Philosophy Football ‘Eleven Great Thinkers Play it Deep’.

Written by Mark Perryman:   Published by Penguin Books 1997

Yet another Oxfam Book buy (£1.80) that has sat on my bookshelf for some time.

A small sized book with only 131 pages I thought would be a quick read. Nothing of the sort, this book sets 11 great philosophers, thinkers, writers, musicians in Mark’s eleven a side football team. Mark reviews, extends and fits their life skills and what they have contributed to world development into their imagined position in the team.

This sounds deep and highbrow  but mark gets lots of light hearted writing even into some of the very serious team members.

For me it was not an easy book to read as I wanted reference to the individuals values that I did not know but it certainly was worthwhile. Mark Perryman is the Co founder of Philosophy Football which as the book states “is a self styled sporting outfitters of intellectual distinction”. www,philosophyfootball,com

Mark has written other books and writes regularly on different topics as well as football.

One recent article ‘Null and Void’ points out that in this pandemic top flight football has shown up to be in the main just another business that is scrambling to keep the money-spinning show on the road. I fully sympathise with his article and will look out for more in the future.

Just look up ‘Null and Void’ Mark Perryman and it will come up first on the google list.

‘

Bowles’ written by Steve Bidmead and Published by Virgin Books Ltd 2002 as part of FourFourTwo Footballers series.

This was a nostalgic read capturing the era when characters not only filled the back pages but front as well of the press in general. Stan Bowles was the anti hero to some but a hero to many who saw him as one of their own. He has been termed a maverick by many which is defined in The Collins Dictionary 25th Oct 2016 as : a person of independent or unorthodox views….Over the subsequent course of time, the word has been used to describe people in both a positive and negative context. To me Stan was a postive person reflecting the lives of many of his time. He was also an amazingly talented footballer.

This book captures the time and with the help of Stan a look into his world.

Born in Manchester he first came to fame at Manchester City but a  not unusual fall out with another larger than life  character Malcolm Allison saw him leave and play for two northern clubs before he joined QPR in 1972 and set in motion a seven year stay that saw him idolised by the fans.

He was bought to replace Rodney Marsh, departed for Manchester City, whose number ten shirt no one wanted to wear. Marsh had become a cult figure at the club and I can testify to this having seen him dominate a game at Watford one evening. An injury on the far side of the pitch from the dugouts saw him leave the field, lean against the hoardings, chat to the fans for a few minutes, then signal to the referee to return and continue his masterclass.

Stan Bowles however was not fazed by his predecessors aura and soon became the fans darling due to his on and off field antics. As a player he would often receive the ball in the attacking half and be able to effortlessly jink or body swerve a defender and bend a ball with both sides of his right foot to produce a telling pass or shot. QPR  arguably had a golden era when Stan played for them.

Unfortunately his footballing abilities were overshadowed by his life off the pitch and this book captures this brilliantly.

Not to ruin the book I will list only two of his telling quotes and these only from the introduction, ‘I lost a half million quid on gambling, booze and women – the rest I wasted’ and ‘I was penniless again. I’d blown the lot on vodka and tonic, gambling and fags.Looking back, I think I overdid it on the tonic.’

If you can get a copy of this book sit back and enjoy a time when individualism was still above the team ethic and personal activities were not plastered across Social Media.

the neurotic genius of dutch football

brilliant orange : written by David Winner  : Published in 2000 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This was another classic must read football book I found in an Oxfam bookshop for £2.50. It’s bright orange cover has sat there for too long enticing me to pick it up and now was a good opportunity.

Firstly I must say that sometimes the football was incidental as David Winner educated me on Dutch history, culture, architecture, environment, people and much more and this enhances the background to the football.

This is an explanation of how ‘Total Football’ was born and developed from the 1950’s to the end of the millennium. The Netherlands had been considered a dull, efficient, practical country that changed in the 60’s with a vibrant youth culture, pioneering architects and a new flowing total football that encompassed individual skill with a team pattern that was to surprise and please the world.

Much is put on the shoulders of Johan Cruyff but the book explores his undoubted talent but also the flaws and the other key players who created the revolution.

Ajax are at the centre of the book with their amazing European Cup achievements in the early 1970’s when they won it three times and once again in the 1994/95 season under Louis van Gaal. There is also major analysis of why the National Team have not won the World Cup or beaten their major rival Germany when it seemed turning up was all that was needed. Is it arrogance, no killer instinct or are they are just nice people, the interviews with players and coaches give an in depth insight.

I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say I shouldn’t have left it on the to read pile for so long.

How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers won the F.A,Cup.

Written by J.L.Carr   v   First Published in 1975    This reprint 2005 by The Quince Tree Press-Bury St Edmunds

If you look at lists of Football books to read this invariably comes up. Unfortunately not true but a glorious way to indulge in football fantasy that you wished were true.

Todays F.A. Cup does not have the same cache of when the book was written, gone are the endless replays, the top teams not puting out full squads,  not being too upset when they go out in an early round and there seems fewer small team giant killing stories. Games are now clinically decide sometimes on penalties.

The glamour and fun have been taken away from the competition but it is there in full technicolour in this book. It is definitely a comedy novel but still almost believable.

From playing local football the team enter the F.A. Cup and progress through the many rounds to a final with Glasgow Rangers.

It’s the characters who are the stars, Alex Slingsby, Sid ‘the Shooting Star’ Swift, Monkey Tonk (son of a trapeze artist) the milkman turned goalkeeper, Mr Fangloss, Dr Kossuth, head teacher of the local school who is from Hungary and more. The interactions and the intricacies and depth of local village relationships are carefully woven into the story.

A quick read of 124 pages it will lift spirits at such an uncertain time.

‘From Mine to Milan’ – The Gerry Hitchens Story written by Simon Goodyear and published by The Breedon Publishing Company 2010.

I found this book in a charity shop in Bridgnorth in the heart of the area where Gerry grew up and made his first steps in senior football with Kidderminster Harriers in 1953 after initially playing for the local village team.

The book is sympathetically written by Simon Goodyear who along with his Dad were lifelong Aston Villa fans. The book is a tribute to Gerry and his character shines through. He was a hard working, likeable, committed, unassuming, team player who was talented too and often found the back of the net.

His progress in football would be unusual today in that there was no academy development but an initial mining career and a progression through local to English League, Italian and International teams. Like John Charles he was a trailblazer for British players to go overseas to further their career which have not been a success for many, it is all too common for players from overseas to come to England and develop and delight our game.

Gerry played for Kidderminster Harriers, Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Inter Milan, Torino, Atlanta (Bergamo), Cagliari, Worcester City and Merthyr Tydfil before retiring in 1972.

His most successful time was at Villa where he scored 96 goals in four seasons, 42 in his last season. Of his 7 games for England he scored five goals.

The book shows the depth of good feeling to Gerry through quotes by fans and fellow professionals, Jimmy Greaves, Jimmy Armfield, Bobby Charlton and many more.

The book is very well written in that it gives you a real sense of how Gerry coped with moving to new clubs and cultures as well as being able to keep and enjoy a family life.

His death in 1983 on a football pitch cut short a magnificent life.