b'A NEWSPAPERS ALCHEMIST ~ BY OLIVER HOLTIt was probably the first football job we did togetherMarcof the stunning, beautifully composed photographs shown in this Aspland and I. It didnt yield anything as spectacular as thebook but, under the circumstances, the results can be just as wonderful images from the world of sport that grace this beautifulimpressive.book, but it was a crash course for me in the way that mastersSometimes, as a reporter, you can feel that the photographer is of their art such as Marc have to fight for the right to capture thegetting in the way. Either you are worried that he might say the essence of their subject. wrong thing, strike a discordant note, put the interviewee on Back then, at the end of the 1990s, it was about the closestedge. Or you wonder whether the prospect of the photos being that football writers and photographers, like me and Marc, gottaken and the very presence of the photographer might put the to entering a war zone. We had organised a meeting with thesubject on edge.Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, at the clubs old trainingThat never happened with Marc. In fact, the opposite was ground, The Cliff. Keane didnt do many interviews and, eventrue. Part of his talent is being able to put his subjects at ease. then, he had a reputation as a rather intimidating subject, so theIt was always a massive advantage to have Marc along on a job project was not without tension from the outset. because the interviewee was more likely to feel relaxed by the We had neglected to mention the interview and photo shoot totime the conversation began. It is part of a reporters skill-set to Sir Alex Ferguson, Uniteds aggressively controlling manager, whobe gregarious, to get on with people. It is the same with sports was on the verge of making the great achievements that were tophotographers and this one in particular.establish him as the most successful boss in British football history.Marc and I worked with a lot of footballers while I was at The We had decided that discretion, secrecy and, lets be honest,Times. In the mid-nineties, big interview features with players downright cowardice were the best options where Ferguson waswere less common than they are now, but Marcs stunning concerned. Going through the gates at The Cliff felt, as it had feltportraits of men like Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen, both to many before us, like entering the lions den. taken in the alleyways around Anfield, helped to change that.The interview was fine. Keane had already perfected his unsettlingThey popularised the idea that interviews could be sold to readers stare and his answers were sometimes confrontational. But theyas complete packages, the words illustrated with remarkable were better for that and it was something of a coup to have gotportraits, which could have stood alone and were often as some time with him. Now it was time for the pictures. compelling and as revealing as the 1,000 words or so that Keane appeared to grow slightly agitated at this point, which wasaccompanied them on the page.unnerving for us. He did not want to pose for the pictures whereOne of the most interesting jobs we ever did together was Marc suggested because he said that Ferguson might see us.something that allowed us both to move into hard news Nobody really wanted that. So Marc suggested they dart roundreportage, an area with which we were blissfully unfamiliar. When the corner of the wall of the gym and that he take some portraitswe went to Istanbul to cover a Chelsea match against Galatasaray against a backdrop of red brick, away from Fergusons prying eyes. in October 1999, we took a day out to travel the hundred Keane agreed. He posed for a couple of minutes. Job done. Itkilometres or so to the east to look at how football had been wasnt ideal, particularly not for Marc, but it was a prime exampleaffected by a terrible earthquake that had ravaged the country of how the great sports photographer often has to act as aseveral weeks earlier.newspapers alchemistmagically turning a limited opportunityThe night before we left for Izmit, the hotel we were staying in on into a striking image. Capturing the moment in the heat of intensethe banks of the Bosphorus juddered gently to an aftershock. The pressure can be a different discipline to the one displayed by many 8'