How to Be a Footballer

Product Information

If you like Jamie Carragher’s punditry style then you will like his book as it’s written in the same kind of tone but it won’t be everybody’s cup of tea purely because of this football book’s age. No one really gets the hang of me,” Brian Clough once told its author. Duncan Hamilton got closer than anyone. Huw Davies Refreshing in its honesty, ‘Big Sam’, is a real earthy kind of book which is not pretentious in any way and gives readers a real insight into the trials and tribulations of a Premier League manager. A brutally honest book and one of the best football autobiographies you will read, Paul Merson’s ‘How Not to be a Footballer” book was released in 2012 to much critical acclaim.

There are problems. When Bellos wrote this, he was Brazil correspondent for The Guardian, and like many daily journalists he has trouble structuring a book. At times it descends into a parade of cameo football obsessives. Secondly, he is shorter on theory than on fact. This is something of a relief after the many half-baked football-as-national-character arguments, but since Bellos knows so much, and seems so comfortable with Brazil’s history, language and music (like all good football books, Futebol is about much more than football), we want more of his insights. However, it’s an irreplaceable book. Simon Kuper Savage’s second book, which was released in June 2016, gives the reader his thoughts on all aspects of the modern game with opinions on players, managers, cup competitions and even kids football.Although the overall tone of the book focuses on the negative side of the modern game, it is not a gloomy read at all and when you finish it you’ll be surprised at how much you enjoyed it. Balague has previously written football books on Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola and this book follows the same biographical format, charting Ronaldo’s early career at Sporting Lisbon, through to his time in England with Manchester United and becoming a ‘ galactico‘ at Real Madrid. One of the most renowned and influential managers in world football, Arsene Wenger’s autobiography charts his extraordinary career from his early managerial days in France and Japan to his 22 year tenure with Arsenal.

A goal-scoring machine in the 1980’s for Chelsea, Kerry Dixon’s book which was released in September 2016, is a fascinating look at the rise and subsequent fall of a Chelsea legend. But when, on November 10th 1999, Enke kissed his daughter goodbye and told his wife he was going training at Hannover 96, drove around in his car for several hours and then stepped in front of a train, Reng was forced to tell Enke's story without him. The only negative point of the book in our opinion is that he doesn’t talk as much about his 20 year playing career as maybe he should have, considering that he made over 400 first-team appearances. It helps that Fever Pitch is hilarious and beautifully written and that it offers a social history of Britain from the 1960s through to the early 1990s. Its only flaw is its formlessness: it’s a book to dip in rather than to read through. Simon KuperDixon’s book is a frank and honest account of football in a day where players weren’t paid multi-million pound salaries and the game itself was a far cry from the circus it has become today. An excellent read which includes a lot of humour amongst the doom and gloom, Kerry Dixon’s book is a great read not just for Chelsea fans but anyone who loves the beautiful game. He also tells his side of the story on many issues such as his dismissal from Spurs, the England manager’s job and his tax evasion court case. A player who always wore his heart on his sleeve, Higginbotham experienced the highs of promotion, lows of relegation and injury heartbreak during his career and he talks passionately about them all. Supporters can easily become obsessed by tactics and formations. Whether the “diamond” trumps the “ false nine” or whether 4-3-3 is just 4-5-1 with lazier forwards? And for those who (pre-Covid) lived for those never-ending pub arguments with no hope of resolution, this book is their bible. Although it stops short of explaining the theory of the ‘67th-minute’ goal. That’s explored in detail in There’s Only One Danny Garvey.

Of course, the big hitters such as Roy Keane’s book or Robbie Savage’s book are heavily publicised and rightly so as they are not only controversial but highly entertaining. A follow-up to his hugely successful first book , this second offering from Peter Crouch gives more insight into the life of a Premier League footballer. This book is not just about football, it’s also a story of how someone can wrestle with alcohol addiction whilst at the same time playing at the very top-level of the game. If, on the other hand, you want a book that doesn’t take football too seriously and you’re up for a laugh then this definitely doesn’t disappoint. A completely original book. Hornby didn’t start the new wave of football writing – Pete Davies did – but he was the first British writer to examine the apparently unremarkable experience of being a fan.Brutally honest, Vardy comes across as a humble type who has grasped the opportunities that eventually came his way with both hands. Co-written with Leicester Mercury feature writer Lee Marlow, Muzzy Izzet’s book is brutally honest and he comes across as a really humble guy who had to work extremely hard to get to the level he played at. This book can be compared to how Steven Gerrard led his footballing career, no-nonsense, straight-laced and relatively drama free – this is not one of those football books which lift the lid on scandal and secrets. Love him or hate him, you can’t seem to get away from Robbie Savage and his outspoken views on the beautiful game. A slight criticism of the book would be that he doesn’t ‘name or shame’ when it comes to some of the controversial moments he experienced but this goes to show the all-round professionalism of the Frenchman.