‘Secrets kill’: the harrowing drama about sexual abuse in football
“It’s going to be tough” says Barry Bennell to his excited young protege Andy Woodward. “But trust in me and you can go from £20 a week to two grand.” For a lad from early-80s Stockport whose mum is having to do shifts at the local chippy because his dad is out of work, that’s a big deal. But, as any kid with an unlikely dream would know, the money is only a tiny part of it. Really, it’s about the glory; about covering your bedroom wall with posters of footballers and wondering if you could be like them. That’s what the Crewe Alexandra youth coach was promising. And, as a coach reputed to be the best in the country, he had delivered on such promises before. He was, as he styled himself, the Star Maker.
The reality, of course, was more horrific than anyone could have imagined. In 2016, by now in his early 40s, Woodward with the Guardian journalist Daniel Taylor. In doing so, he opened the floodgates.
