Book Description

Book Description

A collection of exciting stories on and off the field in the lives ofplayers including Desmond Armstrong, Scott Cook, Jon Payne, Brian Davidson, James Wellington, Philip Wolf, and Paul Zimmerman. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Brilliant!
As an Aston Villa fan the name Paul Mcgrath is legendary, and so is the book, this is truly a great book about a great football player, if you havent already read this, i suggest you do, because this is one of the best football biographies ever written.

against the odds story that deserves to be read
this is more than a football biography - the story is moving and deserves to be made into a movie - directors take note ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Should be titled a Ruud Gullit Love Fest
Fans of Gullit will no doubt find this book interesting. I was just disappointed in this purchase.

This is a book written by someone who appears to be very close to both Ruud Gullit and his representatives and gives, what I think is a very one sided account of what happened during Gullit's reign at Newcastle.Had I known that, I never would have bought this book.I didn't want to read another "biography" from Harry Harris of someone who came close to leading a great club down to the First Division. ... Read more

Book Description

I think that Frank Worthington summed my life up quite well when he said, "Stan has spent all of his money on gambling, booze and birds." I responded to that: "Well, at least I didn't waste it!"Once described as being able to open a can of beans with his left foot Stan Bowles was one of the greatest players of the golden age of English football, the 1970s. But like many of his contemporaries -- Frank Worthington, Alan Hudson, Rodney Marsh and Tony Currie (all of whom feature in his autobiography) -- he was probably as famous for his exploits in the bar or at the race track.The Original Stan the Man, published a decade ago, forms the template, or starting point, for this significantly expanded and updated volume. Packed with irreverent and entertaining anecdotes the book covers the ups and downs of Bowles' career, from his childhood in a prefab in Manchester, his early days at Man City, spent hanging around with the likes of George Best as well as the notorious Quality Street Gang, his heyday at QPR, and the unhappier times at Forest and Leyton Orient. A candid, and frequently hilarious tale of a life at the bar with the cream of 1970s British football, as well as an intimate portrait of the inside of numerous branches of William Hill, Stan Bowles, My Autobiography is an unflinching account of Stan's chronic addiction to gambling which led him to blow upwards of quarter of a million pounds. ... Read more

Book Description

A legendary goalscorer and Busby Babe, Dennis Viollet's career took in tragedy and triumph in equal measure. As a player he thrilled thousands as an outstanding teenage footballer with Manchester United's all-conquering Babes, developing an almost telepathic understanding with fellow striker Tommy Taylor.

Having survived the Munich air disaster, Viollet broke Manchester United's record for goals in a season - a mark he still holds despite the attempts of Law, Best, Charlton, Cantona, Hughes, Yorke and Cole. Along with Wilf McGuinness, Dennis campaigned for the abolition of the maximum wage which saw United's greatest ever goal-poacher on wages of £20 per week.

But by 1961 Dennis was mysteriously transferred from Old Trafford without a word from Matt Busby, the club or a good luck farewell from fans - United even denied the goalscoring legend a testimonial. Rather than dwell on his misfortune however, Dennis began a second career at Stoke City alongside Sir Stanley Matthews. There he helped the Potters win promotion back to Division One and, once he hung his boots up in 1967, received the testimonial he should have received in Manchester.

In the second half of his life Dennis became 'Coach Viollet', a respected member of the British coaching establishment in the United States. But in 1998 Dennis fell ill and died, after a painful illness, in his adopted home of Florida in March 1999.

In the course of a life long romance with football, Dennis played with or against most of the greats of the game: di Steffano, Puskas, Matthews, Best, Charlton and Pele.More than this though he was a gentleman footballer from a bygone age, a loveable rogue and charmer of both the opposite sex and opposing defences: Dennis didn't so much bludgeon the opposition as pick their pockets. In this respect he was ahead of his time, a Manchester lad with the brains, style and skills of a continental forward. ... Read more