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Talking the Mick

Angela Kelly
17/ 9/2008

WHEN Mickey Thomas joined Manchester United in 1978 he quickly became a cult hero to the Red Army and beyond.

His lively personality endeared itself to millions through TV, thanks to a saucy wink to a fellow player as he lay on the pitch having won a penalty.

But those snapshots are by no means the sum of either Mickey or his years in the game. Only a rollercoaster ride could do justice to that, as his fascinating autobiography reveals.

For, in a football career which took him to Wrexham, United, Chelsea, Everton, West Brom, Brighton, Leeds, Stoke, Derby… and Kirkham Open Prison FC – words like ‘maverick’ were always among the kinder ones uttered about the man deemed the ‘Welsh George Best’.

Mickey grew up on a rough council estate in Mochdre in Wales and left school at 14 unable to read or write properly, but with the burgeoning genius skills that would make him such a successful professional footballer.

He painstakingly used a dictionary to write to clubs asking for a trial, and was eventually offered an apprenticeship at Wrexham with his lifelong best pal, Joey Jones. He was paid £25 a week and his dazzling skills soon came to the attention of bigger clubs.

When he was transferred to Manchester United, it was big news, but for Mickey, the doubts were always there. "I was in total awe of everyone and everything," he recalled. "I felt inadequate. Lost. Lonely. Not believing for one moment that I could possibly live up to all the high expectations of the manager, Dave Sexton, and the United supporters."

But, he learned not to express his inner feelings, and the cheeky chappie image combined with his undoubted talents swiftly made him a fans’ favourite – and the nation’s – through that wink broadcast each week in the opening credits of Match of the Day.

Inside, though, the young player was fragile and just could not handle the pressure of playing for such a huge club. Soon, he was regularly going missing, refusing to attend training and deliberately missing flights (he was actually terrified of them).

Mickey turned to drinking, gambling and womanising – which he admits came very naturally – and, in spite of successes on the field, he was eventually on his way to another club, Everton.

The pattern for his life was now set, and the book reveals in a truthful, endearing way how his many highs on the field were interspersed with lows off them.

Despite becoming a hero to thousands of fans in the several clubs which still have genuine warmth and affection for him, Mickey’s self-destruct button was always there.

"I suppose I just never learned to conquer the demons in my head," he told metromagazine. "I’ve never been any good with money – I would have played for free more often than not – but I did have a fantastic time."

In fact there were many remarkable moments in his 22-year career involving almost 800 matches. He was proud to play for his native Wales 51 times and alongside many of his heroes. Even at the age of 35, back playing for Wrexham again, he scored the winning goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup.

But, the bleak times were still there, and none worse than being sent to prison in 1993 for passing counterfeit money to trainee players. "When I heard that big steel gate at Walton Jail banging behind me I can admit to being scared witless for the first time in my life," he said. "I still say to this day that I was innocent."

Mickey got through his sentence, but emerged from prison broke, jobless and, worse, with no self-respect. He slept on his mum’s sofa and initially worked on the roads, laying Tarmac.

Football rescued him again, though, and he ended up playing indoor soccer in America, before returning to the English game and Shrewsbury Town, then Leeds and Stoke before returning to Wrexham and that last hurrah.

"Regrets are not for me," he stated. "Football is in my blood and I’ve always loved it. Still do. I’m not a rich man and probably never will be, but I’ve been lucky."

Kick-Ups, Hiccups, Lock-Ups - Mickey Thomas: The Autobiography is published by Century at £18.99.