Football Book Review Thread

[danielmak]

Thanks for sharing this, Imp. Interesting review for sure.

I don't think I have a top 5 for 2021. I'm never caught up with current reading. I think Harry Pearson's book came out in 2020 and I don't know when the third book in Daniel Gray's on-going 50 short reflection series came out. I assume 2020 as well, which means that's as current as I have been.

[danielmak]

To continue with the theme that I'm not reading enough current books, I was able to chase down Hans van der Meer's photobook European Fields: The Landscape of Lower League Football. It's a really fascinating book. The photos capture Saturday and Sunday league football around Europe. There is a short intro by van der Meer where he explains that he contacted football officials and asked for advice about football in the regions that would be the total opposite of the Champions League. Then he would take a ladder and shoot the match. Most of the photos feature football fields located amidst some kind of interesting locale: dirt pitch next to the Mediterranean Sea, beautifully manicured pitch at the base of a mountain range, village pitch surrounded by housing. At first the sheer ordinary football creates an interesting context for viewing aesthetically strong photos. Then after a bit I started to feel like another dirt pitch next to a body of water was going to get old, but then the strategic sequencing kicked in. I will need another viewing or two to unpack the nuances of that sequencing, but some examples include odd things happening (for example, a ball that is punted so high that the ball appears to be above the treeline and van der Meer has captured everybody looking up or a priest in full mass regalia standing next to a goal while a match is played next to the church), another sequence of 5-6 images documents players fighting, another records injuries on the field. Thus, the photos are interesting from a landscape standpoint but also from the perspective of documenting what happens during and around the football match.

The book ends with a 3-4 page reflection from Simon Kuper about van der Meer's work, about playing Saturday morning football, and how childhood dreams and football fandom both change and stay the same as football fans age. The piece is really well written, balancing serious reflection with some laugh out loud moments.

I was able to chase down a second edition, which came out in 2014 and dumb lucked my way into a copy that was close to the original cover price. Most on-line retailers are selling the book for prices I wouldn't want to pay. It's a nice looking book with nearly full-bleed images and some white space used to name the town and country where the photo was taken. The very end of the book lists every match photographed and the final score of the game. If you are into football photography and don't have this book, I'd recommend it. If you like looking at photos but aren't interested in adding more (or any) books to your living space, I recommend seeing if you could check it out at your local library (or inter-library loan if that's option). I think anyone who is going to drop in on a football book thread will be the kind of person who will appreciate the images and text in this book.

[imp]

Always meant to buy that book - 11 Freunde used 12 shots from it for one of their calendars, which I may still have somewhere. As you say, though, the last time I looked the prices for it were off the radar.

[danielmak]

Another older photobook: Stuart Clarke, The Homes of Football

This one is a real mixed bag and shows that quality photography is not enough to carry a photobook. The sequencing and design choices are both interesting and horrific in this one.

First the good: The photography is excellent and features a blend of wide-angle shots of stadia, wide-angle shots of fans in stands, and close-ups of players and fans. There are some fold out pages to help capture and re-present some of those wide angle shots to help maximize the size without having to produce a book so large that it can only be read and viewed while sitting at a table. And Clarke captures a nice mix of grande event football (EC 96 and WC 98), league football in the UK, as well as non-league. Finally, the book captures football at an important transitional point (primarily documenting 1994-1998).

Then the bad: The design company responsible for this one should not have been hired and hopefully was not hired again after this. And why the publisher used this company is beyond me.

There is no clear sequencing pattern. Photos are not chronological, photos are not tied to themes that link sections, photos are not linked to types of football (e.g., a section about EC, a section about WC, a section about non-league). I have no idea why images precede or follow one another.

The captions are inconsistent. Some are written as "V Rangers, Glasgow Celtic" (which is bizarre) and then others make more sense "Crystal Palace v. Liverpool at Aston Villa 1990."

Finally, the last 20 pages +/- see the introduction of a move not used anywhere else in the book, which is to insert small photos amidst a large spread. On one hand, I'm glad this stupid move was not made until late because the move ruins very beautifully shot photos. On the other hand, I can't help but wonder why the designer from Wilson Design Associates decided that it was time to introduce a new presentational approach with about 20 pages left.

I know that Clarke has carved out a good career for himself as a football photographer. I don't know where he was on that career trajectory when this book was being designed but the book is really a poster child for how important it is for a photographer to work with an editor who understands design and sequencing. And ideally a photographer knows enough to fight against bad choices and for good choices.

I am glad I found this book for relatively cheap ($14USD). If you are interested in football photography and can find a good price on good quality used copy, I recommend it. But there are also copies selling for stupid money given some of the flaws with the book. In the end, the photos win out but just barely.

[KingsburySaint]

Another older photobook: Stuart Clarke, The Homes of Football

I've always meant to get this. I have a vivid memory of the author taking photos at Love Street and my mate claims we are in it (queing outside the boys gate for St Mirren v Morton). There are paperbacks on Amazon for 2 quid. Might see if I can get it off eBay.

Last football book I read was Guillem Balagué's 'Maradona: The Boy, The Rebel, The God.' It was largely a review of the sources, which was useful for a non Spanish speaker, and/or somone who'd only read one Maradona book before. There appears to be lots of books about Maradona.

It was a good companion to that one book, Maradona's own 'How We Won The World Cup' which I'd got out the library previously. That had quite a big unreliable narrator vibe but was still very enjoyable. I had visions of him dictating it whilst sat on a giant throne with a crown and sceptre.

[imp]

I just reviewed WSC contributor Jon Spurling's new book about English football in the 70s, Get It On, for Soccer America. It's an absolute belter, a really enjoyable read. One of the almost accidentally great things about it is that he's been working on it for so long, conducting interviews at various points over the past 20 odd years. So a lot of the interviewees are unfortunately dead (or in the case of Stan Bowls, suffering from dementia), but this gives the book a certain exclusivity.

[danielmak]

I just reviewed WSC contributor Jon Spurling's new book about English football in the 70s, Get It On, for Soccer America. It's an absolute belter, a really enjoyable read. One of the almost accidentally great things about it is that he's been working on it for so long, conducting interviews at various points over the past 20 odd years. So a lot of the interviewees are unfortunately dead (or in the case of Stan Bowls, suffering from dementia), but this gives the book a certain exclusivity.

I meant to post this sooner. How does it read, imp? Is there some literary flow to the text or does it read like a straight history? By comparison, I can't make headway through Wilson's Argentina book because there isn't enough narrative for my liking. I generally like his work, but I prefer literary nonfiction as a style and that's not the approach he took when writing Argentina's history. Amazon US doesn't have any samples, which is who I would use to order.

[imp]

Here you go (as SA's behind a paywall, and I'm assuming you don't subscribe):

Two compelling books: Rockin' English soccer in the 1970s and wonderful losers the world around

by Ian Plenderleith @PlenderleithIan, Mar 8, 2022
Get It On – How the 70s Rocked Football by Jon Spurling (Biteback Publishing)
Snatched From the Jaws of Victory edited by Adam Bushby and Rob MacDonald (Halcyon Publishing)

* * * * * * * * * *
When Manchester City's wayward winger Rodney Marsh came to play for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the mid-1970s, he famously denounced English soccer as "a gray game, played on gray days by gray people." Like all generalizations, the quote contains a kernel of truth, but doesn't stand up to a whole lot of analysis. Although Marsh's quote appears in Jon Spurling's book to illustrate the clash in England between the old post-war disciplinarian style of coaching and the new generation of free-thinking, long-haired mavericks, the majority of the 370 pages show that the characters, clubs and competitions of the 1970s were many things, and that most of them were anything but gray.

At its best, Spurling writes in his introduction, the English game in the 1970s was "uplifting, unifying, inventive and touchingly innocent," but it could also be "brutal, bullying, thuggish and ugly." He doesn't aim to harp on about "the good old days," but stresses that clubs and stadiums in the top flight were at that time "planted firmly in local communities." It was also the era when agents started to look after players' interests, replica shirts with new designs were marketed for the first time (by the innovating Leicester-based company Admiral), foreign players began to grace and brighten England's game, and certain personalities realized that the more controversial they were in their opinions, the more they'd be paid to express them. Many clubs were casting an eye to the United States for new trends in commercialism, which was how Leeds United allowed a character called Paul Trevillion, who'd worked in the USA for sports agent Mark McCormack, to re-brand the club as Super Leeds.

I'll get to the point about "Get It On." Most of the time, reading a soccer book is a chore akin to wading through a bowl of cold, salted porridge. Sometimes, though, you pick up a book that hits the same spot as a slice of lemon sponge cake on a Sunday afternoon. Each bite, or chapter, is better than the last, and you keep yearning for another slice. It may be because I grew up in England during the 1970s that "Get It On" touched my sweet tooth – the earliest happy memories are the best, after all. Or it may just be that the excellent research, the steady pacing, and the unhinged nature of soccer in this transformative decade have been molded by the perfect writer into an absorbing, irresistible book.

English soccer in the 70s was indeed blighted by negative coaching, foul play, fields of dirty glue, deep-seated racism, and chronic fan violence, and these were all reasons why a lot of players like Marsh found the North American Soccer League such a bright and refreshing change. Spurling covers all these narratives. Yet for every accusation that Don Revie's Leeds United only won so many trophies thanks to its cynical approach, there's a game like the 7-0 dismantling of Southampton to show that they could play another team off the park. When we talk about the seemingly unplayable state of Derby County's Baseball Ground mudbath, we also need to know that Coach Brian Clough ordered the groundsman to prepare it that way, because he knew that only his players were fit and skillful enough to cope with the sticky surface.

An early chapter deals with non-league Hereford United's game against first division Newcastle United in a 1972 FA Cup third round replay. Read the chapter, then watch the highlights on YouTube and feel the goosebumps. The same applies to the European games played by provincial clubs like Derby, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest, nowadays all marginalized in English soccer thanks to the financial gulf caused by the great Champions League stitch-up.

Liverpool was the dominant club of the era, but they were rarely runaway champions. The variety of teams that either won the title (Everton, Arsenal, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham Forest) or came very close (Queen's Park Rangers, Ipswich, Wolves, even Manchester City ...) reflects how the art of coaching at this time was to assemble a roster that would gel, but without breaking the budget (not unlike MLS). Sadly, we'll never know if Pep Guardiola is capable of taking a provincial club from the butt end of the second tier to become European champions in two years, as Brian Clough did with Forest (or if Guardiola could deftly juggle draft picks and allocation money to take FC Cincinnati to MLS Cup ...).

Spurling's interviews benefit from the historical perspective that allows its actors a mainly frank and considered review of the past. His work on the book spanned the last two decades, meaning that several of the players and coaches quoted have passed away, so we are privy to exclusives from beyond the grave. It's also shocking to realize just how many of your childhood heroes are now deceased, making the videos of them skipping across the grass-starved fields all the more poignant. And despite all the tactical manuals that have burdened bookshelves in recent times, the game itself has not changed as much as we like to think. Pass, move, dribble, tackle, shoot. Only now, there's less mud, booze and cigarettes around to slow you down as you press the life out of the opposition.

It's the mark of a compelling book when you think you know a subject, but then increase your knowledge tenfold by the time you've reached the end. This is also true of another soccer history book that came out last year: "Snatched From the Jaws of Victory" is a compilation of essays by mainly established writers looking at teams legendary for having fallen just short of glory, but which have retained a place in the hearts of their supporters and beyond. My first thought was that I already knew the stories of the Netherlands in 1974 and Brazil in 1982 well enough. It turns out that I was wrong.

I knew that Wales, for example, had surprisingly reached the quarterfinal of the 1958 World Cup, but I didn't know that they'd only qualified because four different countries, for varying reasons, had refused to play Israel in the Africa & Asia qualifying section. And that when they narrowly lost 1-0 to Brazil and Pelé in the quarterfinal, they were missing their best player John Charles through injury. That's the delight of this book – exploring the details and the marginal decisions, errors and quirks of fate that might, just might, have allowed an alternative and more astonishing outcome. One where Scotland wins the 1966 World Cup instead of England. One where a still unified Yugoslavia lifts the 1994 World Cup, or – more likely still – a Georghe Hagi-inspired Romania. One where Luis Suarez doesn't cheat and Ghana becomes the first ever African nation to lift the same trophy in 2010. One where Arsenal is Champions of Europe in 2006 instead of losing finalists to Barcelona.

It is also a book about celebrating near-greatness and favoring style, courage and fallibility over silverware. Middlesbrough may have lost the 2006 UEFA Cup final 4-0 to Sevilla, but their path to that game threw up enough drama and glory to render the final outcome almost irrelevant, including two astonishing four-goal fightbacks in both the quarter- and the semifinals. "We are built to survive disaster, not to expect success," writes John Nicholson of the Teesside region. "This is why that night [against Steaua Bucharest in the semi-final second leg] is still such a powerful and emotional thing. For once, the stars were aligned and for once, everything that normally goes wrong, went right."

For most fans, that experience of a rare but precious triumph is the one we cherish, and we do not envy those burdened with the expectation of serial success. How can Bayern Munich fans harbor any special memories when they lift the German title every year? Those who think that only winning matters have missed the point, and in different ways both of these books are testimony to the fact that soccer's most fascinating memories derive from stories with a depth that is way more telling than a mere silver pot lofted from the victor's plinth under a shower of the same old champagne. If you haven't lived through adversity and failure, you haven't lived at all.

[danielmak]

Thanks, imp. Yeah, I don't sub. WSC and the Blizzard keep me busy enough. I appreciate you sharing these reviews. I'll put the 70s book in the cart and order after I finish what I'm reading now (a Mike Bayly book about non-league football) and get halfway through what's up next (a collection about surfing).

[Satchmo Distel]

I'm reading Jon Spurling's Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup which somehow passed me by when it came out in 2010. I have only read the 1930 chapter so far but it's a gem, taking you into the heart of the rivalry between Uruguay and Argentina and how it was viewed by surviving fans (who were in their 80s and 90s when he interviewed them). One guy in his late 90s beats Spurling in an arm-wrestling contest.

[Sunderporinostesta]

I'm reading Jon Spurling's Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup which somehow passed me by when it came out in 2010. I have only read the 1930 chapter so far but it's a gem, taking you into the heart of the rivalry between Uruguay and Argentina and how it was viewed by surviving fans (who were in their 80s and 90s when he interviewed them). One guy in his late 90s beats Spurling in an arm-wrestling contest.

I bought this and a few other mint football books from a local charity shop a while back. None yet read.
There was a whole shelf of sports books with A4 “compliments of” style sheets presumably given to potential reviewers, movers n shakers etc. Presumably part of their targets C19 shelf clear out.

[elguapo4]

Bought Spurling's book on Friday. Thanks for the review Imp, I'm looking forward to it now.

[Duncan Gardner]

Aye, I'll be checking this one out too

[ale]

Andy Cole-Fast Forward. Not generally a fan of players autobiographies but got through this one quickly due to its candidness. As an admission I place him between Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer as favourite- rather than best- players seen at SJP since 1971. FWIW I thought Keegan wrong to sell him no matter that Ferdinand and Shearer subsequently took his place. He makes no excuses for his contrariness-for a player judged purely on his goals record he makes it plain he was a selfless and encouraging club member when it came to the game itself. Yet he had principles and personal beliefs often at odds with those that clubs deem essential for harmony and success. Of all the dizzy promises Keegan brought to Newcastle Andy Cole is the one who went onto fulfill them. Just not at Newcastle. He makes it clear Man Utd is his spiritual home and there were plenty of times he came back to haunt us which needs to be read through gritted teeth. But he is fully appreciative of his time at SJP however short lived. And he shows Graeme Souness as the bluffer and fraud he is.

[danielmak]

Footballer autobiographies/biographies aren't of interest to me but I share this since the book might be of interest to others. The digital version is open source.

Kicks, Spits, and Headers. The Autobiographical Reflections of an Accidental Footballer Paolo Sollier
"Kicks, Spits, and Headers documents two years of football by a self-proclaimed accidental footballer. Coming of age during the student and worker revolt of the 1960s-1970s, the Italian ‘hot autumn,’ Paolo Sollier brought these countercultural energies and Marxist politics on to the football pitch, inadvertently becoming an icon along the way. Here he describes, in lucid and humorous prose, the challenges of trying make sense of and balance the tensions and contradictions between being a professional footballer and a political militant."



https://www.minorcompositions.info/?p=1093

https://www.scribd.com/document/5597...oad&from_embed

[antrich9]

It's unlikely that many OTF readers are interested in the antics of Walsall Football Club. Nevertheless, for anyone curious about the temporary rise of a lower-league English football team in the early 1960s (I've probably killed any curiosity right there), I've just finished a book about WFC's 'glory years'. The book also discusses:

• The differences between modern football and its 20th century counterpart
• The impact of Alzheimer's on ex-professional footballers and their families and how the football authorities could have reduced the risk of head trauma over 60 years ago
• How the chief beautiful bridesmaid dressed in Oranje dined out on another player's ingenuity for over 40 years
• The maximum wage, retain and transfer, football fashions, half-time circus entertainers and Pelé.

It's a self-published book, so it's probably not up there with the output from professional authors and publishing companies like Pitch, but maybe if you're looking for something different :-)

A local Midlands newspaper, the Express & Star, published an article about it this week. If you're interested, the link is below:

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport...alls-greatest/

[Sporting]

It's unlikely that many OTF readers are interested in the antics of Walsall Football Club. Nevertheless, for anyone curious about the temporary rise of a lower-league English football team in the early 1960s (I've probably killed any curiosity right there), I've just finished a book about WFC's 'glory years'. The book also discusses:

• The differences between modern football and its 20th century counterpart
• The impact of Alzheimer's on ex-professional footballers and their families and how the football authorities could have reduced the risk of head trauma over 60 years ago
• How the chief beautiful bridesmaid dressed in Oranje dined out on another player's ingenuity for over 40 years
• The maximum wage, retain and transfer, football fashions, half-time circus entertainers and Pelé.

It's a self-published book, so it's probably not up there with the output from professional authors and publishing companies like Pitch, but maybe if you're looking for something different :-)

A local Midlands newspaper, the Express & Star, published an article about it this week. If you're interested, the link is below:

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport...alls-greatest/

It sounds great. Honestly.

[antrich9]

Thanks Sporting!

[Felicity, I guess so]

Good luck with it. Can't read "Express & Star" without hearing the bus station seller in Wolverhampton shouting "Spress n star payyyper!"

[Sunderporinostesta]

It's unlikely that many OTF readers are interested in the antics of Walsall Football Club. Nevertheless, for anyone curious about the temporary rise of a lower-league English football team in the early 1960s (I've probably killed any curiosity right there), I've just finished a book about WFC's 'glory years'. The book also discusses:

• The differences between modern football and its 20th century counterpart
• The impact of Alzheimer's on ex-professional footballers and their families and how the football authorities could have reduced the risk of head trauma over 60 years ago
• How the chief beautiful bridesmaid dressed in Oranje dined out on another player's ingenuity for over 40 years
• The maximum wage, retain and transfer, football fashions, half-time circus entertainers and Pelé.

It's a self-published book, so it's probably not up there with the output from professional authors and publishing companies like Pitch, but maybe if you're looking for something different :-)

A local Midlands newspaper, the Express & Star, published an article about it this week. If you're interested, the link is below:

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport...alls-greatest/

Awwww maaaaan that sounds right up this places street.

[Duncan Gardner]

It's unlikely that many OTF readers are interested in the antics of Walsall Football Club. Nevertheless, for anyone curious about the temporary rise of a lower-league English football team in the early 1960s (I've probably killed any curiosity right there), I've just finished a book about WFC's 'glory years'. The book also discusses:

• The differences between modern football and its 20th century counterpart
• The impact of Alzheimer's on ex-professional footballers and their families and how the football authorities could have reduced the risk of head trauma over 60 years ago
• How the chief beautiful bridesmaid dressed in Oranje dined out on another player's ingenuity for over 40 years
• The maximum wage, retain and transfer, football fashions, half-time circus entertainers and Pelé.

It's a self-published book, so it's probably not up there with the output from professional authors and publishing companies like Pitch, but maybe if you're looking for something different :-)

A local Midlands newspaper, the Express & Star, published an article about it this week. If you're interested, the link is below:

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport...alls-greatest/

Thanks for posting. I'll temporarily suspend my ban on reading the E & S

My extended cousin and near namesake Joseph Gardiner Bambrick had a season at Walsall immediately before WW2

[Giggler]

It's unlikely that many OTF readers are interested in the antics of Walsall Football Club. Nevertheless, for anyone curious about the temporary rise of a lower-league English football team in the early 1960s (I've probably killed any curiosity right there), I've just finished a book about WFC's 'glory years'. The book also discusses:

• The differences between modern football and its 20th century counterpart
• The impact of Alzheimer's on ex-professional footballers and their families and how the football authorities could have reduced the risk of head trauma over 60 years ago
• How the chief beautiful bridesmaid dressed in Oranje dined out on another player's ingenuity for over 40 years
• The maximum wage, retain and transfer, football fashions, half-time circus entertainers and Pelé.

It's a self-published book, so it's probably not up there with the output from professional authors and publishing companies like Pitch, but maybe if you're looking for something different :-)

A local Midlands newspaper, the Express & Star, published an article about it this week. If you're interested, the link is below:

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport...alls-greatest/

Well done! I know from experience how much these things are a labour of love.

[antrich9]

Thanks for all the positive feedback! Also great to know that the post has convinced Duncan – if only temporarily – to lift his Express & Star ban. They gave me access to their newspaper archives and supplied free cups of tea, so any ruling against them seems more than a little harsh.

[Duncan Gardner]

Thanks for all the positive feedback! Also great to know that the post has convinced Duncan – if only temporarily – to lift his Express & Star ban. They gave me access to their newspaper archives and supplied free cups of tea, so any ruling against them seems more than a little harsh.

Over coverage of Wolves/Albion/ Brexit rules me but I will reconsider as you suggest

[Jon]

Over coverage of Wolves/Albion/ Brexit rules me but I will reconsider as you suggest

They had a great story about the Italian football team training at the Dell stadium in pensnett which I enjoyed greatly.

Your book sounds great, antrich9.