“This may sound arrogant, but I believe that if we'd done teamship better, we'd still be there. Where we fell down was the inability to hold together. We should have learnt from the great football teams. The players may not like each other. They have egos, they have their own ambitions, they have different personalities, but they are still bloody good teams.” IfsShouldBelieveMayStillsDifferentDoneTogetherI BelieveSoundPlayerTeamFootballPersonalityEgoAmbitionShould HaveArrogantBloodyInabilityFootball TeamGood TeamGreat Football Author:Alastair Campbell
“I remember talking to Alex Ferguson about Tony [Blair] and Gordon [Brown], and he said: "Why doesn't Tony just get rid of him?" But if you sack someone in football, they can't turn up to training the next day. In politics they're still on the pitch. Gordon would still have been a big player.” IfsHas BeensSaidStillsBigsRememberTurnsNextTalkingPlayerFootballTrainingBrownNext DayAlexBlairFerguson Author:Alastair Campbell
“As Tony [Blair] said in his book, Gordon [Brown] was brilliant and impossible. If he'd just been one of those things, the options are obvious.” IfsSaidBookImpossibleObviousBrilliantBrownBlair Author:Alastair Campbell
“If you look at the other people around at the time - Charles Clarke, Alistair Darling, Jack Straw - they've all gone. And they're not old. What's happened is that someone who is quite old - Jeremy Corbyn - is now leader. We have to take some responsibility for that.” PeopleIfsLooksResponsibilityLeaderGoneHappenedDarlingStraws Author:Alastair Campbell
“I never met David Kelly, but I knew from what he told other people that this was not his view. The BBC were saying that Tony Blair was making up lies so that he could send young men and women to war, maybe to die. I think that if the BBC had done their jobs professionally, they'd have realised that you couldn't justify what they said. And nothing has emerged since to justify that report.” PeopleIfsThinkingMenSaidWarDoneJobsYoungLyingDiesViewsMetsMen And WomenYoung ManReportsJustifyThey SaidRealisedMaking UpBlair Author:Alastair Campbell
“Sometimes Jonathan [Powell] and myself would go to Tony [Blair] and ask him if he was absolutely sure about this or that. That was our job. But ultimately it was his decision.” IfsSometimesJobsAsksDecisionBlair Author:Alastair Campbell
“So here is one of my theories on happiness: we cannot know if we have lived a truly happy life until the very end. This view of life and death was reinforced by my close witnessing of the buildup to the death of Philip Gould. Philip was without doubt my closest friend in politics. When he died, I felt like I had lost a limb.” IfsKnowsEndsHappinessLostFeltViewsDoubtTheoryDiedLife And DeathHappy LifeClosestLimbsPhilipClosest FriendsTruly Happy Author:Alastair Campbell
