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As today (3rd March 2005) is World Book Day I thought i'd get a thread going on your favourite footie books.
For me two stand out as compelling reads -
Tony Adams - Addicted
David Winner - Briiliant Orange, the neurotic genius of dutch football
there's been plenty more that I've enjoyed but those two particulary.
for more info on world book day visit http://www.worldbookday.com/ireland/
Reading the second one at the moment, its excellent also -Quote:
Originally Posted by KarlosIRL
AJAX - THE DUTCH, THE WAR
Is also an excellent insight into the Dutch mentality.
niall quinn's autobiography and the gaffers by paul howard
are my 2 fav's.
the gaffers is about the irish team that went to the last world cup
Keane's autobiography was class, I have Quinn's one too which isn't bad but I felt he talked about Keane through half of it!
One of the best I've read is "Football against the enemy" by Simon Kuper. Fantastic insight into world football and some insight into the biggest club derby games too. :cool:
Yes. He also wrote the one I mentioned earlier - AJAX, THE DUTCH, THE WAR.Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
I thought that sounded familiar alright, will have to get round to reading it then.Quote:
Originally Posted by stojkovic
A Great read - Would thoroughly recommend it for anyone looking for something a bit different from a footie book.Quote:
Originally Posted by KarlosIRL
Cascarino's was decent enough for a biography
Celtic Minded is a decent read on what it means to be a Celtic supporter in Scotland. Lots of different contributions from professors, former players, fans etc..
roy keane and the football civil war - excellent and very funny read if you are the keane camp (one to avoid if your anti-roy)
I don't read too many football books any more, but I did love A Season with Verona by Tim Parks when I was wandering Italy last Summer. Very enjoyable someone else following a club facing relegation - an experience I am hoping that I won't be facing again :p
i've read a few good football books. a season with verona is very good. probably the best one i read.
barca a peoples passion is another good one.
football against the enemy. (learnt alot about dinamo kiev and african attitude to football.)
i bought miracle of castel del sangio??(spelling) but i havent read it yet.
While on this topic .... what goes eircom League related books have people read ??
Can't think of the name, but the author travelled to all the ibggest derbies in the world - Old Firm, Liverpool, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Istanbul - to see which really is the best derby. Cracking book.
One that most people would probably mention isQuote:
Originally Posted by A face
There's Only One Red Army - Eamonn Sweeney
Very unique to League of Ireland. Might be dated now but passage about Milltown "performance" can still make me laugh.
great thing about the book is that you dont really have to know anything about football , most irish males can relate to it.
absolutely excellent read.Quote:
Originally Posted by pete
Also good are Barca: A People's passion, and Morbo.
It's alright. Certainly well worth a read but drags on a bit and he kind of loses coherency in the points he is trying to make in general in a wider context. If I recall correctly his two major points were that politics and football are inexorably linked and that the style of play of a national team or clubs league reflects a nation's character on a deep level. He doesn't really tie these lines of argument together well. None the less it is not a worthless stab and the book has merit. It is also an interesting read as it was written in about 1992 shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall. It gives you a good feel of how football has changed and a bit about post Soviet pre EU life in the Eastern bloc.Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
i read a book like that. is it the one where the author and his mate go to prague to watch sparta and slavia prague. he missed the game by a day, only realised it when he saw pictures in the paper and ended up going to a less glamorous game between the bottom two teams.it was a crap game.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Couldn't finish that book - hated the author too much from about chapter 2.Quote:
Originally Posted by green army
Got "The Boss" last year, and have Fergie's Autobiography. Both excellent, and with the two you get a good rounded image off him.
Quinn's autobiography - well written (by Humpries obv), but still didn't warm to him.
Keane book is okay, bit short if you consider his career.
My personal favourite football book is "A Strange Kind Of Glory", Dunphy's biog of Sir Matt Busby. I'd recommend it to all but the most ABU-ist.
Would've put that at older, but maybe not. Wasn't overly impressed tbh - another clueless yank, imo obviously.Quote:
Originally Posted by Conor74
Enjoyed Football against the enemy by Simon Kuper,
Derby Days by Dougie And Eddie Brimson, Some of it is about hooliganism but some there alot about how rivalry affects, family, friends, people at work etc and theres some very funny stories.
Gazza's Autobiography is actually a great read, very funny although I always hated him.
Scoring, an experts view by FranK Mcavennie is another very good autobiography. Some great stories, Some terrible stuff written about him in some of the brit rag tabloids, which he puts right in the book, think I believe him considering the rubbish papers that made him out to be some big drug dealer.
Miracle of Castel Di Sangro, great stuff.
Havent read the one red army about Sligo Rovers but heard its great read, must get my hands on it