Source: Daily_Mail
Zulu warrior still fighting: Noel Blake relishing Fratton Park clash
Kick it out: Blake fought racism in his playing days[LNB]Noel Blake, the original 'Zulu Warrior', doesn't look too impressed. 'What is that you've just asked me?' he says with his brow ever-so-slightly furrowed. 'Did I help lock Julian Dicks in a broom cupboard, arrange a fight after a game at Portsmouth and kick down a dressing-room door at Villa Park? [LNB]'Look, if that Birmingham team had done everything it was accused of, we would never have had time to play.' The conversation moves on. Quickly. [LNB]Noel Blake. Terrace legend at Birmingham City and Portsmouth - among others. The two clubs closest to his heart clash today at Fratton Park with an FA Cup semi-final place at stake. [LNB]They both hold special memories for varying reasons. At St Andrew's he lived out a boyhood dream, an integral part of one of the toughest sides ever to step on to a pitch with Ron Saunders's vintage from the early 80s. [LNB]Under Alan Ball on the south coast, he grew into a man, winning a battle with racists from among the club's own support who threatened to drive him out of the game. [LNB]Blake is now among the most highly qualified coaches in the country. One of the few black coaches in senior positions in the management hierarchy, he is in charge of England's Under 19 side. [LNB]Twenty-five years ago he was also one of the first black centre halves with a reputation for a robust approach. When blood spewed from his head following an injury at Watford, the 'Zulu Warrior' cry went up from the visiting support. [LNB]Back then, Birmingham City were a mess. The money from Trevor Francis's sale had been spent, the club in a seemingly-inexorable decline. Yet a group of 'bargain basement' buys, gathered by Ron Saunders, were determined that, if the Blues were going down, they were going down fighting. [LNB] Place in his heart: Pompey and Birmingham are Blake's favourite clubs[LNB]'People talk a lot about that team,' he said. 'I look back now and think that they do it a disservice. We were meant to have done all sorts. Sure, there were scrapes, incidents. [LNB]'But people attached themselves to us. It was like a badge of honour for them, but we weren't a handful. Not for Ron Saunders, anyway. [LNB]'All this talk and all these stories about the so-called "Birmingham Five". People forget what good players the other lads were. [LNB]'Mick Harford went on to play for England; if it hadn't been for Tony Coton's knee he would have, too. He was Manchester United's goalkeeping coach for years. What does that tell you? [LNB]'Pat Van Den Hauwe won a League title with Everton. I ended up playing 600-odd games. Robert Hopkins played in the First Division with Birmingham, Manchester City and West Brom with about 500 appearances under his belt too. [LNB]'There were a few scrapes. I'm not going to deny that. But the way I was brought up, if someone stood in your face, you stood your corner. Perhaps it was what Saunders instilled in us. He was into his boxing. [LNB]Blake: In charge of England Under 19s[LNB]'Anyway, we were young and stood together. Birmingham is a big city so there was always someone ready to have a go. As individuals we didn't shy away. But there's no way we could have got up to what people have said we did. And do you notice, not one of us has ever talked about it? Not one.' [LNB]Growing up in the cosmopolitan city that Birmingham had become ensured Blake did not encounter racism in a professional sense until he went to Portsmouth. [LNB]'I moved for financial reasons. Pompey, in many ways, was similar to Birmingham of a couple of years before. Alan Ball sold Portsmouth to me. What a man he was. [LNB]'Little did I realise what I was stepping into. Portsmouth is very much a working-class club. Tough place. There was a racist element to it, as well. In fact, I was racially abused by the Pompey fans. It got so bad I thought about walking out. It didn't get to the stage where bananas were being thrown on the pitch. But it wasn't one or two, let's put it like that. [LNB]'What hurt more than anything else was the fact that it was my own fans. I'd had it away from home. But to get it from your own supporters. I was playing for them. [LNB]'I endured it at Leeds once - from the home supporters. Ninety minutes of "Shoot that n****r, which f****** n****r, that f****** n****r".' [LNB]Racism was in the game. 'Don't get me wrong. I've got letters at home now from Portsmouth supporters who were disgusted at the treatment I was getting.' [LNB]Typically, Blake decided to face the Leeds element head-on by signing for the club. It was there that one of the stories told about the defender appeared to be true.[LNB] 'A journalist tried to collar me for some post-match quotes when I was walking out of the dressing-room,' he said. 'He was running down this corridor and shouting, "Vince, Vince". Clearly, he thought I was Vince Hilaire. [LNB]'So I carried on and eventually he caught up with me, pulled my arm and said, "Vince?" 'I just looked at him and replied, "Sorry, wrong n****r, man". And walked off. [LNB]'Society has changed. But unless you're on the receiving end, you will never understand it. Politicians don't know what it's like. [LNB] No split loyalty: Blake wants Birmingham to progress to make up for hurt in 1984 [LNB]'People are very subtle with their comments. Let me give you an example. I get on a flight to go to Serbia. One of my first excursions with the FA. On the plane there's an atmosphere. You could hear a pin drop. I relieved it by opening my scouting folder and jotting a few things down. [LNB]'When people saw what I was doing it all changed. They realised I was a football person. It changed the whole ambiance in an instant. I see and feel that. You, on the other hand, might not.' [LNB]It would be wrong to ask Blake which way he wants the day to pan out. In an ideal world, he would have chosen today's two combatants along with former clubs Aston Villa and Stoke City to contest the semi-finals. [LNB]But Birmingham have reached the quarter-finals just twice in the past 26 years. On that last occasion, Graham Taylor's Watford, along with John Barnes, put paid to their dreams. They have not contested an FA Cup semi-final in 35 years, since John Mitchell's injury-time goal for Fulham at Maine Road robbed them of a final spot. [LNB]'I was at that semi-final defeat,' said Blake. 'I don't think the club has ever truly recovered from that. [LNB]'In 1984 against Watford, we didn't have our regular full backs. And I just think it was one of those days when we were fated not to win. John Barnes scored a great goal, but even that sat up nicely for him. That defeat hurt like nothing else.' [LNB]You see, even Zulu Warriors feel pain. Well, sometimes. [LNB] Watch out Aston Villa, Reading's giant-killer Brian Howard loves to shock the big boysChelsea should be scared of the new Crazy Gang, says former Wimbledon hero Alan CorkFiasco leaves Dusko Tosic in limbo between Portsmouth and SwanseaALL THE FA CUP AND PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM NEWS[LNB]
