well imagine... leaving the club you've played for most of your life and slagging off that club - none of their fans will buy. chelsea fans arent going to buy cos he's barely played for them.
I have a signed copy of Bobby Robson's and can thoroughly recommend, although, I do think Sir Bobby could was a bit too nice about some of the shit he took in when he was England manager.
A season with Verona is a good read , not a new book though . It gives a good insight into European football but not with one of the big clubs . Worth a butchers
I'm just about to read Fathers, Sons and Football about the summerbees
Don't know how to do links but the above book - Football Programmes: Post War to Premiership is visually stunning. Basically the author Bob Stanley (music journo/ Saint Etienne head man) has collected images of programmes from every league club & quite a few non-league clubs - this in the days before the boring, bland progs we get these day - lthese are a feast of badly drawn footballers, adverts for Watneys Pale Ale & some real "interesting" designs.
Check it out.
If you have a coffee table - this book is made for it.
By the novelist Tim Parks, he lives in Verona and teaches at the Uni and essentially set himself the task of attending every Verona match home & away in a season. Very literary all in places a tad contrived, I had the impression that he wrote chunks of it to be dropped in here and there. Nevertheless definitely woth a read.
The other footie book I've read recently was "Keeper of Dreams" about Lars Leese (pronounced "Laser"). He was a German keeper who had two seasons at Barnsley signing for them in the year they got promoted and then the next year when they were back in the second division. Leese had been on the books at Koln as a school kid but had walked out and lost interest in the game around the time he was 15. A few years later he took the game up playing parks football in the Westerwald gaining a reputation and then moving to a semi-pro outfit, which promply went bust. In his mid 20s he was signed for Bayer Leverkusen as their third string keeper but never got on the pitch. After a couple of years he was recommended to Viv Anderson at Middlesboro who wanted to sign him, but Leverkusen refused to release him. Danny Wilson however was looking for a second keeper and signed him after Barnsley were promoted.
Within a couple of games the regular keeper got injured, Leese made his debut in first team pro football anywhere at something like 26 or 27 years of age and then was in and out the side thanks to Danny Wilson's bizarre selection policies - at one point he rotated the two keepers on a match by match basis to keep them keen and competitive, this included keeping a clean sheet at Anfield in a match they won one-nil. By the end of that year Barnsley were relegated, Danny Wilson left for Sheff Weds and with a new manager he never got another chance in the first team. His contract wasn't renewed at the end of that year and when he couldn't find another club he ended up first unemployed back in Germany and then working on a mobile cafe dishing out cups of tea and sarnies to factory workers.
The book is honest about his failings and about some of those he trusted - particularly Tony Woodcock who acted as his agent and let him down. Well know I've told you what happens there's no point buying the book and yes it is in English.
In a slightly different vein I recommend 'Playing The Moldovans at Tennis' by Tony Hawkes.
The book opens with the author and a friend watching England beat Moldova, during which the author proclaims that the Moldovan team are so bad that he could beat them all (at tennis). Cue a bet and then a trip to Moldova. Just finding the players is a challenge in itself. Good, amusing read. Better than half the autobiographies mentionned so far.
Finished Curbs book at the weekend. Must say i was totally underwhelmed by the whole read, and if you haven't previously seen it, Richard Hunt's earlier review summed up my thoughts exactly.
http://www.charltonlife.com/blog/?p=23
Have just started Terry Butcher's autobiography, have probably got into the first ten pages more than the whole of Curbs book.
I gave up reading Curb's book half way through. It's the most boring autobiography I've ever read. Didn't tell me anything that I hadn't already heard.
ha well i woke about 3am this morning and couldnt sleep. so i picked up my half read copy of Curbs book and it did the trick perfectly, i was asleep within half an hour.
I read one of those 100 page freebies that you get with 442 occasionally and it seemed like a good read. Though I havent read the full version, the shortened down version was a worthwhile read.
I found this a really enjoyable read which discussed the culture of football in Brazil in part-chronological part social evolution order. From 70 year olds who can do a 1,000 kicky-ups to football championships played between villages in the deepest darkest depths of the Amazon jungle. This book captures the 'passion' of football beautifully.
Have recently read Stanley matthews - The way it was(The man who taught us how football should be played) Paul Gascoigne - Gazza My Story(A football genius) both eye openers and well worth checking out imo.
[cite]Posted By: addick1965[/cite]I've read Paul McGraths book AFKA its very good.Says he played a few games pissed out of his head and still played a blinder!!
read it last week, probably the best biography i've ever read. Loved the way it was intersected with quotes from other throughout.
An honest, frank account from someone who i'm amazed is still alive. What an awful way to live your life, i couldn't help but feel sad for him and his family by the end of it.
French Revolutions by Tim Moore, a good insight into the Tour de France from a funny author, Tim Moore was hyped as new Bill Bryson, he is funny, but not that funny.
Comments
My guess is everybody assumed everybody else had read it!
As you say excellent read though as is Left Foot In The Grave.
Very interesting to note the wild fluctuations in sales of these books.
Steve Gerard - 80,000
Rooney - 40,000
Lampard - less than 30,000
Ferdinand - less than 10,000
Ashley Cole - 3,000
Yep, just 3,000 for Ashley Cole. Amazon rate is as the 2,663rd best selling book in the UK so far.
Hope it was worth all the hassle Ashley :-)
chelsea fans arent going to buy cos he's barely played for them.
probably only girls aloud fans that bought it.
I would of expected somewhere between 3-5,000 ?
Would be interesting to know what he made with his time with us.
Also want to read Danny Wallace's one.
Anyone read either of these ?
Shaun Goater - 1,000
Paul McGrath - 400
I'm just about to read Fathers, Sons and Football about the summerbees
More Info
Guardian Review
Don't know how to do links but the above book - Football Programmes: Post War to Premiership is visually stunning. Basically the author Bob Stanley (music journo/ Saint Etienne head man) has collected images of programmes from every league club & quite a few non-league clubs - this in the days before the boring, bland progs we get these day - lthese are a feast of badly drawn footballers, adverts for Watneys Pale Ale & some real "interesting" designs.
Check it out.
If you have a coffee table - this book is made for it.
By the novelist Tim Parks, he lives in Verona and teaches at the Uni and essentially set himself the task of attending every Verona match home & away in a season. Very literary all in places a tad contrived, I had the impression that he wrote chunks of it to be dropped in here and there. Nevertheless definitely woth a read.
The other footie book I've read recently was "Keeper of Dreams" about Lars Leese (pronounced "Laser"). He was a German keeper who had two seasons at Barnsley signing for them in the year they got promoted and then the next year when they were back in the second division. Leese had been on the books at Koln as a school kid but had walked out and lost interest in the game around the time he was 15. A few years later he took the game up playing parks football in the Westerwald gaining a reputation and then moving to a semi-pro outfit, which promply went bust. In his mid 20s he was signed for Bayer Leverkusen as their third string keeper but never got on the pitch. After a couple of years he was recommended to Viv Anderson at Middlesboro who wanted to sign him, but Leverkusen refused to release him. Danny Wilson however was looking for a second keeper and signed him after Barnsley were promoted.
Within a couple of games the regular keeper got injured, Leese made his debut in first team pro football anywhere at something like 26 or 27 years of age and then was in and out the side thanks to Danny Wilson's bizarre selection policies - at one point he rotated the two keepers on a match by match basis to keep them keen and competitive, this included keeping a clean sheet at Anfield in a match they won one-nil. By the end of that year Barnsley were relegated, Danny Wilson left for Sheff Weds and with a new manager he never got another chance in the first team. His contract wasn't renewed at the end of that year and when he couldn't find another club he ended up first unemployed back in Germany and then working on a mobile cafe dishing out cups of tea and sarnies to factory workers.
The book is honest about his failings and about some of those he trusted - particularly Tony Woodcock who acted as his agent and let him down. Well know I've told you what happens there's no point buying the book and yes it is in English.
Can imagine its a good read, anyone read it ?
The book opens with the author and a friend watching England beat Moldova, during which the author proclaims that the Moldovan team are so bad that he could beat them all (at tennis). Cue a bet and then a trip to Moldova. Just finding the players is a challenge in itself. Good, amusing read. Better than half the autobiographies mentionned so far.
http://www.charltonlife.com/blog/?p=23
Have just started Terry Butcher's autobiography, have probably got into the first ten pages more than the whole of Curbs book.
very little substance.
Anyone read ? Worth saving for my holiday ?
I found this a really enjoyable read which discussed the culture of football in Brazil in part-chronological part social evolution order. From 70 year olds who can do a 1,000 kicky-ups to football championships played between villages in the deepest darkest depths of the Amazon jungle. This book captures the 'passion' of football beautifully.
Read it while on holiday in Brazil, so could identify with it even more!
Stanley matthews - The way it was(The man who taught us how football should be played)
Paul Gascoigne - Gazza My Story(A football genius)
both eye openers and well worth checking out imo.
read it last week, probably the best biography i've ever read. Loved the way it was intersected with quotes from other throughout.
An honest, frank account from someone who i'm amazed is still alive. What an awful way to live your life, i couldn't help but feel sad for him and his family by the end of it.