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WHAT THE MEDIA SAY...
'An absolute corker of a read. Once you've opened it, I guarantee you won't put it down until you've read the very last word.' Manchester Evening News
'Gritty.' Daily Mail
'It is a brutal story.' Liverpool Echo
'Mark Ward's autobiography is arguably the most lurid account yet of a footballer's time behind bars The content is pretty near the knuckle.' FourFourTwo magazine
'Should this book have been published? Absolutely. Is it worth reading? Definitely.' Newham & Ilford Recorder
Liverpool Echo, June 2, 2009 by Dave Prentice On Monday, May 11, 2009, Prisoner NM6982 stepped back into the real world and became Mark Ward, former Everton footballer once again.It was the end of an appalling, yet enlightening journey.Sentenced in May 2005 to eight years imprisonment for renting a house in which cocaine with a street value of £645,000 was found, Ward accepts he had been extraordinarily stupid - "I made the biggest mistake of my life," he declared.But now he is trying to pick up the pieces.Part of that process is his autobiography - currently his only means of supporting himself - published on FA Cup final day under the frank title: Mark Ward: From Right Wing To B-Wing . . . Premier League to Prison. And it is a brutal story.
Manchester Evening News, June 3, 2009 by Paul Hince At his trial, Mark pleaded guilty and was sent down for eight years. Towards the end of last week I answered my phone and who should be on the other end but Ward.
He told me that because of his impeccable behaviour in prison he had been released four years early although he would remain on licence for the next four. He told me something else which I found inspiring.
"In prison I started to keep a diary to help pass the time," he said. "And do you know what, I found out for the first time in my life that I could write.
"As a player the only writing I ever did was when I signed an autograph book. But suddenly I found I could write properly. I could express myself fluently. It was simply a gift I never knew I possessed."
Weekly, Mark sent his hand-written text to the publishers Football World in Essex, who turned his words into an autobiography aptly entitled From Right-Wing to B Wing . . . Premier League to Prison.
Those publishers kindly sent me a copy of Mark's book and it's an absolute corker of a read. Cracking tales of his time at Oldham, West Ham, City and Everton.
No self-pity at his fall from grace and imprisonment. Just an honest if harrowing account of how it all went wrong.
Do yourselves a favour. If you see From Right-Wing to B-Wing in a bookshop near you, snap it up. Once you've opened it, I'll guarantee you won't put it down until you've read the very last word.
Daily Telegraph, May 30, 2009 by Jim White The 100,000 words of his life story that he wrote on prison paper have just been published. This is no ordinary footballer's autobiography. After hitting rock bottom, Ward felt under no obligation to hide anything. As in his conversation, he is honest, direct, unrelenting in his self-analysis. The tales of prison life, of turning out for the lags' team, of smuggling in mobile phone simcards in unexpected anatomical places, mingle with a no-holds-barred account of his time as a player.
Daily Mail, July 9, 2009 by Alan Fraser The gritty story of Ward's imprisonment and his colourful life as a harddrinking, heavy- gambling footballer is told graphically in From Right Wing to B-Wing: Premier League to Prison. He wrote the book himself while inside, more than 100,000 words penned by hand and sent to a publisher in batches of around 5,000 words at a time. Ward writes with no holds barred about the barbarism, the brutality, the gang violence and the erratic behaviour of the junkies in the hostile, drug-dominated environment.
He relates how he was eventually moved to the best cell on the wing with the best television and how, after going through all the required classes and keeping his nose clean, he earned a transfer to an open prison. They nicknamed him 'Forrest Gump' at Kirkham prison in Lancashire because he ran and ran and ran, stopwatch in his hand.
The Independent, May 19, 2009 by Nick Harris Ward occupied himself by writing his life story, more than 100,000 words, by hand, on prison paper. He sent it out, bit by bit, to a publisher - an old friend from his West Ham days - who needed only to tidy up bits and pieces of grammar, no more.
He says: "I'm proud of my book. It's just an honest account of my life, no bullshit."
But he anticipates criticism from some quarters, from people saying he had fallen into obscurity but could become a public figure again now partly because of his prison time and book.Ward's book, From Right-Wing to B-Wing: Premier League to Prison, is certainly candid, from his broken home in Huyton via Everton rejection as a youth and the non-league back to the big time. There are escapades and run-ins with numerous well-known names, inside and outside football. The book also highlights how much attention players now get; and how easily they used to be able to dodge press attention.
In one astonishing chapter, "Shooting the Pope", Ward reveals how, at a 1992 fancy dress Christmas party at Everton, he shot team-mate Barry Horne, dressed as the Pope, at close range, in the chest, with a real gun. Ward had pinched the weapon from a John Wayne look-a-like, thinking it was a cap gun. "The noise was staggering, unbelievable," Ward writes. "We were all stunned to see a massive flash of fire shoot from the barrel and Barry, who took a direct hit, was flung backwards. There'd been a bullet in the chamber. The saving mercy was that the bullet was a blank, designed to crumple and ignite on impact rather than explode. Still, Barry was knocked back, and he was on fire."
Horne was duly extinguished, and while bruised and shocked, fine. That incident was never made public, nor were many others, from his run-in with a notorious gangster, aka The Blackmailer, to umpteen episodes of high jinx, on and off the field.
Newham & Ilford Recorder, May 28, 2009 by Dave Evans MARK WARD was the only player that Hammers legend John Lyall signed without seeing him play.
Stuart Pearce described him as the toughest player he ever came up against. He was a vital member of arguably the greatest ever West Ham team that finished third in Division One in 1986.
But Ward will, undoubtedly, be best remembered in years to come as a shamed footballer; a footballer who was sentenced to eight years in prison after becoming involved in the drug trade.
After serving four years of his stretch, Ward was released earlier this month, and to coincide with that he has teamed up with Tony McDonald, a veteran of books on the Hammers, to release his story - Mark Ward - From Right-Wing to B-Wing . . . Premier League to Prison.
This book is gripping from start to finish, but it is also a moral conundrum.
As the former West Ham winger discovered when appearing on radio last week, there are a lot of people out there who believe this book should never have been published.
How can anyone convicted of a drugs offence be allowed to make money telling us how it all happened?
Well, that is certainly a valid view, but anyone who has read this book would quickly realise how important it is to discover just how easily a highly-paid professional sportsman can get involved with the seedy, underbelly of society just as Ward did back in his native Liverpool.
This is a no-holds barred tale of drinking, gambling, more drinking, more gambling and of course some top class football.
Ward worships Lyall, hates Lou Macari, loves Howard Kendall, hates Mike Walker and that is a theme running all the way through this book. Everything is black or white.
This is a book that takes us back to a world of football that we thought had all but disappeared. A world where a West Ham player can be treated disgracefully by his team-mates simply because of his sexual persuasion.
The likes of Ledley King may still be hitting the headlines because of their love of a drink, the likes of Matty Etherington may face problems because of their gambling habits, but in the days of 'Wardy' it seems that it was the norm rather than the exception.
It was the culture and for those who couldn't take it, there was a downward spiral which led, in Ward's case, to jail.
The winger's description of his first months in prison is certainly harrowing, but many will say that he deserved it, while his constant insistence on his peripheral role in the crimes that sent him to prison, do not do him any favours.
The hell that is Walton Prison, turned eventually to an open prison and home visits, outdoor work and the sort of incarceration that would have a Daily Mail reader choking on his cornflakes.
Few are spared Ward's criticism, including a notorious Liverpool gangster, while West Ham fans will be overjoyed to read a couple of anecdotes about Paul Ince.
But what comes over in the end is that Mark Ward was at best naïve, at worst up to his neck in the drug trade.
But most of all, he was a good footballer who in the end wasted so much of his talent.
Should this book have been published? Absolutely. Is it worth reading? Definitely.
For various football websites by Tim Sansom Even though we like to buy them, we often discover that a number of books from football stars, have been nothing more than an effortless list of which cup did they win and when they gained their international caps.
I am convinced that some fans think that being a footballer means a simple journey from the school team to the punditry studio via county trials, a procession of clubs leading to a top four Premiership outfit, a collection of international caps, a World-cup winning goal, management glory, and retirement by the pool in a Hertfordshire mansion.
Mark Ward's autobiography can act as the hangover cure to these dreams of footballing excess. It is difficult for us to believe that football is nothing more than the WAG culture, but this book is required reading for fans to help us realise that not all footballers have strolled off into the sun screaming that they are "millionaires!" These pages make for eerie, often uncomfortable, but utterly compelling reading.
When I was getting used to a remote control in my childhood days, I can remember many wet Sunday afternoons being filled with a 1970s disaster movie on the TV. Whether it was The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure or the Airport disaster movies, these blockbusters would follow a similar plot line. You knew what would eventually happen, but you were still gripped as the tension was slowly built up by a serious of seemingly mundane events over the proceeding hours. We all knew that the Hollywood A-Listers, such as Steve McQueen, Gene Hackman, and Paul Newman would be going about their daily business before all hell would break loose when the boat sank, the tower block collapsed in a ball of fire, or the aeroplane bomber pressed the trigger. This plot line is played out in this book, although this tension is begun in the present.
Mark Ward's introduction begins in the prison van as he is driven past Goodison Park on the way to HMP Liverpool Walton. He has pleaded guilty for dealing in cocaine. He hears the news report from Radio City and the shame oozes from the pages.
Because we know how this book will end, the subsequent journey through Ward's career from his humble upbringing in Huyton in very poignant. We journey through his total devastation after being rejected by his beloved Everton in 1981, through the restoration of his confidence at non-league Northwich Victoria. It is an emotional experience, but Ward tells the tale with refreshing honesty. Mark Ward was a young footballer trying to realise his dream as a professional footballer while holding down a part-time job in the local bakery. You could never suggest that this player had everything given to him on a silver spoon.
Ward's big break slowly happens at Oldham Athletic, then a significant move to West Ham. We get an interesting insight into life at Upton Park during the mid 1980s. It is obviously that Ward has the utmost respect for John Lyall, as well as the key Hammers stars of the period including Alvin Martin and Alan Devonshire. As the story is told, certain tales provide warning lights for the future. There is a sense that whilst West Ham are achieving their highest league place finish (to date) Ward's lifestyle was certainly manic on certain days, and often totally out of control on occasions.
As well as John Lyall, Mark Ward's respect for Howard Kendall jumps out of this book. Unlike in some football books where the manager is given a slight begrudging name check, Ward does not skimp on his tributes. You sense that with the benefit of hindsight that he is writing with a sense of guilt about what happens to him, after periods at Manchester City, Everton, Birmingham City and a slow descent through non league clubs, to some teams that seem to resemble nothing more than the most dodgy of Sunday morning pub teams. After failed business ventures, and a journey into a typhoon of betting and drinking, Mark Ward becomes involved in an agreement to rent a house that became a drugs stash for an associate.
Like the ‘disaster' in the disaster movie, or the marathon runner reaching the wall in a race, rock bottom is reached for Mark Ward as he realises that everything has collapsed around him. An Evertonian policeman arrests one of his footballing idols, and a spell around various jails in the North West of England awaits in the coming years.
What is refreshing is that the book does not collapse into a corny soap opera storyline full or recrimination and easy-on-the-eye storylines. We get an interesting but graphic insight into Liverpool's Walton jail, and Ward's slow and graphic realisation about what happened to him. We feel the sense of claustrophobic isolation in the prison cell, and the attempts to fit in with prison culture. In the final chapters, we are told the nervous meeting of Howard Kendall, Duncan Ferguson and Ward in the prison's visitor quarters. It is easy to sense the shame and guilt of Ward at this meeting.
Those 1970s disaster movies usually ended with someone like Charlton Heston managing to land the plane in a fog bound airport (which was usually in Miami or New York) with the whole of the fuselage in tatters, or the survivors of the sunken ship making an effortless journey to the lifeboats to make a heroic return to the port. It is difficult to know if Ward's life is back on the straight and narrow like those movies.
He was due to be released on Monday, May 11, 2009, and must be in the early weeks of acclimatisation, but he has written this book which is a sobering but an essential tale of a footballer's life, which must have been difficult to tell.
WHAT READERS SAY... Excerpts from some of the emails and letters sent to Mark by those who have read his book...
I have just finished your book. I am a 31-year-old Everton supporter living in Southport. I just wanted to say that the book is a great emotional read and I am glad that you have come through the tough times and hope the future holds more success for you. Rob English
Just thought I'd drop you a quick line to congratulate you on your book, whichI bought for my Dad as a Father's Day gift. Dad said he started reading the book that night and he got so engrossed in it he couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in one sitting. He eventually got to bed at 4am the next morning!
It took me a little longer to read it but I finished it last night, having read it over the past three nights after getting in from work.
I've been an Everton season ticket holder for 17 years and was in the Gwladys Street for that goal against the red shite, in fact, as corny as it sounds, I knew from where I as was sitting that as soon as you hit it it was heading for the bottom corner. Seeing Grobbelaar lose the plot afterwards was an added bonus!
Anyway, I hope any plans you have for your future work out for you and it would be great to see you at Goodison at some point in the future, as I know you'd get a great reception. All the best. Andy Gill
Have just finished reading your book - got to say it is very well written. I wonder if Mark has read it, because, for me, all Mark's problems stem from one thing and that is booze. Almost every scrape he has got into was booze-related.As someone who does not know him personally, I can see this just by reading his book. I hope that those who care for him can put him back on a level footing and do not encourage him to take up the boozing again.
I think Mark should read his own book thoroughly and take a good look at what has destroyed his life.Best wishes for the future, Mark. Dan McDonald
At the end of your book you gave this email address so people could make a comment regarding your book. I therefore wanted to let you know that I found your book both extremely interesting and enjoyable to read. I looked forward to reading the book, not only because I am a big Everton fan but also because I work in the Criminal Justice (Probation) sector.
Although I'm now 31, my greatest memories of being an Everton fan are from the days of Watson, Sharp, Cottee and yourself, etc.
The book clearly demonstrates your commitment and desire to be the best at whatever you do and I really hope you're given an opportunity to get back into football. If I was a chairman, I'd not be considering you as a gamble as I believe that you would give everything to succeed and I'm sure someone out there would see that. Maybe Barry Fry at Peterborough, if Darren Ferguson moves on!
Like you, I find it hard to believe you were given an eight-year sentence. I agree with your mum that you have a "naughty" side but it seems the police were "naughty" on this occasion. It must have been obvious to them that you were on the periphery of all this, especially as they were in the middle of a big operation.
I also agree that your sentence, compared to other more serious crimes, was excessive and you can see why victims of crime are upset with the way sentences are handed down in courts. However, I do believe you were a "knob head" to get involved in this, as drugs really do ruin lives - as I'm sure you witnessed whilst in prison.
Anyway, your book was brilliant. I loved reading it and can't believe how well you coped with losing your freedom and making the best out of what you had. I'm really sorry your father didn't get to see you play for Everton but I'm sure he was up there watching. You didn't mention your mum much near the end of your book but I hope she's well and can now enjoy spending some time with her son. And I hope your health is better and there's no more scary episodes such as when you collapsed in Kirkham.
All the best, Mark. James
Just finished your book. It's the very best I have read. As a long-time Everton season ticket holder, I wish you all the best. Good players are hard to find and you are still entertaining me now.Thank you very much. Beni
I have just read your book on holiday and I have got to say it's one of the best reads that I have ever had. A really honest, enjoyable book.
I have no doubts that you will get another chance in football - you really deserve it, lad. Good luck for the future, Mark. Liam
Just read your book and really enjoyed it - best bio I've read.
We always say you were one of Everton's best players but you left too early. I always knew Walker was a dick and I could not stand the man. I bet, if you were playing now, you would be worth £30m They don't make players like you anymore. They are all selfish bastards in it for the money - no loyalty.
What a goal against the red shite - it's still fresh in my memory. Good luck anyway, Mark. Hope to see you back at the Blues one day as coach. Anthony Browning
Having just completed your book, I want you to know how much I have enjoyed it. A lot of the things quoted about the life of a footballer are true.
I am a true Evertonian and can remember my first game at Goodison during the war - it was against Liverpool.
Thanks once again for a frank and interesting book and I wish you all the very best for the future. Iorwerth Pritchard
I'm a London-born and educated guy with a Turkish Cypriot background. I've literally just finished reading your autobiography, which I found interesting and enjoyed - well done to you and the publishers for producing it.
It was interesting to read your gradual rise up the ladder from Northwich Vic, where, without realising it at the time, I would have watched you play against Enfield FC, However, I do vaguely remember some of the fans and a couple of the players mentioning that we need to watch out for the two highly rated strikers in Ward and (Colin) Chesters.
One of the things that strangely surprised me was your drinking habit and of those around you, from managers to highly classed team-mates. I've also read autobiographies by Tony Adams, Brian Clough, George Best, Roy Keane, Norman Whiteside and (sorry, Mark) Lou Macari and they are just full of alcohol-fuelled distractions.
I believe the Achilles heel of the country is the sad culture that every social event in life is surrounded by alcohol. Whether it a wedding, christening, birthday, leaving work, getting promoted, scoring a hat-trick or just meeting up after work. I work as a London black cabby and witness every day/night the effect that drink has on people. It is OK for me ‘cos I get the business, but it's a negative in life, it's damaging and is a drug in itself.
What was also astounding is the lack of education on offer to players during your time as a pro. Was there zero time given to advise you on investing for the future? In my view today's Premier pro's couldn't spend all their money if they tried but the lower division players need sound financial advice for life beyond their playing days.
The crime you committed was one that millions would have done given your perilous situation with cash. It was an error you made and, in my view, you paid the heaviest consequences. I wish you luck and hope with the support of your loved ones and the footballing family, you will be able to show that a positive can come out of a negative. Best wishes. Ram Ismail
I am a prison visitor at HMP Preston and I have enjoyed reading your book. For obvious reasons I turned to the later stuff about your time inside and I recognise much of what you describe, especially the camaraderie and togetherness among many of the inmates that you mention.
However, Walton sounds a good deal rougher than Preston! All those Scousers, perhaps?
Having seen what prison life is like, I understand more clearly what loss of liberty means, and I follow when you say that it is all the little things that you can no longer do. I always tell my prisoners - who often seem good, ordinary blokes - I would go bananas in there after about three weeks!
I also understand why some people say that we lock up too many people for too long, and that our approach to drugs is simply not working. As a teacher, I am obviously concerned that education ought to come into this much more directly. I wonder if you feel you could influence youngsters in the right direction as part of your future?
Anyway, now that you are a free man again, I hope all goes well and I wish you happiness and success. Neil (Blackburn Rovers supporter)
All right, Wardy. Just finished your book - a fantastic read. You've certainly been through the mill, lad. Hope you have better times ahead.
I always enjoyed your company, especially the Everton Xmas parties - I was one of the Hawaiian girls in the fancy dress!
Best of luck, Wardy. Big Bernie
Mark. I have been an avid West Ham fan for the last 50 years and have experienced the highs and lows along with many thousands of others.
Can I say that even given the Cup successes, the most enjoyable period at WHU I have experienced is seeing the Boys of 86 during that magical season. Obviously TC and Frank got most of the plaudits but. personally, you were the player that made that season for me.
I was really gutted when you eventually left and couldn't understand it at the time. Having read your book, all is now clear.
I have read many a football autobiography over the years and can honestly say that yours is the most riveting. I read it in two sessions on my commute to London. It is refreshing to read a down to earth portrayal of a footballer's life rather than the usual "look at me" ego trip of other so-called stars.
I really hope you can find your way back into the game because if you can instil in others half of what you provided during your time with the Hammers, it must lead to success. I wish you all the best for the future.
Be lucky. Pete Dore
Now then, Wardy lad. Just finished the book and I must say it was a good read, hope I am not being biased because I know you but I thought it gave a clear picture of "You don't know what's round the corner in life" and the up and downs.
Seriously, I enjoyed it and there are striking similarities to my own past, apart from playing for Everton that is (who are they again?), meaning families being hurt and getting involved in mad situations, etc. Take care. Trav
Being a West Ham fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of your time with us, especially as my first game was in 1988 at six-years-old, your era.
I found it extremely funny that someone like David Kelly could lay one on Paul In*e (sorry, I can't force myself to write his name!). And the Dennis Wise story had me laughing. But the funniest story is, without a doubt, you fearing you had to room-share with Justin Fashanu!
I hardly ever read, but decided to buy your book to take on holiday with me. I got it on Wednesday and have already finished (I don't go on holiday until next week!). I truly hope success is awaiting you back in the game. Not many ex-pro's seem as dedicated to giving something back to the game these days and would prefer to live off the £30k+ wages they earn in the current game.
Anyway Mark, like I say, I wish you every success in you life now. I read a lot of website forums with comments from West Ham fans and find it annoying that a lot won't support you or, as they put it, ‘line the pockets of a criminal'. I am a firm believer that we live and die by the sword and your punishment has been served.
Good luck - One love Martin Brennan
Just finished the book on Mark. Feel very sorry for the bloke, he has had his life messed up for a stupid mistake.
Hopefully he will get into coaching but it will take a brave man to give him the first job. Really enjoyed the book and hope it is selling well. Noj
I bought your book on Friday night at the Boys of 86 event and you kindly signed it for me. I sat in the garden Saturday and could not stop reading it and finished it off by late afternoon. I really enjoyed it.
I wish you every success in your future and hopefully somebody takes you into football, as you have a lot to offer both on the coaching side and the advice on the dangers that lie on the edges of the game. Whatever happens next, it can't be worse than being interviewed by Galey! Best wishes to you Andrew
I am a mad West Ham fan of 45 years from Stoke-on-Trent. I have just finished reading your book and what a brilliant read it was. It made me smile and made me sad in equal measures. John Ledington
I received your book in the post on Friday (May 29) and I had read it by Saturday morning. I must say that of all the autobiographies I have read on sportsmen, yours is the best by a long way. It's the most candid and honest self-write that I have read. Simon Price
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