Leroy recalls Macari’s horrendous injury plea to doctor in football’s most important biography for years
Lee explains precisely what happened in his new book “It’s Only Banter” which has now been published and is available from Amazon. (details below).
It was an injury which marked beginning of the the end for Lee who was forced into retirement and still hobbles as a result of the problem.
He said: “A doctor looked at my knee which was swollen before the match and said there was no way I should play but Lou Macar got into him and said he had no other centre forward and that this would cause him real problems.
“The doctor then returned and said that maybe he was wrong and perhaps it would be ok for me to take part in the game. It wasn’t and I remember Stuart Robson blasting into Macari for what he’d done. It was shocking.”
Leroy had loved his time at West Ham but he had suffered the worst kind of racism as he made his way in the game when Nazi saluted by thousands at Elland Road and spat on at Portsmouth by a kid.
He was however, determined to succeed and it was such as him that paved the way for black players to break through in the game.
He has been a ceaseless campaigner against racism since and told Claretandhugh: “It is of course much better now but we must never forget how it was – we learn our lessons from history.”
His book – It’s Only Banter – is a social commentary as much as a football biography and opens with a powerful account of one of his early games for Fulham when he was the target of persistent racial abuse by two opponents.
He writes: ‘I took to the field a young man with something to prove,’ he wrote. ‘I left as a young black man with something to prove.’
ClaretandHigh is proud to have Leroy as its chief pundit and we recommend every follower to buy a copy of the most important football biography to have been written in years.
It’s only Banter is available either in hard copy form or kindle from Amazon UK at £14.88 or £9.99.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Its+only+banter+book