David Ginola: The Moments That Made Them 

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1:43Alan Shearer:Hello and welcome to The Rest is Football with Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker. We're doing our series of Premier League greats, the moments that made them. And we're going down the French route yet again. We've done Eric Cantona. But this is also, I would say, a maverick player in many ways. Someone that Alan played with for a little while. Someone that I've worked with on television in the early days, way back when. Really lovely guy. I like him a lot. I don't know whether Alan thinks the same thing. Let's say he was a good-looking soul. I think we'll all agree on that. Definitely.

2:20Alan Shearer:A certain David Ginlo. David Ginlo, who produced wonderful moments on the football pitch. Some would say he wasn't entirely consistent his whole career. And is he worthy to be on the list of players that we've got so far? I would say so by looks alone, Michael.

2:39David Ginola:By looks alone. That's why he's not sure. But great moments.

2:46Gary Lineker:great yeah is that fair i think that's fair great moments in games yeah yeah he produced some moments of magic didn't it which will get on to that man united game i played in that game when he beat man united five and he scored that great goal and from the edge of the box turned and curled it in but he was he was as good as i've seen david in terms of left foot and right foot going both ways down the wing on the outside coming in the inside right foot. He was unbelievable at doing that. I think his, probably his best season would have been 95, 96 before I got to Newcastle.

3:28Alan Shearer:He was already there when you signed, wasn't he?

3:31Gary Lineker:So I'm thinking, when I signed for Newcastle, I'm thinking I'm going into this team like so many attacking players. We had me, Les Ferdinand, Keith Gillespie on the right, David Ginola on the left. We had Tino Asprea. We had Peter Beardsley. And I'm thinking, how on earth are we going to get all these players into that team? I mean, Kevin tried his best to do that. So I signed him and the season kicked off in the August. And I remember the season beforehand looking at the TV thinking, it would be great to play in that team with Ginola winging balls in left, right and centre. and score so many goals.

4:10Gary Lineker:So I got there in mid-August and I reckon I had to wait until the end of September for the first cross coming in. It was, I think, honestly, it was like... And you had a little word. Well, I had to because, just a polite one, because I was playing every single week and there was like, he was cutting inside and shooting and passing and I'm thinking, and he's in danger of putting some crosses in. I used to watch him last season thinking, what is happening here? And honestly, it must have taken five or six weeks and I thought sod this I'm gonna have to tell him so I went in I think we played Arsenal at home they had one player sent off and they still beat us so I thought and he never put any balls in so I'm gonna go in and have a word with him and so we went head to head in the dressing room it was like fuck you Shearer it was like we got up to go together and we were sort of pulled apart I just said, put some fucking crosses in, will you?

5:08Gary Lineker:Just put the ball in the box and I'll try and do the rest. And then we sort of calmed down. Did it work? We got sort of calmed down and Kevin said to me, Kevin Keegan, can I have a word with you, please? I said, yeah. So everyone went. He said, you're not going to get the best out of Davy talking to him like that. And I was like, well, any chance are you fucking talking to him?

5:31Alan Shearer:If you're not going to tell him, I have to tell him. I mean, no one's said I know about you, Alan, is you don't take any shit. Honestly, after that, the crosses started coming in

5:40Gary Lineker:and it was so much better. I mean, he could deliver a cross as well. Oh, he was brilliant. As I said, he was one of the best, getting the ball, turning and going that way, but then turning the other way and going down on the left-hand side and whipping balls. And he was brilliant at it.

5:54Alan Shearer:Do you know the weird thing here? Go on, carry on first. To get, I think, to get the best out of David,

6:00Gary Lineker:you had to give him a, I don't know, a free reign. something like Mo Salah like you just say to him go and do your stuff in that end of the pitch where you're going to cause that much damage because if you asked him to go the other way and defend

6:14David Ginola:then you're not

6:15Gary Lineker:going to get the best out of him and Kevin I think was Kevin Keegan was able to get the best out of him I think that season 95 96

6:23Alan Shearer:How did Kevin integrate all those players I mean he was going to Harry's football wasn't it I mean it was a joy to watch and I loved I mean Kevin Keegan what a Great guy. What an unbelievably great guy. He'd be a fantastic guest to go on the pod.

6:37Gary Lineker:Yeah. I'd love to talk to him.

6:38Alan Shearer:I haven't talked to him for so long. And I used to, he was kind of one of my heroes growing up a bit. Yeah, he was my hero. Yeah. And how did he, like, integrate everyone?

6:47Gary Lineker:I just think he was, like, because we went into training and everything was small-sided games. It was hardly anything structured. And he used to let all the fans come in, thousands of fans at training every day, watching us play five, six, seven a side every day. And he basically went, there you go, guys, go and play. And that's what he did on match days. Genuinely thought that whatever they scored, we would score more. That was his philosophy. Yeah, that was his whole philosophy, wasn't it?

7:17Alan Shearer:It's interesting that you mentioned about Dienaar not putting crosses in because I don't know whether you know this, but he was kind of dumped out of the French team because of qualifying. I think it was in 94 for the World Cup in America. Yeah. And they were playing their last qualifier and it was against Bulgaria, if my memory serves me correctly. And they basically hang on to a result at the end and Ginlar goes down and he crosses a ball and they break away and score the goal that cost them qualifying. And he was kind of dumped out of the national team because of that. four years later they play in 98 obviously in the home country they host the world cup and they get to the world cup final and he's not in the squad and he actually bbc we we had him he was working with us for the b and he was lovely i really liked him and um he had a big aura and all that sort of stuff but he was he was great and obviously people loved him because he's quite a good looking chap So I had the gig of doing the World Cup final.

8:23Alan Shearer:I was second presenter behind Des Lynam at that time. And I had the job of being a reporter. I was at the game, so I was at the Stade de France. And he wasn't in the main studio. He was with me alongside. Pitch side. Pitch side. We weren't pitch side in those days. We were up in the gods somewhere. But we were doing this thing, and I watched the game with him, and I could see the hurt. the hurt and not being part of even the squad. He was completely left out. And I was alongside him. And at the end of the game when they won, you could see through, he was like, he was thrilled that his country had won.

9:02Alan Shearer:But at the same time, you could see the hurt. I could feel the hurt in him that he wasn't part of it. That must have been horrible. It must have, I mean, and it was horrible for me. I just you could see I could feel how upset he is you know when someone What was his answers like?

9:18David Ginola:I mean he did it

9:19Alan Shearer:he did what he had to do he was oh this is you know and all that but I could you know just being with him watching the game I can see him saying why am I not part of this?

9:28Gary Lineker:With his ability and I think I'm right in saying this he only scored his top scored six goals in one season was the best he ever hit and I think for someone with that amount of ability he had great talent he should have scored more goals what was it like in the dressing room yeah everyone got on really well nobody likes looks and all that and like you know what i mean

9:49David Ginola:he must have made you feel like not you not saying you're a good looking ladder but i'm just saying i didn't really like that alan please um he's like model looking isn't he yeah he's uh he doesn't

10:03Gary Lineker:struggle in the looks department does he but he was great in the dressing room everyone got on He was a really good lad actually, but I think ability-wise, he's definitely sure he's scored more goals. Have you met Brad Pitt?

10:15Alan Shearer:No, Mike is a good-looking boy, I would say.

10:20David Ginola:You know what I mean?

10:22Alan Shearer:He's a different level, isn't he? Yeah, he is. He's gorgeous. He really is. He scored on his second league appearance. Oh, that kit! That's one of the best kits ever made.

10:36David Ginola:Look at this for a finish. Woo-hoo! You know that, he's taken no time to settle. That's why! It's simply world-class from the man who may prove to be the finest foreign acquisition of the summer.

10:56Gary Lineker:That's what he could do. He was brilliant at that. That one was so... I mean, I know it was bottom half of the net, but sort of similar to the way he moved the ball to the Man United one and the way he hits it. But he could do that. He could go either side, left foot or right foot.

11:12David Ginola:Look at that.

11:13Gary Lineker:Terry Mack and Kevin Keegan. Terry Mack. He was a character, wasn't he? Brilliant guy, Terry, yeah. Yeah, he's such a good guy, yeah.

11:21David Ginola:You know the driver, that's his... Terry Mack, he's called... You know the driver, Terry? Yeah, yeah. That's his uncle.