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Managers Association, and he had been assistant to Noel at Peterborough, so we all knew each other well. Phil Woosnam, a former teammate of Noel at West Ham who was then the commissioner of the NASL, had got in touch with Noel and asked him if he would be interested in coming to the USA to coach. Noel told him he would think about it. He would have been a big coup for the NASL. He rang me and asked me if I was doing anything and would I like to come down to his house for some dinner. I went down, and he asked me if I would go to America with him because he needed some help. I initially said no, but then had a think about it, and as I had such good time working for Noel I said I would.
    ‘Dennis Viollet had been in America for a number of years with the Baltimore Bays. He was currently out of work, though, so we asked him to get involved as assistant manager. Dennis knew the American college players, and I knew players from England and Europe. I had previously been chairman at Halifax Town, so I had good contacts in football.
    ‘In the end we only had six weeks to put a team together in time for the start of the season. We wanted players with ability and character, and we got them. We had an arrangement with Charlton and got Laurie Abraham and Mick Flanagan, who would become the League’s most valuable player, and we also signed Peter Simpson, who had played for almost fifteen years with Arsenal. Even though we had a short space of time to get organised, we ended up winning the Eastern Division.
    ‘The players all had great respect for Noel. They all knew what he had done in football, so we were very fortunate in that sense. After games, however, Noel was more like one of the boys and had a great rapport with them. He was a footballing purist and wanted the game played on the ground. I would often be in the dugout beside him and would shout, “Take him down!” and Noel would turn and look at me and give out to me.
    ‘The training and coaching were very different from the English set-up. Noel had a canny knack of knowing if a player was dehydrated or carrying a knock, often before the player himself. If someone needed a break, he would see it and would say to me, “Make sure and have some water at the ready.” He could see the little things that affected players.
    ‘One of Noel’s funnier attributes was that when he spoke, he would often get his facts mixed up. One time he was over talking to Chris Turner about the next game and how the opposition had this attacking midfielder who he would be marking, a Yugoslavian. I think his name was Mitic. Noel was telling Chris in great detail how this midfielder was physical and good in the air, and although he had two good feet, he always went to the left. He was emphasising to Chris this point when all of a sudden he said, “Not that any of this matters. He injured his leg last week and isn’t playing.”
    ‘Another time he was naming the team and he called out twelve players. We had a young American keeper as understudy to Kevin Keelan. His name was Kirk Pearson, and his nickname was “the Kitten”, as Kevin was “the Cat”. Well, Kirk started laughing, and Noel asked him what was so funny. Kirk told him he had named twelve players, and Noel just turned and said, “And you’re still not one of them.” He had a quick wit about him.
    ‘That said, he was very competitive and did not like to lose. He would get angry, but he never singled anyone out. Noel was a natural sportsman, and you can add golf to the list of sports he excelled at. He loved it around Jacksonville with all the golf courses. He was a terrific fellow. It’s very hard to say a bad word about him. He was also very modest. His favourite saying was, “It’s not a rehearsal, it’s your one shot”, and that was the way he lived his life. He was generous not just in terms of money but with his time and knowledge.
    ‘He had a lovely charm about him. One time we were headed to New York for the Soccer