:38 > 0:34:41Alan Hansen is strongly tipped to now join the management team

0:34:41 > 0:34:44and take his place in the famous boot room,

0:34:44 > 0:34:45and maybe in the top job.

0:34:45 > 0:34:48I came back to the training ground, I'm 64 on to get the job.

0:34:48 > 0:34:51So I then go to the chief executive Peter Robinson, I said,

0:34:51 > 0:34:53"Am I in the frame for the job?" He said, "Very much so."

0:34:53 > 0:34:55I said, "Well, I don't want it."

0:34:55 > 0:34:58He's a Liverpool legend and I think he thought

0:34:58 > 0:35:01if he did a bad job at management he could lose all that.

0:35:01 > 0:35:04Am I right in saying that you might have kidded the Liverpool

0:35:04 > 0:35:05players on that you did get the job?

0:35:05 > 0:35:09What happened was Liverpool had been beaten at Luton on the Saturday,

0:35:09 > 0:35:11and they had been beaten again by Everton.

0:35:11 > 0:35:13So I went to Ronnie, who was acting manager, I said,

0:35:13 > 0:35:16"Look, they've always taken the mickey in the dressing room.

0:35:16 > 0:35:18"Why don't I go in?" And I gave them the biggest spiel of all time.

0:35:18 > 0:35:22He said, "I've got some news. I'm taking over from Kenny."

0:35:22 > 0:35:24I said, "Whoa! This is amazing." We never saw him as a manager.

0:35:24 > 0:35:26He said, "There'll be a lot of changes."

0:35:26 > 0:35:29He said, "Steve Nichol, there will be no more going to the pub.

0:35:29 > 0:35:31"No more going to the Albert. Those days are over.

0:35:31 > 0:35:34"John Barnes, you, I know you're partial to a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

0:35:34 > 0:35:37"There'll be no more of that." And he went round the whole team,

0:35:37 > 0:35:39and they were all looking at him, thinking,

0:35:39 > 0:35:41"What's he doing? I can't believe it."

0:35:41 > 0:35:42And then, at the end, the best bit is,

0:35:42 > 0:35:45"What we're going to do, we're going to video the game on Saturday,

0:35:45 > 0:35:48"have a little bit of light lunch on Sunday and go through it."

0:35:48 > 0:35:50So, by that time, they were like that.

0:35:50 > 0:35:52He walks out and all the players, they start whispering,

0:35:52 > 0:35:54"We liked Alan until he did this."

0:35:54 > 0:35:56I go down to the players' lounge.

0:35:56 > 0:35:59There's two Irish kids have burst out the reserve team dressing room

0:35:59 > 0:36:02and this little kid gets on the phone to Dublin, and he says,

0:36:02 > 0:36:05"Get as much money as you possibly can on Alan Hansen to be

0:36:05 > 0:36:06"the next Liverpool manager."

0:36:06 > 0:36:10So I've got to put an end to it. I've got the phone down, went back to...

0:36:10 > 0:36:13And all I can hear is, "Hansen's a..."

0:36:13 > 0:36:16He came back in about a minute later. He said, "Not really, guys.

0:36:16 > 0:36:17"I just want to say I'm retiring."

0:36:17 > 0:36:20But it was just typical Alan Hansen. He always had a joke.

0:36:20 > 0:36:23The first person I see is John Barnes and he went...like that.

0:36:23 > 0:36:25I said, "Boys, I'm only kidding. I'm leaving."

0:36:25 > 0:36:28I thought Alan Hansen was taking over after Kenny had left

0:36:28 > 0:36:30because Alan's knowledge of football is fantastic.

0:36:31 > 0:36:34- PRESENTER:- ..the biggest cheer of the ceremony,

0:36:34 > 0:36:36holding up the league championship trophy.

0:36:36 > 0:36:39I suppose a telltale sign is the fact that, being such

0:36:39 > 0:36:42a nervous player and hating the pressure

0:36:42 > 0:36:44of having to play, imagine...

0:36:44 > 0:36:46Because being a manager is ten times worse.

0:36:48 > 0:36:53Bill Shankly, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness -

0:36:53 > 0:36:55Scottish managers of Liverpool.

0:36:55 > 0:36:57So...

0:36:57 > 0:36:59Why did you never have a go at the management?

0:36:59 > 0:37:02I wanted to keep my hair relatively black.

0:37:02 > 0:37:05- You've no done that either. - That's gone as well.

0:37:05 > 0:37:07I just never fancied it.

0:37:07 > 0:37:09Here, by the way, let me tell you,

0:37:09 > 0:37:13he wanted to keep his hair relatively black.

0:37:13 > 0:37:15I think supplemented it.

0:37:15 > 0:37:18Never at any stage. No tint whatsoever.

0:37:18 > 0:37:20And when you went into television,

0:37:20 > 0:37:23which is something I've done about ten years after you,

0:37:23 > 0:37:26- was that something you always fancied?- No, never.

0:37:26 > 0:37:29I fell into it. I mean, absolutely fell into it.

0:37:29 > 0:37:31You said before...

0:37:31 > 0:37:34When you were playing, you were nervous in the dressing room,

0:37:34 > 0:37:36which we never picked up on, did we?

0:37:36 > 0:37:40- I'm a worrier. I'm a worrier. - He was flustered.

0:37:40 > 0:37:43When you used to bring it out from the back...

0:37:43 > 0:37:45ALL TALK OVER EACH OTHER

0:37:45 > 0:37:50Of, if he got into the opposing penalty box,

0:37:50 > 0:37:52he was really flustered.

0:37:52 > 0:37:54He had the equivalent of the yips in golf.

0:37:54 > 0:37:57- He couldn't get his right leg back. - ..my right leg back to hit it.

0:37:57 > 0:37:59I'm telling you!

0:37:59 > 0:38:03- PRESENTER:- He saw the gap, too, beautifully.

0:38:03 > 0:38:04Sold a lovely dummy...

0:38:04 > 0:38:06and Fairclough puts it in!

0:38:06 > 0:38:08- You froze.- Absolutely. I froze. It was worse than that.

0:38:08 > 0:38:10Do you get a cold sweat on or...?

0:38:10 > 0:38:12No, no. What I used to do, I used to dummy myself.

0:38:12 > 0:38:15I used to go like that and then... He'd be running in. He'd be...

0:38:17 > 0:38:19- PRESENTER:- United coming out for the offside.

0:38:19 > 0:38:22And although Hansen was doing the right thing

0:38:22 > 0:38:25and had indeed has been waved on by Pat Partridge,

0:38:25 > 0:38:26he will now score.

0:38:30 > 0:38:33It's not as if he'd be critical of you if you didn't pass to him.

0:38:33 > 0:38:35No, no, no. He'd just blame me.

0:38:35 > 0:38:37He'd just blame me. "Al, you're rubbish."

0:38:37 > 0:38:40That's what you used to say, "Al, you're rubbish."

0:38:40 > 0:38:43But I think that's maybe where your inferiority complex,

0:38:43 > 0:38:46- and mine, came from. - Kenny.

0:38:46 > 0:38:49- Absolutely.- Abusing us all the time. - Over the years.

0:38:49 > 0:38:52By the way, let me tell you, I had plenty of ammunition.

0:38:52 > 0:38:54THEY LAUGH

0:38:54 > 0:38:57I had realised at the time that, as a player,

0:38:57 > 0:38:59if I was feeling the tension as much as I did,

0:38:59 > 0:39:01to become a manager...

0:39:01 > 0:39:03You can multiply that by 100.

0:39:03 > 0:39:06I think Alan could have made a good manager.

0:39:06 > 0:39:08His knowledge of the game, the way he puts himself over,

0:39:08 > 0:39:11is absolutely first class.

0:39:11 > 0:39:13He is one of the people that...

0:39:13 > 0:39:16When I sit down at home and watch Match of the Day,

0:39:16 > 0:39:18he is one that I will sit down and listen to.

0:39:20 > 0:39:23So you finished playing, you don't want to be a manager...

0:39:23 > 0:39:26How quickly did you decide to go into television?

0:39:26 > 0:39:28Well, Janet said to me, "What are you going to do?"

0:39:28 > 0:39:31And I said, "Well, trust me, that phone will never stop ringing",

0:39:31 > 0:39:34which was the most naive thing I've ever said in my life

0:39:34 > 0:39:35because I'm qualified to do nothing.

0:39:35 > 0:39:41I mean, he played football, and it's such a short career...

0:39:41 > 0:39:44Suddenly it's over and what are you going to do?

0:39:44 > 0:39:47I mean, there's only so many managers' jobs and coaching jobs

0:39:47 > 0:39:49that Alan didn't really know what he was going to do.

0:39:49 > 0:39:51So after three months, she said to me,

0:39:51 > 0:39:54"Remember that phone that was never going to stop ringing?

0:39:54 > 0:39:57"It's not rung once." So I had to get off my backside...

0:39:57 > 0:40:01and I went to BSkyB, who were doing Classic Cup Finals.

0:40:01 > 0:40:05The phone rang and it was a certain Alan Hansen saying,

0:40:05 > 0:40:08"How do I get into television punditry?"

0:40:08 > 0:40:13And he came and did a few jobs for us and was brilliant and, obviously,

0:40:13 > 0:40:15the rest is history.

0:40:15 > 0:40:19Alan did a little bit of radio work, and then did some work for Sky,

0:40:19 > 0:40:22and then, obviously, with the BBC.

0:40:22 > 0:40:27But it wasn't really a life plan of what he was going to do.

0:40:27 > 0:40:30I was doing the radio, I was doing a bit on Sky and a bit on television.

0:40:30 > 0:40:33It was a great grounding for Match of the Day.

0:40:35 > 0:40:38Good evening. The Premiership season is under way again.

0:40:38 > 0:40:40Just another 37 weeks to go.

0:40:41 > 0:40:441992, a time to be daring.

0:40:45 > 0:40:48Who might lead the way in this new age of analysing

0:40:48 > 0:40:50and offering opinions?

0:40:51 > 0:40:55We just got Match of the Day back after a four-year absence

0:40:55 > 0:40:58and everybody was very excited.

0:40:58 > 0:41:01Desmond Lyman was in his pomp at that time.

0:41:01 > 0:41:03Good evening. I suppose it's back to the future tonight.

0:41:03 > 0:41:05Match of the Day returning on a regular basis after

0:41:05 > 0:41:09a gap of four seasons, and 28 years after the very first programme.

0:41:09 > 0:41:10I don't remember.

0:41:10 > 0:41:13Alan was a new boy, but they hit it off very quickly.

0:41:13 > 0:41:16We'll be doing our best to be sharp up front and tight at the back.

0:41:16 > 0:41:19They'd got the experience of Jimmy Hill,

0:41:19 > 0:41:21who had done a lot of television jobs,

0:41:21 > 0:41:24so it blended and worked very seamlessly from very early on.

0:41:24 > 0:41:28Well, he tried to play a continental system with British players,

0:41:28 > 0:41:31and I couldn't agree with that at all.

0:41:31 > 0:41:35He's been very good and I'm glad he was left in the studio cos

0:41:35 > 0:41:37I worked with him once on commentary

0:41:37 > 0:41:39and I couldn't get a word in sideways.

0:41:39 > 0:41:44I think, on Match of the Day, Alan created a genre whereby

0:41:44 > 0:41:47he was able to control the excerpts he used

0:41:47 > 0:41:50and make sense of what he said straight afterwards.

0:41:50 > 0:41:53I think he fitted into the demands of the programme better than

0:41:53 > 0:41:54anybody else I've seen.

0:41:54 > 0:41:58That goal was a little bit reminiscent of Dalglish at his best.

0:41:58 > 0:42:00He runs a bit quicker than Kenny did in his prime, mind you.

0:42:00 > 0:42:02DES LAUGHS

0:42:02 > 0:42:05He and I were completely different when we were watching games.

0:42:05 > 0:42:08I watched it like a football punter, like,

0:42:08 > 0:42:10the ball going from end to end...

0:42:10 > 0:42:13but I couldn't see why this team were winning 3-0.

0:42:13 > 0:42:15He could say,

0:42:15 > 0:42:21"That midfield player has lost their midfield player, blah, blah, blah."

0:42:21 > 0:42:25He would see it all and he could tell you why this team's three up.

0:42:25 > 0:42:29If we say, "It's a brilliant goal", Hansen says, "No, defensive error."

0:42:29 > 0:42:33Why do you think you became such a good pundit?

0:42:33 > 0:42:37I worked with a lot of good people and Lynam was just the best.

0:42:37 > 0:42:38I was fortunate to have him.

0:42:38 > 0:42:40I couldn't believe how nervous he was.

0:42:40 > 0:42:42Alan Hansen, this great star of football,

0:42:42 > 0:42:44won the league championship untold times,

0:42:44 > 0:42:46came on the show nervous as a cat.

0:42:46 > 0:42:49Alan always had that brain that analyses things.

0:42:49 > 0:42:52Des is really relaxed and laid back.

0:42:52 > 0:42:54- The big conference is over. - HE LAUGHS

0:42:54 > 0:42:57- Nothing to say.- We're going to have some football, apparently.

0:42:57 > 0:43:00I think Des would have met him and thought,

0:43:00 > 0:43:02"I can help this fella."

0:43:02 > 0:43:04And the combination of the two then really worked.

0:43:04 > 0:43:07I just think he's playing with so much confidence it's unbelievable.

0:43:07 > 0:43:09We just weren't going to show the goals.

0:43:09 > 0:43:11That's how it used to be.

0:43:11 > 0:43:13I'd say to Desmond, "You want to get away from that

0:43:13 > 0:43:15"because you'll have replays of the goals.

0:43:15 > 0:43:17"You want to try and do something different."

0:43:17 > 0:43:19This is classic centre forward play.

0:43:19 > 0:43:22There's no way he should be able to get into the box from here.

0:43:22 > 0:43:25But with strength and determination, and excess pace,

0:43:25 > 0:43:29he gets away from Bart Williams and he just drags his shot wide.

0:43:29 > 0:43:33Then we got a bit of recognition for what we were doing...

0:43:33 > 0:43:35and never really looked back.

0:43:35 > 0:43:37# You talk

0:43:37 > 0:43:40# You talk a good game

0:43:40 > 0:43:42# I wish I could talk the same... #

0:43:44 > 0:43:47It helps if you've been a top class player and you've won a bit,

0:43:47 > 0:43:50it helps if you're forthright, it helps if you can speak,

0:43:50 > 0:43:53and it helps if you're going to speak your mind.

0:43:53 > 0:43:55Well, it looks like it will be the goal of the season.

0:43:55 > 0:43:58Obviously I'm going to find a flaw in it somewhere.

0:43:58 > 0:44:01If Alan were to say, after a game, "Jamie Redknapp played well"

0:44:01 > 0:44:04or, "Look at this from Jamie Redknapp", I was so happy.

0:44:04 > 0:44:06That made me feel a million dollars

0:44:06 > 0:44:08because it was a respect that you wanted as a...

0:44:08 > 0:44:10It was an acknowledgment that you'd done well and...

0:44:10 > 0:44:14And it come from someone like Alan Hansen. It meant so much.

0:44:14 > 0:44:16Match of the Day is such an important show.

0:44:16 > 0:44:19And you always felt when Alan Hansen spoke that that was the final word,

0:44:19 > 0:44:21that that was the authority.

0:44:21 > 0:44:23I grew up on him. He probably won't like me saying that,

0:44:23 > 0:44:27you know, but... He did everything in the game and, obviously,

0:44:27 > 0:44:29he gets his points across quite well.

0:44:29 > 0:44:32And when he speaks people listen.

0:44:32 > 0:44:34He had credibility when he finished his career

0:44:34 > 0:44:36and he was able to deliver it very well, too.

0:44:36 > 0:44:38That Scottish accent always helps.

0:44:38 > 0:44:40The Hull defending is like the mother of all shockers.

0:44:40 > 0:44:44It's the worst defending I've ever seen in my life...bar none.

0:44:44 > 0:44:46There are certain ways of doing Match of the Day,

0:44:46 > 0:44:48I've always been unorthodox.

0:44:48 > 0:44:53I always wait until the final whistle and say, right, can you find...?

0:44:53 > 0:44:58So, the guys have to spool through the tapes and they'll say,

0:44:58 > 0:45:01when was it? I'll say, Well, it was between 15 minutes and 35,

0:45:01 > 0:45:03which usually means it's 49.

0:45:03 > 0:45:06That's a lot for them to be able to find this stuff.

0:45:06 > 0:45:08But that's the way I've always done it.

0:45:08 > 0:45:11Can we see that any stage, could we get that up?

0:45:11 > 0:45:14Certain back players have always been in contact

0:45:14 > 0:45:16so if the ball goes over the first one's head,

0:45:16 > 0:45:18the second one is there to mop up and vice versa.

0:45:18 > 0:45:21Is that why you and Lawro are so close together?

0:45:21 > 0:45:23This is the closest we ever were,

0:45:23 > 0:45:26I can tell you that much. Carry on.

0:45:26 > 0:45:28I used to get between you!

0:45:28 > 0:45:29In your dreams!

0:45:29 > 0:45:33Lawro is a natural talker, so I think it was easier for him,

0:45:33 > 0:45:35than for anybody else.

0:45:36 > 0:45:38Shouldn't I be there and you be here?

0:45:38 > 0:45:40I was always covering for you anyway.

0:45:40 > 0:45:41Yeah, right!

0:45:43 > 0:45:46COMMENTATOR: He's has got it away from Lawrenson.

0:45:46 > 0:45:48Here's Crooks. Covered by Alan Hansen.

0:45:50 > 0:45:52See, just like when we played.

0:45:52 > 0:45:55They say, what was your relationship like as a player?

0:45:55 > 0:46:00- I say, I just did what he told me to do.- It's called delegation.

0:46:00 > 0:46:05As somebody said to me, you don't want to be heading it long-term.

0:46:05 > 0:46:07I said Lawro, you head it.

0:46:07 > 0:46:11Then somebody said to me, you don't want to be tackling.

0:46:11 > 0:46:14Lawro, you tackle. Then someone said to me, you don't want to be running.

0:46:14 > 0:46:17I said, Lawro, you run.

0:46:17 > 0:46:20Very good at doing nothing, but then take the accolades!

0:46:25 > 0:46:27Being a pundit is the same.

0:46:27 > 0:46:30You do all the work but also, I'll give you the crap games

0:46:30 > 0:46:33and I'll take the good games. That's fair.

0:46:33 > 0:46:36- That is called delegation. - I've had 17 years of crap games.

0:46:36 > 0:46:37Don't worry about that!

0:46:39 > 0:46:42Do you member that day we did FA Cup Live?

0:46:42 > 0:46:45- How did we ever get away with that? - I'll never forget that.

0:46:45 > 0:46:48That was one of the great broadcasts of all time.

0:46:48 > 0:46:51A little more homework than usual has been acquired by Alan Hansen

0:46:51 > 0:46:53and Mark Lawrenson.

0:46:53 > 0:46:54Mm, yes, definitely.

0:46:54 > 0:46:56Do you concur with that?

0:46:56 > 0:46:58Very much so.

0:46:58 > 0:47:01After your homework, what have you concluded?

0:47:01 > 0:47:02After you, Al.

0:47:03 > 0:47:06Forget that, let's talk about...

0:47:06 > 0:47:09It was that bad a game that we decided to have a bit of a spoof

0:47:09 > 0:47:11where I ignore him, then you ignore him

0:47:11 > 0:47:13then he'd come back to me and then we'd talk.

0:47:13 > 0:47:15Remember they used to have that dressing room door

0:47:15 > 0:47:17that went straight on to the street?

0:47:18 > 0:47:21- Are you going to ask any question? - No, nothing at all.

0:47:21 > 0:47:25I never heard the 60 seconds to go, 30 seconds to go,

0:47:25 > 0:47:26or this is for real.

0:47:26 > 0:47:27Is this for real?

0:47:27 > 0:47:30This is obviously not for real.

0:47:32 > 0:47:33Are we on the air?!

0:47:33 > 0:47:35Yes, we're on-air.

0:47:35 > 0:47:36Right, OK, then.

0:47:36 > 0:47:38Tell the story.

0:47:38 > 0:47:41The worst thing you can say, are we on-air?

0:47:41 > 0:47:43That line back like that!

0:47:43 > 0:47:47I heard Armstrong in the scanner saying, too right we're on-air!

0:47:47 > 0:47:49I sort of jumped up!

0:47:51 > 0:47:53How did we get away with that?

0:47:53 > 0:47:57Before I became a pundit, I didn't like any pundits.

0:47:57 > 0:48:00I always thought they never knew what they were talking about.

0:48:00 > 0:48:02- Fowler was in the best position. - Jimmy, be quiet!

0:48:04 > 0:48:05EXPLOSION

0:48:08 > 0:48:12Jimmy, I thought I'm going to like him within five minutes.

0:48:12 > 0:48:13In five minutes, I loved him.

0:48:13 > 0:48:17Also, Collymore could break through the Spurs' defence.

0:48:19 > 0:48:21Stop recording!

0:48:25 > 0:48:27You won't get it better than that!

0:48:27 > 0:48:29109 times?

0:48:29 > 0:48:33The modern-day ones - Al has all the criteria.

0:48:33 > 0:48:37Single minded, he knows the game inside out, a top-class player.

0:48:37 > 0:48:39This is an old man's tackle.

0:48:39 > 0:48:41That is just an old man trying to get back.

0:48:41 > 0:48:43It is late and it is vicious

0:48:43 > 0:48:45but apart from that, it was perfectly fair.

0:48:45 > 0:48:47I always say to him, I finished his career, because I remember

0:48:47 > 0:48:50running past him at Anfield when I was a young whippersnapper

0:48:50 > 0:48:52at Southampton.

0:48:52 > 0:48:55I told him it was time to pack in when I ran past him

0:48:55 > 0:48:57because I wasn't the quickest.

0:48:57 > 0:49:00You get into it and find, this is harder than I thought it was,

0:49:00 > 0:49:02and then you become really good at it and that's what Al's done,

0:49:02 > 0:49:04he's become really good at it.

0:49:04 > 0:49:05He's normally just being nice,

0:49:05 > 0:49:08I don't know what he'll say behind closed doors to his mates.

0:49:08 > 0:49:10How can you complain when the ball ends up in the back of the net?

0:49:10 > 0:49:12You stick to defence.

0:49:12 > 0:49:14There's lots of good ones coming through.

0:49:14 > 0:49:17Obviously Gary Neville has done extremely well at Sky.

0:49:17 > 0:49:20I've always liked Jamie.

0:49:20 > 0:49:23You could never do that, you're the problem all England players have,

0:49:23 > 0:49:25coming inside, coming inside.

0:49:25 > 0:49:28Graeme Souness. When I say he's coming through,

0:49:28 > 0:49:30he's excellent as well.

0:49:30 > 0:49:32There's a mixture.

0:49:32 > 0:49:33There's one famous line, well,

0:49:33 > 0:49:36many famous lines that you have uttered over the years,

0:49:36 > 0:49:40but there's one in particular that always stands out, of course.

0:49:40 > 0:49:43The opening day of the season, Manchester United, Aston Villa.

0:49:43 > 0:49:48COMMENTATOR: Leicester have it here, Taylor scores!

0:49:50 > 0:49:51Draper.

0:49:52 > 0:49:54It's 2-0!

0:49:54 > 0:49:56We've played just over 35 minutes.

0:50:00 > 0:50:05It's in danger of becoming a real rout and already it's a scoreline

0:50:05 > 0:50:08which asks serious questions of Manchester United.

0:50:08 > 0:50:11- I blame you for that because you were on that night.- I was on that night.

0:50:11 > 0:50:15You said to me, when Man United had been beaten by Aston Villa,

0:50:15 > 0:50:17- a very similar line. - Going to blame me for it?

0:50:17 > 0:50:19We had this thing with Bob Paisley who said to me,

0:50:19 > 0:50:21experience was everything.

0:50:21 > 0:50:24I thought, well, that's right, but I'll change it a bit.

0:50:24 > 0:50:25I will never forget that moment.

0:50:25 > 0:50:29He almost ruined my life that night, watching Match of the Day.

0:50:29 > 0:50:31We'd just been beaten at Aston Villa and I came home

0:50:31 > 0:50:34and watched it on the TV with my mum and dad.

0:50:34 > 0:50:36Obviously, such a well-respected pundit,

0:50:36 > 0:50:39when he says something, the country listens.

0:50:39 > 0:50:41United were scarcely recognisable from the team we've known

0:50:41 > 0:50:44over the last couple of seasons. What's going on, do you feel?

0:50:44 > 0:50:46I think they've got problems,

0:50:46 > 0:50:48I wouldn't say they've got major problems.

0:50:48 > 0:50:50Obviously, three players have departed.

0:50:50 > 0:50:53The trick is always, buy when you're strong. So he needs to buy players.

0:50:53 > 0:50:54You can't win anything with kids.

0:50:54 > 0:51:00When Sir Alex made that call to replace Kanchelskis,

0:51:00 > 0:51:05Hughes and Ince, with the kids, we all thought he had lost the plot.

0:51:07 > 0:51:11You just think, will it go right, will it be OK?

0:51:11 > 0:51:14You have two believe in your ability as young players,

0:51:14 > 0:51:18but we were going into the unknown, really, as a group.

0:51:18 > 0:51:21COMMENTATOR: Giggs shoots, oh, that has settled it!

0:51:21 > 0:51:26That was kind of a motivational theme throughout the season.

0:51:26 > 0:51:29From that day onwards, we improved and went on to prove him wrong.

0:51:30 > 0:51:33COMMENTATOR: Manchester United win the FA Carling Premiership!

0:51:33 > 0:51:36I lied to those four or five kids.

0:51:36 > 0:51:38With five kids, you'll never win anything, and he's right.

0:51:38 > 0:51:40I would defend him on that comment, really.

0:51:42 > 0:51:44We didn't win the league with kids.

0:51:44 > 0:51:46We had Roy Keane, Bruce, Cantona,

0:51:46 > 0:51:49Schmeichel were the critical people in that team.

0:51:49 > 0:51:52Towards the end of the season when we needed carrying over the line,

0:51:52 > 0:51:54it was the experienced players that really helped us

0:51:54 > 0:51:55and delivered for us.

0:51:55 > 0:51:58Since then, it is something we always joke about now

0:51:58 > 0:52:01but at the time, he was, probably right in what he was saying.

0:52:01 > 0:52:03To this day, I stand by that line.

0:52:03 > 0:52:06How many times in your life have you seen a manager

0:52:06 > 0:52:09pick experience before youth? It happens all the time.

0:52:09 > 0:52:11The kids became superstars

0:52:11 > 0:52:15but the superstars in that team were the Schmeichels and the Cantonas.

0:52:15 > 0:52:19- You're still wriggling out of it? - It was a line that made me.

0:52:19 > 0:52:21I was going to say, do you think that line was good for you

0:52:21 > 0:52:23- or bad for you?- It was great for me.

0:52:23 > 0:52:25Fantastic, everybody recognises the line.

0:52:25 > 0:52:29You go to Euston or Heathrow and they will be shouting behind poles,

0:52:29 > 0:52:34and also trying to do the accent. Nobody can do the accent.

0:52:34 > 0:52:38- GARY LINEKER AS ALAN HANSEN:- That is absolutely diabolical defending.

0:52:38 > 0:52:41- AS ALAN HANSEN:- Terrible defending, terrible defending.

0:52:41 > 0:52:43They're all useless at doing the accent.

0:52:43 > 0:52:45I've heard some people do you quite well.

0:52:45 > 0:52:46Oh, hello, pal.

0:52:46 > 0:52:47The defence was terrible.

0:52:47 > 0:52:49It's like... MUMBLING

0:52:49 > 0:52:50You cannot defend like that,

0:52:50 > 0:52:52you've got to play higher up the field.

0:52:52 > 0:52:55The lines were all over the place, absolutely woeful.

0:52:55 > 0:52:58Absolutely shocking defending!

0:52:59 > 0:53:01HE MUMBLES

0:53:01 > 0:53:03Goal! Great goal!

0:53:03 > 0:53:05That's rubbish actually, isn't it?

0:53:05 > 0:53:07There's so many of your sayings

0:53:07 > 0:53:09I've heard so many times over the years.

0:53:09 > 0:53:10I have lots of them.

0:53:10 > 0:53:12His passion, his precision!

0:53:12 > 0:53:15- Effort, attitude and commitment is Kenny's.- Time and time again.

0:53:15 > 0:53:18Indecision is final, is a good one I came up with.

0:53:18 > 0:53:20- I thought of that myself. - Not a great combination.

0:53:20 > 0:53:23It's not a great combination!

0:53:23 > 0:53:26Obviously the shocking, unbelievable, terrible defending.

0:53:26 > 0:53:29When was the last time I said diabolical on television?

0:53:29 > 0:53:31I will bet it's about six years ago.

0:53:31 > 0:53:35Also, the decision against them was diabolical,

0:53:35 > 0:53:36never a penalty in a million years.

0:53:36 > 0:53:38The other thing people are interested in

0:53:38 > 0:53:42and I have looked at it for 20 years, the scar on the forehead.

0:53:42 > 0:53:45- Why is that there? - I was playing volleyball.

0:53:45 > 0:53:47We were playing in a youth club in Bridge of Allan.

0:53:47 > 0:53:51I missed the bus, I see an opening and I think it's a door.

0:53:51 > 0:53:53He went through the glass window.

0:53:53 > 0:53:57The sun was shining and he never saw it, he went right through it.

0:53:57 > 0:53:59I am lying there, I don't know I've hit it,

0:53:59 > 0:54:03I don't know the blood's coming out like that, I don't know you can die.

0:54:03 > 0:54:06The first person I see is my brother. who says...

0:54:06 > 0:54:08Brain of Britain!

0:54:08 > 0:54:11- That's a fair comment. - Three people had hit it that day.

0:54:11 > 0:54:14I was the only person that had gone through it.

0:54:14 > 0:54:15We sued the sports centre.

0:54:17 > 0:54:19It went to the court case

0:54:19 > 0:54:22and Alan in his wisdom the day before the court case

0:54:22 > 0:54:25because he had had his hair down the day before it

0:54:25 > 0:54:29he had his hair swept back, so the judge said,

0:54:29 > 0:54:32it doesn't seem to bother you too much, this scar,

0:54:32 > 0:54:34because you've got your hair swept back.

0:54:34 > 0:54:38So he got a few bob, he didn't get as much as he should have.

0:54:38 > 0:54:39Brain of Britain!

0:54:41 > 0:54:46Maybe not, but give him a break. The brain of punditry.

0:54:46 > 0:54:50For 22 years, the king of the pundits.

0:54:50 > 0:54:53So, that's it from Match of the Day.

0:54:53 > 0:54:57- A definite decision? - Absolutely. 22 years.

0:54:57 > 0:54:59Why now? You're still young.

0:54:59 > 0:55:01I think I've had a great time.

0:55:01 > 0:55:05I went at the very top of Liverpool, the last game I ever played

0:55:05 > 0:55:07was when we won the title in 1990.

0:55:07 > 0:55:09I have had a great season on Match of the Day.

0:55:09 > 0:55:12- I know I'm not going to miss it. - You don't think you'll miss it?

0:55:12 > 0:55:16The minute I walked out the door at Liverpool, I never missed it at all.

0:55:16 > 0:55:20I know the minute I walk out this door, I'm not going to miss it.

0:55:22 > 0:55:25I think he's been a star of the show, don't you?

0:55:26 > 0:55:32He's a very nice man, a good man and I'm sure all of us wish him

0:55:32 > 0:55:34a happy retirement.

0:55:37 > 0:55:40You almost forget that he was a player and how good he was

0:55:40 > 0:55:44and how important he has been in television in Match of the Day.

0:55:46 > 0:55:49He will be missed because he's very good at his job,

0:55:49 > 0:55:52very well respected and rightly so.

0:55:52 > 0:55:54You cannot have been in it for that amount of time

0:55:54 > 0:55:56if you're not good at it.

0:55:56 > 0:56:01He's an iconic figure at the BBC and he's one that every pundit

0:56:01 > 0:56:04getting into the game aspires to be like.

0:56:04 > 0:56:0622 years, on an iconic programme.

0:56:07 > 0:56:11With the best people, working for the best organisation.

0:56:11 > 0:56:13You can't get much better than that.

0:56:18 > 0:56:20I feel really sorry that he is retiring.

0:56:20 > 0:56:26I think he was great, but if that is his decision, I wish him the best.

0:56:31 > 0:56:33He'll be remembered for his voice

0:56:33 > 0:56:38and that shrewd observation of football and also for his opinions,

0:56:38 > 0:56:41because they were hard and firm and he never bottled it.

0:56:44 > 0:56:47His career at Liverpool was of course incredible,

0:56:47 > 0:56:50so he will be missed but I am sure he will be at Anfield more

0:56:50 > 0:56:53and I will be able to speak to him that bit more.

0:56:55 > 0:56:57I had better get the glasses off!

0:57:02 > 0:57:06Alan's professional career has been amazing.

0:57:06 > 0:57:12To be able to say he's my brother is wonderful.

0:57:12 > 0:57:14One minute to transmission, one minute!

0:57:17 > 0:57:20I don't think he will miss working on a Saturday,

0:57:20 > 0:57:23but he will miss the team that he works with.

0:57:23 > 0:57:26He's loved working on Match of the Day for so many years.

0:57:28 > 0:57:32Good evening, the final day of a magnificent Barclays Premier League

0:57:32 > 0:57:35season began with two teams in contention for the title.

0:57:35 > 0:57:38Manchester City were favourites but despite their collapse

0:57:38 > 0:57:41at Crystal Palace, Liverpool still dared to dream.

0:57:41 > 0:57:44I have certainly enjoyed watching him as a player.

0:57:44 > 0:57:46I have loved watching him as a pundit

0:57:46 > 0:57:48and he will certainly be missed.

0:57:49 > 0:57:50It's your last show, Mr Alan Hansen.

0:57:50 > 0:57:55- Very sad.- 22 years. We will miss you.

0:57:55 > 0:57:58Very few players in the history of the game achieved more than him

0:57:58 > 0:58:01at home and abroad, so he always carried that authority.

0:58:01 > 0:58:03Difficult to replace, that.

0:58:03 > 0:58:05The best ever moment I've had on Match of the Day

0:58:05 > 0:58:07was a couple of minutes ago

0:58:07 > 0:58:11when you struggled to find your glasses to read the league tables.

0:58:11 > 0:58:13That is what's changed!

0:58:13 > 0:58:16There's a saying that you have your best games when you don't play.

0:58:16 > 0:58:19By that, some of that Alan Hansen, when he's not on there,

0:58:19 > 0:58:20he will be missed so much

0:58:20 > 0:58:23and people will look back and go, we missed that.

0:58:23 > 0:58:25Thanks, Alan.

0:58:26 > 0:58:28APPLAUSE

0:58:28 > 0:58:30Thank you, everybody.

0:58:30 > 0:58:33- It's emotional. - Yes, it is, it's emotional.

0:58:33 > 0:58:36He's a wee boy from Sauchie that made good.

0:58:36 > 0:58:39But at the end of the day, he's still a wee boy from Sauchie.

0:58:39 > 0:58:41This is the right time for me to go

0:58:41 > 0:58:44and I've had the greatest time you could ever imagine.

0:58:44 > 0:58:48We're going to miss you. I think you're the real class of '92.

0:58:50 > 0:58:53There you are, look at that! Schmaltz at last from Lineker!