DUNDEE GOALKEEPING GREATS by Kenny Ross

Dundee Football Club has always had a fine tradition of goalkeeping greats since they were founded in 1893 right up to the present day. The Dark Blue support love their goalkeepers and have voted them player of the year in four out of the last seven seasons and four of them have over 300 appearances for The Dee.

The first time the national side called up a trio of Dundee players in 1894, a goalkeeper was amongst them and Dundee have provided eight goalkeepers for Scotland sides over the years. The 1964 Scottish Cup Final was named after a Dundee goalkeeper while Championship winning goalkeeper Pat Liney is the club’s Honorary President. It’s fair to say that Dundee FC have been more than lucky with the quality of goalkeeper that has been the last line of defence throughout its history.

From Liney to Letheren, from Donaldson to Douglas, from Allan to Anderson, from Marsh to Muir, from Slater to Speroni and from Brown to Bain, this is the story of Dundee’s Goalkeeping Greats.

Read our review here: Book Review: Dundee Goalkeeping G (footballbookreviews.com)

(Publisher: Wholepoint Publications. September 2020. Paperback: 120 pages)

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UP FRONT: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Clive Allen

Clive Allen is one of the finest goalscorers of his generation but arguably his biggest battle has been to prove himself the best in his own family.

His remarkable 49-goal haul for Tottenham in the 1986-87 season still stands as a club-record which earned him the rare dual honour of Professional Footballers Association Player of the Year and Football Writers Association Player of the Year in addition to the First Division Golden Boot.

That stunning achievement is the apotheosis of a career which began at Queens Park Rangers before becoming English footballs first million-pound teenager when signing for Arsenal in 1980.

Yet, in one of the most mysterious transfers of modern times, Clive was sold to Crystal Palace without playing a game and went on to represent eight more clubs including a year in France with Bordeaux before a brief stint as an NFL kicker for the London Monarchs.

Read our review here: Book Review: Clive Allen – Up Fron (footballbookreviews.com)

(Publisher: deCoubertin Books. October 2019. Hardback: 300 pages)

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FLAT CAPS & TANGERINE SCARVES: A BIOGRAPHY OF BLACKPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB by Roy Calley

Hampson, Matthews, Mortensen, Suddick, Green, Armfield, Ellis and Adam. Smith, Stokoe, Ayre, Grayson and Holloway. Atomic Boys, hooligans, boycotts and homecoming. 1953 and 2010. ‘The best trip’. Blackpool Football Club.

Every fan knows that supporting this club is the much-used cliché ‘rollercoaster ride’. Every success is followed by failure, every moment of hope followed by despair and every dream becomes a nightmare. It’s what being a Blackpool fan is all about. Blackpool supporters are not that different from any others, and the club is not that different either, but there’s something in the fabric of its identity that says that nothing will ever come easily.

Flat Caps & Tangerine Scarves isn’t a history. It’s a biography. A manic dash around the seasons like a stream of consciousness. Getting into the minds of the players, the managers and the supporters of the club that defies normality and embraces controversy and crisis. Quotes, interviews, opinions and unusual stories.

Like the Golden Mile, it’s brash and unexpected. Read, recall, argue and agree, but identify as a fan… because We Are Blackpool.

Read our review here: Book Review: Flat Caps & Tangerine Scar (footballbookreviews.com)

(Publisher: Conker Editions Ltd. April 2021. Paperback: 188 pages)

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THREE GOALKEEPERS AND SEVEN GOALS: LEICESTER CITY’S GREATEST EVER MATCH by Mark Bishop

Three Goalkeepers and Seven Goals turns the clock back to 1982 for the most memorable match in Leicester City history – a quarter-final FA Cup tie with Shrewsbury Town that stands without parallel for twists and drama.

Told through the eyes of fictional reporter Bob Johnson, the story brings to life that extraordinary game, as a capacity crowd wedged into the atmospheric Filbert Street witnesses Leicester stage a spectacular 5-2 comeback using three goalkeepers.

Set in an era of macho newsrooms, Thatcher and the Falklands War, the book resurrects a remarkable period in British history.

Hard-nosed newspaperman Johnson thinks he’s seen it all, but his world is turned upside down as one of the lucky fans who witness Leicester’s inspirational comeback, aided by a goal from a young Gary Lineker.

Johnson’s account captures the immense drama of this epic game before tragedy strikes.

In Three Goalkeepers and Seven Goals, Mark Bishop skilfully weaves fact with fiction to honour a match that is part of Leicester City folklore.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. February 2022. Paperback: 224 pages)

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LIFE WITH THE ROBINS AND BEYOND: THE GEOFF MERRICK STORY by Geoff Merrick & Neil Palmer

Life with the Robins and Beyond: The Geoff Merrick Story is the most anticipated book on any player ever to pull on the red shirt of Bristol City.

An England schoolboy international, Geoff turned down a host of top teams to sign for his local club. He became the Robins’ youngest captain at 18 and eventually led them back to the top flight.

During City’s stay in Division One, Merrick was seen as one of the country’s top defenders, but his life and career were thrown into turmoil when he and seven other players were asked to rip up their contracts to save the club from bankruptcy. This they did, and today their sacrifice is commemorated by a plaque outside Ashton Gate, yet it still goes down as the blackest time in City’s history.

It is a chapter in Geoff’s life that he has never spoken about in depth – until now.

When life threw Geoff and his family a cruel twist, he showed the qualities of bravery, self-belief and determination, the very traits that had characterised his performances on the pitch.

Life with the Robins and Beyond is the ultimate tale of not giving up.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. February 2022. Hardback: 256 pages)

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NOT ALL TICKET: FROM WITHERNSEA HIGH TO BOOTHFERRY PARK HALT by Richard Lusmore

Set in the 1980s, Not All-Ticket: From Withernsea High to Boothferry Park Halt chronicles a dramatic period in the history of Hull City AFC through the eyes of a young fan from rural East Yorkshire.

From relegation and receivership to the ‘Robinson renaissance’, Lusmore experiences a rollercoaster of emotions, culminating in dismay at perhaps the most contentious managerial dismissal in the club’s history.

In the process, he charts a course through his coming of age, capturing how it feels to follow an unfashionable team in an often unloved city.

He flirts with rival sporting attractions, then tosses them aside in favour of the small-fry team in this tatty fish town.

The football-fuelled adrenalin rush is soon replicated in his first forays into the local music and club scene. Discovering the delights of Hull after dark, he soon realises that Saturday is about much more than just the match.

First-hand terrace tales and musical memories abound in this uplifting memoir.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. February 2022. Hardback: 464 pages)

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TRIVQUIZ WEST HAM UNITED: 1001 QUESTIONS by Steve McGarry

How much do you really know about West Ham United?

Put your Hammers knowledge to the test with this bumper book of brainteaser quizzes and fascinating facts, beautifully illustrated by one of the world’s leading sports artists.

It’s packed with trivia on all the West Ham greats – from World Cup heroes Moore, Hurst and Peters to Hammers legends Bonds, Brooking and beyond – providing hours of highly dippable fun and entertainment.

Which West Ham manager played in a rock band called Rawbau? Who was West Ham’s first non-British manager? A statue erected near the Boleyn Ground, honouring the Hammers’ 1966 World Cup heroes, also includes which Everton player? Fan favourite Clyde Best was born in which country?

Trivquiz West Ham United holds the answers to all these questions and hundreds more.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. February 2022. Paperback: 224 pages)

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THE YEAR WE (NEARLY) WON THE LEAGUE: STOKE CITY AND THE 1974/75 SEASON by Jonathan Baker

The Year We (Nearly) Won the League charts one of the closest ever top-flight title battles in English football.

It was 1974/75 and with just four games to go, no fewer than ten clubs had a chance of winning. One was Stoke City, fielding the best team they had ever had. This book follows Stoke as they rise to the top spot, only to fall at the final hurdle.

You’ll discover the unorthodox methods of Tony Waddington, a manager with an eye for talent and a flair for sensational signings. Some of them are legends of English football: Banks, Hurst, Hudson and Shilton.

This campaign was the final glorious hurrah of that team, before the club met near bankruptcy and relegation.

Half a century on, the players themselves recall a time when hearts – and legs – were broken, when the football flowed, and the drink did too.

Although the focus is on one club, this story of Stoke’s ‘nearly men’ will resonate with every fan whose team has promised much, but never quite scaled the summit.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. February 2022. Hardcover: 352 pages)

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THE O’LEARY YEARS: FOOTBALL’S GREATEST BOOM AND BUST by Rocco Dean

The O’Leary Years charts the rise and fall of Leeds United at the turn of the 21st century.

When David O’Leary took the managerial reins from taskmaster George Graham, he promoted a gifted crop of youngsters into the first team, transforming a well-oiled machine into a free-flowing bundle of joy.

This often-scorned club enjoyed popularity like never before, but things are never straightforward at Elland Road. Criminal charges against star players, the tragic murders of fans, a perpetual injury curse and a ‘spend, spend, spend’ attitude eventually brought the club to its knees – but not before it was one match from reaching its holy grail: a European Cup final rematch with Bayern Munich.

The journey lasted four seasons, each one a rollercoaster, and the story is told through the memories and match reports of the author, from a 14-year-old travelling the country with his dad, to an 18-year-old on the bus with his mates, with nostalgic tales of the good old days along the way.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. January 2022. Hardback: 256 pages)

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FIELDS OF DREAMS AND BROKEN FENCES: DELVING INTO THE MYSTERY WORLD OF NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL by Aaron Moore

Fields of Dreams and Broken Fences lifts the lid on the little-known world of non-league football.

From being hours away from folding in the Essex Senior League and turning semi-professional because of YouTube to dropping out of the Football League and trying to find a way back, this book shines a vital spotlight on clubs from various levels of the National League System and shares their stories.

The tales include the dramatic null-and-void decision of the 2019/20 season, Chichester City making history in the FA Cup, Leyton Orient and Notts County battling to get back into the Football League, Hashtag United turning semi-professional and Steve Castle, the former professional player, returning to the lower levels to pursue a career in management.

Filled with compelling stories from multiple sides of the game, Fields of Dreams and Broken Fences brings non-league football to life as it delves beneath the surface of the lower levels of the English game. This book is written for the love of football.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. February 2022. Paperback: 256 pages)

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