I totally accept that I am more than a little peculiar.
In my younger days I may have been somewhat reluctant to admit this. Indeed I would have argued vehemently against the hypothesis. However, I have come to accept that rather than perceive this as personal predicament and a setback to my long held dreams to rule the world, I have actually grown quite fond of this particular aspect of my personality.

The rules of the game

Peculiarity is all things to all men I feel. What one deems to be a strange or quirky trait is more often than not accepted as normal behaviour by another. Hence, I have long since simply accepted my strangeness and just got on with life. In professional football individuals are expected to conform to the guidelines laid down by those charged with running the game, whether this be by clubs or the relevant Football Associations pertinent to each particular country. Most of us who have been professional footballer players will have been in hot water somewhere along the line, and myself in many places along the line.

There has been more than the odd occasion when I have been mortified at some of the indiscrete actions committed or perpetrated by the younger me. When I first went to play in England I found it difficult to come to terms with the servility expected from players. The vast majority of players had been in pro football since they left school and would have little if any experience of what went on in the outside world of employment. One of the most intriguing and at the same time most damaging parts of this was that when it came to retirement from the game at the age of 32 or 33, the vast majority of these still young men had little or no preparation for employment in the real world.

Upheaval

The impact of the enormous upheaval caused by moving from an almost cloistered environment into the harsh demands of genuine work created such emotional consternation that many players took a long time to settle, and some just didn't. I too had a few problems when the time came for me to step out of my treasured profession, but I was better prepared than most, probably because I could talk to anyone about almost anything.

I was captivated at the irony contained in this because it was this propensity to engage in dialogue that invariable conducted me into hot water with managers and referees during my career. I was not a "know-all" by any stretch of the imagination, on account I do believe, by being reared at a time when children were mandated by the chastening rebuke to "speak only when spoken to".

However, I did question the actions and decisions of some managers and referees who I felt, tended to seek the easy route, or soft option, rather than remain loyal to the principles of responsibility that most of us felt should always be attached to those important positions.