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Fifth Column 11:29 Fri Feb 26
Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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I spent a couple of hours this week meeting Perry Suckling who’s the Academy manager at QPR. He played 6 times for us in the 89/90 season when Lou Macari was manager on loan over the Christmas period. He is one of the funniest, nicest blokes I’ve met in Academies and took the piss out of his own career. The meeting had nothing to do with West Ham but I mentioned to him that I’d seen him play at Upton Park and started talking about his short time there.
For those too young to remember, we briefly had a manager called Lou Macari who was similar to Allardyce in style of play and was sacked in early 1990 after a scandal involving his time at a previous club. What I didn’t remember was that Billy Bonds was assisting Macari before Macari got sacked. Apparently Suckling had played for Palace against Swindon, who Macari had previously been managing, about 5 times in the space of a year and he’d played brilliantly in each match, “you just play well against certain teams”. As a result of that, Macari thought Suckling was under-rated and brought him in on loan.
Suckling said he knew it wasn’t going to go well when he made his debut against Oldham at home, Colin Foster at centre half went to clear the ball and sliced it into the net leaving Perry’s first touch of the ball at Upton Park being to pick the ball out of the net.
He reckons two of his away games he played a blinder and was given “man of the match” in the dressing room but it never went well at home.
In what turned out to be his last game, in the dressing room before facing Hull City, Macari instructed Perry that when he got the ball he needed to punt it down the pitch to Trevor Morley. After Macari left the dressing room, Bonds walks up to Perry and tells him in no uncertain terms that, “this is the Academy of football, you don’t punt the ball down the pitch, when you get the ball in your hands, try to throw it or pass it to Brady or Keen or Bishop” or words to that effect.
So the match starts, the first time he gets the ball in his hands, Suckling boots the ball down the pitch. He looks over at Bonzo who gives him the death stare. So then the next time Suckling gets the ball, he throws it out to Brady, Brady doesn’t check his shoulder, is dispossessed and Hull score. West Ham lose 2v1.
At the end of the game in the dressing room Macari comes up to him and just says “don’t ever come back Perry”… and he didn’t.
The funniest thing he said in passing though (about himself) was, “the good thing about being a shit footballer is you get transferred a lot and get to go around the world, China, South Africa, Doncaster…”.
There aren’t many ex-footballers who’d call themselves shit. Even the shit ones think they’re just unlucky or unappreciated. Seemed like a really good person and has clear plans for their Academy. Hopefully he’ll do really well there and West Ham will nick all his best players.
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Replies - In Chronological Order ( Show Newest Messages First)
El Scorchio
11:37 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Thanks for posting- nice little story. Sounds like a decent bloke.
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Cheezey Bell-End
11:42 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Macari wasn't sacked.
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Sven Roeder
11:43 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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The Macari scandal was that he bet on Swindon losing an FA Cup match with the idea that that would make the club money .... and if they won they got the gate takings from the next round.
Just a bit of HEDGING and I wouldn't be surprised if other clubs did it.
For all his faults he signed some good players for us.
Perry Suckling wasn't one of them.
After Suckling left he signed LUDO MIKLOSKO the next month so a happy ending.
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charleyfarley
11:43 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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His sense of humour and self deprecation has served him well, as he at least still in the game and not running a pub, sounds like a nice bloke
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cholo
11:49 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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I was at the hull match, one of the shittest games I can remember, freezing cold, even Morley's consolation was a mile offside.
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Russ of the BML
12:20 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Cheers. Good story.
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Eddie B
12:26 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Macari bought some very good players.
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boleynkid
12:27 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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A couple of years ago I was in the dressing room handing out programmes to the players playing for Ex-West Ham v Great Ormond Street. He asked if he could have one and I said no they are only for the players....he said that's ok then because I am in goal.
The thought of it still makes me shudder.
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Sven Roeder
12:29 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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That Hull defeat was a bit of a low ebb which dropped us to 13th and the next month was the 0-6 at Oldham.
Turned around a bit after that and just missed the playoffs but were promoted the next season.
And got revenge on Hull with the 7-1 POTTS GOAL game.
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SDKFZ 222
12:34 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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I was at the Hull home match, didn't Billy Whitehurst play up front and score a couple of goals?
Macari's style was actually a direct 4-4-2 with plenty of crosses from the wingers, as opposed to Allardyce's 4-5-1 and flooding the midfield.
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Dan M
12:37 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Swindon took one of the play-off places but were soon after fined and relegated. If the League had acted sooner then we would have got that final PO place and who knows how different things would have been. But then it's West Ham innit - the club that finished 5th in the Prem and only got an Intertoto place...
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i-Ron
12:38 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Good read that cheers. Although I don't think WILLIAM said the Academy stuff to him. I always feel like that was coined after Harry brought in a few.
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Mr. Burns
12:39 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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I seem to remember SUCKLING had a bit of a cult following when he was with us.
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cholo
12:44 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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He didn't really do anything wrong with us did he? It was a long time ago but afaicr the hull goal mentioned in the piece wasn't his fault.
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cholo
12:44 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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He was more famous for letting in 9 at Anfield while at palace.
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Annony
12:49 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Thanks for sharing. Remember Macari arriving as manager and thinking he would do well, was a fantastic footballer with Celtic and Man U, although that guarantees nothing, he knew how to play attacking football down the wing getting to the byline and cutting back, so find it strange he is compared to BFS as he brought in Ludo, Bish, Morley and Mad dog in a short time who could play?
Was gutted when it ended so quickly, we will never know what he could have done.
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Coffee
12:49 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Cheezey Bell-End 11:42 Fri Feb 26
Didn't he just disappear and go into hiding form the tax man?
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Gruesome Dump
12:51 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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If anyone says anything against Bill they shall feel the full WRATH of my tongue.
That's no idle threat.
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normannomates
12:57 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Macari was on a hiding to nothing...not his fault...he was taking over from the end of a era...and he was an ex manic.
He brought in some quality though.Ludo being the main one
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cholo
1:01 Fri Feb 26
Re: Perry Suckling on Lou Macari and Billy Bonds 89/90: "Don't ever come back Perry"
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Norman
Macari played in an early lineup of the manics?
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