---
title: "Q&A with Simon Hughes – Author of Men in White Suits"
canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/articles/qa-with-simon-hughes-author-of-men-in-white-suits/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Ste Hoare"
section: "Articles"
published: "2015-04-08T10:29:52Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T13:35:26Z"
---

# Q&A with Simon Hughes – Author of Men in White Suits

I recently finished reading Men in White suits, and have written up **[my review of it](https://readeverything.co/readliverpool/2015/04/07/book-review-men-in-white-suits/)** (spoiler – I thought it was great!). I’ve also had the opportunity to speak to Simon about the book and his thoughts on how he went about writing it. Here’s what Simon had to say:

**I asked you this same question about writing your last book Red Machine, but I’ll ask it again. As part of the book writing process, you interviewed a number of people connected with the club, such as some ex players and coaches. Were they all very forthcoming with their stories and do you have any particular highlights in terms of who you got to speak to?**

*So many interviews in journalism now are conducted over the phone and I think it’s to the detriment of the industry. One or two were more guarded than others but I think people – in any walk of life – generally appreciate it if you take the time to travel long distances, arrange to see them in person, shake them by the hand and look them in the eye. A book of this kind is only worth doing if you put the hours in, so securing as much time as possible with the subjects in it was key to getting the best insight.*

*In terms of an un-told story, I enjoyed meeting Erik Meijer the most as he has a formidable presence and because he works in the media, he knows what kind of lines you’re after as a reporter. The real highlight, though, was interviewing Graeme Souness. I did not expect him to be so forthcoming about his time as Liverpool’s manager. His honesty shocked me.*

**In Red Machine, you were able to focus on a successful period for Liverpool. The 90s are looked upon as a time where Liverpool under achieved. Did this make the process of interviewing players and writing the book any different?**

*Men in White Suits was the book I wanted to write before Red Machine. It excited me that so little was written about the 1990s objectively considering how much of an impact it had on the club – and continues to have. Books about Liverpool in the 90s are limited to a series of anodyne autobiographies.*

*I appreciated, however, that it was probably wiser to write a book first on a period that is generally perceived more positively amongst Liverpool supporters. With reasonable sales figures I could then approach publishers with greater confidence for a 90s follow-up and hopefully enable me to achieve the most candid interviews possible with players and managers from that era. It helps a lot if you can show examples of your work to potential interviewees and even better if they’ve read or heard of your work before.*

*The 90s being a contentiously viewed decade in Liverpool’s history, I hoped the players would trust me and understand what I was setting out to do. At the beginning of the process for Men in White Suits, I vowed to myself that if an interview disappointed me, I’d leave it out and find someone else – regardless of how much it had cost to set it up. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do that.*

**I’m guessing that unlike when you wrote Red Machine, you actually have more memories of being a young fan during the 90s. Did that make it easier or more difficult to write Men in White Suits as you obviously have your own thoughts/memories about what happened during that period?**

*Although I really enjoyed writing Red Machine, I sometimes felt like I was treading on someone else’s territory as my memories from the 1980s are blurry, being very young at the time. It would have been easy to let Men in White Suits become a cathartic experience as I’d formed opinions about the abilities of some of the players in the book growing up. Some of them were not positive. This was an era when my dad would regularly inform me none of Liverpool’s players were fit to represent the club – a million miles away from the greats of the 1980s. It was a frustrating time to be a Liverpool supporter. Yet as a journalist, it is crucial not to allow personal opinion cloud judgement.*

*As a society we tend to judge footballers for their ability first and the money they earn second. During interviews, it’s important to treat them as normal people and try to establish a common ground. Hopefully, this is reflective of the interviews in the book.*

**I for one was shocked at what appeared to be a reoccurring theme that came from the interviews of just how behind the times Liverpool were in the 90s. For example Melwood, Patrik Berger described as “behind in terms of places \[he’d\] seen at other European clubs.” From your conversations, do you think this was what held the club back the most, the feeling of “it’s worked for twenty years, why change it?”**

*The weird thing about writing a book is that your introduction (if you choose to write one) is often a conclusion. Having spent so much time thinking about Liverpool’s decline, I’ve arrived realised that perhaps it was inevitable. For a club whose success was built on the strongest foundations of socialism through Bill Shankly, is it really a surprise that it fell the furthest precisely at the moment money really started eating into the game?*

*A lot of blame is rested at Graeme Souness’s door and it is understandable why. Graeme tried to make the changes that were necessary to take Liverpool into the 21st century but went about it the wrong way. He admits that now. When the approach failed, Liverpool returned to tradition under Roy Evans – even though it was clear football was accelerating in the other direction. At the end of the decade, Liverpool then appointed Gerard Houllier as manager and he set about enforcing the Souness-esque discipline and modernisation that was prevented from happening years earlier. There is no doubt that Liverpool was behind the times – at best naïve about the changes in football, or at worse – in denial.*

**Finally, a lot of the players you spoke to, like Jason McAteer, Jamie Redknapp & John Scales, were all quick to point out that the social life of the players wasn’t as out of control as people seem to think. They seem to feel they got unfairly treated as they weren’t winning things. Do you agree with them?**

*Unfortunately for those players, the image of them wearing the infamous white suits at the 1996 FA Cup final is an image they’ll never escape from. I still can’t believe someone – one of the senior players – did not pose the obvious question: what happens if we lose? Having said that, I don’t believe the players’ off field behaviour was worse than those at other clubs. Liverpool’s players were not unprofessional. They probably just weren’t quite professional enough.*

*Remember, it was the club’s idea to revert to tradition after Souness and Roy Evans considered it a positive that the players shared a social bond that that had been almost completely dismantled under the previous manager. Unfortunately, I don’t think the club was alert to the fact footballers were suddenly being viewed as different to the rest of society because of their increased wealth. The media’s focus became sharper and it’s understandable that they’d devote more time to the players representing a club with as rich a history as Liverpool’s. It did not help that some of Liverpool’s players chose to socialise in London: on the doorstep of many tabloid journalists on the look out for scandal.*

**I’d like to thank Simon for his time, and would also like to remind you that Men in White Suits is available to buy from April 9th. If you’re a fan in Liverpool-related literature, you definitely should get yourself a copy.**