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Neil "Shaka" Hislop
Goalkeeper, born in Hackney 22/2/1969 but grew up in Trinidad. Joined Reading in the summer of 1992 after studying at Howard University in the USA, and stayed for three seasons. Played his last game on the 1995 pre-season tour to Northern Ireland before joining Newcastle United for £1.575m. Later joined West Ham United and then, in the summer of 2002, Portsmouth.
Shaka played for England Under-21 as an overage player in a friendly against Switzerland and was also a non-playing substitute for a full international friendly against Chile. However, he decided instead to represent Trinidad and Tobago.
From a Newcastle United website, summer of 1996:
A £1.5m summer signing from Reading in the 1995 close season, Hislop began and ended 1995-96 in the Newcastle first team, though injury at Chelsea in December meant Pavel Srnicek taking over for almost four months until April. Born in London, Shaka moved to Trinidad with his parents at the age of two, graduated in mechanical engineering at Howard University, Washington, and joined Reading from indoor club Baltimore Blast in September 1992. After the heartbreak of promotion play-off final defeat with Reading in 1995, Shaka got his Premiership place with Newcastle United.
Born London
Date of Birth 22nd February 1969
Height 6ft 4in
Newcastle apps 95-96 28
From a Newcastle United website, 9/2/1998:
AXED HISLOP SET TO SORT OUT FUTURE "SOON"
United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has admitted that he will have to resolve his future "sooner rather than later" to avoid jeopardising his chances with England. Hislop, in the B squad for Tuesday's international with Chile at The Hawthorns, was axed by Kenny Dalglish for Saturday's FA Premiership clash with West Ham after refusing to be rushed into signing a new contract. Now the former Reading player acknowledges he will have to rethink his stance if he is to "make the most" of his call-up to the international stage.
Hislop said: "I was very disappointed to be left out on Saturday and there are few better experiences in football than playing in front of 40,000 Geordies. The manager explained I wasn't playing because I hadn't signed my new contract yet. All I said was that I wanted to take my time to make a decision and to exercise my right to do so. But now this England call-up has come out of the blue - as unexpected as was being left out of the Newcastle side. It's a big opportunity and one I will only be able to make the most of if I am playing first team football. I think it means I'll have to make a decision on my future much sooner rather than later. I may have to come to some conclusion very quickly. But what it will be is hard to say. I'll sit down with my family and with the manager to talk things over - and then I will make a decision."
Hislop added: "The reason I haven't signed is because it has been a very topsy-turvy season for myself. I started the season on the bench and to me it looked as if I was going nowhere - and nowhere fast. Things turned around quickly. Shay (Given) picked up two injuries in quick succession which gave me an opportunity and I have to admit things have progressed quite quickly since then. In the space of 20 games I've gone from being the perceived number three goalkeeper to the England B squad. To be fair to the manager he has to be thinking of the future of the club about developing a squad not only for this season but next season. My stalling on a new contract and on my future with the club maybe forced his hand into making a decision. I have to respect that decision as much as I respect his decision to keep me in the side for the last 20 games when people thought I was going to be quickly replaced. But for now I can't let events of the last couple of days be a downer on a memorable time for myself. Being picked for the England B squad is the high point of my career andI can't allow a shadow to be cast over that. I've never done or tried anything catered towards getting an England call-up. I've just done things that would be beneficial to my club career. But now the chance is here I want to try and make the most of it."
From a West Ham United website, summer of 1999:
Shaka was snapped up by the Hammers after becoming available on a free transfer. The move spells something of a homecoming for the player who was born in Hackney, but moved to Trinidad with his parents when he was two. Kevin Keegan recruited Shaka from Reading for £1.5m in the summer of 1995. The 6ft 4ins 'keeper fought a battle for first team supremacy at St James's with Pavel Srnicek and Shay Given. A graduate in mechanical engineering at Howard University, Washington, Shaka enjoyed a superb first season with the Hammers keeping 15 clean sheets in 98/99 campaign.
International honours: Trinidad & Tobago.
Shaka: "I made the decision to play for Trinidad and as far as I'm concerned I think I made the right decision. We have to start with this competition and then the World Cup qualifiers come hot on it's heels so I need the experience. I've only represented Trinidad three times. I need to get a few more international caps under my belt. This competition is a big deal where I'm from. We will go into it all guns blazing. "Thankfully the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association and West Ham have come to a compromise and I think everybody is happy. I just hope the good relationship that both club and country are building continues."
From the September/October 2000 issue of BWIA Caribbean Beat.
Custodian of the Castle
At Newcastle, Shaka was part of a formidable team assembled by Keegan, including international stars like David Ginola and Les Ferdinand. "Keegan is an excellent motivator," he says, "and I was proud to be part of that team." The highlight of his three years at Newcastle was probably when the club finished second in the Premiership, leading on to European football, with memorable games against the likes of Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev. But there was also stiff competition for the first team goalkeeping job, particularly from the in-form Republic of Ireland’s Shay Given.
Don’t you end up disliking somebody who’s competing for the job? I ask. Shaka looks genuinely surprised as if the idea had never crossed his mind. "There’s no animosity between goalkeepers at the same club," he says. "I suppose we’re a different breed. When you train together and just want the club to succeed, there’s no room for jealousy."
By the summer of 1998, however, Given seemed to be firmly in favour and Shaka’s three-year contract was coming to an end. Then he heard via his agent that West Ham’s Harry Redknapp was looking for a goalkeeper. "I jumped at the chance," he says, "and in any case I was ready for a new challenge." In July the deal was done, and Shaka, by now the father of two girls, Maalana and Khazia, moved down to East London.
It’s easy to believe, as we sit in this cheerfully boisterous canteen, that the atmosphere at West Ham is rather special. "It’s a very family-oriented club," Shaka says, "with everyone working together—the players, the training staff, the backroom people like secretaries and so on. People stay involved all their lives here."
I see that di Canio and his entourage have left, braving the cluster of autograph hunters outside, and I ask about the hot-tempered Italian. "In fact, he’s a fantastic professional, not really like his image at all. He’s really galvanised the team since he arrived and we’ve played some incredible football. It’s a shame that the season seemed to fizzle out."
Not surprisingly, West Ham’s fans have taken Shaka to their hearts. At the end of his first season at Upton Park he was voted Hammers Player of the Year by supporters. It was the climax of a good run for the club (fifth in the Premiership) and Shaka (16 clean sheets). The one blot in his copybook was being sent off against Leeds for upending Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank, itself an act of considerable bravery.
Had he ever encountered any racism from fans? "Yes, I have to say I’ve come across racism at various levels, but it seems to have decreased over the last couple of years. You know, those supporters with a reputation for racist behaviour, say Everton or Millwall, are often the most appreciative. I’ve not had any real problems myself, although I think it was harder earlier on for players like John Barnes." Even so, Shaka has been involved in a campaigning group called Show Racism the Red Card, and has spoken at schools and meetings about being a black player in Britain. "The organisers wrote me a letter asking if I could help and I was pleased to. I don’t see myself as some sort of pioneer, just a goalkeeper, but I’m happy to put my name to that sort of thing."
Shaka is now 31, hardly old by normal standards but beginning to feel that he can see an end to his career in the not-too-distant future. "I’ve got a few seasons left at the top level," he says, "and I’d like to give up before my body does."
Is there anything he’d still like to achieve? "Sure, I’d like to win a trophy with West Ham and maybe play a few more internationals. What I really want to do is to be able to look back at the good times, not just to remember the daily training, the grinding out of results. I know I’ll miss the competition and the comradeship, but I want to quit while I’m at the top."
Of course, another thing you can’t really help noticing is that Shaka is Trinidadian. There’s a bottle of hot sauce on the canteen table, especially for his use, it seems, and he talks warmly about home. He goes back at least once a year, usually in the close season, and stays with his parents near Diego Martin.
Do people treat him as a returning hero? Shaka laughs. "I have the same friends now that I had at primary and secondary school. I would be amazed—and disappointed—if they treated me any differently. And they don’t."
He says he has definite plans to retire to Trinidad. His father is looking after a few business interests; he has invested in a piece of land. Shaka’s father has been, and still is, a big influence. "He’s a man with very high values," he says, a slight touch of emotion in his voice. "I talk to my parents all the time on the phone. They come over and they can see me on television there."
But would he give up football when the day comes to retire? "Absolutely not. I’d like to do some coaching, in Trinidad, to put something back. There’s a professional league now, and Trinidad is emerging as one of the strongest footballing nations in the region. Did you hear we beat Haiti yesterday?"
So what about playing in goal for Trinidad and Tobago? "I’ve played three times for the national side - all friendlies. Of course, I’d love to play again when I’m fit, but I have to be selected first."
Where, I ask, does he feel most at home: in Britain or in Trinidad? There’s no contest. "Trinidad is home. It always will be. Everything about it—the food, the weather, the music, the people—spells home to me."
And then it’s time for him to return to the physiotherapist’s bench for another session on his leg. I resist the urge to ask for any autographs ("they’re for my son, honestly") and somewhat reluctantly leave the Porsches behind for the more modest scenery of Romford and the A24. And I can’t help thinking that Shaka Hislop is the complete antidote to the Gazza-Beckham school of celebrity, where skill doesn’t seem to be matched by either thoughtfulness or modesty. Maybe those qualities make him an unusual footballer, I don’t know. But they certainly suggest that his future, whether in football or anything else, looks as bright as what he has already achieved.
From the Portsmouth official website, 30/6/2002:
Shaka Hislop became a Pompey player after passing his medical in Wimbledon at the weekend. He then met up with Chief Executive Peter Storrie to sign a three year contract for the club from West Ham. Peter Storrie told the site: "Shaka passed the medical without any problem and has now signed a three year deal. He will report to Fratton Park with all the others tomorrow and is as pleased to be here as we are pleased to have him."
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