What has been the best football book and documentary ?
For me - Eammon Dunphy's 'Its only a game/' and the cutting edge documentary on Graham Taylor
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What has been the best football book and documentary ?
For me - Eammon Dunphy's 'Its only a game/' and the cutting edge documentary on Graham Taylor
Best football book(s) I've read are Roy Keane's autobiography and Simon Kuper's Football Against The Enemy.
Not sure off the top of my head about the documentary.
Just off the top my head Cascarinos book is quite good. He is a bit of a knob but a good book nonetheless. The book on Verona is great also, shows up the Italian game
brilliant orange is meant to be..........brilliant, gotta admit ive yet to read it though.
i read David Ickes 'its a tough game son' recently and surprsingly enough for a man who went as mad as he did, its not bad read. focuses largely on those in youth academies who dont go on to live the dream and play for a living.
Holland 'A Brilliant Orange', Germany with 'Tor' and Spain; 'Morbo' have all been blessed with excelent books. 'Football against the Enemy' by Simon Kuper is a brilliant look at football and politics around the world. For biographies, the previously mention 'Only a Game' by Dunphy is very good - how come he is such an eejit generally?- and I also like Niall Quinn's book. I try to stay away from hooly books as they tend to be badly written and have little conection with Football, 'Steaming In' bucks this trend (although he is partly responsible for starting it) and finally and predictably Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby has given rise to a sad generation of band wagon jumping middle class gits in Premiership grounds but thats hardly his fault for writting a superb book.
"Theres only one Red Army"-Eamonn Sweeney.
There was a decent Channel 4 documentary on the Chelsea youth team years back. Graham Rix was in charge, Jody Morris was the star player, I think Neil Clement was the only other one on the team to make it.
How They Stole the Game by David Yallop .
Makes you realize the corruption that swirls around FIFA and the likes.
Nearly turns you off football :(
Best football book I've read is 'The Miracle of Castel di Sangro'. A small town's season in Serie B. If Mario Puzo had been a sports writer then this is the sort of book he might have come up with. Cascarino's biography was surprisingly good. I loved reading the book despite ending up with the opinion that Cascarino himself was dislikeable. Best documentary? I don't remember enjoying any documentary as much as I did the Taylor '94 non-qualification one already mentioned above. Haven't seen it it ages though. I also remember enjoying the documentary following our own qualification for the same tournament.
One not mentioned above is Charlie Connolly's Stamping Grounds - a look at Liechtenstein's attempts to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. Interesting read!
Pat Nevins book about 10 years ago was quite good. Different to the usual offering from former players. Something like "On my head son" or along those lines.
- Jimmy Burns - Hand of God
- A season with Verona, Brilliant Orange both already mentioned.
fever pitch
miricle of castel di sangro
Ajax - the dutch, the war....
a season with verona.
One of the most entertaining books ive ever read was Frank Worthingtons autobiography ''One hump or two '' the title sums it up really . Think its still available .
Frank McAvenny's story was also a great read .
Got a DVD in London recently called ''Trouble on the terraces '' naratted by Sean Bean , rivitting stuff .
Another great doccumentry , if you can get your hands on it was a video i got in Denmark about 6 years ago called ''Dutch Gold '' It focuses on the great Dutch side of 1974 and 1978 . Might be on e bay .
Also , look out for ''Match of the Day '' 60's 70's 80's .
Donadoni, i have a copy of that Taylor doccumentry if your interested.
I can try put it onto a DVD for ya .
There was a cracking documentary made about Barcelona a few years when the current President Juan Laporte was in the process of ousting the old guard. Jimmy Burns book 'Barca' is good read as is his Maradona book previously mentioned.
Brilliant Orange is the best football book I've ever read though, covesr the entire Dutch mindset and their spectacular failures - hissy fits on the eve of big games etc. References art, architecture, politics and heaps more in a very readable and surprisingly relevant way.
The Kuper book and Morbo are on my 'to read' list
" Football Explains The World" By Franklin Foerr I think his name is, is great.
I also recently read " Behind The Curtain - Football in Eastern Europe" by Jonathan Wilson,another excellent read even if he ignored the ex-Czechoslovakia.
About to start Simon Kuper's "Football Against The Enemy" and looking forward to that!
Yea, I'm remember seeing that one. At one point in the documentary, the team were in the dressing room and Rix singled out Jody Morris for praise. He told the squad that Morris would definitely make it in the game. I distinctly remember him saying that Morris had such a good attitude and was so well behaved. How things have changed since then.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Hitman
As mentioned already, the Channel 4 documentary on Graham Taylor was outstanding. I also enjoyed a documentary made by the BBC on the Yugoslavia youth team of the 1980s. It was a team that included the likes of Boban, Savicevic, Mijatovic and Boksic, as well as a number of other players that went on to represent both Yugoslavia and Croatia. One can only imagine what that Yugoslav team may have gone onto achieve in Euro 92 and WC 94.
Best books I've read are those by Niall Quinn, Tony Cas and Johan Cryuff.
Barca's an interesting read, though it struck me as being very much from the point of view of a Barca fan, rather than an impartial piece of journalism.Quote:
Originally Posted by el punter
One of my favourite football books is Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff. It's fascinating to read Curijff's opinions on football. They're so clear - he gets across in a sentance more than you'll ever hear from most footballers. Some of it is so simple, but it really makes sense. Just as an example, he says that the real indication of a good footballer isn't what he can do when he's got lots of space, it's what he can do with none ["put 'em under pressure" and images of Bergkamp doing things with his first touch that most footballers can't in three come to mind]. He says that a good footballer needs just two things - first touch and passing. Everything else is finesse [think of how the Dutch at their best, or the Brazilians, or Barcelona play - they can all pass a team to death].
It's written by a couple of Dutch journalists. Cruyff wasn't too free with interviews. He would charge for them and rarely did them at all. He trusted the guys who wrote the book though, and they had more access to him than any other journalists. The material in the book comes from interviews with Cruijff over the years, and it makes for a fascinating reading.
I agree with this, but it's not difficult to be swept up in the whole Barca thing....their indifference to Spain, the membership owning the club, the GREAT players....it's all very romantic and satisfying.Quote:
Originally Posted by John83
That documentary if it is the same one shown on TG4 a couple of years ago was made by a Dutch film crew. And was excellent.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheJamaicanP.M.
I believe the Yugoslavs would have won Euro 92 with or without the Croatian players.
There's Only One Red Army is an excellent read - I recommend it to all LOI fans and even those not into the LOI. Currently reading Patsy McGowan's book which is a great read so far.
Might seek out this Fever Pitch - can anyone outline what it is mainly about (just fight experiences after matches etc.?).
Cant leave this without mention of the legend that was Brian Clough. 'In his own words' .You'll understand why he was called 'old big ead'. Had the great pleasure of a couple of games in the Brian Clough Stand at the City Ground and travelling the Brian Clough way to Derby. Neither city will forget the man.I grew up with the man piercing my subconscious and you just couldn't help but sit up and take notice. Couple of players at Forest to watch out for in the future, namely Nathan Tyson and Sammy Clingan, signed from Wycombe Wanderers and Wolves respectively.Both deserving of the shirt. We may hear of them in the future.
Brendan
Just started Pointless by Jeff Connor, about last season with East Stirlingshire. Interesting book so far - just gone past the club background and onto the pre-season.
,Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Good on yer for reminding me, PS, had forgotten that book - read a good bit about it in either the Guardian or Observer. Going to Amazon right now.:)
EDIT - have added "Baghdad FC" as well.
That's a good read or rather it feels like you hear the man talking the words.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harpsbear
There was an excellent b/w documentary on Clough's early Managerial days, transmitted on BBC4 just after he died. It included a few interviews with BBC reporters who still spoke with that phoney corny cricket accent.
Not sure if you're taking the pi$$ but its about a lifelong Arsenal fan, and his life supporting them up to the year they won the league versus Liverpool at Anfield. Written by Nick Hornby, Film based on the book also with Colin Firth(also an American version based on a Redsox fan!!!)Quote:
Originally Posted by monzo
Great read................
Aye Brian's early days were managing Hartlepool Utd (A club i've had weird dreams about on numerous occasions that meant I had no choice but to visit the ground). 'In his own words' is available on DVD from the Nottingham Forest club shop.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Brendan
Fever pitch by Nick Hornby as it pointed out the joy/despair and futility of a football fan investing large amounts of time,money and emotional energy of something we have no control over.Also he predicted very well the way football in England was heading even in 1993 with increased ticket prices,all seater stadiums and working class fans and kids priced out of going to games which has happened.
A season with Verona by Tim Parks and Football against the Enemy by Simon kuper are two others that stand out for me.
Simon Kuper was interviewed byArdal O'Hanlon as part of last nights 'Leagues Apart'. Is 'Football against the Enenemy' based on any particular club. Great names mentioned here. Would love some of these documentaries as part of my DVD collection. Any recommendations?Quote:
Originally Posted by trevy
Brendan
Fever pitch, at least there is some evidence of the existance of a literate arsenal fan with a sense of humor.
In Holland when the book was advertised it was one of the lengthy excerpts on Liam Brady that was used as a blurb.
http://www.envb.nl/boekbesprekingen_...itch_brady.htm
Nope. Covers clubs and football in general from many countries, including eastern europe, barca etc..... Its a look at all the factors that general football fan doesn't get to see, owners, mafia, governments influence etc.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Harpsbear
There's an extract in todays Times from a new book, "Forza Italia" by Paddy Agnew. For those who wouldn't know, Agnew is the Roma correspondent (not a sports journo) for the Times, and in my opinion one of the better journalists around. While hard to judge from a one page extract, there was enough in it to suggest it could be a good read. In the printed extract he compares football reporting from England and Italy.
"Football Against The Enemy" is about several rivlaries which have political overtones including Holland V Germany and Rangers V Celtic. I have started the book but have only read three chapters thus far.
I have also read " Managing My Life" by Alex Ferguson, the bits about playing in the Scottish League and managing East Fife, Alloa and Aberdeen are worth reading. Borrowed it from a former work colleague who is a ManUre fan.
Also read Clough's "Walking On Water" which is also a good read , both books were clearly compiled from taped interviews because you can almost hear their voices in your head as you read them.
A nice bit of information but it was hardly worth repeating.Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie
See posts 26 and 28.
geysir
The documentary and the book are not the same project cause the book was published before he died. I was given it while I was in hospital in early December 2002.
Paolo Di Canio's autobiography is a cracker. Colina's was weak I thought.
I enjoyed Keane's, Quinns and Cascarinos very much. Stuart Pearce's is all right in that it shows how level headed most pros in football are.
I'm currently reading one about Bert Trautmann, a Man City / German goalkeeper after the war. Superb stuff - he was a POW before taking the German hating English people's hearts. Broke his neck in an FA Cup final and played on :eek: .
Trautmann was a legend alright. I often wonder how an English player would have done in German football at about the same time... had one existed!Quote:
Originally Posted by Clifford
I was referring to the book, "walking on water" but mistakingly assumed it was called "in his words". We are in agreement.Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie
Good point, the abuse the guy took seemed to be way above and beyond the call of humanity. His testamonial had every player imaginable lining up to play for free, which at that time was unusual and showed how popular he became against all that adversity. He was treated like a dog by City, one doesn't have to look further than that book to see why they are always left behind.Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie