What's the best football book of all time?

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Cheaper than Andrex!
 
Billy City said:
Great books Gary have you ever done a book about fans favourite matches or stories about blues who have followed City over the years ?
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Not directly, but in "Farewell To Maine Road" & "Manchester The Greatest City" I did include lots of fans' memories of games, Maine Road and players. Plus I've always tried to interview a variety of people for each book from fans to players to directors to opposition etc. I feel it's important to get the overall impression rather than simply write my own views or my own experiences.

I feel it's important not to write purely the 'official' word. Too often football histories are sanitised and tell a story that the owners (at the time of publication) or staff (often worse than the owners because they are scared they'll say the wrong thing) of the club want you to tell. I've always agreed with the Club that my book(s) will be written without any form of club censorship. That's not because I want to be negative or controversial, more that I want transparency and as a result I think books like "Manchester The Greatest City" are better for it. When the first version came out it included details about the current badge (new at the time) and I know that what I wrote was not the official party line, but the owners of City at the time understood that I needed to write without censorship because that way the overall story would be the right one.

For "Manchester The Greatest City" I interviewed 2 supporters in their late 90s both of whom were brilliant. I was able to capture stories and then write about those in my books before they disappeared forever.

I also make sure I read, research, utilise any fan based material I can from the past. This includes things like fanzines, forums etc. but also newspapers and magazines from the earliest years of the game. Often sporting 'papers in the 20s would have features on fans and officials. I have a nice article on a 1920s supporter rep called Bob Roden - and that helped shape my views on what it was like being a passionate Blue back then.

Incidentally, when I wrote "Football With A Smile" about Joe Mercer I was banned from launching the book at Maine Road! We were supposed to be launching it at City V Everton, Dec 1993, as Joe played for Everton and obviously managed City. Joe deserved that.

Basically, the message came to my publishers that we could launch the book at the ground so long as none of the players who played for Joe at City came (because the person giving us the message claimed that they all supported Francis Lee in the takeover battle and wouldn't be welcome). Also, I wasn't allowed to go because I spoke out against Peter Swales at the Oct 1993 AGM. The Mercer family could go, so long as they say they 'don't support Francis Lee's takeover'!

It was all very hurtful. In the end we launched the book at a bookshop in Manchester and lots of former players came, plus Malcolm Allison etc. Also present were 2 uninvited City directors (who fawned around certain people despite being supposed Swales supporters) and a couple of uninvited City staff members including the guy who had 'banned' the Maine Rd launch!
 
Gary James said:
Incidentally, when I wrote "Football With A Smile" about Joe Mercer I was banned from launching the book at Maine Road! We were supposed to be launching it at City V Everton, Dec 1993, as Joe played for Everton and obviously managed City. Joe deserved that.

Basically, the message came to my publishers that we could launch the book at the ground so long as none of the players who played for Joe at City came (because the person giving us the message claimed that they all supported Francis Lee in the takeover battle and wouldn't be welcome). Also, I wasn't allowed to go because I spoke out against Peter Swales at the Oct 1993 AGM. The Mercer family could go, so long as they say they 'don't support Francis Lee's takeover'!

It was all very hurtful. In the end we launched the book at a bookshop in Manchester and lots of former players came, plus Malcolm Allison etc. Also present were 2 uninvited City directors (who fawned around certain people despite being supposed Swales supporters) and a couple of uninvited City staff members including the guy who had 'banned' the Maine Rd launch!
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That is so typical of City's 'corridors of power' in the mid-1990s, when the club was crawling with all manner of creeps and cronies...

As regards the OP, my fave non-City book is Gary Imlach's beautifully written 'My Father and Other Stories' which traces his late father Stuart's footballing career.
 
Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper

This looks interesting

Brian Moore Saved Our Sundays revisits the golden age of regional televised football when the voices of Brian Moore, Hugh Johns, Gerald Sinstadt, Gerry Harrison and others narrated football highlights on tailor-made shows from around the country. This book is packed with exclusive interviews and riveting anecdotes from that special era

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Brian Moore Saved Our Sundays | Pitch Publishing

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
 
Bilston Blue said:
Yes.... big thumbs up for this one... but the title can be misleading, cos once you've read the book it seems as though you really did see him play...

The Super Furry Animals song 'The Man Don't Give A F**k' was about Robin Friday, allegedly.
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That was an interesting song with a little help from W Becker and D Fagen !
 
Lots of great City books already mentioned. Best non City book is The Damned United by David Peace. It charts Brian Clough early career (when he was briefly England's wonder boy), but it's mostly about his 44 days in charge of Leeds.
 
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