Creating a fairer Britain
Lee had only just joined the team. He was a quiet lad. He lived up on the Maes Glas estate with his mother. I sometimes dropped him off on my way home. The boys didn’t say much about him. He was in the other school in centre of town and his Welsh didn’t come easily to him so they spoke to him only in English. Or maybe he was just quiet and it was a new area. I think his mother had moved across from Carmarthen last summer. But he could kick a football alright. He really had something. The way he could hold a ball up, feint to shoot, then slide a pass through a set of defenders as if they were stuck to the pitch.
We weren’t having the best of starts. A couple of the boys had joined the rugby team instead while a few had just drifted away over the summer, picked up on the computer games. You had to have keen parents to get you up to Y Parc every Saturday for 9am. Lee’s mother dropped him off. She didn’t stay to talk to any of the other mothers. She just whispered something to him before he climbed out of the car and then drove off. She spoke to me the first time to introduce herself and Lee.
“I rang you about Lee joining? He wants to play where he can score goals.” She wore a waterproof jacket that was at least three sizes too big for her. She still had some make-up smeared around her eyes.
“We’ll see what we can do then.”
“Would you be able to drop him back for me? I’ve got to work in Tesco’s. He’s got a key.”
And that was it. I only gave him a half the first few weeks to let him settle in. I told him to play at the back. We didn’t concede many goals when he was playing but we were still losing. The boys wanted to know when I was going to play him up front but you can’t rush these things. I had to give him time to adjust.
I made the mistake of asking him if his father was going to come to see him play… I don’t know who my father is… put me in my place… the way he said it, a challenge – so what – aren’t I good enough for you then?
I’ve got used to the breakdown bit, more than half the team are in a process of transition in the domestic area. Catrin reckons it’s the internet. Not sure what the hell that that has got to do with it. Maybe she knows more than me though – working at the post office you get to know a lot about people, maybe too much – she’s had enough of it. I look at computers for a living, last thing I want to do when I get back is get on-line and talk to some long lost girlfriend.
I first clocked the old guy about a month after Lee had started. He was standing up on the halfway line under a big red umbrella, which was a bit odd as it wasn’t raining. You get to know the parents who turn up to support so I just assumed he was one of the Drefach lot. They like their umbrellas up there. They hadn’t brought enough players for a full team so I had to lend them two of ours. I gave them Rhydian because he couldn’t kick a ball if it bit him and Lee. That was a mistake. I could see it in his eyes when I asked him to play for them that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. The boys whispered to me - “What you do that for Mr Arnold?” – Maybe my team management skills need a bit of improving.
Lee scored the first goal straight from the kick off. Drefach lobbed a long ball to no-one in particular and Lee chased it, caught it in front of our defence, turned and hit it in from twenty yards. Our goalkeeper hadn’t even put his gloves on. It was the first of five. Everytime he scored the man under the red umbrella seemed to jump up and down in excitement.
As our team trudged off on the end of a Five One hammering the man with the red umbrella walked across the pitch towards the boys. He was waving at Lee. Lee saw him coming and began running away. The man started running after him. I was running now as well, something wasn’t quite right. Lee was too quick anyway and the man stopped . He was breathing heavily when I got to him and there were tears in his eyes.
“Are you alright mate?”
He looked up at me and wiped his eyes with his jumper.
“Yes, I’m fine… give him this will you.”
He passed a crumpled five pound note to me and then walked away.
By the time I caught up with Lee and the other boys I could see he’d been crying as well. I thought I’d better ignore it. But he spoke on the way back in the car.
“That was my grandfather. Mam says I shouldn’t speak to him. What to do you think Mr Arnold?”
What the hell was I supposed to say? I’ve done my coaching badges – but they didn’t ask me that one on the half-day at Aberystwyth leisure centre. Rhydian and Carl sniggered in the back and I told them to shut up – they listened to that. I dropped Lee off at his house. Two of the windows had been boarded up at the front. The boys looked at the house in disbelief. After he got out they were still looking at the boarded frames.
“What happened to the windows Mr Arnold?”
I made sure he was playing next week. The boys insisted but even I could see talent by that point. I had been hoping he would develop into an effective right-back. A right-back that could score five goals in a game? We started to win straight away. Lee was able to control a match . He wasn’t any bigger than anyone else but he wanted the ball and when he kicked it he knew where it was going.
There was no league as such just a succession of friendlies but the news of Lee’s scoring potential soon got around. Someone even said there was a scout from the Swans at one of the games. I didn’t see him though. His grandfather was at all the games, always on the half-way line, always with a red umbrella. I could see that Lee looked for him when they ran out on the pitch. He didn’t shout encouragement but he jumped around when ever Lee scored as if the effort of remaining composed was too much for him. After a few weeks Lee would walk over to him at the end of the game and they would talk. Just a few words and just long enough for the grandfather to give his grandson five pounds. It saved him having to give it to me to give it to him. Lee always looked a bit guilty when he returned late to the changing huddle but the other boys didn’t seem to notice. He was too much one of them by then.
The year moved on quickly. My work wasn’t going too well. They offered voluntary redundancy to a few in my department. I was tempted. Catrin wanted a new challenge away from the Post Office. I didn’t really want to move. Christmas came and went. I saw Lee’s mother in a pub in town. She was with a couple of girls on a night out. She was wearing a Christmas hat with mistletoe dangling in front of it. I was with a few of the lads from the golf club. I got home at three in the morning.
Just before Easter we entered the County five a side tournament in Aber. Lee was the star from the start. There were less objects to get in his way and we cruised through the rounds. Lee had scored eleven goals by the final and there was quite a crowd watching him. The final was against the home team. They were much bigger than us. I’m still sure a few of their boys were over age. They’d obviously been watching us play as well because they went for Lee from the start. They must have been told to kick him. I was shouting at the ref, their supporters were shouting at me. He got up the first time and got on with it – the second time he stayed down. He looked hurt. I got on with the water and the magic sponge.
“That wasn’t fair Mr Arnold – they just kicked me.”
I splashed water on his shins. A bruise was rushing to the surface of his skin, colouring red. Lee’s grandfather came across.
“Are you alright son?”
“Yes Da. I’m fine.”
“Good, get up then, you’ve got a game to win.”
“I will Da.”
Lee got up shakily, his leg was cut but he ran back into the game.
I suppose it was fortunate the next pass went to Carl. Aber were used to kicking by that point so they just kicked him as well. Carl wasn’t going to be kicked by anyone so he just got up and lashed out at the nearest player. It was uproar. These parents are bloody terrible when they get too involved – shouting, swearing, threatening the referee. The referee called the whole thing off. It was all over the Cambrian News. Under 11 Five A side Football Tournament Abandoned For Crowd Trouble. Bloody hell mun, we were winning. I had to appear before the County Football Association. I thought I was going to lose my badges but they just banned the other coach and gave me a reprimand.
Lee’s grandfather was waiting for me after I’d changed. I introduced myself as we shook hands.
“James Arnold…”
“Wyn Rees… quite a team you have there.”
“I’m not sure about a team. Lee scores the goals.”
“There’s a few tidy players as well as our boy. Is he alright?”
“Yeh, I think so. You’re his granddad?”
“Yes, don’t get to see him much, not since his mum and dad split – we don’t get to see him – my wife doesn’t get about much now – she’s over there in the car. Do you think we could take him out for supper?”
“I can’t do that Mr Rhys. I’ve got to get him back home. Couldn’t you ask his mother?”
“Sian won’t speak to us. It’s hard you know, we’re missing him, missing him growing up. Could you ask him to come over to say hello to his grandma though?”
I went back into the clubhouse. The adults were standing around talking trying to forget how embarrassing they’d been twenty minutes earlier. The boys were all eating crisps and drinking orange squash provided by the club. The heat of the game was gone. The boys were still little boys. Lee was talking to Carl and Rhydian was pointing at something in his hand and laughing. Just small boys.
I called Lee over – told him his grandfather and nanna wanted to speak to him. He looked up at me for an answer.
“It won’t hurt. I’ll come with you.”
We walked across the car park to where his grandfather was waiting by the side of his car. His grandmother had got out. She was sitting in a wheelchair. I watched as Lee walked across to them and then bent down to kiss her.
The season finished soon after that. The summer passed quickly as they always do. When the new season started most of the boys came back but there was no sign of Lee. I called up to his house on Maes Glas. The window had been repaired but there was an old man with a dog living there. He didn’t know where they had gone. I should ask the social maybe. I heard a few weeks later that Lee’s mother had a new boyfriend and moved in with him. I think they were living over towards Carmarthen. I hope Lee’s playing football.