Footballers autobiographies- help please!

[Bob!]

Definately Garry Nelson's books, and not just for the Albion stuff.

'Left foot forward' is the classic

 

[Wardy]

Not a footballers as such but Pierluigi Collina book was a good read.

 

[APACHE]

Read El Macca by Steve McManaman it's a good insight at what went on at the so-called biggest club in the world at the time, Real Madrid.Really interesting in how they treated their players.Also Broken Dreams by Tom Bower, although not an autobio, is a good look at behind the scenes in the PL with some famous names and the goings ons at the top clubs, will make you think do we want to be part of it.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Puskas on Puskas is a marvellous biography on Ferenc Puskas.

 

[del strangefish]

George Best = The Good, the Bad and the Bubbly

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."

" In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.

 

[KZNSeagull]

The Stanley Matthews one.

 

[willyfantastic]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is meant to be proper mentals so his book should be fun

gonna get it myself i think

 

[vegster]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is meant to be proper mentals so his book should be fun

gonna get it myself i think

Its written in crayon

 

[The Modfather]

Again , not an autobiography , but :

The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story

This

 

[raymondbriggs]

Not an autobiography but Penthouse and Pavement by Bill Leckie tells WHY Glasgow Rangers sowed the seeds of their own downfall and the collapse of scottish football as a serious competition.
How the greed is good phillosophy killed the competition and destroyed scottish football as a spectator sport.
But he also has some startling views on our struggle that contradict the theme of his work.But,he wrote for the Sun so you expect him to be a bit confused.
A good read though.

Penthouse and Pavement: How to Survive in Football Without Sucking Up to the Old Firm (Mainstream sport) eBook: Bill Leckie: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Time on the Grass - Bobby Robson

(snigger!)

 

[Soulman]

Bobby Robson and Jamie Carragher are good.

 

[pipkin112]

I was listening to Leon Mckenzie on the radio the other day, his autobiography seemed like an interesting read.

 

[deenomeet]

As stated above,any Bobby Robson autubiography is worth a read.Also i personally enjoyed the Paulo Di Canio auto,the Stewart Pearce auto,and El Diego, a fantastic read about Maradona.

 

[blue'n'white]

"The Secret Footballer" is pretty good and there's a book by Chris Hargreaves called "Where's your caravan" which I read a few years ago - it's subtitled "My life on football's B roads" and is about an ordinary jobbing player - no superstar but it is really funny in parts. Well I enjoyed it anyway

 

[Norman Potting]

Despite his colourful life(style), don't be tempted to get Stan Collymore's book......I thought it was rubbish. Equally dull was Geoff Hurst's effort.

Garry Nelson's books are very good, and would be first and second on my reading list.

Gary Nelson's definitely, must read then again soon. Otherwise try "Trautmann's Journey" bio of legendary Man. City goalkeeper Bert. In a way the football bit is secondary to his younger life in Nazi Germany and fighting on the Eastern front before being taken prisoner and ending up in the UK. And for the umpteenth time on this board "My father and other working class football heroes" - Gary Imlach's bio of his dad Stewart, a First Division player and Scottish International in the 50's and 60's. A time when the stars of the day would cycle home after training to collect their tool kit and fix a broken seat in the grandstand! (warning - he did have a spell at Palace).

 

[T soprano]

All the above posts all mention footballers that played the game in the 60s 70s 80s 90s
No mention of cole Gerrard Rooney and thank god I used to love reading autobiographies from footballers but the current crop lead the most boring lives and have nothing interesting to say in their spoilt pampered lives
George Best , Charton , Moore , Robson etc etc are worth reading

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Steve Claridge's Beyond The Boot Camps, written with Ian Ridley - before his Albion days, but a great read about a player's life in the lower divisions. Di Canio's isn't bad either.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Terry Venables book is OK.

 

[Worthingite]

Tony Cascarinos is a good read[/QUOTE
I have read a fair few and most are quite crap, this is interesting and thought provoking and a cut above the average. As mentioned, The Damned United is fictional but very entertaining but one book above all stood out for its mix of pathos, humour and honesty

Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years with Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton.

Buy this book and you will see why Brian Clough was such an enigma. At times, I had tears in my eyes, absolutely brilliant.

This. This this this this this this THIS.

As an aside, worst footballing bio I have ever read was Peter Beardsleys. Utter, utter crap. Roy Keanes was pretty good, as was Garry Nelsons.