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How Soccer Explains the World : An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
(by Franklin Foer)
Haven't read this one yet but it get's pretty interesting reviews so I
just ordered it from Amazon myself...go check out the reviews yourself...looks
kinda interesting
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Slim Jim Baxter: The Authorised Biography
(by Ken Gallacher)
Jim Baxter was one of the greatest footballers Scotland has ever produced.
But his career was over by the time he reached 30 and in 2001 he died at
the early age of 61, victim of a life-style that ultimately destroyed him.
He played just two games against England at Wembley, but these 180 minutes
turned him into a legend. The victories in 1963 and 1967 - the second one
when England were World champions - were Baxter's greatest performances
for his country. His way of turning on the style was how the supporters
wanted to see the game played. He played for Rangers for only five years
and returned briefly for a sad spell after five unhappy seasons in England.
Years of drinking had taken their toll on his fitness and saw his career
end at a time when he should have been at his peak. Ultimately alcohol
also killed him.
(Footnote by FootiemadAndy and FootiemadTony. This is the BEST footie we have read…might be biased cos I’m Scottish and Tony would like to be (!) but it’s a totally crackin read)
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FEVER PITCH
Nick Nornby
One of the all time classic footie reads for fans and non fans alike.The
life, or as near life as he could get, of an obssessed fan, in his case
Arsenal, whose ups and downs matched the game results of the club to the
exclusion of almost anything else. Movie wasn't nearly as good but if you
haven't read this one, it's one of THE all time best footie reads, a must
for the fan if nothing else but to show you that there's always one bampot
more obsessed about the game than you are. As an aside, check out Hign
Fidelity too...great book and excellent movie.
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The KING Denis Law
The Autobiography
Denis Law with Bob
Harris
I openly admit I am a fan. I hope my judgement of the book is not too biased,
as I consider the Lawman to be the greatest to ever put on a pair of boots.
That said, and without apology, here goes!
Starting with his humble beginnings in the fishing port of Aberdeen in 1940, (every biography should be clichéd in this regard), this
unlikely specimen physically, overcame his size, or lack of, and an eye
disorder to become a legend. Along the way, the ups and the downs that
are part of the game are given equal time in this account. From his start
at Huddersfield as a groundstaff boy of 15, through Manchester City, Torino, Manchester Utd. and a return engagement at Maine Road, Law
gives his opinions on the teams he played for and against, managers, team
mates and opponents and the state of the game. He obviously is not a man
burdened with a huge ego, but allows that a couple of times in his career
he did let it affect decisions he made, which could have altered the path
he took. He covers his post footballing life in a similar way, a life for
which he was totally unprepared, from the sales and PR jobs to his radio
and TV broadcasting stints. He is generous in his praise of his peers,
but manages to recognize weaknesses as well. He was not overly scathing
in his criticism of those he did not like, or in cases where he felt people
he considered friends betrayed his trust. All in all, this is an excellent
book, very easy to read and a great insight into the mind of a professional
footballer. |
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The Far Corner: A Mazy Dribble Through North East
Football
(Harry Pearson)
The book chronicles Pearson’s thoughts during travels throughout the north-east
of England during the 1993-94 season. It’s an acutely observant tale of everything north-east…..from Wilf Mannion to Len Shackleton to Sunderland Skinheads to Keegan. His observations are always humorous. Pearson’s a hilarious writer and his descriptions of people and events are brilliantly funny…….partly because you KNOW the people he describes, not in actuality….but people SO like them as to be indistinguishable. Add to this Pearson’s facts, figures and memories of years gone by and his pure love of the game and you have one cracking read.The book was short listed on several books of the year awards including the William Hill Sports Book of the Year (1995). It is often described by critics as the THE football book of the modern age, often compared with Fever Pitch as vying for the best British football book ever.
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Only a Game?
(Eamon Dunphy, Peter Ball (Editor))
The 1973-4 season that began so well for the Republic of Ireland international Eamon Dunphy at Millwall ended in disillusionment. This is his diary recording events from the dressing room during those critical months. The joy and anguish of professional football has never in the history of the game been so lucidly voiced.
"Uproariously funny". But what sets it apart is its honesty and
lack of sentimentality--everyone who has ever dreamt of a sporting career
should read it" --Nick Hornby
"The best and most authentic memoir by a professional footballer about his sport that I have yet read" --Brian Glanville
"Exceptional. It became the standard by which similar books were judged,
and was exceeded in acclaim only with the publication of Fever Pitch by
Nick Hornby more than a decade later" --The Times
"The first footballer's diary to deal with the game's disappointments
and humiliations as well as its golden hours... it remains both greatly
admired and unmatched" --Richard Williams, Guardian
This was the first football book to break the mould in terms of footballer
writing and certainly influenced many of the great football books which came after,
most notably, Fever Pitch (Nick Hornsby’s game by game installments were
picked up from here). Throughout it is clear that Dunphy is a good writer.
Above all, however, the book has all the best qualities of a personal diary:
honesty, frankness, occasional contradictions, and immediacy. This is not
a book about the glossy modern day, poofy hairstyle, pampered footballers,
Becks wouldn’t last 5 minutes in the dressing room with these blokes. In
an age where a footballer's haircut is front-page news and players endorse
everything from Crisps to Hair Growth treatments, this book is a reminder
of what football is about- hard graft and a love of the game. As an antidote
to the numerous showbiz biographies of footballers, Only A Game is perfect. |
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Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football
(David Winner)
“And Vincent (Van Gogh) saw the corn
And Einstein the number
And Zeppelin the Zeppelin
And Johan saw the ball”
--Dutch song
In Brilliant Orange--the neurotic genius of Dutch football, journalist
David Winner explores his personal fascination with the land that gave
the world Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Johan Cruyff--searching for reasons why
such a tiny country has produced some of football's most intelligent, enigmatic
and unfulfilled teams. Why did a nation of 16 million people burst onto
the World soccer scene in the mid 60’s with a dazzling array of talent
and teams?…and has continued to do ever since. Let me remind you of just
a few of the names…Cruyff (God’s Gift to Football?), Neeskins, Gullit,
Rijkaard, De Boer(s) and Marco Van Basten (the complete footballer)…….how
did this all come about. It started when a young Ajax team beat Shankly’s
Liverpool 7-3 over two legs in 1966…that’s the day (in my mind at least)
that TOTAL football began. Dutch football is not about winning, however,
and therein lies the philosophical quandary which plagued them through
to two losing world cup finals in 1974 and 1978 (they were voted “best
team” at both those tournaments as well as in 1998 and at Euro 2000……the
Dutch deem this to be philosophically more important than actually winning…the
art of the game versus the hard science). This book does it’s best to explain
why the Dutch produce so many good players, why their teams play they way
they do and why winning isn’t necessarily the be all and end all. Does
it succeed?……….well after reading this, I guarantee that every genuine
football fan will be questioning the way the game is organized in their
country AND the people who run the game themselves.
Also full of good quotes and insight such as Cruyff “If I wanted you to understand it, I would
have explained it better” |
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The Miracle of
Castel Di Sangro: A Real Life Footballing Fairytale
(Joe McGinniss)
INDEPENDENT *' This wonderful, compelling book seems destined to join the shortlist of football classics'
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * 'A gripping and engaging tale'
A funny book this for a number of reasons.
Joe McGinniss is a respected US writer who had only recently been infected
by the virus that so many around the world already have, when he followed
the 1994 World Cup in the good old USofA.
He decides to go to Italy, to live there for a year and to follow newly
promoted Castel di Sango, newly promoted to Seria B.
Couple of upfront comments from FootiemadAndy.
This is a dream job to most footie nuts……away for a years sabbatical in Italy to write a story about a “village” football team in Seria B… how good is that!!
He’s picked up some infuriating, but typically American, traits once he
gets there. After a couple of months he manages to speak “perfect” Italian
and knows more about football than the team manager. In the end, instead
of soaking up the whole atmosphere and enjoying the experience, he’s frustrated
because now that he knows everything about football, he wants to tell everyone
how it SHOULD be done. So, because of that, the book ends on a sour note.
However, if you can get past that (I barely did!) it’s a crackin read |
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Full Time: the Secret Life of Tony Cascarino
(Paul Kimmage)
Might be a bit heavy reading this one, but following on from Eamon Dunphy’s book……this is an updated version.The Secret Life of Tony Cascarino is the most praised football autobiography in a very long time. Reviewers' jaws dropped at "the searing honesty ... and the breathless style" (The Saturday Times); The Observer Sport Monthly gasped "It's Angela's Ashes with half-time oranges ... a footballer's autobiography like no other. The most astonishing sports book of the year." "Autobiography" of course means ghost-written: though told in the first person it was put together by award-winning Irish journalist Paul Kimmage, whose Rough Ride won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award in 1990. Making the book compulsively readable Kimmage structured it brilliantly, guarding the series of secrets that Cascarino reveals so that the reader is tantalised by cryptic glimpses then made to wait until each revelation in turn is suddenly unveiled. What are these secrets? Suffice to say that some are personal, some professional, some minor and quirky, one major enough to generate heated debate in the press. At times the book reads like the confession of a man who's lived with too much guilt for too long.
If you want to strip away the hype from sport, this is your book. |
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Stanley Matthews The Way It Was The autobiography
Stanley Matthews
The life story of football's first Knight, indeed a wonderful memoir. The
book takes the reader from Stan's birth in Hanley, in the Potteries district
of the Midlands, through to his death in 2000, the year it was published.
It takes us through his formative years, with the constant practicing of
his ball skills and training,, playing for England schoolboys and his time
as a groundstaff boy at nearby Stoke City. .From there we are treated to
his memories of the game he graced through four decades with Stoke, Blackpool
and Stoke again, as well as his many appearances for England. He also found
time during the off season to play in North America for a couple of summers
His longevity as a player will likely never be matched, a tribute to his
level of fitness and his dedication to the game. He continued as an ambassador
for the game all over the world until his death. He involved himself in
coaching youngsters in South Africa and Australia and turned out in an
old timers all star game in South America when his 70th birthday was but
a memory. Stanley Matthews was one of the all time greats and tells his
story with humour and honesty. He also gives us delightful images of his
peers, almost transporting the reader back in time. |
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My Life of Misery - The Story of an Footballing Genius Led Astray
Alba
Story of a young man in his footballing prime led down the dark path by
an Arsenal git. With the world at his feet and offers coming in from Fulham,
Liverpool, Barca, Juve, Ajax and Real Madrid, this tragic tale unfolds
of a young superstar giving up all the rewards and his life long dreams
in order to help out an Arsenal supporter who's having problems cutting
and pasting stuff onto a web site. The noble choice that this young Alba
has to make...to turn his back on his boyhood dreams in order to help out
a really really daft London eejit called Tony will bring tears to your
eye.
"Ah purlitzer prize winner, ah Nobel prize winner, kerrist he makes
me look like a Hibbie" - Ghandi
"If I wasn't who I am, I would have his babies, nae bother at awe"
- Mother Theresa
"That Tony guy sounds a rite bestirt" - Hitler
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