Ssb - alex higgins dies: 5 live special

[MySockPuppet]

BBC Radio 5 Live will broadcast a special programme at 9pm tonight looking back on the life and career of Alex Higgins.

Snooker Scene editor Clive Everton is among the guests.


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[spike]

Interesting to hear what both Clive and Barry Hearn had to say about the kind of impact Alex had on the sport, as well as talking about his many misdemeanours..

[BarryH]

BBC iPlayer

Available for a week here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tdz1m

[Kingscratcher]

Enjoyed this show, and thought Hearn spoke very well, both praising Alex and admonishing him when appropriate. Everton, however, for me over-played the negative side of Alex and didn't seem able to answer a question without mentioning drink. I know he's always had a problem with Alex, but maybe last night, he could've cut him some slack, under the circumstances. Although why change the habit of a lifetime!!

[BarryH]

Enjoyed this show, and thought Hearn spoke very well, both praising Alex and admonishing him when appropriate. Everton, however, for me over-played the negative side of Alex and didn't seem able to answer a question without mentioning drink. I know he's always had a problem with Alex, but maybe last night, he could've cut him some slack, under the circumstances. Although why change the habit of a lifetime!!

I don't think that's a fair representation of Everton. I've been a fan of Higgins since 1980 (yes, yet another inspired to play snooker by The Hurricane), subscribed to Snooker Scene for most of the 80s and read Everton's reports in The Guardian for years. He has never struck me as anti-Higgins. He does try harder than most to be the impartial journalist, but I always felt he was very balanced and clearly appreciated Higgins' attributes, but was inevitably also expected to address his flaws, which he does honestly and without any rancour.

In this radio piece he was no different. I get the impression he always liked Higgins (the player at least) more than he feels able to let on.

[spike]

My only criticism is, that to me Barry was given more air time, and I would have preferred to have heard more from Clive Everton..

[Kingscratcher]

I don't think that's a fair representation of Everton. I've been a fan of Higgins since 1980 (yes, yet another inspired to play snooker by The Hurricane), subscribed to Snooker Scene for most of the 80s and read Everton's reports in The Guardian for years. He has never struck me as anti-Higgins. He does try harder than most to be the impartial journalist, but I always felt he was very balanced and clearly appreciated Higgins' attributes, but was inevitably also expected to address his flaws, which he does honestly and without any rancour.

In this radio piece he was no different. I get the impression he always liked Higgins (the player at least) more than he feels able to let on.

Can't say I've ever got that impression of him at all, BarryH. I know Everton's highly thought of, for the most part rightly so, but I always got the impression that he had a problem with Higgins, and didn't hide it very well. For me, this programme just emphasised it again. I suppose it's easy to hear different things from the same interview.

[BarryH]

I think I do know what you mean Kingscratcher, but I suppose I'm interpreting it differently.

Everton is certainly less warm towards Higgins than many journalists. I suppose I am very aware that the Higgins I idolised in the early 80s was not the whole picture. I saw him at the snooker table at televised events and sometimes being interviewed by David Vine, Dickie Davies or Tony Francis afterwards (probably only when he was in a good enough mood to agree to it). I didn't read the tabloids. There was a whole side to his character that I was unaware of for years. But equally he could apparently be completely charming away from the table too.

I think Everton's main point, that it was the drink that made Higgins nasty, sounds very plausible. But nothing can take away the experience that people like me got from watching him play, and yes, it would be good to hear more about that right now.