Like everyone, I was shocked to hear the news that my very good friend Alan Hansen was seriously ill this week.
It’s a desperate time for his wife Janet, his children Adam and Lucy and everybody who is close to him.
I’m praying, I don’t know who to, but I’m praying that he will be around soon to return to his usual p*** taking duties.
Alan is a rare breed in life as I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about him.
The best footballing centre-back ever. He’s a rascal with a ruthless sense of humour. Great company, a great story teller… and apparently a great memory.
Alan Hansen (right), pictured with fellow Liverpool legends Kenny Dalglish (centre) and Graeme Souness (left) at BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023
Hansen (centre) is a rare breed and nobody has a bad word to say about him. Here, he is pictured after winning the title with Liverpool in 1983
His recollection of events can be different to mine but he always tells a story with such great confidence that I go away thinking ‘he must be right then’. He always seems so assured.
If ever there was a disagreement in the dressing room, it was always Kenny Dalglish and I who were the gobby ones, and if ever there was any resistance, the debate would always be cut short by Big Al’s interjection. All it took was a customary shake of the head and a little acerbic comment. He was the subtle one out of the three of us. His short, intellectual intervention would stop the debate in its tracks and Kenny and I would win the argument. That’s teamwork. We were very tight – although I think these days you would have the other players running off to the Human Resources department to complain they were being picked on!
We always used to have the ‘Three Jocks picture’ every season with every trophy we won. Phil Thompson, Phil Neal, Terry McDermott and Emlyn Hughes used to try and get on the pictures but we’d push them away to make sure we had our own little snapshot of the moment: ‘Jocks Only’. Three great friends together. In later years, Steve Nicol and Gary Gillespie would be allowed on them too.
You can reel off whatever names you want but trust me, Alan was the best footballing centre-back ever. He was a midfield player in disguise. Someone you couldn’t dispossess in a telephone box.
He’d drive me mad at times. I’d lose my patience and snap: ‘any danger you are going to start passing me the bloody ball?’ And he would turn and say ‘Why should I pass it to you when I can do it better?’
He was such a natural athlete. He loves his golf, he was a good squash player too. He would have been good at any sport that he wanted to dedicate himself to.
Before a game, in the dressing room, we’d all be doing our individual warm-ups and he’d be sat, legs crossed, singing Billy Joel songs, ‘Don’t go Changing’ and all that, reading the programme from cover to cover. Then, when the bell rang to go out and play, he’d stand up and appear to have the stiffest back ever, pulling an agonising face as he straightened himself up, then, within five minutes of the start of the game, he’s giving the opposition’s quickest player a head start and still winning the race.
Hansen was the subtle one of the trio, pictured lifting the European Cup in 1981
He was lightning quick.
He’d later say he was a bag of nerves before a game but you could never tell then. Half an hour before a football match and he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Whatever happened, Alan rarely looked ruffled.
We could be playing on a farmer’s field of a pitch. Mark Lawrenson would be covered head to toe in mud after five minutes and yet, after 90 minutes, Alan would look like he’d just stepped out of Marks and Spencer’s shop window, not a speck of dirt on him. Lawro would love a tackle but Alan never went to ground. He was always reading the game, thinking ahead, a wonderful player.
People talk about playing high lines of defence, Liverpool were doing that in the ’70s because we had him in our team, and we knew he could give anyone a three-yard head start and catch them.
Manchester United supporters would think Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were the best partnership, Chelsea fans may say John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, but as good as they were, there has never been a better partnership than Alan and Lawro. One was very aggressive, the other didn’t need to be. They were way ahead of their time. If you want to see a defensive masterclass just look up 1984 European Cup final – Roma in Rome – when they never gave their World Cup winning forwards a sniff.
Hansen, 69, is seriously ill and fighting for his life, remaining in hospital
Alan always seemed too smart on and off the pitch. Even when he is bluffing, he’s that convincing you believe him. He is a man you can always count on.
Over 30 years ago, when I had my heart operation, he was the first one to drive across to Manchester to see me in hospital.
If I was expecting sympathy I was in for a shock. His humour is ruthless. He just took the mickey out of me as if I’d had a minor procedure. That sharp wit, you’re a brave man to take him on. I just had to laugh and take it on the chin. That banter we had and that we used to share at Liverpool, those are days I wish I could live all over again. He is just the best of men. I just can’t believe he is fighting for his life.
MAN UNITED MUST FIND ANOTHER WAY
Erik ten Hag knows his team have to play very differently next year.
There has to be a complete sea change in their performances or he won’t be there beyond Christmas.
The fact they have been interviewing other people for his job tells you everything. Winning the FA Cup was papering over the cracks of the fact that last season was just unacceptable. The statistics underline that.
He can’t be relying on the two teenagers in Alejandro Garnacho or Kobbie Mainoo to carry the fight, United need to buy players and get a completely different tune out of the existing ones.
There’s no doubt his position has been undermined by the way it has been handled by the owners but he has now got to find a way of getting his players believing in him again.
Erik ten Hag will understand that Manchester United have to play differently
FRIENDLIES ARE A WASTE OF TIME
Don’t read anything into England’s defeat by Iceland last week.
For England’s players it was a game they could have done without, risking injury so close to a major tournament. For Iceland it was the highlight of their careers, having the chance to beat England at Wembley with the world watching.
I was encouraged not to play in international friendlies as a player. Then as a manager going to watch them for prospective signings I fancied I soon found out you never learn anything from them. Friendlies are a waste of time. Nothing has diminished my view that England will sail through the group stages.
Gareth Southgate’s England will cruise through the group stage of Euro 2024
They have deficiencies in defence, and the fitness of John Stones will be important, but England are a very dangerous team because of their attacking players.
There’s talk of Serbia being physical – I don’t think that applies any more with today’s officials. I fully expect to see England in the final on July 14.
A PROUD DAY
I AM absolutely thrilled to be receiving a CBE.
It’s an incredibly proud moment and honour for me, my wife, kids and all my family. I’m delighted but I have to give credit in large part to the role played by my swim team. Without them I could never have done what I did in the English Channel last year for the charity DEBRA of which I am vice-president. The award is a great way of heightening the profile and awareness of this terrible disease Epidermolysis Bullosa. We need more energy and support because we at DEBRA are in a battle we just can’t afford to lose.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
