Book Review – “Gimme The Ball”: My Take On The Beautiful Game by Terry Curran with John Brindley

In October 2012, Terry Curran, released his autobiography Regrets of a Football Maverick in conjunction with journalist John Brindley, a warts and all account of life both on and off the field. Nine years later, post-COVID, Curran once again teamed up with Brindley for a second book, “Gimme The Ball”: My Take On The Beautiful Game.

Whereas Regrets of a Football Maverick followed a fairly conventional timeline, i.e. Curran’s childhood, growing up, football career, and life post-football,  his second offering takes a slightly different approach in that the various chapters are divided into three parts, My Football Favourites, My Football Career and Modern Day Football.

My Football Favourites is made up of four chapters. The first two look at Curran’s relationship with two of his former bosses, Jack Charlton and Brian Clough and his admiration for George Best. Whilst many of the anecdotes of these three football legends are repeated from Curran’s first book, what comes across more strongly is the respect, admiration and genuine love he still holds for Charlton and Clough despite the, at times, tempestuous relationship they shared. The remaining two chapters within part one, deal with the club that Curran supports and is probably best known for playing – Sheffield Wednesday. First, Curran reflects on how the 1966 FA Cup Final when The Owls blew a two-goal lead to Everton, saw him become a supporter of the club from Hillsborough. He follows this will his view of the heights of the Ron Atkinson and Trevor Francis eras and the lows since as Wednesday continue to bounce between the Championship and League One, without any prospect of a return to the Premier League in sight. What is evident is Curran’s affection for the club and its fans, and his overriding belief that The Owls should be in English football’s top-flight.

Part two of this book, My Football Career, constitutes the biggest section with seven chapters and as its title suggests follows Curran’s path in the game from his first professional club, Doncaster Rovers in 1973 to his final football league appearance for Chesterfield in 1987. Whilst Curran played for more than a dozen clubs, he is best known for his time at Sheffield Wednesday and to a lesser extent spells at Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Southampton and Everton, where at these last two clubs he picked up a Wembley appearance and League Cup runners-up medal and First Division Championship medal respectively. Once again some of the stories and details are repeated from Curran’s first book, but what emerges strongly from this section, are the regrets he has with some of the choices he made in his career and ‘what might have been’ if Curran hadn’t suffered injuries at certain crucial times. Part two also includes Curran’s brief time as a manager on the non-league circuit at Goole and Mossley and his subsequent coaching career. This final chapter within part two provides his forthright opinion of the way youngsters are coached, providing a neat link into the final part and chapter of the book, Modern Day Football.

Within this closing part of the book, Curran offers his views on topics including Gareth Southgate’s reign as England boss, football post-COVID, VAR, BLM, the Premier League, overseas players and coaches and Women’s football. As with his playing days, Curran takes no prisoners and displays the same confidence when offering his opinion on these areas of the game today. Not everyone will agree with his sentiments, but it should be said that Curran is not afraid to say his piece and is being true to himself.

 

(Publisher: Morgan Lawrence Publishing Services. September 2021. Paperback: 250 pages)

 

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Book Review – Regrets of a Football Maverick: The Terry Curran Autobiography by Terry Curran with John Brindley

Thanks to the internet, information about players from the past are available after a quick search. For instance Sheffield Wednesday fans of a certain vintage looking for Terry Curran (voted The Owls all-time Cult Hero in a poll run by the BBC), on Wikipedia will find his entry tells us that his professional playing career lasted from 1973 through to 1986, taking in sixteen clubs (including loans) here in England, as well as brief sojourns in Sweden and Greece. Whilst this is useful to an extent in a factual sense, these figures do nothing to provide a detailed picture of the man and his career, and instead raises questions such as why Curran played for so many Clubs, how did he come to play for both Sheffield teams, and what was his relationship with some of the big management names at the time, such as Brian Clough, Jack Charlton, Tommy Docherty and Howard Kendall.

These questions and more are answered in Curran’s 2012 autobiography, Regrets of a Football Maverick. The title itself is telling, with the immediate suggestion to readers that this look back on his career and life has made Curran reflect and so question some of the things he did, given that during his playing career he was a forthright and confident individual, not afraid to say his piece.

One thing to say straight away is that this is a tale from the 1970s and 80s when football and indeed society was very different to that today and as the dustjacket warns (slightly tongue-in-cheek), “Terry Curran’s story may offend the politically correct!”.

In terms of the content of the book, it follows a fairly traditional timeline, with the opening chapter dedicated to Curran’s childhood growing up in Kinsley, a village in West Yorkshire, about eight miles southeast of Wakefield. Immediately within this opening to the book, readers are provided with an insight into an event that was to impact Curran significantly. When he was just eight years old, his parents split with his mother leaving the family home. As Curran writes in the book, “emotionally I was never the same kid…Dad was heart-broken and that had a big influence on me.” This resulted in him stating that, he was “never going to allow any female to get close enough to cause me the same upset. That lack of trust stayed with me for a lot of my adult life” and goes some way to explaining why he was a self-confessed womaniser during his playing career.

The opening chapter also details how Curran came to support Sheffield Wednesday, after being hooked despite The Owls giving up a two-goal lead against Everton in the 1966 FA Cup Final. Readers also get to read about Curran’s youth career playing representative football for the South Kirby Boys District team and for Kinsley Boys which led to offers from league clubs Halifax Town and Doncaster Rovers. Curran opted for Donny given its close proximity to home and his talent was rewarded when manager Maurice Setters offered him a professional contract.

Curran made his debut for Rovers on Saturday 29 September 1973 away at Gillingham, with Doncaster losing 5-1, with a highlight during that season, playing against Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round replay (the Merseysiders went on to lift the trophy). He was making a name for himself in more ways than one, with the Club mistakenly detailing Curran to the press as ‘Terry’ despite him being christened ‘Edward.’ Clubs were expressing interest in the promising young winger with then First Division clubs, Leeds United, Everton and Sheffield United all apparently keen to sign him. However, it was to be beside the River Trent that Curran opted for and a move to Nottingham Forest and manager Brian Clough in August 1975, then languishing in the Second Division. At the time Curran, saw it as, “a chance to play for one of the game’s greatest managers.”

Programme: Fulham v Nottingham Forest 1976/77

Curran devotes a whole chapter to his time at Forest, with his admiration for Clough and his unique style of management evident. Take Curran’s introduction to the rest of the Reds squad, with Clough telling Martin O’Neill, “I’d like to introduce you to the young man who will be taking your place on Saturday.” Curran’s second season at Forest was the 1976/77 campaign, which opened with a fixture at Craven Cottage to play Fulham. The game ended 2-2 with Curran scoring what he considers to be his best ever goal – “picking the ball up on the halfway line, I beat four defenders before lobbing the ball high into the net high beyond goalkeeper Richard Teale.” George Best (who was a football hero for Curran) was in the crowd that day having signed for the SW6 Club and said, “I was really impressed. He (Curran) is a very good player.” That season was to see Forest gain promotion to the top flight, but Curran was to miss a significant part of it with a cruciate ligament injury suffered in October 1976. Having worked his way back into the side in March, the relationship at Forest began to break down with Curran dropped from the team in the run-in and little playing time at the start of the 1977/78 season as the Club took the First Division by storm to finish the campaign as Champions. By the time the title was being lifted at the City Ground, Curran was at Derby County under the watch of Tommy Docherty.

As Forest went onto be European Champions twice and win numerous other domestic trophies under Clough and Taylor it was a case of what have been for Curran. If he had got his head down and waited and remained injury-free, who is to say he might have got a regular place in the side. As Curran reflects, “If only I could have put an older head on my young shoulders. I turned my back on one of the most successful sides of that generation – any generation.”

Curran’s stay at the Baseball Ground was a brief one with 26 appearances and two goals for The Rams and acknowledged, “I didn’t play as consistently well as I know I could have.” Curran’s main other observation from his time at Deby was that “I don’t think Tommy (Docherty) adjusted to the culture shock of…the real world at Derby after being a constant source of national attention at Old Trafford.” So as the 1978/79 campaign started, Curran swapped the East Midlands for Hampshire at Lawrie McMenemy’s Southampton in what was to prove another one season stay.

Programme 1978-79 League Cup Final

It was both a positive and negative experience. On the one-hand it saw Curran make his one and only appearance in a Final at Wembley, as the Saints lost to Forest 3-2, and strike up a great friendship with 1966 World Cup winner, Alan Ball, but on the other, witnessed a difficult relationship with the Southampton boss. Curran’s criticism was centred on McMenemy’s inability to motivate the dressing room and over-reliance on the senior players within the squad which was detrimental to the younger Saint talent. It was also at Southampton that Curran first encountered cortisone injections to deal with pain in his right leg. Like many other players at the time, they were in common use, and it was only years later that the consequences for ex-players has come to light with the overuse of the treatment.

Curran’s beginning of the end at The Dell comes about in strange circumstances. With Southampton having just beaten Leeds United in the League Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg, and whilst out celebrating, Curran is ‘approached’ by Jack Charlton who was then manager of Sheffield Wednesday to drop down two divisions to play at Hillsborough. Despite McMenemy’s plans to make some money out of a deal to send Curran to play football in the United States, in March 1979 The Owls signed Curran.

Programme: The Boxing Day Massacre 1979/80

Given that the blue and white of Wednesday had run through Curran’s veins since he was a young boy perhaps it is no shock that his time in S6 was the happiest of his career. During his stint at the Club he helped them to promotion from the Third Division in the 1979/80 campaign, finishing with 24 league goals and claiming the Divisional Golden Boot Award. One game stands out from that season, a performance that went a long way to giving Curran his Cult-hero status at Hillsborough – the ‘Boxing Day Massacre’ as he destroyed Sheffield United 4-0 in front of a third-tier record gate of 49,309. In the following season Wednesday looked good going into the final part of the campaign for a real tilt at promotion to the top flight, but fell away, with Curran critical of Jack Charlton’s lack of spending in the transfer market. Their relationship continued to be fractious with an infamous scrap between them in the Club gym a sign of the different ways the men view how the game should be played. It came to a head when Curran’s three year deal at Wednesday ended, with the management refusing to meet the new contract demands. Out of the blue, Wednesday’s cross-city rivals Sheffield United came in for Curran, who admits that for the first time in his career he moved for the money.

It proved to be a short and pretty unhappy stay at Bramall Lane, with Curran unimpressed by the coaching and training at the Club and both sets of fans in Sheffield less than enamoured with the maverick winger. Salvation came with a loan spell to First Division Everton during the 1982/83 season. This was made permanent in the following campaign, but once again Curran’s luck was out, picking up an injury in September 1983 that kept him out of the game until April 1984. Having worked his way back to fitness and playing in the FA Cup Semi-Final win over Southampton, the Twin Towers beckoned for Curran. However, three weeks before the Final, he suffered a hamstring injury and with it went any chance of an appearance in an FA Cup Final. Everton were becoming a force and in 1984/85 went onto to become First Division winners. Curran played enough games to earn a medal, but once again his emotional nature landed him in serious trouble and an exit from Goodison Park.

With injuries ahead of a European Cup Winners Cup Semi-Final First Leg in Munich, Curran believed his chances of starting the game were good but wanted this confirmed in training. Howard Kendall said he wouldn’t make a decision until shortly before kick-off, so Curran decided that he wasn’t prepared to go to the airport and travel with the squad. He was never selected in the starting line-up or on the bench again. As Curran reflects, “a crazy decision had once again sealed my exit from a great football club, and I was the obvious loser.” Left with no real option, Curran asked for a free transfer and for the 1985/86 season found himself back in Yorkshire at Huddersfield Town.

This move was effectively the beginning of the end of Curran’s career, with injuries taking a toll on his ability to play week-in, week-out. Despite that he managed seven goals in just over thirty appearances for The Terriers. Retirement though beckoned and over the next few years (1986 – 1989) Curran played for seven clubs (Panionios [Greece], Hull City, Sunderland, Grantham Town, Grimsby Town, Chesterfield and Goole Town) but only making a handful of appearances for each. Whilst at Goole he also managed the team, with fate once again proving unkind to Curran, as the financial position of the Club collapsed leading to the eventual demise of Goole Town. He then tried his hand with Mossley in 1992/93, but it proved to another difficult and brief spell in the dug-out with seven defeats in seven games and inevitably the sack.

At that point Curran walked away from football and went into business. Once again like his football career, he seems to have had more than his fair share of back luck, with a lucrative land sale becoming complicated and ending in a protracted legal case. Back in 2012 when the book was written, Curran was living a more settled life with partner Lynne and two sons, Tom and Jock and had done his coaching badges and was working at the Doncaster Rovers Centre Excellence.

For all the tales of on and off-field shenanigans, fall-outs, goals and girls, there is a serious side to this book. And Curran talks with honesty and openness about the mistakes he made in his playing career and in his personal life, and the implications of his series of injuries and his tempestuous and at times impetuous nature. The reality is that it takes courage and strength to admit when we are wrong and even more to put it into print and make it public.

Therefore the final word should go to Curran himself. “I was supposed to be the rebel who played as if tomorrow didn’t exist. The truth was…that I underachieved. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had I not suffered that terrible injury at Forest and if I’d stayed injury-free when I got my last big chance in the game at Everton. But mostly I got it wrong myself. I picked too many arguments, ruffled too many feathers and took too many wrong turnings.”

 

(Publisher: Vertical Editions. October 2012. Hardcover: 272 pages)

 

Buy the book here: Terry Curran – Regrets of a Football Maverick

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Book Review – Francis Benali: The Autobiography: Football Man to Iron Fran

It is a well-known fact that footballers’ careers are relatively short (unless you’re Rivaldo, Sheringham or Paolo Maldini, all of whom played for a remarkable 25 seasons – a whole quarter of a century). So when it comes to hanging up the boots, there is an inevitable and marked void to fill. Unsurprisingly, a number of players have struggled with the transition to post-football life, whilst others kick back and enjoy a well-earned rest. What they don’t do is to decide to take up endurance sport – that is, aside from Francis Benali. And there’s endurance sport and endurance sport. Not satisfied with a ‘simple’ marathon, the former Saints man took on three challenges of truly superhuman effort and all in the name of a good cause. His autobiography, aptly subtitled Football Man to Iron Fran, charts this incredible journey.

Whilst I was familiar with the name Francis Benali, I wasn’t at all familiar with his career or his story, but two things quickly become apparent in his autobiography: one, he’s Southampton through and through, and two, on the pitch he was a very different beast to off it. Moulded from a striker into a full-back renowned for his tenacity, Benali was more accustomed to a red card than a goal. An unyielding and uncompromising defender, he earnt himself something of a reputation, but his willingness to the tackle was simply his manifestation of his commitment to the cause and the Southampton badge. Although, admittedly, it didn’t always stay within the letter of the law.

Growing up within view of the Dell, his passion for his hometown club was something that was ingrained in him from childhood and translated into a work ethic and loyalty that saw him progress through the academy into the first team, turning his dream into a reality. In a modern era when players tend to be snapped up from all over by clubs and hometown talents are increasingly few and far between, Benali’s genuine allegiance and love for his team is sadly ever more rare. Even as the Premier League behemoth raised its head, Benali’s priority remained loyalty over money, staying at Saints, despite losing his place in his latter years, for almost twenty years, boy and man. This in itself is real Roy of the Rovers stuff, worthy of a footballing autobiography, but in fact, it’s his post-football life that is truly remarkable.

As with many pros before him, Benali attests to the difficulty of ending his playing days. It’s something that has been given more prominence in recent years after the struggles of some have been highlighted, but it’s still something that needs to be addressed. With limited opportunities in media, management and coaching, there is a real issue over what happens to the majority of footballers as they try to navigate a new life. Benali’s first steps were in coaching, but it didn’t fill the void, and it was only when he completed his first marathon that he began to contemplate a different path. A very different and a very long path. In fact, a path that was some 838 miles long – almost the length of the British Isles!

Having seen others complete epic endurance challenges for charity, Benali began to wonder just what his own physical boundaries were and came up with the idea of running to all 20 Premier League grounds, setting himself the target of raising £1 million for charity. Mission accomplished after three testing weeks, Benali wasn’t done there. It seemed his physical boundaries were barely in sight after only 838 miles. Naturally, a second challenge was conjured up, tougher and further than the last. This time, Benali set out to cover 1,415 miles – roughly the distance from London to Tripoli, if you fancy it – taking in the 44 Premier League and Championship grounds, this time on a combination of foot and bike. Whilst this pushed Benali yet further, miraculously his physical boundaries remained very much intact, and even more surprising he hadn’t reached his £1 million charity target. To my mind, the first challenge alone warranted the donations. Nevertheless, a third challenge was concocted, which would see Benali add a third discipline to his roster, to create the Iron Fran challenge. A mere 984 miles this time, but 16 of those were to be swum, 784 cycled and 183 run… in the space of a week. Physical boundaries would be well and truly breached this time round, but with genuinely superhuman efforts he got there. And whilst modern-day footballers may be deemed supreme athletes, few athletes of any kind could achieve what Benali did.

The end of a footballer’s career can often be a difficult and unsettling time, physically and mentally, and it is rare that they build significantly on their legacy. Their life on the pitch often proves to be the peak of their powers and their stature, and many former greats slide right out of people’s consciousness once the boots are hung up. But Francis Benali has done the opposite, making a modest name for himself before retiring from football and cementing it after.

Jade Craddock

 

(Publisher: Bloomsbury Sport. August 2021. Hardcover: 240 pages)

 

Buy the book here: Francis Benali

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“GIMME THE BALL”: MY TAKE ON THE BEAUTIFUL GAME by Terry Curran with John Brindley

From watching Sheffield Wednesday and England in the golden year of 1966 to football in the age of Covid 19, Owls idol Terry Curran shoots from the hip as he explores the good, bad and ugly sides of the ‘beautiful game’.

He introduces you to ‘greats’ George Best, Alan Ball and Brian Clough who inspired his own exciting and unpredictable career and reveals his explosive but close relationship with Jack Charlton.

From rock bottom Doncaster Rovers to First Division champions Everton, TC lit up the game with his blistering pace and appetite for the unexpected. Yet his heart was always with The Owls whose rise and fall he writes of as a fan as well as a never-to-be-forgotten player.

A footballer, who always did things his way, TC’s views on modern day football are also ‘out of the box’. He explains why coaching methods have left his club and country behind the times – and calls for radical change.

There’s humour and slapstick from one of football’s great characters who refuses to compromise the principles he learnt playing for Clough’s Forest. Warning: If you pick up this book you won’t want to put it down!

(Publisher: Morgan Lawrence Publishing Services. September 2021. Paperback: 250 pages)

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REGRETS OF A FOOTBALL MAVERICK: The Terry Curran Autobiography

Terry Curran’s confessional is a no holds barred tale of football guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of fans who remember the game’s golden age of Cloughie, Tommy Docherty, Lawrie McMenemy, Jack Charlton and Howard Kendall.

Sheffield Wednesday’s all-time cult hero opens his heart about football in the 1970s and 80s, with great off-field tales to make your hair curl. Brilliant and unpredictable on the pitch, argumentative and hot headed off it, Terry Curran thrilled and entertained, leaving great and unusual memories. Yet in Regrets of a Football Maverick he reveals how his contentious nature caused him to miss out on his destiny.

Highlights include learning from Cloughie, being a saint and a sinner with England World Cup hero Alan Ball, the Boxing Day Massacre and doing a Carlos Tevez at Everton. Terry’s story will transport you back to an era of great games, goals and girls – but not necessarily in that order.

WARNING: Terry Curran’s story may offend the politically correct!

(Publisher: Vertical Editions. October 2012. Hardback: 272 pages)

Read our review here: Regrets of a Football Maverick

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Book Review: Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer by Jamie Redknapp

In recent times, Jamie Redknapp has emerged as something of a TV personality, first as a football pundit and later as a captain on the sports comedy panel show A League of Their Own and its spin-off ‘travelogue’ shows, but rewind thirty years and you’re taken back to the start of a very different story that begins with a supremely talented and dedicated young footballer. Jamie Redknapp’s first autobiography takes readers back to that very beginning.

From his earliest days, Jamie Redknapp lives and breathes football, but his is not just your ordinary childhood experience of football. The son of footballer, and later manager, Harry Redknapp, Jamie’s earliest years are spent watching from the side-lines as his dad lines up for Seattle Sounders, Phoenix Fire and Bournemouth against Pele et al, chatting to his dad’s friend Bobby Moore and his uncle Frank Lampard senior, and having a kick-about in the back garden with George Best and later his cousin Frank Lampard. These experiences clearly helped and motivated a young Jamie, but it would be simplistic to think his success was a given. If that were the case, every child of a half-decent footballer would therefore be a pro, but that is far from the reality. Indeed, Jamie’s success actually is something of an anomaly and for those who wonder why more children of footballers themselves don’t become footballers, the book serves as a reminder that there’s more to success in the sport than lineage, genes and even talent. Indeed, Jamie impresses that whilst he may get some ability from his dad, his attitude is very much from his mum, and this combination is integral to his success.

So too, though, is his almost obsessive attitude towards the sport and the hours spent practising. Young Jamie is defined by a certain degree of obsessiveness and dedication that belies his years. He is a very particular and exacting child, and his discipline and focus are evident, and again there is a sense that whilst Jamie may have inherited some talent, it is his character, his drive, which determines his success. The advantage of his early years, of being immersed in football and growing up around the sport, seems to be borne out more in his understanding of the game and its tactics, as well as of team and changing-room culture, rather than the actual playing side. Talent and hard work complement that early context, but there’s always a sense of a combination of factors needed to succeed as a footballer, that genealogy alone won’t suffice. In fact, in some ways, being the son of a footballer seems to bring additional challenges – the expectations to live up to, the pressure of matching up to his dad, the inevitable comparisons, and the taunting by team-mates and opponents alike.

What is also intriguing to see in this account of the life of the son of a footballer is the way Harry treats him. There is never any parental pressure or harsh words, Harry leaves Jamie to it and follows his lead when it comes to Jamie’s career. The title of the autobiography couldn’t be more apt: Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer, for it is clear throughout that there are two loves of young Jamie’s life: football and family. And although family tends to play a part in most autobiographies to some degree, I’ve never had the sense of such a close, loving unit as the Redknapp’s. It’s not just a case of a mention here or there of his family, but a continuous thread throughout the memoir that is rooted in real, authentic respect, affection and love. And whilst Jamie admits to dabbling in the dark arts of football – the little tricks and incursions to thwart an opponent – the lasting impression is of a thoroughly decent human being and nice guy and of a similarly nice family – although some of Harry’s players may question that on the basis of Jamie’s reflections on his temper! There are some lovely words from Harry at the end of the book, about Jamie’s quality, his potential, but also the importance of being a good, honest person, and again this seems to perfectly sum up the qualities of not only Jamie, but the Redknapp’s – that football is important, but that values and family are more important.

The autobiography ends, somewhat unusually, when Jamie is eighteen, having just moved to Liverpool and scored his first goal, and one of my recurring issues with memoirs is that, in condensing a life story into a single book, they can often feel rushed and compressed, so the decision to focus almost microscopically on just Jamie’s formative years is a welcome one, I felt. It gives greater depth and richness to the life story and allows space for this period to be delved into in full. Yet it never drags or feels slowed down by this abbreviated timeframe. Indeed, there is so much to tell that the book easily justifies this approach and only serves to show how other autobiographies perhaps skimp on content and detail by sticking to the full life-story approach. Admittedly, Jamie’s childhood has perhaps more than its fair share of anecdotes and adventures, but it just goes to show that there is so much more to tell in a person’s history. And whilst it may be a good marketing ploy, to get readers to buy more than one book, as presumably there will be a follow-up (or two), I don’t begrudge that at all because the book feels so much richer and more detailed. The only thing I do begrudge if there are subsequent books is the inevitable wait for the next one!

Despite my positive inclination towards the structure of the book, I must admit that I was not wholly convinced by, or satisfied with, the voice of the memoir. For some reason, I didn’t really get a sense of Jamie Redknapp’s voice. Perhaps because he’s so present on TV, it feels as if you know him and his voice and the narrative voice in the autobiography just didn’t seem individual or personalised enough, but it may be a perfectly true reflection; it just didn’t quite hit the right note for me. However, I loved the inclusion of sections from other people from Jamie’s story – not only dad Harry, mum Sandra and brother Mark, but early team-mates, managers and coaches, which really added to the book, and is certainly something other autobiographies could borrow.

Jamie Redknapp’s career may have branched off in recent years and his footballing journey may have been reduced to a story of injuries and what-ifs, but this book is a reminder of Jamie’s talent, his footballing pedigree and his early promise, motivation and success. It is a journey through a young footballer’s life and his desire to make his own mark, but it is also a portrait of a loving family.

Jade Craddock

 

(Publisher: Headline. October 2020. Hardcover: 336 pages)

 

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2021/22 Premier League books (Part 3) – Saints to Wolves by Jade Craddock

With the new Premier League season just around the corner and a host of familiar and new players gracing the league, there’s plenty of stories to be written, metaphorically and literally. Here, we take a look at each club and pick an already published autobiography from a player of the Premier League era that’s worth a read and one from the current crop that would appeal.

Southampton

Past: Southampton go into 2021/22 in their tenth straight campaign in the Premier League. When the league kicked off in 1992, the Saints enjoyed twelve seasons at the top, but their thirteenth proved unlucky as they were relegated in 20th place in 2005. Worse was yet to come as four seasons in the Championship ended in relegation to League One in 2009. But it was only a brief stay with Nigel Adkins steering the Saints back to the Championship in two seasons, with the help of Rickie Lambert’s goals, before a second consecutive promotion from the Championship back to the Premier League in 2011/12. As far as past players go, the Saints boast the likes of Gareth Bale, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk, but there’s only really one man who’s synonymous with the South Coast side – Matt Le Tissier. Le Tissier spent all of his career at Southampton, having joined the youth set-up in 1985, eventually bidding St Mary’s farewell seventeen years later. He holds the accolade of the first midfielder to score 100 Premier League goals and was included in the 1994/95 PFA Team of the Year. His wittily titled Taking Le Tiss was published in 2009.

Present: The departure of Danny Ings to Villa this summer may have caught many out, and the Saints will be keen to hold on to their other star men as they head into the season, none more so than James Ward-Prowse, who, like Le Tissier, is currently a one-club man, racking up a decade in the senior team and almost twenty years at the club in total. He would make a very good case for a Southampton autobiography. Young guns like Kyle Walker Peters and Nathan Tella are ones to watch, while Che Adams has begun to make his mark. However, with his return to his boyhood club, initially on loan in 2020, before making the deal permanent, Theo Walcott’s journey would make for an interesting read. Although an autobiography was published in 2011, Theo: Growing Up Fast, the following decade has been as eventful as his early years and at thirty-two he’s well placed to look back on a career that started in earnest at just sixteen. Indeed, sixteen years in the Premier League is certainly something to write home about.

Tottenham Hotspur

Past: One of the Premier League mainstays, Tottenham’s lowest finish in the top flight came in 1993/94 when they ended up in fifteenth. The nineties and early 2000s saw them finish in and around mid-table, but by 2006 they had become regular top-half finishers and participants in Europe. Major trophies have largely eluded the North London side, with just the League Cup in 2008 to their name in recent times, although a Champions League final was on the cards in 2019, but they came unstuck in an all-English tie against Liverpool. New manager Nuno Espirito Santo, brought in this summer, has begun to ring the changes, but the football world’s eyes will be singularly on the future of Harry Kane. And he’s not the only iconic marksman that Spurs have had in the Premier League era, but, interestingly, neither Robbie Keane nor Jermain Defoe, to name but two, have published autobiographies yet, but with Defoe still banging in the goals for Rangers, there’s plenty of time for that. Similarly, perhaps Tottenham’s biggest ever superstar, or certainly their biggest ever money-earner, Gareth Bale hasn’t yet put pen to paper on his momentous career, but between Wales and Real Madrid, there’s still presumably lots to be written. In terms of those with autobiographies already published, both Luka Modric and Ledley King options are available, but there are few better reads out there across the entirety of the football book world than Peter Crouch’s How To Be A Footballer and I, Robot, both of which benefit from Crouch’s trademark humour. Better yet, a third book looks slated for release next year.

Present: As England captain and current Premier League Golden Boot holder, it is hard to look beyond Harry Kane for a future autobiography regardless of what the next couple of weeks bring. But as the transfer saga rumbles on, let’s turn our attention to other Spurs players. Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris have been Tottenham mainstays for seven and nine years respectively. Dier’s start offered a somewhat different route to a lot of England players, having begun his journey in Portugal with Sporting CP, before moving to England with Tottenham. Lloris, meanwhile, began in his native France with Nice and latterly Lyon but has spent the bulk of his career in the Premier League. As captain of France, he led Les Bleus to both the final at Euro 2016, eventually finishing runners-up, before going one better two years later at the World Cup in Russia, where France triumphed over Croatia. Whilst Dele Alli has found himself on the fringes in recent times, at still only 25, there is plenty more to come from the MK Dons youngster. A mercurial talent Alli was soon spotted at the League One side and was named PFA Young Player of the Year in his first two consecutive seasons in the Premier League. He has played at both a Euros and World Cup, racking up almost 40 caps, but missed out on this summer’s entertainment. But when it comes to the final pick, it has to be Son Heung-Min who has taken the Premier League by storm since his arrival in 2015, growing into one of the league’s top performers, winning the Premier League Player of the Month three times, Goal of the Month three times, Goal of the Season once and the Puskas Award in 2020. He has notched various awards as Asian International Player of the Year and Korean Player of the Year.

Watford

Past: In its 29 seasons, Watford have featured in the Premier League for seven campaigns. In 1992, they were playing in Division 1 and fell to Division 2 in 1996, before consecutive promotions in 1998 and 1999 saw them join the top flight for the first time. However, it was the briefest of stays with the Hornets immediately dropping back down. Several seasons in Division 1/Championship followed, before a return to the Premier League in 2006. But history was to repeat itself with the London outfit managing just the single campaign. Eight years in the Championship followed before Watford once again made it to the top, and this time their stay extended across five seasons before their relegation in 2020. However, the Hornets bounced back at the first time of asking, finishing second last season to begin anew in the Premier League this time out. Like many teams outside of the so-called big six, Watford players haven’t typically been the subject of autobiographies. However, one man central to Watford’s past has penned his life In His Own Words – the late Graham Taylor. Manager of the Hornets for ten years, he led Watford from the Fourth Division to the First in five years and three years later was England manager. He returned to Watford for a second spell in charge from 1996 to 2001.

Present: There is a case for saying that two of Watford’s best players are part of the current squad and both would be suitable picks for an autobiography. In fact, Cassell have beaten me to the punch, by landing Troy Deeney’s memoir, Redemption, which will be published next month and will chart his footballing career from Chelmsley Town, whilst training as a bricklayer, to becoming captain of a Premier League side and leading the line for Watford for over a decade. The second man to rival Deeney’s charge is Watford’s current number 1. Ben Foster had two loan seasons at Watford, picking up Player of the Season in 2006/2007, before moving there on a permanent basis in 2018. His has been a meandering journey that saw him start out in Southern League Division One West for Racing Club Warwick whilst also training as a chef. Turning professional in 2001, he made the move to Stoke and saw time on loan at Bristol City, Tiverton Town, Stafford Rangers, Kidderminster Harriers and Wrexham. In 2005 came the biggest move of his career as he was signed by Manchester United, but appearances were hard to come by in his five years at Old Trafford, two seasons of which were spent on loan at Watford. Interim moves to Birmingham City and West Brom followed, but Foster has taken to life as Watford’s number one.

West Ham United

Past: Despite starting the Premier League era outside of the top flight, West Ham soon rectified that with automatic promotion at the end of that first campaign in 1993. Ten years of top-flight football followed, which included a season in Europe. The Hammers have twice been relegated in subsequent years, first in 2003 and again in 2012, but their time out of the Premier League has been minimal, with them bouncing back quickly on both occasions. The new season is their tenth consecutive in the Premier League since their return to the top in 2012, with a sixth-placed finish last time out signalling a marked improvement on previous seasons. When it comes to former players, West Ham have boasted some big names, including Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick who have all gone on to pen autobiographies, whilst other Hammers graduates are still absent from the bookshelves. Whilst Tony Cottee’s affiliation with the club spans almost a decade, he spent just two years with the Hammers in the Premier League era and released his autobiography, centred on the club, in 2012. Paolo Di Canio may not have been at West Ham as long as Cottee but his legacy continues. Few can forget his goal against Wimbledon that is one of the iconic moments in the league’s history and earnt Di Canio BBC Goal of the Season and Hammer of the Year. Although he never represented Italy at senior level, Di Canio’s career saw him represent some of the biggest names in Serie A, where he won the league and UEFA cup. The Inside Story told in Paolo Di Canio: The Autobiography was published in 2001.

Present: It would be relatively easy to make a case for a number of current West Ham players: Lukasz Fabianski who started off at Lech Poznan before breaking into the Premier League at Arsenal; Craig Dawson whose circuitous journey to the top started off at Radcliffe Borough; New Zealand captain Winston Reid who represented his nation at this summer’s Olympics; Michail Antonio who has been the Hammers top scorer in the last two seasons (joint with Tomas Soucek in 2020/21); and despite being 21, who can rule out Declan Rice, who as well as pushing himself into the England spotlight in recent seasons also has the habit of becoming a meme. But there’s no denying that really there’s only one name when it comes down to it: Mark Noble – nicknamed Mr West Ham. Indeed, despite brief loans at Hull and Ipswich Town and an early blooding at Arsenal, Noble has been a part of the furniture at West Ham since 2000 – over twenty years. With players barely seeing out contracts these days, Noble has put in enough service for the Hammers for two testimonials, but prior to the coming season he announced that 2020/21 would be his last at West Ham, having racked up over 400 appearances. It remains to be seen what Noble will do after he’s hung up his boots, but publishers may just want to get a phone call in early.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Past: Wolvers were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 and have had some memorable moments in the sun in their 140-plus history. When the Premier League kicked off, however, Wolves weren’t at the top any longer and spent the first eleven seasons in Division 1. A brief foray into the top flight came in 2003/04, but it was back to the Championship for another five seasons before Wolves got their second shot at the big time. Their stay lasted three seasons, but subsequent relegations saw them drop down to the third tier in 2013. The Midlands men bounced back straight away and with new ownership and management in charge made a concerted push for the Premier League, which paid dividends in 2018. Wolves’ return to the top flight saw them secure Europa League football at the first time of asking and now new manager Bruno Lage will be looking to bring the European nights back to Molineux. When it comes to Wolves’ greats in the Premier League era, despite never having experienced the top flight himself, Steve Bull remains a legend for a generation of supporters and his book My Memories of Wolves was released in 2003. Top pick, however, goes to Carl Ikeme, whose book Why Not Me was published in 2019 and charts the former goalkeeper’s biggest battle, off the pitch, with leukaemia.

Present: Since stepping up to the Premier League in 2019, Wolves have caught many an eye, thanks to an impressive roster of players. Ruben Neves, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez are amongst the star men at Molineux, but stalwarts like Romain Saiss and Willy Boly have been an integral part of their journey into the Premier League. Whilst talented youngsters Pedro Neto and Rayan Ait-Nouri are ones for the future, few players come more experienced than Wolves’ midfield maestro Joao Moutinho, who boasts several league titles in Portugal and one in France, the UEFA Cup and European Championship. But when it comes to wresting a publishing opportunity away from Moutinho, Conor Coady is the man. The former Liverpool youngster may have felt his opportunity for the top flight had slipped away when he was released by the Reds in 2014, but he’s taken his chance at Wolves with both hands. A natural captain and reconfigured as a central defender, Coady is very much at place in the top flight, and equally in the England set-up. Despite missing out on minutes at this summer’s Euros, the former England U20 captain is clearly an asset to any team and his post-match conferences and appearances on Monday Night Football also highlight his ease and warmth. A publisher’s dream, I imagine.

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Book Review: Blinding Floodlights by Peter Miles

In 2016 Mike Floate released Football Grounds Frenzy Floodlights, and five years later once again via the Newlands Printing Services stable, another title has been released focusing on floodlights, this time from the camera of Peter Miles, with the double-meaning title of Blinding Floodlights.

This book has the look and feel of Floate’s original title, with a repeat of the design, A5 size and art catalogue feel. Miles’ edition is larger than, Football Grounds Frenzy Floodlights, at 116 pages, with over 200 images from 150 clubs and stadia from across 34 countries. This look at lights from further afield, gives the feeling that this is the Continental cousin, to Floate’s essentially UK based book.

As with Football Grounds Frenzy Floodlights, the text is limited to a brief introduction, which despite its brevity is informative as Miles’ point out some early milestones in the history of floodlights such as Southampton becoming the first English professional club in 1950 to have permanent floodlights installed at their old ground, The Dell. Interestingly, The Saints capped a unique double in lighting terms when before the 2014/15 campaign, St Mary’s (Southampton’s current stadium) became the first stadium in Europe with full LED floodlighting.

This volume as with Football Grounds Frenzy Floodlights contributes to recording architectural, industrial, social and visual history. However, where this book varies to an extent to Floate’s, is that the images provide a visual narrative, indeed a journey, as the grounds and lights are seen as the day progresses, with bright blue skies giving way through sun-set, and dusk to nightfall.

There are so many startling images, and any reader/viewer will have their own favourites and indeed see different things each time they open the pages of this book and revisit the wonderful colourful pictures. A couple which stand out for involve statues which are juxtaposed with the stadiums and lights they are situated near, at AFC Tubize, a Belgian amateur club and the Osterbro Stadium in Denmark which hosts both football and athletics.

Another one to mention, is that due to my allegiance with Fulham. In Football Grounds Frenzy Floodlights, Floate’s images of Craven Cottage still had the glorious old pylons, whilst here in Blinding Floodlights the famous Cottage looks a little less impressive with the favoured modern tubular structures for lighting. Progress, I know, but certainly visually less appealing.

It would be easy to wax lyrically about each and every picture, but instead can only say, get your self a copy and feast on the visual treats on offer.

(Newlands Printing Services. May 2021. Paperback: 116 pages)

 

This books and a range of other football related titles can be bought through Mike Floate’s website: www.footballgroundsfrenzy2.com as well as eBay and Amazon.

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Book Review: It Shouldn’t Happen to a Manager – How to survive the world’s hardest job by Harry Redknapp

Since his stint in the Australian jungle on I’m a Celebrity last year, Harry Redknapp has fast become the nation’s favourite former football manager (unless, of course, you’re a Southampton fan – in which case however many critters Harry ate or dingo dollars he won, he’s probably still not on your Christmas card list). Whatever your thoughts on him, there’s no doubt that he’s certainly a character both on the touchline and off it, and if anyone has a story or two to tell from his footballing career, it’s Harry Redknapp.

Published in 2016, when he was better known as a football manager (still managing Jordan before going on to manage Birmingham City in 2017) rather than a ‘showbiz’ celebrity, It Shouldn’t Happen to a Manager (one of several books to have been published by Harry Redknapp and the most recent aside from his 2019 The World According to Harry) shares some of Harry’s stories from over five decades in football and his views on everything from agents to scouting to the modern obsession with sports science and stats. And, without doubt, there’s a sense in which Harry is one of the old guard of managers who belong to another era when footballers thought nothing of a post-match meal of fish and chips (and a pre-match pint or two), when managers could bawl players out without the threat of them storming off or calling in their agent, and when clubs couldn’t afford to put teams up in hotels for away matches let alone fly them by private jet.

Football has, inevitably, evolved and in lots of ways for the better, but Harry’s simple, common-sense attitude rings true on a number of fronts, not least in his insistence on the need to see a player live to judge them. Videos and stats can show you so much, but there’s nothing that compares to watching a player on a muddy pitch on a cold December day in England to see if they can hack it, as many fans will attest. Similarly, Harry’s concerns about the way that technology can get in the way of team spirit seems to be a simple but accurate truth. Whereas coach journeys, he says, used to be a great opportunity for players to bond, nowadays most players put their headphones on and don’t talk to anyone. He offers a perceptive point, too, about the amount of injuries in the modern game compared with earlier eras, despite the rise of sport science. Whilst he acknowledges the modern game is perhaps faster and more intense, he also points out the physicality of bygone eras, in which players kicked lumps out of each other on pitches that were more like dirt tracks than carpets.

Though in many ways Harry seems to be a product of a different time, in some ways he’s a timeless manager, not least in the emphasis he placed on player management and a holistic approach to understanding and managing individuals. Again, though, simplicity seems to be the key – as in the way he built his “tactics” on getting the ball to the best player! Although, I’m not entirely sure how successful this approach would be in motivating players who clearly know they’re not top dog – but it seemed to work at Bournemouth, Tottenham and Portsmouth. Harry also claims that the gap between divisions isn’t as wide as people think – whilst the quality may be noticeable between teams and leagues, there are individual players who are capable of playing higher up the football pyramid but have got stuck at a certain level. Similarly, Redknapp asserts there are players at top teams who struggle when dropping down the leagues. He seems to advocate the fact that there is a degree of luck, of being in the right place at the right time, on which footballers’ careers are made or broken. And, in much of what he says, Redknapp seems to hit the nail on the head.

In all, this is a really easy and enjoyable read from one of football’s last real characters. It sheds light on life as a football player and manager and the changing face of both. It also holds football’s past up against its present, highlighting the differences, both for better and for worse. At its crux, Redknapp maintains, football is a simple game, but the modern way seems to try and overcomplicate things and the old guard are at the risk of being left behind. But football’s loss has been entertainment’s gain in the form of Harry Redknapp, who comes across as an eminently likeable, straightforward and down-to-earth man – just the sort perhaps that seems to be missing in large part from football today.

Jade Craddock

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Book Review: My Life in Football – The Autobiography by Kevin Keegan

Depending on your age, Kevin Keegan is either a Liverpool legend, a Newcastle legend or that guy who called out Sir Alex Ferguson in a live interview that has become the stuff of legend. But whether you think you know Kevin Keegan or not, reading his autobiography will almost certainly make you think again. Not only does it reflect on the early years before his fame and his unconventional route to the top, but it also shows in a starkly frank way the situations Keegan found himself in behind the scenes, especially as a manager, and they make for very interesting reading. He opens up on the characters, clubs and stories behind some of the most iconic moments in his career. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t hold back when he feels there are injustices that need to be accounted for, but, admirably, he’s quick also to acknowledge his own failings. Indeed, if there is one thing that this autobiography is it is honest – often unflinchingly so.

Despite only having been out of management over the last ten years, Keegan’s portrait of the world of football offers a very different vision to the sport we know now, and, especially in respect of the early decades of his career, there is a very clear sense of how times have changed. For those who can’t remember Kevin Keegan’s playing days, the autobiography also serves to highlight his footballing ability – he was the third ever Englishman to win the prestigious Ballon D’or, after legendary figures Stanley Matthews and Bobby Charlton, and the only Englishman to have ever won it twice. In terms of his managerial career, the bulk of this is given to his two spells at Newcastle, including that difficult second period, but the autobiography also recalls his successes, not least securing promotion with Manchester City from the First Division to the Premier League, which in many ways became the springboard for their later successes.

Reading the autobiography gives a very clear picture of who Kevin Keegan is both as a man, a footballer and manager, and just like that infamous interview, it’s apparent he’s lost none of that forthrightness and tenacity.

Jade Craddock

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