How were you compensated for nurturing the talent behind these multimillion-pound transfers?
The only time I made any money from a transfer was when Tony Cottee was sold for £2.2million in the mid-1980s. Lyall told the board he wanted £25,000 to be distributed among the academy’s staff. The Scouts, the other youth coaches and I each got £500 for helping him develop. Normally, when I brought young players to the first team, my association with them ended and decisions for those players rested with the manager.
What have you earned the most?
At the peak of my career I was making £120,000 a year. My testimony made me about £200,000. That is not an insignificant amount, but there are costs for printing, catering and stewarding – and then you have to pay 20 pc of corporation tax.
What were you looking for in young players?
A strong work ethic, hunger to be successful and determination to do what it takes. lampard [who went on to win dozens of trophies at Chelsea and play for England] was a young player who worked day and night to improve his game.
The most difficult transition is from youth and reserve teams to the first team. This transition should not take place until the player is ready.
The professional game carries a lot of pressure, which is why everyone looks back fondly on their youth team days as a time of innocence as they progressed from young men to men.
Are you jealous of the lifestyle of the professional players you helped develop?
I have everything I need. My house is paid off and my three children are out of my hands and doing very well. I have never envied the players who have done well on the football field and financially.
Someone like Defoe is a great boy, very humble, whose mother had been a huge influence. He announced his retirement earlier this year after a successful career, earned a lot of money and is happy.
As you get older, all you desire is good health and a continuation of your life.
What was your best financial decision?
Harassed the club secretary until he put me in the club pension scheme. The club paid 12 percent of my salary and I paid 7 percent. Until I retired 34 years later, 19 percent of my salary went into a pension plan every month, and that’s what we live on now.
And what was your worst financial decision?
I bought a Ford Orion from a supposed friend for £3,500. It was cream, a color I hated, but I thought it was doing me a favor because he was in the car business. But it kept breaking and costing a fortune in repairs. I sold it very quickly for a low price.
If you were finance minister, what would you change about the financial system?
The VAT must be a maximum of 5 pc, because you have already paid tax on your income, and the road tax must be abolished.
Tony Carr: A Lifetime in Football at West Ham United is out now