The Limping Physio

A Life in Football

John Sheridan

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801500302
• Year: 2021

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a professional football club? Veteran physiotherapist John Sheridan has seen just about everything since he entered professional football in 1979 with Luton Town. There he played a key part in the rise of David Pleat's exciting team, and when Pleat moved to Tottenham in 1986, John moved with him. David left the following year, but John remained in his role at White Hart Lane under David's successor, the charismatic Terry Venables. John was reluctantly thrust into the spotlight in 1991 when he nursed Paul Gascoigne back to fitness after a horror tackle in the FA Cup Final left Gazza's career hanging in the balance. Despite playing an integral part in Gazza's rehabilitation, John has remained silent - until now. For the first time he describes what really happened during this traumatic period and how it left him fighting for his sanity. John speaks candidly about his time in football and reveals how he battled anxiety to enter the harsh world of professional football with a disability.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by David Pleat
• Foreword by Gary Mabbutt MBE
• Preface
• 1. My Early Years
• 2. From Production Line to Professional Football
• 3. In at the Deep End
• 4. Surgeons, Injuries and Professor Smillie
• 5. Life at Luton in the 1980s
• 6. Off to Spurs
• 7. All Change at Spurs
• 8. Paul Gascoigne and that Free Kick
• 9. That Tackle
• 10. The Fightback Begins and Fishy Tales
• 11. Disaster and the Fightback Begins Again
• 12. The Beginning of the End at Tottenham
• 13. A New Start
• 14. Stories from Around the World
• 15. Matchdays
• 16. Injury Management, Assessment and Rehabilitation
• 17. Other Memories
• 18. Fun on the Fairway
• 19. Looking Back
• Postscript
• Acknowledgements
• Photos