What attracted you to "Mike Bassett: England Manager"?
The script. It's fabulous. The guys who wrote it, and the director, are right into football. They stay behind every night and have a game.
How would you describe Bassett?
He's a mixture of Bill Shankly, who I had the pleasure of meeting once, and who was an absolute gem; Barry Fry, the ex-Birmingham manager, who's a real fanatic; a bit of the flash of Big Ron [Atkinson]; and the coyness of Lawrie McMenemy. Bassett's an amalgam of all those managers.
How do you think the game has changed over the past few years?
Fans showing emotions and vocalising them. That wasn't English until a few years ago. Paul Gascoigne is a mate of mine and I remember the time when he was crying, and I thought that was wonderful. Englishmen are not supposed to cry. All that passion and energy; it showed how much he cared about the game. I love seeing that. If you are representing England, you have to have that passion.
You're a Liverpool fan. What's the most memorable game you ever saw?
I remember standing on the Kop, and we were playing Manchester City in the Cup. Bill Liddle shot the ball up the left wing and it went into the goal. But the whistle went as the ball was in mid-flight. We all stayed behind, thinking Liverpool had equalised, waiting for extra time, but it came over the tannoy that the game was over.
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