Paralympic Footballer Liam Irons: 'I used to feel embarrassed about my disability, football has made me embrace it'

In early 2016 Liam Irons was playing Sunday league football with friends. Three months later he stepped out under the sweltering Rio sun to represent Great Britain at the Paralympic Games. After featuring in every Team GB match he went on to play for England at the 2017 Cerebral Palsy Seven-aside Football World Championships. He now sets his sights on the upcoming European Championships in the Netherlands. He has certainly taken a road less travelled.

 
Upon meeting Irons, twenty-seven, at his Bedfordshire home, we swiftly take to the living room. The outstanding feature is a freshly installed glass cabinet containing a commemorative England cap, boots from the Paralympics, and match worn shirts from the World Championships. It is next to this collection of memorabilia that we sit to discuss football, family, and living with disability.
 
Irons, who works as a golf club greenkeeper, now plays for Tring Athletic in the Spartan South Midlands League. Although it was shortly after a Sunday League game with Saints FC that he first heard about CP Football while shaking hands with the opposition manager; a fellow sufferer of Cerebral palsy. "I can never remember the guy's name. I would love to thank him. We've played that team a couple of times but I haven't seen him since. He came up to me and said 'You're a good player. You should try to get in touch with someone about playing for England.' I didn't even know there was a team to contact."
 
 
It was a fortuitous afternoon for the Dunstable-born left-back. After exchanging emails with Team GB and England manager Jeff Davis, Irons was invited to trial at St.George's Park. It was another surprising experience, but one which left him inflamed with ideas of competing in Brazil. "I went up there thinking it was going to be a lot slower, but I was blown away by the standard. It's massively different to eleven-aside football. It's like a game of chess. You move one step out of place and the opposition will score. They got me a coach for the two months leading up to the games. My attitude towards football and strength & conditioning just completely changed."
 
"Walking out for the first game was surreal. I had never played in front of 200 people, let alone the 10,000 who were there for the Brazil game. It felt horrible to lose, but the whole experience was just amazing. To have a massive crowd, well, booing us they were, is what you dream of" (laughter). It's difficult to put into words." 
 
Irons' elite mentality and desire to improve are evident when contemplating his proudest moment so far. After briefly looking at the cabinet he says "Playing for England. But that game against Russia (a 2-0 defeat in the third place play-off at the World championships). Even though we lost in Argentina, they scored two goals in the last minute of extra-time. We were a minute away from going to penalties. Going from the pre-tournament game against Russia, losing 7-0, and touching the ball I think only three times, to almost taking them to penalties, it shows me, and the team, how far we've come."
 
Irons classifies to play CP football as a hemiplegic; suffering with the condition on the right side of his body. However, the football field hasn't  always been a place of refuge. He has  encountered discrimination from an early age. "The amount of times I've been called a spastic in football is unbelievable. It used to happen almost every game. I've even got used to it now and it doesn't really bother me. The amount of times I got sent off for walloping someone after they'd called me a spastic, I think it happened about ten times when I was fourteen or fifteen." 
 
"It still happens a lot now. The only thing now is I don't let it wind me up. It used to wind me up when I was younger because I didn't want anyone to know about my disability. I wanted to be a normal kid and live life without disability, but ever since playing football for England I've embraced it. Back then I just wanted to play football, go home, and not get called a spastic."
 
"I've very rarely been called that outside of football, but in football it seems to just happen. The amount of times referees have done nothing is frustrating. If they were to say something about someone being black they would get sent off straight away. It's just another form of discrimination" Irons says.
 

It is with a strong and nurturing family network that Irons has been able to prosper. Each member has influenced his positive outlook. "When I was born they didn't diagnose me straight away. My mum told me that I first started to crawl around on three limbs; using my knees and one arm. She's always been massively supportive of me. She got me involved with everything I could be. She'd take me to the hospital once every month to do exercises. She got me a laptop and a clip-on tie for school but I was stubborn about not having them."
 
"My Dad was inspiring in a completely different way. If I had a crap game he'd tell me about it, which is what I wanted. I would listen to his advice. My granddad as well, he used to take me to all of my games. He would get me in the garden improving my throw-ins with my weak hand and playing with my right foot. I was quite lucky at school to have two older brothers. Jamie, Kenny, and their mates used to look after me. So I was okay with the bullying side of things" Irons says.
 
The fraternal bond between team-mates has also given Irons perspective. He seems to have an infectious enthusiasm for the game. "Jim (Blackwell) has an amazing story. I don't think he told his wife he had CP until they got married. I think they'd known each other for four years before as well! I think we're all very similar. We just get on with it."
 
"Before Rio we all sat in a room with a sports psychologist. It got quite emotional. Our keeper Ryan Kay, (one of the most affected players) he used to get bullied most days at school and didn't want to leave the house. Jack Rutter too, he was about to be awarded a pro contract at Birmingham before someone assaulted him on a night out and took his career away from him; the thing he loved away from him. I felt quite lucky in a way, but the honesty really brought us all together."
 
 

In every sport moments of opportunity can be fleeting. Inevitably Irons has some regrets. They include his role in conceding a penalty while playing for Team GB against Ukraine at the Paralympics, as well as his sending off during the 5th place play-off victory against Argentina; an indiscretion which caused him to miss the first two group games of the 2017 World Championships. However, his deepest regret highlights the value of sport and CP Football.
 
"My only real regret is that I didn't get involved way earlier. We've got a player called Barks (Michael Barker) who has been involved since he was eighteen. He's been to three Paralympics, travelled the world, and played football all his life. That's why I'm always in the gym so I'm the best I can be. If I can play for an extra two years because I've got to sit up every other night foam rolling, look after myself, and eat well I'm going to do it."
 
When considering the impact CP Football has had on his life and the lives of others, Irons states "If I have the disability and don't know there is an England CP football team not a lot of people will. The FA have got much better. We never used to be involved in anything. We were recently invited to the England kit launch. We're now seen as part of the England team; an elite squad. As are the Under-21s, the Blind team, and the Women's team."
 
"Our motto is 'Inspire The Next Generation', that's all we want to do. So the next load of people like me who are embarrassed to have CP can embrace it and still play football, because there are a lot of kids out there occasionally playing mainstream football when they could travel the world. The sport is too hidden for my liking." 
 
The rules of CP Football are intriguing. The pitch is smaller, there is no offside rule, and throw-ins are taken by rolling the ball underarm. More complicated are the ever-changing classification regulations. In a recent meeting a panel decreed that players with some neurological disorders would no longer be eligible to compete. Jack Rutter, a player Irons refers to as "The CP saviour" is one of them. Amid the chaos, Irons looks forward to the July European Championships in the Netherlands.

"Before classification I said we could win that, because as a team we're peaking. But with the new rules we don't know what the teams will be. Welcome to CP Football." Irons does find a silver lining though. "I've been to two amazing countries, but they've been on the other side of the world. I'm excited for my family to be there this time. It will be nice to look in the stands and see some extra motivation." With skill, determination, and such a refreshing attitude Liam Irons can achieve great things, in Holland and beyond.

Luton Town: The Bigger Picture

It's been a bizarre season for our football club; one in which we have experienced a remarkably broad spectrum of score lines. Thankfully the frustrating defeats have been anomalous among sequences of stunning performances and commanding victories. However, the losses to Port Vale, Chesterfield, and Wycombe in recent months have temporarily dampened the mood at Kenilworth Road. Perhaps it's me, but I think we're at risk of seeming a little ungrateful.

This coming Monday will mark ten years since the announcement was made that LTFC2020 had been formed, and would lead to them taking custodianship of the club before the start of 2008-09. It would be pertinent then to look at these two junctures in Hatters history. 2008 was my first year as a season-ticket holder. On the field, Town were in the middle of a three year glissando from Championship to Conference. Off the field, the staff were enduring administration for the third time in nine years.

With Luton under embargo and selling their best players in the January transfer window, I had to consider as an 11-year-old losing the club I had only recently learned to love. Compare it with the most recent window when a plethora of bids for our young talented players were rejected. Moreover, recall the squad list on the back of the programme from the first game of the 2008/09 season, when 11 of the 19 squad numbers were accompanied by the acronym 'TBC'.

Times have changed, of course, but we should revel in the sustainability and ambition of our club, and what's more, we have a team to really get behind. We have Alan Sheehan, so often composed in the most precarious situations; a leader who regularly punches above his weight in aerial battles. Luke Berry is an irrepressible force in midfield; an artist who craves the ball at every opportunity. The beguiling Danny Hylton chases every lost cause and provides classy finishing touches. In fact, while contemplating who might be player of the season, there is a case to be made for almost every member of the starting XI and maybe even a couple of the 'game-changers.'

This team, led by the impassioned yet astute Nathan Jones, have given us identity. Looking back at those turbulent times helps illuminate the other ways in which the club image has progressed. By handing the Supporters' Trust the right to veto alterations to the club's emblem, kit colours, and name, the board have adhered to their principles of transparency and supporter engagement. Furthermore, the financially viable stadium plan is the complete opposite of what we had become accustomed to by the end of 2007. We have a lot to shout about.

I couldn't have been the only one to feel a symmetry between the game at St James' Park last month and the FA Cup third round replay at Anfield in January 2008. A timely cash injection, an unforgettable noise from the travelling supporters, and a valiant effort by the team. But we're happier this time. Not penniless this time. To those who held pieces of A4 aloft, witnessed Gerrard's perfect hat-trick, and scaled the Leazes Stand a decade later: remember the crisis which united us all. With a little good fortune, we could be celebrating more than promotion this summer.




The above featured in This Is Our Town on 24/02/18

Tyson Lands Knockout Blow in Wycombe Victory

Luton Town 2 - 3 Wycombe Wanderers
E. Lee 43', 78'                                               Cowan-Hall 2', Tyson 39', 70'

Sky Bet League Two | Tuesday 30th January 2018

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By scoring two goals and assisting another, veteran striker Nathan Tyson rolled back the years on Tuesday evening to secure a vital three points for Wycombe in a thrilling encounter at Kenilworth Road. The victory for the Buckinghamshire club signified a tightening of the gap between league leaders Luton and the chasing pack. 

The personal duel between visiting goalkeeper Scott Brown and home forward Elliot Lee was the enthralling sub-plot in a contest which vacillated from end-to-end. While the former produced multiple match-winning saves, the latter scored a brace in a game where his team gave chase from the second minute onwards.

Wycombe entered the game having not played a fixture in ten days. Nevertheless, manager Gareth Ainsworth made two changes from the last-gasp victory at Crewe. Captain Adam El-Abd returned in place of Nathan McGinley and Matt Bloomfield made way for Tyson. In contrast, Luton had fought valiantly with ten men to preserve a one goal lead over Grimsby three days prior to the Chairboys showdown. Manager Nathan Jones reverted to the 4-4-2 diamond formation, replacing Harry Cornick with Elliot Lee, and reinstating Olly Lee at the expense of Jordan Cook who saw red at Blundell Park.

Luton's lethargy was manifest from the first whistle. After Olly Lee lost the ball in midfield, an accurate chip over the top by Dominic Gape had Johnny Mullins - who Jones later revealed had carried an injury into the game - grimacing, sprinting towards his own goal. It was a one-horse race. Tyson had only the keeper to beat. After Stech saved with his legs, Tyson recovered the ball and composedly laid into the path of Paris Cowan-Hall, who fired with conviction into the bottom left corner. Refusing to lash at the second chance, Tyson made the right choice, as the most astute players do.

Moments after the restart, the Chairboys' tenacity in midfield paid dividends once more. In one swing of a right boot Luke O'Nein intercepted Dan Potts' clearance and distributed to Tamari Moore on the right flank. The Arsenal loanee swung a cross onto the head of Tyson who from six yards out should have doubled the lead. Instead, the marksman nodded straight into the chest of a startled Stech.

Quarter of an hour had elapsed before Luton responded. Luke Berry passed into Elliot Lee on the apex of the penalty area. With opposing centre-half Dan Scarr breathing down his neck, Lee circumvented the Birmingham loanee with one deft touch. Opening up his body and shooting across goal, Lee was denied by the outstretched left hand of an agile Brown. With the goal at his mercy James Collins fired straight onto the head of Joe Jacobsen, the full-back had hastily retreated to the goal-line in his team's moment of need.

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The hosts were in the ascendancy. Berry retrieved Stacey's cross from the right and rolled enticingly towards Collins on the edge of the box. The former Shrewsbury striker sent a low left-footed effort towards goal which deflected off the imposing Scarr. Brown, seemingly an impenetrable mirage in kaleidoscopic kit, dived to his left and miraculously tipped the ball behind. Those in the Oak Road End looked on in awe.

After Elliot Lee took an air shot following a set-piece when any touch would do, the visitors had a corner of their own. With the burly Adebayo Akinfenwa occupying multiple defenders at the back-post, Scarr was free to head Jacobsen's delivery back across goal. Collins, who should have known better, completely misjudged his headed clearance. There was Tyson, alone, ready to tidily chest and slot under the feet of Stech and beyond the last-ditch lunge of Glen Rea. The jubilant cheers which emanated from the away end seemed almost disbelieving.

Since the turn of the year, fallible defending has become the trademark of a Luton team who have encountered turbulence during their promotion bid. The Hatters defence has looked highly susceptible to a mistake; conceding unflattering goals against Lincoln, Newcastle, Chesterfield, and the Chairboys.

However, Luton's proficiency in attack is undeniable and they offered immediate riposte. Olly Lee crossed low from the right and Collins stabbed towards goal. Yet again, Brown made an exceptional save, this time with his feet. As Elliot Lee retrieved the ball on the right side of the area. A group of visiting defenders swarmed round Lee who manoeuvred, deliberated, then unleashed a shot which rolled into the bottom left corner. Brown got a hand to the shot but it wasn't enough.

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Luton continued to have chances in the second half but the visitors controlled the tempo of the game. Wycombe's game management methods will never be endearing but their counter attacks were highly effective, their defence was impermeable, and their midfield had an intensity which the hosts often struggled to contend with. These components in a cohesive team have been conducive to three successive victories.

Minutes after Brown made another superb save, diving to his right to claw Alan Sheehan's free-kick out of the top corner, the visitors cleared Stacey's under-hit cross towards Tyson. Although Glen Rea, who had moved to centre-half after Mullins' substitution, repelled the former Nottingham Forest striker's  initial attempts to dribble through, substitute Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu neglected the loose ball. Gape moved first to serve up Tyson with a golden opportunity. With an abundance of time and space, the frontman passed under the legs of Stech and into the net.

Once more, Luton had left themselves recklessly exposed while trying to recover from a goal deficit. This goal was a carbon copy of Masfield's second in the game at Field Mill earlier this season. Once Luton go behind they often collapse, evidenced by the heavy defeats against Swindon, Coventry, and Port Vale. They would do well to adopt a slighty more conservative approach when trailing by one goal.

The hosts rallied on this occasion though, Harry Cornick's cross from the right flew across goal untouched. Berry kept the ball in play on the opposite flank and passed to Elliot Lee. Slaloming through the crowd of Wycombe bodies, his right foot volley was blocked by the legs of Brown. The irrepressible Lee picked himself up off the turf to rifle the rebound into the top corner with his left foot.

Wycombe were almost beneficiaries of Luton throwing even more bodies forward. Gape's long-range effort was directed towards goal by Scott Kashket. Stech scurried to his left and clawed the ball to safety. 

Fittingly, The game's climactic moment emerged shortly before the final whistle. The home keeper launched a long ball forwards. Men leapt and tumbled trying to win the aerial battle. Elliot Lee tapped into Cornick, bringing calm to the chaos. The ground seemed to stand silent. One-on-one Cornick shot straight into the midriff of Brown. The former Bournemouth striker's finishing was later scrutinised by his manager, as it has been all season.

Having endured nine minutes of injury time, the Buckinghamshire men revelled in hard-fought victory with those packed into one half of the Oak Road End. Nathan Jones trudged down the tunnel lamenting his injury list, contemplating what might have been. The League Two promotion race hangs in the balance.

Teams (Player Ratings in Bold)
Luton Town
Stech 6.5, Stacey 6.5, Mullins 5.5, (Mpanzu 57' - 5), Sheehan 7, Potts 7, Rea 6.5, O. Lee 6.5, (D'Ath 78' - 5.5), Berry 6.5, Shinnie 6.5, (Cornick 69' - 6), Collins 6, E. Lee 8.5
Wycombe Wanderers
Brown 9, Moore 7, (Thompson 83' - 5.5), Scarr 6.5, El-Abd 7, Jacobsen 7, O'Nein 7, Bean 6.5, Gape 7, Cowan-Hall 7, (Kashket 83' - 6), Tyson 8.5, (Mackail-Smith 75' - 6), Akinfenwa 6.5

Referee: Tim Robinson
Attendance: 8,564 (791 Wycombe fans)