Gribz 745 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 (edited) I tend not to read much ex pro footballer (and managers) books but one or two catch the eye and Ive read a few. Ive read Terry Venables, Alex Ferguson, Paul Gascoigne, Andy Gray and Roy Keane' which were all quite good. I did read Maradona also few years back simply because he was / is the best ever. But more recently Ive read Ray Parlour and Paul Merson. Both are well worth a read and include some hilarious bits. I was on a flight last Friday and had horrendous turbulence during descent and had a few old dears panicking yet I was crying with laughter reading Parlours book. What a player he was and didnt get credit for. I dont like when I see players who are 25 and been playing well for a year or so taking out books, an autobiography should be about the end of the career. Anyone got additional recommendations? Edited July 18, 2017 by Gribz 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
compo 6,591 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Read Stevie Nicols yesterday good player and a few laughs 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7 5,667 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 The first I read was Geordie Young's, then Billy Wright's. Interesting enough but nothing notable. Len Shackleton's was different. No respect for the FA or for club directors. He had a chapter entitled "A Director's Knowledge of Football". It was a blank page. Good stuff. I suspect Merson and Parlour will be similar. Tom Finney's book should be a text book for young professionals. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleam 5,772 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 I don't tend to read sports books, so can't give you a personal recommendation. However, one which is always cited -by sports writers and others- as an essential read is Eamonn Dunphy's 'Only a Game: The Diary of a Professional Footballer', from the 1980s, but still available. It covers his time with ManU, Millwall, and RoI, in the 60s and 70s. More recently, 'I am Zlatan', by em... I forget his name, has had good reviews. There is a debate about just how much of the book is Zlatan, and how much is David Lagercrantz, the ghost writer (who is responsible for the post- Stieg Larsson Millenium novels), but it still seems to be recommended anyway. Billy Hill's sponsor a Sports Book of the Year award; the winners, and the short listed may be worth looking at. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hill_Sports_Book_of_the_Year 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Iniesta's book is a solid read. Such a humble guy. Took a long time to get the book done as he wanted people's anecdotes rather than blowing smoke out his arse. Currently reading one about Messi but not so much a biography as looking at his upbringing, moving to Barcelona etc. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 1,691 Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 (edited) The only footballer biography I have ever read was Terry Butcher which was given to me as a Christmas present in the year it was published. I enjoyed it but what Rangers fan wouldn't when it describes the entire Souness era and beyond into the 9 in a row years. Ronaldo's should be an easy read when it comes. I'm so great, the end. An ego so inflated he actually insisted his waxwork get regular hairdos. Edited July 18, 2017 by JFK-1 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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