Souey's life away from pitch
Graeme Souness is one of those characters you either love or hate - both on and off the pitch, writes Maria Cusine.Graeme Souness is one of those characters you either love or hate - both on and off the pitch, writes Maria Cusine. But one thing is for sure. He is a born winner who is loyal to his friends and has a thick skin to those who criticise him professionally or personally. He has also had a colourful life that fill the pages of his two autobiographies with page-turning colour and controversy. See Tuesday's Express & Star for the full story, in-depth coverage and reactions from our experts. Tell us what you think. Would a Souness-led takeover be a good thing for Wolves? E-mail us with your name and address by clicking here.
But one thing is for sure. He is a born winner who is loyal to his friends and has a thick skin to those who criticise him professionally or personally.
He has also had a colourful life that fill the pages of his two autobiographies with page-turning colour and controversy.Born in Edinburgh in 1953, he was the youngest of three boys and has fond memories of his childhood growing up in a Broomhouse pre-fab on the streets of the Scottish capital. His parents struggled to make ends meet but the family were close and the boys were loved.
"I had the best childhood anyone could have," Souness has said.
"My mother and father worked so hard to make sure we had everything we needed."
With three children from his first marriage, he married second wife, glamorous blonde Karen, in 1994 and treats her son Daniel and daughter Lauren as his own. The couple had a boy James - when Souness was 46 - and the football manager actually relished the sleepless nights.
"It's definitely my second chance at fatherhood," he said at the time.
"James is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I've been at the births of all my children but first time round I was playing football and maybe I was too selfish.
"I'd like to think I'm a better father now than I was then."
It was pretty much love at first sight when he met his second wife.
"The first time we met my mind was made up pretty quickly about her. I just knew. I bought her a ring two weeks later," he said.
In 1992 his world was rocked when he suffered a life-threatening illness.
But he had been suffering from headaches for a few years and sought medical advice. Although he had gone to see his doctor complaining of tiredness and headaches, he was fit and healthy and didn't think there was anything much to worry about.
Doctors recommended he had an ECG to check for any abnormal rhythms in his heartbeat. After that, he was asked back for a second test, this time on a treadmill.
Souness thought he'd sailed through but the doctors didn't share his opinion. They were worried about his high blood pressure and advised him to have an angiogram to x-ray his blood vessels. The results showed that three arteries were blocked and Souness needed a life-saving triple heart bypass.
Days later, he was on the operating table having open heart surgery. The five-hour operation was successful. Souness recovered from his ordeal to lead Liverpool out at Wembley where they clinched the FA Cup.
But his unpopularity with the Anfield faithful increased when the story of his health problems, sold to The Sun, was printed on the anniversary of the Hillsbrough disaster. Souness admitted later that he should have resigned for the mistake. Instead he left the club in January 1994.
When Souness was told he needed the surgery, he had been seeing Karen for a month. Her reaction to the news and the way she dealt with the weeks ahead bound them together.
Today, with his personal life settled, he has established himself as one of Britain's premier football men.
He has enjoyed success at Blackburn, Southampton and in Turkey with Galatasaray- and he left Newcastle with respect for the way he tried to bring discipline to the dressing room.
