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Chic Charnely’s autobiography “Seeing Red” launched recently and profiles the career of an enigmatic talent. A talent which was nurtured on the streets of Glasgow, where self preservation was the law of the jungle and artistic expression was what the good guys did, during a game of football. Anybody who saw Chic at his best were witness to something special; bristling with self expression, sublime skills, imagination and raw burning talent. His legacy, as testified by one of his ex Bosses John Lambie, was his skill with a ball – the ability to unlock opposition defences with a deft pass – a sublime delivery. Indeed there was and is something divine about James Chic Charnley. However there was also a flip side to Chic. As the title suggests “Seeing Red” was something that Chic did more than most, accumulating no less than a thumping total and we mean a THUMPING total, of 17 Red cards over his career. If you dig a little deeper and tally up the suspensions amassed by Chic then he would have accumulated over a year in suspensions, across a 17 season professional career. But Chic’s talents deserve deeper analysis than the proxy of his Red Card count. I know some of the players on the receiving end of his raw aggression may disagree, but there is another side to the man. For those who have never met Chic then we, at Maximise Sport, can honesty say – you are missing something. Chic Charnley is an incredible personality, energetic beyond belief, but above all he is almost always bristling with fun. Chic has worked for Maximise Sport as a coach – passing on some of his football knowledge, to school pupils during the Coca-Cola 7’s, Scotland’s biggest and best schools’ football event. The interesting observation when watching Chic coach is the energy transmitted from him to the pupils. Chic never short changes at the coaching sessions. He shows astute leadership and an unerring ability to connect with his pupil. Many of the kids turning out for the Coke 7’s come from a similar background and it never fails to impress me the respect shown for Chic, maybe they recognise that he is one of them. Chic though has something else – his ability to make people laugh. The pupils at the coaching sessions pay testimony to this by their smiles. “Seeing Red” therefore describes the enigma. If you think back to the games where Chic performed at his best, you might remember the famous left foot. If you look deeper, the defining characteristic is the smile. Everywhere he goes the man smiles and makes others smile. Check out the team photo in “Seeing Red” when Chic was with Hibs and look at the faces of those within earshot of Chic – faces all glowing with laughter. So what now for Chic? Well we at Maximise Sport reckon everyone involved in sport could all take a leaf out of his book. Chic will never deny he was guiltier than most for silly, petulant behaviour. But what does he do that others could? Where is his skill? What is his calling? Well remember the smile? Where Chic goes the laughter follows! His personality has fun stamped all over it and we respect him for it. Think about it! Sport and fun at the same time. It might just catch on. Come on all you pro sports guys out there lighten up and give a little smile now and again- it is free therapy. Chic Charnley – Cheers!! |