Paradise and Beyond: My Autobiography by Chris Sutton & Mark Guidi

Author:Chris Sutton & Mark Guidi [Sutton, Chris & Guidi, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Sports & Outdoors, Non-Fiction, Biography & Autobiography, Soccer, Football
ISBN: 1845023498
Amazon: B0078XH7NU
Publisher: Black & White Publishing
Published: 2011-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

Gianluca Vialli on Chris Sutton

Chris had been a player I had rated for quite some time and he had shown over a number of years the qualities he possesses. I was delighted we managed to sign him from Blackburn Rovers. We paid a lot of money for him, but I wasn’t involved in the negotiations between the clubs and the eventual transfer fee. As a manager, a transfer fee was never a problem for me. Perhaps for the player it is different but you have to learn to carry that weight of expectation, that burden, around your neck. A footballer should not be scared of anything like that and should always try to prove any critics wrong.

We had lacked a ‘British style’ striker in our team. Some of the strikers we had were technically better than Chris but we felt we lacked someone up front that would be there for us when the going got tough, particularly in some away games. In some games we were not able to cope with the physical aspect and we felt Chris could be a big help to us in that area. He had the qualities we felt we lacked and that’s why we pursued him. Chris worked hard and I could see he was determined to do well and I actually felt he played well for us and, overall, I was pleased with his performances. It just didn’t happen often enough for him.

We tried to marry our European style with a British style and getting that blend was harder than what we thought it would be. Initially, at least, it didn’t quite go to plan for us.

He was one of four top-class strikers and I decided to use the Italian system of rotating the players.

Maybe Chris didn’t like it that way, I’m not sure. He also had a couple of niggly injuries and that didn’t help him. I think he had one or two problems with an ankle.

When George Weah joined us, Chris looked more comfortable and I thought they could have been a good partnership. They were terrific together in a few games. Overall, it just never quite took off for Chris.

The decision to leave Chelsea was mainly down to Chris. Had he decided to stay and fight for his place and try to become a real hit, then I would not have objected. I felt had he stayed for a second season, he would have gone on to become a real success for us. I was sacked a few months into that season but I feel Chris could have stayed.

However, for many different reasons, transfers don’t work out and it is hard to point the finger at one single reason as to why this happens. I think most of the criticism towards him was unfair but the press always try to pick someone to carry the can when performances aren’t what they should be.

I’ve often thought that perhaps I could have done more to help him and that the team could have done more to help him.

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