Rivals-Turned-Pals On The Road To Recovery

“He came back on, though, didn’t he? So obviously I didn’t hit him hard enough!”

Gerry Taylor is responding to reminders of how he clobbered Steve Kindon in a Burnley v Wolves match more than 50 years ago and left him needing treatment on the Turf Moor sidelines.

Lancashire press reports of the time describe a challenge strong enough to have left the home side a man short while Bill McGarry’s men scored one of their goals in a revenge win in the League, seven days on from a 3-0 humbling at the same ground in the FA Cup.

Although no free-kick was given, Kindon was stretchered off before Jim McCalliog saw his penalty saved by Peter Mellor, only for Mike Bailey to score from the rebound and complete a 3-1 Wolves victory.

We wondered whether the incident, from January, 1970, was also one that required some making-up behind the scenes when Kindon moved to Molineux in the summer of 1972.

But the forward had no recollection of it when we spoke to him last month and Gerry also drew a blank when we asked him today.

“I don’t recall it but I do remember Bill McGarry saying it was a pity I didn’t clatter into him like that in the Cup the week before,” he said. “Kindo had caused us a lot of trouble in that tie.

“I am sure the orders would have been for us not to give him as much room and to let him know we were around. That’s how it worked……and still does, I’m sure.”

By coincidence, the two men have both had health scares in the first few weeks of 2021 and Gerry is on a determined fitness regime after a heart attack which necessitated an operation to fit stents.

He has had calls from former team-mates to check on his well-being and added: “It was just before our Sunday lunch on January 3. I had got back from my walk and felt the classic symptoms….horrible pains, clammy hands.

“We called an ambulance straightaway and I was lucky I was able to go almost immediately into the operating theatre to have stents fitted.

“I do enjoy walking and going out, as well as gardening, but the weather had not encouraged outside jobs and I guess a lot of us have become more sedentary during lockdown.

“Anyway, I am doing a 40-minute walk each day to get myself back towards good health and I am doing okay. I should have been going to the hospital for than but that hasn’t been possible unfortunately because of the pandemic.

“I am making sure I walk in places where there are people around, just in case…..apparently, Steve Kindon has said the same as I am saying. It knocks your confidence when this sort of thing happens, although I am 73 and you expect some things to go wrong as you get older.”