Football books

Hey all, wasn't sure where exactly to put this so created a new thread for it. Feel free to merge it somewhere if appropriate, mods!

So I've been reading a book called Hatters, Railwaymen and Knitters, by Daniel Gray. It's a travelogue through the fields of English football, written by a Boro fan and published in 2013.

Gray travels around a number of grounds reflecting on the history of both the club and the towns they are found in, and the first stop on his tour is Middlesbrough.

He visits the streets where Ayresome once sat before making his pilgrimage towards the Riverside for a game under Mowbray. It's full of smart observations and great little nuggets of history, and interesting questions - such as why Middlesbrough as a club has never really reached into the sizeable Asian community in the town to build up support and young players for the Academy.

Gray grumbles at the orchestrated celebrations imposed by Mark Page, celebrates three points, and then heads on to other destinations, such as Sheffield, Luton, Chester... assorted ports of call.

Well worth a read, I reckon, though I'm not sure his various observations along the way really come together towards any point. Nonetheless, thought provoking.

Which brings me to ask... what are everyone else's recommended football reads?

"We Ate All The Pies: How Football Swallowed Britain Whole" By John Nicholson is enjoyable.

Nicholson is from (I think) Stockton and so goes quite deeply into Teesside and the Boro as well as football as a whole.

I bought it for my dad, and, because Nicholson is only a few years younger than him, a lot of the local characters and events that were referenced brought back memories for him. I read it afterwards, and, although some of those throwbacks were a bit lost on me, the book itself was really very good.

It's a while since I read Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" but I remember enjoying it. If memory serves me well, it's a semi-autobiographical novel about his affairs with ***nal, Reading (pre-Madejski) and a woman or two.

"My Only Boro" by Will Nett is a good read, it's a book mainly about the town and surrounding areas with a running commentary about our club though so not sure it qualifies as a book about football. The author is only a few years older than me mind so some older fans might not agree with his historical accuracy.

For a hilarious book about football I recommend "The Geezer's Guide to Football" by Dougie Brimson - the same bloke who wrote the screenplay for Green Street. Written in the late nineties, it's a parody (well I see it as one) of the lad culture surrounding football and all the sexism and inappropriate behaviour that goes with it. Not to everyone's tastes (especially women, I would say) but very amusing and occasionally insightful.

I cannot recommend highly enough Zlatan's book - it's fantastic with some great quotes.

Walking on Water - Brian Clough is equally good.

Fever Pitch is also up there!

If you're interested in the tactical side of the game inverting the pyramid is a good read

I've read Mersons book which covers his time here and his transfer to Villa, you get a good idea of the drinking/ gambling culture under Robson and how he couldn't cope with, not sure of the 100% factuality but still a good read, Bernie Slavens book wasn't bad either

Triggs: An autobiography of Roy Keanes dog:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triggs-The-Autobiography-Roy-Keanes/dp/1409144992

I cannot recommend highly enough Zlatan's book - it's fantastic with some great quotes.

 

Walking on Water - Brian Clough is equally good.

 

Fever Pitch is also up there!

Similarly to Ibrahimovic's, Dennis Bergkamp's autobiography is a good read too.

Oh and to get a refs point of view then Jeff Winters' isn't bad either.

I could list loads as I read a lot of them but it depends what you're after really.  

I you haven't already read it then I recommend The Far Corner by Harry Pearson, it's a little old as it was written in he early 90's but it's a fantastic and funny book about football in the north east.  

Another older book I'd recommend is All Played Out by Pete Davies.  It was written in 1990 and was basically a guy who was able to follow England around in the build up to and the through the 1990 world cup.  It's more than a diary as it also goes into the state of English football at that time, which of course is regarded as a turning point for the game in this country.  This is a serious book rather than a humorous one though.

An even older book and regarded as a classic is The Glory Game written by Hunter Davies in the early 70's.  He got behind the scenes access with Spurs, which nobody had done before and the book is his account of the season.

For an even older book than even that then I'd recommend The Football Man by Arthur Hopcraft, which was written in the 1960's and is a general look at the game back then.  

I'll do some more in a minute if that's ok.

I have a list as long as my arm for this - I'll put my reccomendations up later on!

Parklife by Nick Varley is another good read.  It was written in the late 90's and looks over the changes to the game over the previous decade or so.  The substitle is 'Searching for the soul of football' which should give you an insight to what he's looking at.  The guy is a Leeds fan but he also wrote Wilf Mannions biography as well.

Left Foot Forward by Gary Nelson is a book I enjoyed.  He was a Charlton striker in the early to mid 90's. The book is written following his last or second last season with them when he's coming to the end of his career.  It gives you an insight into a footballer's life at that time, not a top player, just one that's had a solid career in the game.  It might not appeal if you've never heard of him but honestly it's good read as is his follow up, Left Foot in the Grave, which follows him after he'd left Charlton and was player co-manager at Torquay.  I think they show more of what football is really about than the books you'll read by the top players.

I can't remember who the author is but The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro was a good one.  It follows this little club in Italy who the author is able to follow and they happen to have this amazing season where they massively overachieve.  A Season with Verona by Tim Parks is a similar book following Hellas Verona.  They both give a good insight into Italian football and one or two hints at the possible corruption within it.

Foul by Andrew Jennings is a really good book about the goings on at FIFA.  

Provided You Don't Kiss Me: Twenty Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton.  He was the local paper reporter while Cloughie was Forest Manager and it's just full of stories about him and Forest at the time.  A great read.

Floodlit Dreams is a book by the journalist Ian Ridley that follows his efforts after he took over non league Weymouth.  It's a proper eye opener to football at that level and owning a club, even a relatively small one.

Clough and Revie: The Rivals Who Changed The Face OF English Football by Roger Hermiston is a decent read and also has stuff in about Boro.  The author's dad is from here and obviously so were Clough and Revie.  It follows their lives from being kids and then into their respective careers as players and then managers.  There's quite a bit about Boro in it as a place and also the club but it's worth reading just to learn more about two managers who dominated a classic era in the game, along with Bill Shankley.

Following on from that I'll suggest The Damned United although I'm sure most people have heard of this or read it already.  Another Leeds related book is The Unforgiven which looks over the Revie Era at Leeds.  As the title suggests they aren't necessarily the most popular side in history but they were a great side and the book does give you a good insight into it.  I enjoyed it.

Broken Dreams by Tom Bower looks at greed within the English game as the Premier League has brought more and more money to it.  It's a little dated now as it was another late 90's book I believe but it's an eye opener to some of the stuff that has gone on that most people will not know about.

I forgot to say that there's a DVD kind of based on the book I mentioned earlier, All Played Out, that is worth watching if you can get it. It's called One Night in Turin and has a lot archive footage of England at that time and the build up to and participation in the 1990 world cup. 

Brilliant Orange is a book about Dutch football that's worth a look.  There's a similar one about German football but I can't remember the title offhand.

There are tons of biographies and autobiographies as well.  Steve Claridge's was a good read believe it or not.  Gary Neville's was good. Bobby Robson's, Alex Ferguson's, I could name loads quite honestly and I enjoyed them all for different reasons.  I tend to not like the books about players playing now so much really. I don't think they say a great deal and tend to be a money making exercise in most cases albeit that Gary Neville's was very good as is Ibrahimovic that someone else has already mentioned.

Boro related books:

I really liked Doom To Boom charting our rise from almost going into Liquidation.

Charlton's Champions looks over Boro's record breaking 73-74 promotion side.

I liked Gentleman George about George Hardwick and Golden Boy about Wilf Mannion

Middlesbrough FC The Unseen History is a good one if you would like to learn more about our history.

Sorry about monopolising it but I have a library of these at home as I kind of collect them. I love The Game, not just the now of football but The Game as a whole so I love reading about things before my time etc.