Q & A: Michael Calvin talks Millwall, Watford and the latest edition of Family (From News Shopper)

Q & A: Michael Calvin talks Millwall, Watford and the latest edition of Family

1:43pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Millwall

Millwall face Watford in the Championship tonight and will be cheered on by a former Hornets fan who fell in love with the Lions after charting the rise of Kenny Jackett’s side from League One to the second tier.

Top sports journalist Michael Calvin, whose impressive CV boasts spells at a host of Fleet Street big hitters during an illustrious reporting career, was given behind the scenes access at The Den at the start of the 2009-10 campaign.

Calvin grew up supporting Watford and asked his long-term friend Jackett if he could write a book which would give fans of all sides an insight into the workings of a lower league team.

Millwall had just been beaten in the previous season’s League One play-off final by Scunthorpe at Wembley.

But little did Calvin know they would go one better 12 months on by beating Swindon 1-0 at the national stadium to secure a return to the Championship for the first time in four years.

The highs and lows of a memorable campaign were recalled in Calvin’s original self-published first edition of ‘Family: Life, Death and Football’ when it was released in October 2010.

It went on to be nominated for a sports book award and also secured the backing of a new publisher for an updated second edition, which has just been printed by Icon Books this month and is now on sale priced £8.99.

In the final chapter of the updated version Calvin explains why he ended up falling out of love with Watford and is now a fully committed Lion, cheering on Millwall in their 2-1 defeat at Vicarage Road earlier this season.

Tonight sees the return fixture at The Den, so now seemed the perfect time for News Shopper sports editor PAUL GREEN to catch up with Calvin to discuss the latest edition of Family, his change of allegiance and what he thinks of Millwall’s season so far.

After originally publishing the book yourself, you now have a publisher Icon Books on board for the second edition. How did that come about and what are the benefits from your point of view?

Family gained a lot of attention when it was nominated as Football Book of the Year in the 2011 British Sports Book Awards.

It was the first time a self published work had been shortlisted for such a prestigious prize.

The guys at Icon share my belief that the book will be of interest to all football fans, regardless of allegiance.

Supporters are alienated by the greed and conspicuous consumption of the Premier League, but can relate to the honesty and humanity of the Millwall staff and players.

I’m convinced, also, that many fans regard Millwall as a “proper” club.

Icon will help me get that message to a wider audience.

Reading the book now and the characters mentioned you realise just how many changes to the playing personnel there have been since the promotion season. Does it surprise you?

It does, to an extent, but I think Robbo sums it up very well in the Epilogue to the new edition: “Football is a process of continual evolution. If someone leaves, someone else steps us.”

Players exist from contract to contract.

Sometimes success is counter-productive, on a personal level.

If you get your club promoted, you know the manager will be looking to recruit players with greater potential and experience.

That’s life, as a footballer.

Bearing in mind Millwall’s well documented lack of goals this season do you think it was a mistake to let Neil Harris join Southend in the summer considering all of his experience?

Football can be a brutal game, but I think Neil’s departure was handled sensitively.

KJ intended to use him as an impact substitute this season, but was aware of the personal issues involved.

Southend was Chopper’s boyhood club, he lives five minutes from the ground.

It made sense on a personal level.

Professionally? To be honest, after having spent quite a bit of time with him lately, I’m not sure he fits there.

He is serious about coaching, but has no specific plans.

I think, at some stage in the future, he will return to Millwall in some capacity.

What do you put Millwall’s struggles this season down to?

As we mentioned earlier, teams have a certain shelf life. I reckon three years.

This was always going to be a transitional season.

Opposing teams have a greater appreciation of Millwall’s strengths and weaknesses.

Certain players got through last season on ambition and adrenaline.

It is natural that they will begin to find their true level.

I think also that people have to be realistic.

Budgets are tight, and I’m hearing of League One players on £18,000 a week.

To fit the business plan, KJ and his scouts must find young, hungry and under-valued players, with the odd warhorse like Darius Henderson thrown in.

That’s really difficult.

There’s no doubt Josh McQuoid has been a major disappointment.

I also think Tam Mkandawire has been missed more than people realise.

Are you confident Millwall will stay up?

Yes they will – but it will be very tight.

Coventry seem to be a basket case, and I hope Doncaster go down, because their business model stinks.

Portsmouth’s past might catch up with them, and I was surprised that Nottingham Forest turned to Steve Cotterill.

He’s vastly over-rated, not least by himself.

Ipswich might have to make a hard call on Paul Jewell if they are to avoid the dogfight.

Have you been surprised by the amount of criticism directed at Kenny Jackett this season from some supporters?

To be honest, I think the vast majority of fans have been fantastic.

They understand the realities of the situation and appreciate the stability KJ has brought to the club.

If people want to “get” Millwall, I think they should study the reaction to the 6-0 home defeat by Birmingham.

The crowd chanted KJ’s name, and gave the players a standing ovation.

That’s Real Wall. It wouldn’t happen at any other club.

You are someone who knows Kenny well from your season observing life behind the scenes at the club. What is the one thing which impresses you most about him as a manager?

He sees it as a job of work.

No airs, or graces.

He can be ruthless, when required, and he is clear-minded and decisive.

But his greatest strength is his ability as a coach.

Watch any of his pattern of play sessions and you are reminded that football is, in essence, a simple game.

He develops players on the training ground, which is an invaluable skill.

In the new edition of Family there is an updated final chapter where you confess to swapping your life-long love of Watford for Millwall. A lot of fans of whatever club will not understand how you can do that. What would you say to them?

I understand I’ve broken one of the great taboos.

Intriguingly, it has got me a lot of stick from both Watford and Millwall fans.

But I had to be honest – everyone else in the book was, so why should I be different?

I really identify with the take-us-as-you-find-us mentality at Millwall.

I’ve also been a bit of a maverick – I persuaded the Telegraph to let me sail around the world as a journalistic project – so it is not so surprising that I feel at home at The Den.

The club I grew up with at Watford has changed. It has lost the family spirit Graham Taylor did so much to nurture.

No One Likes Me? Don’t particularly care….

You are now writing a book about Millwall legends. How is that all going and when will it be published?

I am in the interview phase of “Real Wall”

As you know, that’s the phrase Millwall fans use to describe the spirit of the club.

It means different things, to different people, so I asked the fans to tell me which players embody that spirit.

Nearly 1,000 gave me their top ten Real Wall players – I am tracking down and talking to their top 30, drawn from across the generations, to see if there is a common denominator.

Some of the stories from the old Den are brilliant. I hope to publish it in the summer.

What does the long-term future hold for Millwall FC?

Graham Taylor, at Watford, always used to say that clubs had a natural level.

I think Millwall’s level is somewhere between the top six in League One and the bottom third of the Championship.

Again you have to be realistic.

Gates are rarely above 12,000 and are unlikely to increase.

Incomes are being squeezed in a recession but there is reason for optimism.

With a little more investment, I could see KJ putting together a well organised team, with a realistic shot at a play-off place.

On a wider note, I reckon people will become bored with the bombast of the Premier League, whose disgraceful plans for youth football should be resisted by anyone with a brain, or a pulse.

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