The 10 Most Partridge Moments from Glenn Hoddle’s 1998 World Cup Diary

One thing that was lost in the furore that followed the publication of the England manager’s incendiary World Cup Diary was the picture Hoddle inadvertently paints of himself – that of a man one travel tavern and a toblerone addiction away from being North Norfolk’s premier disc jockey. Here are some particularly Alanesque sections…

 

1) On the motivational video he commissions for the squad

‘Some of the pictures had been cut to the music of the M People track, ‘Search for the Hero Inside Yourself’: it made me shiver with excitement.’

 

2) On creating the right mood to reveal the players’ World Cup fate

‘ I’d made a mental note to bring a selection of CDs with me and had Kenny G in the background, because I felt some of the players might be a bit nervous walking into a silent room’

Yeah, who doesn’t love Kenny G?

 

3) On an unexpected media foe

‘The questions were ok – except for the guy from Peperami TV: I still don’t know what he was on about.’

4) On Chessington World of Adventures

‘I don’t mind admitting that the Vampire ride was terrifying.’

 

5) On a clash of styles with an internationally renowned designer

‘Our suits are sponsored by Paul Smith…he’s a big football fan and was the perfect choice to style our World Cup look. We’d been discussing colour schemes and styles for several months and had a few half-hearted battles over it…eventually I got my way with beige.’

 

6) On high profile well-wishers

‘ When I was told [Tony Blair] was going to call I thought it was a wind-up by Steve Penk, the Capital Radio DJ. I’d already had a call from someone claiming to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. I told the caller that Mr Hoddle had gone to church!’

Needless to say, Glenn had the last laugh.

 

7) On relaxing

‘I snatched an hour to listen to my Sony Walkman; a bit of Celine Dion, a bit of prayer, a big switch-off for the mind.’

 

8) On a favour from a friend

‘Ray Stubbs couldn’t work out why I kept putting my thumbs up and pointing to my throat, but in the end he realised. Those Fishermen’s Friends had come up trumps.’

 

9) On chatting with royalty

‘I had another call to take from the Buckingham Palace switchboard. I thought it was Steve Penk from Capital Radio doing another wind-up..I was ready for the giveaway question and I was going to use my own Prince Charles impersonation (I’m quite good at it!) but halfway through the conversation I realised it really was Buckingham Palace.’

Stop going on about Steve Penk from Capital Radio, Glenn, you’re never going to meet him

 

10) On an emotional reunion, post-Argentina

‘As I walked into the studio I saw Ray Stubbs. He almost welled up. That was tough. We didn’t say anything. We just embraced each other.’

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