Football Book Recommendations

[jaybx1878]

The Paul Merson and Tony Adams one's are decent

 

[jaybx1878]

Calcio about the history of Italian football is a good one aswell

 

[Walken]

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Brilliant book, plenty of Everton and plenty of pathos on Father/Son stuff when dealing with men of the silent generation.

I always liked Imlach since his channel 4 NFL days.

 

[RD2910]

Ronald Reng's A Life Too Short is really good. Not a happy read by any stretch obviously, but certainly a valuable insight into the mental health of sportspeople.

 

[bhillblue]

The ones I’ve enjoyed most have tended to be as much about travel/history/politics/culture as football. James Montague’s are really good - Thirty-One Nil and When Friday Comes. Others off the top of my head… Japanese Rules by Sebastian Moffett, This Love Is Not For Cowards by Robert Andrew Powell, Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly. And for different reasons, highly recommend Champagne Football by Mark Tighe & Paul Rowan.

 

[Shaun the Blue]

The Paul Merson and Tony Adams one's are decent

Paul Lake of Man City did a good autobiography. Talks well of Peter Reid

 

[Dancing Pat]

For any Dutch blues, this is a must…

Pity it’s not been translated into English.

 

[COYBL25]

Broken dreams by Tom Bower.

The Football business by David Conn

Dream on by Alex Finn.

All written in the nineties and early noughties but giving a good insight into how football was changing plus a host of unsavoury characters.

Broken Dreams is outstanding and a shocking read.

What’s very pertinent too, is that those he named as corrupt never sued them - Allardyce, Graham, Redknapp et al.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

The Paul Merson and Tony Adams one's are decent

Merson is a monumental simpleton, but I came out of it not disliking him.

Mickey Quinn on the other hand is a raging moron and despite his book's best attempts to paint him as a loveable cheeky character living the dream, he's a tool.

 

[Littlesue]

The Clogh biographies always good and for a former player Paul Mcgrath one is decent

 

[klingklang]

Although he's not everyone's cup of tea, I liked the Stan Collymore one, very open and honest. I think it's imaginatively called Colly !
Also Robin Friday's The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw is very good.

 

[Preki]

I like Italian football so:
The miracle of Castle di Sangro by Joe McGuiness is outstanding.
I've recommended it to lots of people and they have all loved it.
A season with Verona by Tim Parks is also excellent.
More generally Inverting the pyramid by Johnathan Wilson is about tactics nominally but is an insight into lots of football cultures.
Another classic is football against the enemy by Simon Kuper

 

[Preki]

I also forgot Morbo which is about Spanish football by Phil Ball.

 

[Bishop Thumpety-Thump]

The Clogh biographies always good and for a former player Paul Mcgrath one is decent

Yep this is a great read.

 

[Bishop Thumpety-Thump]

Would also recommend Paul McGrath's autobiography (harrowing at times), Mark Ward's 'From Right Wing to B Wing' and another Clough bio, 'Providing You Don't Kiss Me' by Duncan Hamilton.

Avoid Graeme Sharp's awful autobiography, Sharpy, like the plague. He comes across as a moaning arlarse, like a Scottish Alan Partridge.