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Books about football - suggestions please


Jerseybean

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Another vote for Left Foot Forward, Gary Nelson.

As much the story of his journey on the way down as well as up, and a fair City connection as it details him being stretchered off at AG after a ….  ahem….. ‘coming together’

I also enjoyed Full Time: The Tony Cascarino story.

 

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3 hours ago, Taz said:

Anybody read the Christian Roberts book, and is it worth a read? Have been tempted for a while but price fluctuates quite a bit.

I read it.Found it quite interesting to be honest. He doesn't really pull any punches about himself.

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7 hours ago, In the Net said:

Steaming In - Colin Ward - one of the early books about following football in the 1970's and 1980's.  It isn't one of those typical hooligan type books - "we ran everybody off our manor", blah, blah, blah.  An authentic account from somebody who was there at the time, not a main protaganist.  It's been years since I read it, but I felt that it painted a true picture of what it was like to be on the terraces. 

Including THAT snippet:

Trapped in the pub, I turned to Smudger. "Only chuck the glasses, keep the bottles for the close in work.."

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A Season With Verona by Tim Parks has already been mentioned and check out Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly where he follows Liechtenstein home and away through a complete World Cup qualifying campaign.

La Roja - A Journey Through Spanish Football by Jimmy Burns is also very good - the history of Spanish football and how it was intertwined with politics, the civil war etc.

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7 hours ago, In the Net said:

Steaming In - Colin Ward - one of the early books about following football in the 1970's and 1980's.  It isn't one of those typical hooligan type books - "we ran everybody off our manor", blah, blah, blah.  An authentic account from somebody who was there at the time, not a main protaganist.  It's been years since I read it, but I felt that it painted a true picture of what it was like to be on the terraces. 

Very good book and like you said not your typical bullshit 

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53 minutes ago, Slacker said:

I read it.Found it quite interesting to be honest. He doesn't really pull any punches about himself.

I've tried to order it twice on ebay. Quite interested in reading it.  First time it was cancelled, 2nd time it got dispatched (sounded promising) but the wrong book arrived. What I got was a different book called 'Knee Deep in Claret: Celebration of Wine and Scotland'.

Just not ment to be. I am tempted to try again though if it's any good.

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17 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I liked his ‘the bottom corner’, following non-league teams around.  Got a feeling he might live in Bishop Sutton.

Yes, I thought Nigel Tassell’s ‘The Bottom Corner’ was a good read, especially about grassroots football.  Since reading it I keep meaning to go and watch a match at Bishop Sutton FC, but haven’t yet managed it.

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3 minutes ago, The Dolman Pragmatist said:

Pretty harrowing at times.  Anyone who thinks Danny Wilson was a good manager should read it…

Thanks, may give it a read if I can find it cheap enough.

Wilson didn't really do a lot in hindsight, especially for the drinking culture around the club at the time. Think the only reason Peacock was left out of the team that time after sleeping in a ditch was because he was physically unable to play!!

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Usual shouts for "A Season with Verona", "Left Foot Forward" (we don't come out of it well!), "Brilliant Orange", I would add "tor!" by Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger, a history of German football, "Why England Lose" by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski...and "Steak...Diana Ross" by David McVey, a wonderful story about playing football back in the '70s (and really cheap on Kindle (Bookie McBook))

Would love to read the Roberts book. 

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The Damned United is excellent as noted above.

My Favourite Year is a decent read; it's a compilation of several fans relating their favourite seasons for their clubs (80s / 90s) and very well written inclduing by Nick Hornby and Roddy Doyle.  One piece is on City and titled "Thighs of an Elephant" referring to super Bob.  I no longer have the book or would credit the writer of that piece.  It's not just big clubs, Cowdenbeath was in there.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4263.My_Favorite_Year#

 

There's "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford if you want something a bit different.  A reporter dives into football hooliganism to try to understand it. Unlike the hooliganism books written by the participants there's no attempt to glorify any of it.

 

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I'd like to push anything by David Goldblatt, if you like analysis and insight into football and society. 'The Ball is round' is a wonderful doorstopper history of world football, as is his later 'The age of football'. For understanding how the Premier League became the cess pit of greed and corruption, 'The game of our lives' is great and there is also a good 'un about Brazilian football 'Futebol Nation'. He's a local too, although a bit of a gashead.

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3 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

One piece is on City and titled "Thighs of an Elephant" referring to super Bob.  I no longer have the book or would credit the writer of that piece.

Matt Nation - A big City fan and used to be quite a prolific writer for When Saturday Comes. No idea what he is doing now though.

edit - maybe not such a big City fan any more https://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/30-Clubs/4739-city-break

Edited by richwwtk
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1 hour ago, richwwtk said:

Matt Nation - A big City fan and used to be quite a prolific writer for When Saturday Comes. No idea what he is doing now though.

edit - maybe not such a big City fan any more https://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/30-Clubs/4739-city-break

I got as far as when he wrote he "couldn’t be arsed" and .... kept reading. This lad is truly one of us. He couldn't be arsed watching us anymore. Good lad!

Only thing that puzzled me was him seeing replica shirts everywhere as I have always thought that compared to other clubs' more enthusiastic fans when it comes to sporting our colours, we, generally, er, can't be arsed.

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6 hours ago, richwwtk said:

Matt Nation - A big City fan and used to be quite a prolific writer for When Saturday Comes. No idea what he is doing now though.

edit - maybe not such a big City fan any more https://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/30-Clubs/4739-city-break

I used to work with a big Gashead, Steve Nation, in the 1990's. I've got a nagging feeling this Matt Nation is his brother.

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11 hours ago, tandy said:

The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football's True Talent Spotters

Great book about talent scouts, and some really interesting stories, including some Bristol City ones

The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football's True Talent Spotters: Amazon.co.uk: Calvin, Michael: 9780099580263: Books
 

51rOR-awPAL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

I’m sure I once saw a book with the same title - The Nowhere Men: The Well Known Story of the Bristol Rovers Defence

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On 18/07/2022 at 13:10, In the Net said:

Steaming In - Colin Ward - one of the early books about following football in the 1970's and 1980's.  It isn't one of those typical hooligan type books - "we ran everybody off our manor", blah, blah, blah.  An authentic account from somebody who was there at the time, not a main protaganist.  It's been years since I read it, but I felt that it painted a true picture of what it was like to be on the terraces. 

Classic.  Scally was my favourite of that genre.

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Three others.

Suzy Wrack's best-selling A Woman's Game,

The hilarious tale of a Sunday League man in the middle Reffing Hell,

Underground, Overgroundthe story of the fan ownership movement and the challenge it poses to what football has become.   

 

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7 minutes ago, Jerseybean said:

Three others.

Suzy Wrack's best-selling A Woman's Game,

The hilarious tale of a Sunday League man in the middle Reffing Hell,

Underground, Overgroundthe story of the fan ownership movement and the challenge it poses to what football has become.   

 

Have you read Underground, Overground? Decent?

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