Ray Parlour was axed by England after making haircut quip to Glenn Hoddle's faith healer
Ray Parlour was known for a laugh and joke - but he was once axed from the England squad after his haircut quip when seeing the Three Lions' faith healer Eileen Drewery
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour was axed from the England squad after he made a cheeky haircut quip to Glenn Hoddle's faith healer.
Parlour was known for liking a joke, but he pushed it too far in the eyes of Hoddle in 2000. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Ian Wright told the tale when speaking about Eileen Drewery, England's faith healer.
"The boss [Glenn Hoddle] got very spiritual and irate if you weren’t up for it [seeing the faith healer]. I remember Ray Parlour got blown out by him because he never takes anything seriously!
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"When you go in [to see the faith healer] you're sat there and she comes behind you and hovers her hand over you, and Ray Parlour said, ‘short back and sides please’ – she told Glen Hoddle and Ray was out [the squad].”
Hoddle was well-known for his faith in the healer, and he once told The Sun: "I first saw Eileen when I was 17 and she helped me with an injury.
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"I had seen what she had done with other players. And I thought what we did for my father was incredible. Within 20 minutes she healed the bad back of his that he had for blooming donkey’s years. In a way I looked on her as an extension of the new medical staff.”
One player who backed Hoddle when it came to the faith healer was David Seaman. The goalkeeper claimed she helped him with his injury heading into the 1998 World Cup: "I know a lot of players totally binned it off but I’ve never known anything like it."