FROM HERO TO ZERO - NORWICH CITY LEGEND GOES TO PRISON
I remember that day in 1985, when Norwich City travelled to Wembley Stadium to meet Sunderland in the League Cup final. It seemed odd that this somewhat little team from Norfolk were going to the big final, and it seemed even more odd when they won 1-0. The thought of European football was on the horizon, but of course, events elsewhere in Belgium a few months later would put an end to these thoughts.
Peter Mendham was a part of the Norwich side that won that day. He's one of the first players I remember when I first began to support Norwich as a boy. I actually met him a few years ago at a WAW show. Roy "Zebra Kid" Bevis was cutting off his trademark mullet for charity, the East Anglian Air Ambulence. Mendham was there as part of his work for the charity. He seemed a nice enough bloke, and it was an honour to meet one of the guys who had given me one of my happiest moments as a football fan.
Today Mendham is beginning a prison sentence, having been found guilty of a knife attack on his girlfriend last year. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for the assault. While he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, he pleaded not guilty to the more serious charge of attempted murder.
They say that everyone has a darker side to their personality. Most people manage to keep that dark side in check, but on that day last year, Mendham's darker side overwhelmed him, and he's now paying the price.
And now it's just a shame that he'll be remembered for attacking his girlfriend, instead of being a part of one of the greatest days in the history of Norwich City Football Club.
