Sunday Mirror columnist Michael Calvin, whose self-publishing attempts were outlined recently here, has indulged in a little role reversal.
Calvin asked two senior Millwall players, captain Paul Robinson and record goalscorer Neil Harris, to review his book on the club’s last season, Family: Life, Death and Football.
Robinson, who is about to start a two-year journalism degree course, wrote: “It’s a fantastic insight into the workings of a football club.
“Mike has been on the inside. He’s come up with a detailed account of what goes into a successful team, and the winning of football matches.
“It is the sort of book I would have loved to have read, growing up. You get a real feel for what it takes, day-in day-out, week-in week-out, over a long hard English season.
“I loved it. It is one of those books which draws you in, so that you suddenly wonder where the time has gone. Even as a player, I learned a lot about aspects of the game I never see. Everyone in the game will be interested to read it.”
Harris said: “It is a unique book, a one off. I have never read, or seen, a football book like it.
“I have been at the club for so long, but, over 300 or so pages, I learned so much I didn’t know.
“It is about a player, feeling under pressure. It is about how a manager thinks, how a club is run from top to bottom.
“It gives me, as a player, an insight into the game. Just imagine, then, what this will mean to a fan.
“Readers will know what we are thinking, at certain times. They will see into us when we win, or when we miss a chance. They will get to know us very well.”
Both players, together with a number of senior pros, are staging a signing session in the home dressing room at The Den on October14, from 4pm-6pm.
All media are welcome. For further information contact: Mike Argile on 0207 740 3463 or email margile@millwallfc.com or Deano Standing on 0207 740 0524 or email dstanding@millwallfc.com