‘Overweight’ ex-Premier League star would’ve ‘stopped eating crisps’ if told in private

On Feb 13, 2023

What would you do if your boss publicly accused you of being overweight? File a lawsuit? Resign in protest? Order burger after burger to the office to slovenly munch in everyone’s faces?

Well, former Premier League goalkeeper Neil Sullivan didn’t exactly have such luxuries when he was told, via the press, to lay off the puddings by Leeds manager Dennis Wise back in 2007.

Ever the professional, Sullivan chose not to bite (pun very much intended), humbly accepting his future at Elland Road was toast, even though he felt he was being shamed into quitting the club.

“To be fair the club was going through a big transition. New managers coming in, new owners, and they wanted to move in a different direction. I guess I was a victim of that,” Sullivan said speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport.

“That was the way Dennis Wise wanted to do things to change the players, and I thought ‘well, if that’s the case then let’s move on’.”

When asked if he felt Wise’s comments were tactical, rather than observational, Sullivan said: “You can always lose weight … [but] if he wanted me then he could’ve done it in a quiet way and I’d have stopped eating crisps.”

Is it acceptable for managers to call players out for being overweight? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Sullivan thinks Wise accused him of being overweight in order to get rid of him
(Image: Getty Images)

A month later Sullivan joined Doncaster Rovers on loan before making the move permanent in the summer, and ultimately had the last laugh after leading his new side to victory over Leeds in the League One play-off final the following season. Eat that.

Despite approaching his 40s, the England-born Scotland international remained an ever-present in the team for the next three seasons, all while Leeds played catch up in the tier below.

Sullivan insists he might have ‘stopped eating crisps’ if his manager had told him in private
(Image: Getty Images)

But Sullivan isn’t in the business of holding grudges, and he re-joined Leeds as an academy coach after calling time on his playing career in 2013. After seven years in the job he moved to Hull, where he remains to this day, working with the U21 and U18 sides.

Just as it was during his playing career, Sullivan says the thing he enjoys most about coaching is “being out on the grass”, and despite the fact he’s working with a very ‘hungry’ group of young players, he certainly won’t be encouraging any crisp-eating.

Sullivan is now an academy coach at Hull

“I have a very talented group of players who want to learn and improve,” he said. “They have to work within the structure of academy football [but] I also have my philosophies on how goalkeeping should be.”

Sullivan began his playing career at Wimbledon and made more than 200 appearances for the club before joining Tottenham in 2000. He moved to Chelsea in 2003, but left to join Leeds a year later after failing to nail down a starting spot. He also had loan stints at Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon.