Comments on: Football Books: The Rough Guide to Soccer In Print

By: Football Transfers

Football Transfers — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 19:58:30 +0000

Wow great info here i love football thanks for sharing some wonderful insight into so many interesting football books.

By: The Transfer Deadline Approacheth | Smog Blog

The Transfer Deadline Approacheth | Smog Blog — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:22:35 +0000

[...] pm According to this article, David Peace’s The Damned United is the only good novel about football. I can’t [...]

By: David Toms

David Toms — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:16:50 +0000

Excellent article. I’ve read the bones of the books you’ve listed there and agree that in terms of histories and tactical works, both The Ball Is Round and Inverting the Pyramid takes some beating – although the bibliography Jonathan Wilson provides, will lead you on to some really excellent books. Eamon Dunphy also wrote a book on football that by all accounts is an excellent read Only a Game?: Diary of a Professional Footballer. Apparently, Provided You Don’t Kiss Me is a soccer book of considerable merit also. I find the William Hill Sports Book of the Year a particularly good marker of decent books on Soccer.

My on to recommend to anyone though, is Gary Imlach’s My Father and Other Working-Class Football Heroes.

By: Tom Dunmore

Tom Dunmore — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:04:47 +0000

Steven -- Andrew Guest had an interesting essay on More Than Just A Game here last December.

By: Steven Williams

Steven Williams — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:24:55 +0000

Very interesting. In a world were far too many Football books are generic cuttings produced rubbish it is great to see some of the more interesting titles that are available. One book I have recently enjoyed is More Than Just a Game: Football v Apartheid This is a fantastic and moving tale that really resonates especially with the world cup currently being held in South Africa.

By: Neil

Neil — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:07:31 +0000

Fantastic article – I actually had very little idea there were football books in this many different sub-genres. At the moment I’m reading Alex Ferguson’s autobiography, which is really interesting (being a Scottish United fan) and I had Roy Keane’s lined up to be next, but you’ve actually convinced me to take a look at that Foul! book about corruption. I also agree with you on the lack of decent football fiction – sort it out people!

By: bams

bams — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:12:44 +0000

useful post, mate.
the only one thing for people to learn something is “book”
keep sharing

By: PA

PA — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:56:15 +0000

Sorry Alex . . . you did mention the Paul Darby book already.

By: Peter Alegi

Peter Alegi — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:53:11 +0000

On African football see:

Peter Alegi, _African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World’s Game (forthcoming 2010)
Peter Alegi,_Laduma! Soccer, Politics and Society in South Africa_ (2004)
Paul Darby, _Africa, Football and FIFA: Politics, Colonialism, Resistance_ (2002)
Sarah Forde, _Playing By Their Rules: Coastal teenage girls in Kenya on life, love and football_ (2009)

By: Glass Voice

Glass Voice — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:43:25 +0000

“Can someone delete this Collins Brown character’s post? He’s clearly one of those lecherous “agents” who fill impoverished young men in developing nations heads with pipe dreams, taking their money, giving them hope and delivering nothing.

A foul, foul practice.”

Had a good laugh over your comment James, and apparently your request was addressed as the comment was not visible to me. On the topic of fixed matches, this needs to be completely removed from the sport. People who sit in front of their televisions and wonder why their star player missed that easy goal need a reality check. Pride for the game although alive and well, is not prevalent in every player.