Liam Brady was responsible for many a young prospect coming through the ranks at Arsenal during his time as Head of Youth Development at the club.
Brady held the position between 1996 and 2013, and was even linked with the manager's job briefly in '96 before Arsene Wenger eventually took over.
RTÉ's recent documentary on Brady featured a brilliant clip of him meeting with Arsenal academy graduate Wojciech Szczesny, who revealed that Brady was not shy of handing down a stern word or two to Arsenal's youth prospects.
Former Ireland U-21 goalkeeper Graham Stack was one of those who came up through the ranks under Brady's stewardship. In an exclusive chat with Ladbrokes this week Stack revealed a hilarious story about Brady, after the Irish legend caught Stack flogging fake Gucci gear to his teammates.
Liam Brady: Irishman scolded Graham Stack for training ground antics
Graham Stack only made a handful of appearances for Arsenal, but he got his footballing education at the club in the late 1990s, while Liam Brady was head of the youth system.
19 August 2010; Liam Brady, Arsenal Football Club head of youth development, watches the match. Platinum One Challenge, Arsenal Reserves v Manchester United Reserves, Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght, Dublin. Picture credit: Brian Lawless / SPORTSFILE
Stack grew up in West London, and said that one of the pubs he frequented in the area was also home to a patron who was known for making a few bucks from knock-off luxury items.
Seeing how well this strategy was paying off for the man in question, Stack opted to stock up on supplies and try his luck at the Arsenal training ground - something which drew the ire of Liam Brady.
Graham Stack exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone:
I wasn’t on a lot of money at the time I saw a bit of a gap in the market, so I started off buying four or five boxes of “Gucci” from him and within a week I’d sold it all, so I thought I may as well up my intake and fill the whole car up.
I went to the training ground with a boot full of “Gucci” gear, and I’m in the car park and all the youth team lads were coming out and before you know it some of the first team lads were coming over to see what all the fuss was about.
I just remember Liam Brady calling me over saying “this isn’t Camden Market, this is Arsenal Football Club, you can’t be selling goods out of your boot in the club car park”.
I got a bit of a telling off, but Liam knew what I was like and it was harmless really, I was just trying to earn a few extra quid.
Luckily Brady did not chastise his fellow Irishman too harshly. Some of Stack's teammates, however, were on the end of mouthfuls from their significant others when they were found out for the "luxury" items they had treated their partners to:
It was funny because we had a Christmas party at the Landmark Hotel in central London about three or four weeks later and all the lads had the same “Gucci” shoes on and all their partners has the same “Gucci” handbag, which was quite embarrassing for the lads because obviously they’d told the missus they’d been into the shop especially to buy it. Needless to say a few of them got in trouble that night and a few truths came out.
SEE ALSO: 9 Photos That Prove Brian Kerr Was Ireland's Most Stylish Man Of The 1990s
