Stuart Doling: Gerry Creaney being beaten up outside a Southsea nightclub cost me my Portsmouth future

That’s the claim of Doling, whose eventful Fratton Park career effectively ended over an incident at which he wasn’t even present.

In April 1995, striker Creaney was joined by ex-Pompey team-mate Mark Chamberlain on a Thursday night out to celebrate his 25th birthday.

However, an altercation in a taxi queue after departing a Southsea nightclub left the Scot with a fractured cheekbone, ruling him out of the final five matches of the season.

In Creaney’s absence, Doling started the following game at Barnsley, which resulted in a 1-0 loss.

Then, days later, came a career-defining confrontation with Blues boss Fenwick

Doling told The News: ‘Me and Fenwick didn’t see eye to eye.

‘When Gerry Creaney got beaten up, a few days later I was called into the manager’s office for contract talks.

‘He then blamed me for what happened – despite it being the first time ever I wasn’t out!

‘According to Fenwick, I was a disruptive influence for all 32 pros. Why couldn’t I be more like Jason Hall, a left-back who arrived from Spurs with Shaun Murray. Obviously it became a set-to with the manager.

‘He told me: “I was going to give you this contract”. With that, he put it in front of me and it was a very good deal, I saw it.

‘Then he added: “But I ain’t giving it to you now out of spite. I’m going to give it to someone else. If you want, you can have this one”.

‘With that, he tabled a 12-month contract on the same money.

‘That was it really. I didn’t sign, but came back for that pre-season in the summer of 1995, with Russ (Perrett) driving me from Lymington.

‘Fenwick said he wanted me in for training on my own at 9am every Sunday. I explained I didn’t drive, but he didn’t listen. So I didn’t go.

‘I turned up on the Monday as normal and he had a massive go at me in front of everyone, singling me out. That’s when I walked out on Pompey.

‘He didn’t like me. For him to do that, dangling a contract in front of me, I lost all respect for him.

‘The next time I saw him was at Sheffield United in November 1995, when Russ had got me tickets to watch his debut.

‘I walked past Fenwick and I said “Hello” and he completely and utterly blanked me. That summed him up.

‘I was probably my worst enemy to be honest, but I thought Fenwick could have handled it better.’

Doling, who made 52 appearances for Pompey, scoring five times, would go on to play for Lymington and Doncaster Rovers.

Yet three-and-a-half years after his departure, he was back at Fratton Park.

Following Alan Ball’s appointment as Pompey boss in January 1998, the call went out to the midfielder.

And Doling was reunited with the England World Cup winner, who had coached him as a kid during a first spell as Blues manager.

The 48-year-old added: ‘When Bally went back for his second spell, he rang up and said: “Do you fancy coming back?”.

‘Russ (Perrett) was still there and I was asked to train with Pompey on non-contract terms.

‘I was there for six weeks, but had been out of the professional game for too long. I couldn’t get fit enough and, at that stage, hadn’t stopped drinking.

‘I had to be honest with Bally because he was honest with me.

‘He wanted me to play, but I told him I was nowhere near it. I had to explain it to him – and he was fine.

‘I absolutely adored Bally.’

MORE: Tipped for stardom with Portsmouth and England but drinking put me in The Priory – and told I would die

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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