Good City Player autobiographies

[isab23502]

I enjoyed:
"Lord of the Pies" by Gerry Creaney

 

[Eccles Blue]

Lakey's is the best one I have ever read and, although he wasn't actually a footballer but has a great love of Manchester City, Ian Cheeseman's "Best job in the world" is a great read.

Robbie Fowler's updated book, with the added chapters after he left us to go back to Liverpool, is also a good read, especially his thoughts on Houlier!

Andy Morrison's book is a good read and a definite eye opener. Plus, as others have stated Neil Young's 'Catch a falling star' is also extremely good.

But they all pale into almost insignificance against Lakey's, that book made me cry with sadness and then cry with laughter and the last lines are lines I will remember for a very, very long time.

 

[Vienna_70]

I've read:

Joe Mercer: Football with a Smile. Admittedly not an autobiography; it's by Gary James and is my favourite football book.

Feed the Goat.

Neil Young's Catch a Falling Star.

Mike Summerbee's autobiography.

Joe Corrigan's autobiography.

Tony Book's autobiography.

I've enjoyed them all, but as I said, Gary's book on Sir Joe is my favourite.

 

[Gary James]

I've read:

Joe Mercer: Football with a Smile. Admittedly not an autobiography; it's by Gary James and is my favourite football book.

Feed the Goat.

Neil Young's Catch a Falling Star.

Mike Summerbee's autobiography.

Joe Corrigan's autobiography.

Tony Book's autobiography.

I've enjoyed them all, but as I said, Gary's book on Sir Joe is my favourite.

Thanks for the comments about my book. It remains the one I enjoyed writing the most. It's the only biog I've had published (I have written 3/4 of a biog of Frank Swift to the same standard but no publisher wanted to publish it, so it'll probably never see the light of day). There are only a few people I would want to write a biog of, but I doubt the chance will ever come.

I updated the Joe Mercer biog a year or so ago and images appear at <a class="postlink" href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150108289822816.281347.289818652815&type=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 815&type=3</a>

Thanks again for the comments.

 

[Joliet Jake Blues]

"Stan Bowles - The Autobiography" is an excellent read, you know what to expect, booze, women, gambling oh, and football. He doesn't shy away from the fact that he should be remembered for his talent on the football field rather than off it (scored twice on his City debut when he was 17/18 years old) but he basically p!ssed it up the wall.

 

[kipper1234567]

mark ward's book, right wing to B wing, is a good read

 

[BTH]

Ken Barnes book, written by Jimmy Wagg
Just makes you realise how football was a completely different world back then.
Imagine Rooney and co having to take a break in football to do national service!

Loved the bit when he was Chief Scout at City and Swales came down to tell him he was spending too much on tea / sugar and milk when entertaining parents of kids he was trying to get to sign for City.
He sent Swales packing, asking how much does Swales spend on free drinks at the bar, entertaining people that will bring nothing to the club......

The back cover is a picture of Barnes swigging Champagne out of the FA Cup, with a cig in one hand!

Not read Paul Lake's book yet; it's still sitting there unread. I have read most of those mentioned in this thread and most of them are dire.

Books about Shaun Goater, Tony Book and Colin Bell are insipid, Mike Doyle's is a monument to self-pity and even my boyhood hero Dennis Tueart's book disappoints. We deserve better books than this about some of our best players.

But without a shadow of a doubt, this Ken Barnes book is the worst one I've ever read. I think the list price was about £16.99! Robbery! The facts that Ken didn't like coaches, smoked and swore a lot and held court at Maine Road run through the book like 'BLACKPOOL' through a stick of rock. The grammar and English are truly abysmal, and it must be the most badly written book since Free: Heavy Load which memorably, and unbelievably, began with the "Foreward." If you must read this book, I suggest stealing it.

It's even worse than Please May I Have My Football Back: My Life at Manchester City by Eric Alexander and that's saying something; that book garnered this realistic review on Amazon: "Plodding, dull and self-congratulatory are just some of the descriptions that would make this book seem more interesting than is actually the case. It is written in the style of a bad sixth-form essay ('What I did in the last six decades?') and reveals almost nothing of interest to this die-hard City fan. It only got one star because no stars was not an option. Dreadful."

Please Can I Have My Money Back should have been the title for this and quite a few more City-related books published in recent years.

 

[anelka39]

there is a book shop in Bury in the Millgate and they are selling books off cheap Mike Summerbee,Neil Young,Ken Barnes & Ian Cheessemans books are all £2.99 each or 2 for a fiver and they have Rodney Marsh for £4.99, i have got Goaters ,Summerbee, Young, Bell,Morrisons ,Lake & Joe Mercers think they are all great reads Lakeys probably is the best probably as he is from my era and the physical & emotional torment the bloke went through

 

[Gary James]

there is a book shop in Bury in the Millgate and they are selling books off cheap Mike Summerbee,Neil Young,Ken Barnes & Ian Cheessemans books are all £2.99 each or 2 for a fiver and they have Rodney Marsh for £4.99, i have got Goaters ,Summerbee, Young, Bell,Morrisons ,Lake & Joe Mercers think they are all great reads Lakeys probably is the best probably as he is from my era and the physical & emotional torment the bloke went through

This usually happens when a book is remaindered and is not always particularly good news for the author (it means the publisher has sold them very cheaply to a book clearance company because they want to get rid of stock).

Obviously it's good news for anyone wanting to buy the book who lives near one of those shops though.

 

[HolisticJim]

I'm 3/4 of the way through keegan which has been a good read.

He makes some interesting comments about the press during his England tenure, obviously talks a lot about City and David Bernstien too.