Opening Up On His Molineux Nightmare
Life at Wolves in the mid-1990s…..
Ever wondered what became of Neil Masters during and following his ill-fated mid-1990s time at Wolves? Wonder no more. But be warned…..his story is not a case of happy ever afters.
The left-back Graham Turner signed, Graham Taylor ridiculed and Mark McGhee sold has unloaded in a big way to get rid of 30 years of hurt following his Molineux nightmare.
The platform for his revelations was the Mutchy & Denno podcast, presented with Johnny Phillips and recorded around the player’s recent first return to the city since he was transferred to Gillingham in 1997 after being restricted to a mere ten first-team outings in three and a half years.
His appearance as the show’s first special guest isn’t easy listening but, boy, it’s a powerful, interesting and thought-provoking insight.
Mental health problems among footballers and the lack of care for sufferers in past decades is at the root of the chat, with the 53-year-old admitting: “It has been a very dark time at moments for me. It’s a battle for me to get up every day. That first big injury at Wolves….that was where the depression set in.”
Masters seemed to have the football world at his feet when he signed from Bournemouth just before Christmas, 1993. On his debut, he made a point-saving equaliser for Steve Bull in a 1-1 Boxing Day draw at Tranmere that Merseyside-born Phillips recalls watching from among the away following and tells the podcast that his eyes were opened by the media’s clamour for interviews with him afterwards.
He also speaks of his first day at training….preceded by ‘beans on toast and cups of tea served by a lovely couple’. That would be Jack and Olive Carr, from Codsall, and, yes, they were a delight to have around the place.
The first of the many injury setbacks came along immediately but a more serious down-turn for the Ballymena-born defender at that stage was the departure of Turner in the March.
Neil Masters back in the home dressing room at Molineux….
Taylor came in and took a dim view of the injury absences that had already started. Our wish here is to whet the appetite of fans interested in listening to the podcast, not to give away so much of it that they don’t need to tune in to Mutchy & Denno Podcast – YouTube.
Suffice to say that Masters recounts a difficult story very well, complete with recollections of rants from the new manager, a tale about an embarrassed Andy Thompson and allegations of poor medical treatment. Just a taster on the Taylor content…..”he came running in and the abuse started. That still hangs with me because it shouldn’t have happened.”
At one point, the player received a first Northern Ireland call-up and a friendly warning from manager Bryan Hamilton that he was set to man-mark Luis Fogo on his international debut against Portugal. Taylor handed him the formal summons from his country in an envelope in front of the whole squad, who responded with a round of applause that rounded off ‘one of the proudest days of my life’.
Sadly, he missed that European Championship qualifier and so many other games. A niggle became something much serious and he has lots to say about how he was treated at Wolves, where Taylor once publicly referred to fans wearing t-shirts bearing the message: ‘I’ve seen Neil Masters play’.
“It’s time to tell my story because I’ve had to live with it for 30 years,” the left-back added. “It has been one of the problems that I haven’t been able to come back to this club, thank the fans and say how proud I was to wear the shirt. It’s just ate away at me and it’s been tough.”
One recollection about being trasnported back to Molineux after training is particularly hard going: “After the first training session under Mark McGhee, I’m sat on the bus next to Wolfie (John de Wolf) and Bully and felt my knee getting tighter and tighter. We got back to the ground and I’m waiting for all the others to get off. The main reason was that I couldn’t move. I had my head in my hands, I was in tears and didn’t want to show the boys. Wolfie asked if I was ok and helped me off the bus. I went into the physio’s room and said: ‘Look at this, this is my knee.’ They took another third of the tendon off and I knew then it was going to be a struggle. It’s your worst nightmare….”
At 16, Masters had been sent for a stint in Norwegian football by his Bournemouth manager, Harry Redknapp, and returned to the country after Gillingham cancelled his contract one day and collected his club car the next. He joined Moss and settled there, 45 minutes from Oslo.
He talks of ‘two beautiful boys’, James and Christopher, as his heart and soul. “They’ve given me joy and have been my rocks. They’re the reason I’ve stayed in Norway but they’ve grown up and moved away from home, so it’s decision time.”
He is clearly torn between remaining in Scandinavia and coming back to England or Northern Ireland. But, despite the cruel hand he has been given, he insists he loves football more than ever and can’t get enough of it. What’s more, he wants to help youngsters navigate a safer way in the game than he suffered.
Even his recent movements have been challenging. “I was due to go back to Norway but I wanted to go to Wolverhampton,” he said, promising he’ll look after any Wolves supporters who fancy a little break in the Oslo area. “I did a podcast in Northern Ireland and had a few days in Liverpool….it’s cold in Norway at the moment!”
Andy Mutch and Robbie Dennison at the mic.
The bravery of the disclosures struck a chord with his fellow countryman, Dennison, and further opened the eyes of Mutch, who left Molineux a few months before Masters arrived.
Robbie said: “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t go through issues when I came out of the game. And I played lots of games. One day you go into training, the next you don’t. It just stops like that. Trying to get your life in gear after that is the toughest thing ever. I think any player coming out of the game does have issues.”
And Mutchy spoke in the podcast – recorded shortly after Masters had attended the Wolves v Newcastle game and met up again withThompson, Steve Bull and Don Goodman – of the different culture in football then. “I didn’t know anybody in the changing room who I thought had a problem,” he said. “I thought everyone was fine. That’s how well players hid it, although it was a nightmare when you were injured.”