Karel Prince: Lie Detector - Brian McClair

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1:11Karel Prince:Yes, people, I'm Carell Prince, full-time auditor of Football Tales, timeline inspector, and now the BBC's resident football fact-checker. This is my new podcast, Carell Prince Lie Detector. Before the football season returns and while your usual Football Daily presenters as take a well-earned break after the World Cup, myself and Anita Abayami will be putting football entails to the test to see if we can spot the truth from the lies. To never miss an episode, make sure you're subscribed to Football Daily, listen on BBC Sounds and watch on YouTube.

1:48Karel Prince:Yes, people, welcome to Lie Detector with me, Karel Prince. And me, Anita Abayami. We are the new resident fact-checkers here at the BBC. Every week we will be bringing you stories from the wonderful world of football Free to be exact from ex-professional footballers Two will be lies, one will be the truth And we will use our detective and analytical skills To try and weed out the truth from the lies You ready to get into this? Yes, I'm so excited What have we got in this case file today? BM BM Hmm, you got any ideas who it might be? Well, who's a famous BM? Do you know any famous BMs? Ben Mee.

2:28Karel Prince:Ben Mee. Brentford. Burnley. Current player? Current player. That would be nice. Could be... Brian and Bermot. Brian and Bermot. Brian and Bermot. Okay. Brian and Bermot. Bob McAdoo. Do you know what? Google that because that actually rings a bell. Bob McAdoo. He's NBA. He sounds like he played for Leicester. No. Bob McAdoo. I'm sure he won an NBA MVP. He won championships. Yeah. Bob McAdoo. He played for the Lakers. never heard of him you've never heard of him? never see I mean you don't know your stuff you don't know your BMs I know Brian Imbremo and I know Ben Mee because I'm I'm sure this is a football podcast so let's get back into it maybe my next BM was not going to be football so we could leave it BM as in baby mother?

3:14Karel Prince:yes it was exactly it was you're right we're in sync always in sync this should be a breeze it should be fine this should be a breeze Anyway, let's open up and see who it is. Brian McClare. Okay. Looks a bit like Santa Claus. He does. Nah, do you know what? In this photo, obviously, just going on first impressions, he looks like he should be in Sons of Anarchy. Sorry? Have you seen Sons of Anarchy? I've never watched that in my life. It's a bit like a motorcycle gang. Does he look like he could be in a motorcycle gang? He does, actually. Give him a leather jacket and he's there. A leather jacket, some sunglasses.

3:53Karel Prince:Give me a leather jacket. You have a trench coat, you're fine. Yeah, and it's hot. So he played for Motherwell. 15 goals in 40 appearances, that's decent. That's decent. That's decent. That's really good. Then Celtic. 99 goals in 145. The conversion rate is crazy. And then he played for Man United for 11 years, so 1987 to 1998. Do you know what that means? What? Fergie brought him across the border. Because Fergie, He joined Man United in 1986. Uh-huh. He must have saw him in the Scottish League doing his thing for Celtic while he was manager at Aberdeen. Brought him down and kept him until, tragically, the season before they won the treble.

4:36Why is that tragic?

4:38Karel Prince:Because he didn't get to win the treble. How would you feel if you was at a club for 11 years? You left. You put my blood, sweat and tears into that and next season you go off and win the treble. You're right, I'd be livid. Yeah, I think even the season he left, Arsenal did the double. So he didn't win nothing. Pain, man. It's true, it's true. But look how young Fergie looks. Jesus. I feel so old just looking at this. You know, the only time I've seen Fergie recently is when United are getting smacked in a match. And they just pan to him. The hand was always pan to Fergie. Never when United win.

5:13When they're winning, you don't see Fergie at all. After they've suffered a massive defeat, Fergie is the first picture you see.

5:19Karel Prince:It's always like 5-0 against Liverpool How does Fergie feel about this? But let United win 5-0 You don't see Fergie at all You don't see him at all Oh man Fred the Red pyjamas That's super random Yeah Bex and Porsche You're talking about leather jackets earlier You're talking about leather Hey listen Listen Listen If Brian really wanted to He could be in this picture as well Nah but I'm saying If he really wanted to How hot must they be under that? Look it's triple drown mate that's fashion over fashion over health fashion over health because there's not one breathable part of this outfit other than a bit where the zip is open I know this is this is this is a red carpet by the way so you know they're about to go watch something on beat our show for hours oh my goodness he's gonna he makes his trousers you're killing me the hugging on the way home it's like it's like sitting on the couch in the summer with the plastic on with the plastic on Fergie yeah the the hairdryer red in the face I used to love when Fergie used to shout on the touchlines man very nostalgic or like he'd just be standing there chewing gum apparently on the tour they used to leave the chewing gum like in the technical area on the tour like if you go on the stadium tour you could see the chewing gum the chewed up chewing gum yeah Fergie chewing gum ok I'm so sorry they need to sort that out that's disgusting that's probably gone now like he's not been manager for 13 years I think can you imagine going on a tour today and say that was chewing gum on the side pick one chewing gum up and do what with it to do what with it Karel it's been in greatness his mouth do you know what if you were to put that type of greatness in your mouth you'd be my guest you'd be my guest but I'm going to leave that on a pitch that greatness won a treble and two Champions Leagues you might want to see how much flavour is left does he chew it all the way through does he does he split it afterwards how long has the chewing gum been there Is that from last match day?

7:19Karel Prince:Is it from match day one? Have you seen how hastily he chews that gum? There is no flavour left. Literally, there's no flavour left. Is this Victoria Beckham again? It is Victoria Beckham again. What is his obsession with posh? What is your source's obsession with posh? I hear it though. Spice Girls, 90s. There wasn't much bigger, much better. Regardless, why is another man's wife in these files? This is not even Victoria Beckham. This is Victoria Adams. See, you didn't even know that, did you? Close the files. You have to know your stuff. Close the files. Just close the files. We've assessed enough.

7:54Karel Prince:Anyway, that being said, we have some files from Mr. Maclair himself. Ooh. And I believe, as I can see, there are three. So these must be stories that correlate to these pictures. OK, let's roll the tape on the first one. Let's find out what Mr. Maclair has to say. My favourite hairdryer occurred before a game one Sunday morning. came down for breakfast and Alex Ferguson's Aaron, a few of my teammates and apparently a Premier League from another football club had left his team hotel in Newcastle the day before and flown back to London without the manager's permission to be at the, or witness the birth of his child.

8:39Fergie thought this was completely wrong and I think most of my teammates were just the green one. Usually I had the devil on me and I'm going, oh, Gaffer, I think everybody should do that, you know. And he starts getting a bit more annoyed and telling me that he'd missed all three of his son's births. And I said, oh, Gaffer, it's the best thing to ever happen, better than scoring a goal, better than winning things. You know, it's something that if you've ever got the opportunity to do it, every father should do it, irrespective of what their profession is. Well, he's getting more and more angry and he starts to shout at me and say that it's your job, Fitball, Fitball is your job, it's important, it is the most important thing.

9:26He got that son and he continues to berate me for the next 30 seconds about how stupid I am for wanting to attend the birth of a child.

9:36Karel Prince:Do you know what I like about this story? What? I know you're in shock. I'm in so much shock. But this story was so immersive and it helps because he's Scottish. So when he's saying the Sir Alex bits, I can actually imagine Sir Alex saying it because of the accent. You know, maybe if it was English, I'd be like, I don't know, I don't believe this. But I don't know, man. The thing is, I'm looking at these files and I'm just seeing the picture of Sir Alex shouting, going red. And I'm thinking this correlates heavily. No, but I don't know. I feel like Sir Alex is a family man. I feel like he would understand.

10:13Have you seen Sir Alex shout at his players?

10:16Karel Prince:Yeah, in terms of the context of football, yes, he kicked a boot at Beckham, allegedly, because he wasn't focusing on football. But that was because he was trying to do the fashion thing. I think this is a man who loves his family dearly. I want to agree with you, but I also want to point to the fact that this is a man that's worked with people like Roy Keane, for example. And can you imagine Roy Keane allowing one of his players to go witness the birth of their kids? Yeah. No, you cannot. Have you seen Rokin's Instagram? You cannot. He basically only posts his dogs and his kids. Like, that's a family man.

10:48Does he post more of his dogs or of his kids? I think his kids. No, it's definitely his dogs.

10:53Karel Prince:No, but he loves, well, he loves his dogs. Like I say, when he came back from the 2002 World Cup, what's the first thing he did? Walked his dog in front of the media. So he loves his dog. And you know, the dog is a part of the family. But let's not get away from the fact that Fergie is a family man, right? You look at his son. Darren played him at United. Then when he became a manager, what did he do? He sent him every United prospect on loan to go and play for him to help his career. So if he's willing to do that for his son and basically like exercise every level of nepotism, do you not think he went to go witness his birth?

11:29I still believe that Fergie would not let him go and witness his birth, his daughter's birth. It really does depend if he likes you or not. This is a man that basically told David Beckham he's never going to play for Man United again in his prime.

11:41Karel Prince:Yeah, because he... And kicked him out of the club. Because he felt like his ego and his celebrity was becoming bigger than his football. So how do you know he didn't do that to a player who's ego? Because going to see your child be born and missing one game... This is summer at its peak. Whole Foods Market Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season. Fresh, organic and bursting with flavor. Start your day with peaches and organic blueberries and yogurt. Build a grazing board with fresh fruit, prosciutto and artisanal cheese. Then fire up the grill with no antibiotics ever proteins and fresh produce.

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12:25Karel Prince:Maybe you're missing the training session. It could have been a crucial game. It could have been a crucial game of the season. Nah, man. I don't know. This is giving something that Fergie would do. I think this is the picture that's swaying you. And you need to stop looking at it. That picture's so scary. It's such a scary picture. She's still got the picture up. That's all she's been looking at the whole time. You know there's another picture? Wait, hold on. There's another picture of Fergie in here. Let me get that for you. Doing what? Look, look, look. This is a man who laughs and smiles with his players.

12:56Karel Prince:Look, don't be fooled by just this. There's also that. You're right. And he's even got the wedding ring on this one as well. For those listening, it's a picture of Sir Alex Ferguson, I believe, with Mr. McClare. And they're having a laugh and a joke together. Maybe that's how he even joked about it. Maybe he liked him. He was like, oh, yeah, like, in the army, they wouldn't let you go home, would they? Ha, ha, ha, ha. But because he said it in the Scottish accent, he's like, they wouldn't let you go home. Are you saying I'm being swayed by the accent? You're being swayed by this photo, which is mid-game, by the way.

13:30Do you know what? Turn that photo upside down. Let me think of a clearer head. does that look like

13:34Karel Prince:a man that would do that the picture of and that's younger that's younger for a kid as well oh do you know what he does look like a sweetheart here doesn't he yeah with his wedding regard exactly they don't like they're having a laugh together but he also looks like he's under duress is it true also I believe you know Sir Alex yes and Trent Alexander Arnold are related what did you know that I've believed can you google that yeah I can I can because I'm actually not believing that Oh wait Sorry sorry They're not related Okay stop putting False information out there No wait wait Sorry No no I wasn't far off They nearly were related Okay sorry How can you nearly Be related to something Trent's grandma Grandmother Yes Was Sir Alex's First ever girlfriend Sir oh my goodness gracious They could And you know back in the day Like your first girlfriend Is usually the person You end up being married to For the next 50 years So I'm saying Another timeline Are you still in contact With your first girlfriend Corral That's a crazy question to ask.

14:32Karel Prince:The answer is no, but it's a crazy question to ask. You're saying your first girlfriend is usually the one you married. No, I said back in those days. Back in those days, no. In another timeline, he's related to Trent. Sorry for putting that misinformation out there, but they were nearly related. Everybody, please just ignore Corral. Your detective skills are just becoming a little bit too vague for me. This all started with you being clouded. This all started with you being clouded. So what we're going to do is... I am clouded. Yes, by that picture. I had to turn it upside down. I'm going to go into the second story and see if that's a bit more or less believable for you.

15:04Do you know what? That's fine. We need to see all the stories anyway for me to make a clear judgement. Let's go.

15:08Karel Prince:Let's roll the tapes on this. I've had one job in my life. I've worked once. I worked for five weeks in a supermarket called Fine Fair in Scotland. One of my first shifts, which was a back shift when the store had closed. So I think it was something like nine o 'clock, getting night till one in the morning. and the supervisor for some reason took a dislike to me. So he gave me what he thought was the most difficult task which was to restock the shelves with chocolate biscuits. I think he felt that was the most onerous task and the most difficult one. We used to play this little game about who could eat the most chocolate digestive biscuits in a minute and again me still being ultra competitive, I won most nights.

15:52So the supervisor thought that an annoying thing to continue you would be there to call me Chocolate Boy. So that's what I got. Chocolate Boy, go and get the chocolate biscuits. Chocolate Boy, go and get the detergent. Chocolate Boy, go and get whatever thing you needed to restock the shelves with. And then my mates started to call me that as well because people like to think that your nickname is something that annoys you. So it was Chocolate Boy, which over time got shot into chocolate and eventually to Chalky. and that's why my nickname is Chalky. What do you make of that?

16:30Karel Prince:I like it. I like it. So what I'm gathering is, obviously for those who don't know, Brian McClare's nickname is Chalky, which he says is shortened from Chocolate and originally Chocolate Boy. Chocolate Boy. That started at his first and only ever non-footballing job. Has a nickname from work ever travelled with you to present day, your first ever job? Yes, actually. In my first ever job, they used to call me Pretty Gyal. Yes. And now they just call me Gyal. No, they don't. They do. Who? They do. Everybody. I know people that you know. Who? Everyone. I don't know how you've missed that. Have you not?

17:11Karel Prince:Everyone I've ever met is just Anita. No. I've never heard anyone say. Are you serious? You never heard anyone call me Miss Pretty? No. No? No. Oh, Karol, you need to lock in a bit more, man. Come on. No. I think it's plausible. I think the area he's from isn't too far from like Motherwell, which was his first club. So the likelihood is there's probably a lot of people within that vicinity that might have known him or known of him. So that nickname, because my thing is, bear in mind, his career path is Motherwell, Celtic, Manchester United. Yes. And that nickname has stuck till present day. So for that to happen, it has to travel to every place you go because someone can call you something in school.

17:53Karel Prince:Then you go to like College And you don't know people there So why would they call you a nickname That they don't know Anyone else has Whereas like If there's people that you still know Where you go They'll be like They'll still call you that name And other people will pick it up And call you by that nickname as well So you know more about Brian than me Is his name Is his nickname actually Chokie? Yeah You can verify that From your own experience I can verify that That his nickname is Chokie Okay I think we should just play the third tape Because I don't have I don't know what to think of this I have nothing to go off of of this and in my case files here there's nothing there's no pictures here that suggests there was even a picture of a chocolate bar exactly not even a digestive this is your sources again these are my sources which is what i'm just saying and i told you and remember when i first looked at it before we even heard a single word of the story i said this person is obsessed with victoria adams and victoria beckons and that's why i'm so interested to hear the third one because i have nothing in here that indicates that this story is true or false if we don't get anything that correlates to any of these things that actually makes sense i will fire my sauce

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19:32Karel Prince:Right, so we're going to go into the third story. A room with David Beckham once. Memorable experience in that. When we got into the room, David, renowned for his OCD, produces an immaculate blazer and white shirt and grey trousers from his Dior suit carrier. One week it'll be Dior, next week it'll be Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, you name it, whatever designer label it was. David had that. I said, right, okay, we're going for dinner now. He said, no, no, I'm not finished. I've got to do some more prep. Hurry up, I'm hungry. Then he produces from his bag, the zip part of his bag, still in the plastic, brand new pair of pyjamas.

20:19Fred the red pyjamas. He takes them out, folds them neatly and puts them in a particular place on the pillow. I said, well, what's that all about, David? He goes, oh, he's helped me to visualise how I'm going to perform tomorrow. Right, OK, no problem, let's go. No, no, not quite. Next mate takes out a framed photograph of Victoria, Posh Spice, puts it on the bedside cabinet right next to him. It's got to be a particular angle. I said, what are you doing? He says, I've got to wake up, I've got to go to sleep, looking at a picture of my beloved, and I've got to, the first thing I have to wait up on the morning, it's not to your ugly face, is to have a picture there of my beautiful soon-to-be wife.

21:03What are you typing in the computer, Corral?

21:06Karel Prince:I'm not having it. Neither am I, but why? But then I'm also not having a couple of other stories, because here's one thing. He would have been a senior player for one. Yes. And every story I've ever heard of Like some of it is true Like I've heard about the OCD I've heard about how obsessed he was with Victoria If you've watched the documentary You know This apparently used to drive hours Just to be with her for like 10 minutes It's true Which is romantic by the way It is very romantic Would you do that for your first girlfriend? Are we still talking about her? I'm just asking a question I wasn't driving at that point So I couldn't do it Oh okay I didn't have a picture of her on my bedside table though Oh okay No I didn't do that That's not romance then but carry on okay anyway my point is my point is that all those things are true but I believe at that point in time he was like by the time like Victoria's in the picture and all this stuff yeah he's rooming with Gary Neville because Gary Neville's always the one that tells these stories about yeah when I was in the hotel room even in that documentary he's always saying that was the case so remember he left remember Brian McClare left the club in 98 98 And I'm saying before that, remember now, Beckham's now established.