An Interview With…Giuliano Grazioli
This interview took place back in November but I held onto it for a couple of months because Giuliano hit the headlines when scoring in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup for Stevenage Borough against Newcastle United.
It therefore seemed appropriate to publish this interview today, instead of back in November.
First things first, is it true that you were transferred for three Mars bars and a packet of crisps?
That was the comical statement made by Paul Fairclough on the eve of the game, that ultimately became a bigger story once we produced that amazing result against Newcastle. I can confirm that the fee didn’t cost anywhere near three Mars bars and a packet of crisps. More like a packet of Polo’s!
You scored five goals in one game when playing for Peterborough in a 9-1 win at Barnet. Was that your best performance in your career?
Although the goal against Newcastle was no doubt the biggest game of my career, the five goal haul against Barnet was by far my best performance. The game meant so much more on the day for various reasons. Literally two days prior to match, I was told a fee had been agreed with Barnet and I was to join them following the match.
The only reason I played was due to injuries to key forwards leading up to the game. On the day itself, in the crowd were my parents, sister and a host of family and school friends. They all sat mingling with the Barnet fans, which before the game we thought would be a good idea. None of us envisaged the story that unfolded.
Barry Fry was your manager at Peterborough, what was it like playing for him? Have you got any funny stories about him?
I thoroughly enjoyed my time under Barry. As you can imagine every day produced a different funny story but more importantly he was extremely honest in his opinions of your recent performances.
Unlike some managers who after a game told that you played well but then you would find yourself dropped the following match. With Barry, he told you in no uncertain terms what he felt!
I think we’ve all heard numerous stories about Barry, but one I would like to include in this blog was a story that most wouldn’t associate with him.
I will always hold Barry in the highest regard because of one gesture that I will never forget. Following a month’s loan at Woking, a fee was agreed between the clubs and I was heading to Woking to agree personal terms.
On that afternoon I received a call from Barry telling me i was to head to Cambridge United and play in a reserve game. According to Barry, a few board members were coming to the game to finalise the deal.
I was told “You’ll just play half a game”. After 10 minutes I came off injured following a heavy challenge. An X-ray was arranged which in turn diagnosed a fractured metatarsal. The deal was put on hold until I had made a full recovery, which I was told would be 6 weeks. Unfortunately the bone didn’t heal and 6 weeks turned into 14 months.
During this time I was sent to a Harley Street specialist, who on one difficult day actually told me that surgery was the last resort and if this didn’t work, it would mean that my career would be over. I was obviously distraught and concerned and I was called into the club to speak to Barry.
To my surprise, Barry had a new 2 year deal ready for me to sign. He had doubled my wages and I was told not to worry and to take my time getting back to full fitness. He mentioned that I should never have played in that game (for the reserves), and this was a sign to apologise for that decision. This is not a story that you would imagine and not one of Barry’s mad exploits, but one I would never forget.
You went on loan to Yeovil and Woking when you were at Peterborough, but it was the third and final loan spell at Stevenage Borough where you became most famous. Did you enjoy your time in Non-League football?
I loved my non league days. I started at Wembley FC and learnt my apprenticeship playing in a tough league with some very tough defenders. To this day, I always push young players to non-league to earn their stripes. I’m not a fan of Under 23’s football – a good few months playing non league football every Saturday afternoon in my opinion improves not only your physical attributes but makes you mentally tougher.
I feel that my time in non-league from the ages of 17 to 20 really helped me through my career and is probably why I experienced such good times at the clubs listed in the question.
You scored the winner against Swindon in the FA Cup. Was this the most important goal of your career up to that point?
Yes I’d probably agree with that. It was the first game that grabbed the headlines and created the madness that was to come.
Swindon Town in the FA Cup Third Roun
By beating Swindon, Stevenage then drew Newcastle United at home. What are your memories of the draw and then the lead up to the game?
On the coach after the Swindon game, Paul Fairclough received a call from the FA , requesting mine and Paul’s attendance at the headquarters the following day for the live draw.
After being picked up by a driver and taken to the venue, Paul and I were sat within the audience and before the actual draw, rehearsals were done and Stevenage pulled out numerous Premiership clubs during this time. Thankfully when the live draw took place, Newcastle were pulled out of the hat and the mayhem began! Literally every day leading to the tie, all our players and staff were inundated with media requests. Press from all over the world wanted to be part of this big day and offers from opening school fields to judging Miss Stevenage were placed in front of us! It was a crazy time in our lives.
In the game itself, you scored the Stevenage equaliser and they held out for a draw. What can you remember of the game?
The lead up to the game grew in significance when Newcastle complained about playing on our pitch and moaned about the safety aspects of the ground. Talk of the game being switched to St James Park were revoked by our then chairman to the disappointment of us players, but this decision was to become a very shrewd and positive one.
The game was hyped to the max , and it was to be played live on a Sunday afternoon in front of the Sky cameras. The buzz in the ground and the town was electric, a sea of red and white and black and white shirts could be seen everywhere.
The game itself was amazing. After going a goal down early on to an Alan Shearer header, we had a game plan and were excellent. We thoroughly deserved the draw and created numerous chances during the game. Although it wasn’t a victory, in our eyes and the millions across the country who were rooting for us it was a fantastic achievement.
After a spell at Swindon, you joined Bristol Rovers and despite being top goal scorer in your first season there, the manager Ray Graydon kept you out of the team for quite a while. How frustrating was this and how did you cope with being kept out of the team?
Honestly, that was the worst time of my career. Not because of my team mates or the fans as they were one of the best I’ve played with, but it was just a move that didn’t work out for me.
For some reason, the manager and I didn’t see to eye to eye and although I finished top goal scorer I didn’t play towards the end of that season.
I didn’t cope at all well with being left out, there was lots of frustration and anger from me towards the manager, made even more harder by being away from home.
One of the best phone calls I’ve received in my life was from Martin Allen that summer. After a holiday with my girlfriend, I was seriously contemplating quitting the game and returning to university. I had a year left on my Bristol Rovers contract, but I was ready to tear it up and leave. Then one afternoon, Martin called and re-energized my love and hunger to play football.
After joining Barnet, you helped them win promotion from the Conference in 2005 and were their top goalscorer. Was this the best team that you played in during your career?
That promotion winning team was special, both off and on the pitch we had an amazing bond.
We were lead not only by a good manager, but by a captain (Ian Hendon) who pushed everyone to the max. The team had goals all over the pitch . From back to front we knew one of us would deliver. If I didn’t score, then we knew Liam Hatch would or Ben Strevens would notch a couple. Our defenders would add a few too and the midfielders that year made the difference. We played some wonderful football and thoroughly deserved winning the league by the margin we did.
After finishing your playing career you became caretaker manager at Barnet and kept them up in the Football League when you managed them in their last 5 games of the season. Why did you not want to carry on in a career in management?
If I’m being totally honest, I never enjoyed coaching that much. Being on the grass and the banter I missed greatly, but the pressure and stress that comes from managing wasn’t the path I wanted to continue with.
There were budget constraints and the internal politics just added to the woes, and with a very young family i was at an age to be able to start a new career path and I took that opportunity.
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