By ERIC BROWN It was, perhaps, football’s greatest mystery. Why did Arsenal make striker Clive Allen the first £1million teenager in English fo…
Read More
Tag: books and reviews
Stick to swimming…how Per Mertesacker overcame the odds to become a world cup winner
Book review by ERIC BROWN Per Mertesacker was told he had no chance of becoming a professional footballer by his own father at the age of 14, ye…
Read More
Read More
It’s that time of the season again – the Nationwide Football Annual is out
Another year, another Nationwide Football Annual, reviewed by ERIC BROWN Now the football season can really start. That one missing item to go along w…
Read More
Read More
Avalanche of f-words take away from all that’s good in fans’ site, The Anfield Wrap
ERIC BROWN reviews a book which focuses on one of the most eventful years in the history of Liverpool FC from defeat in Kyiv to glory in Madrid. For t…
Read More
Read More
Book review: celebrating half a century of Shoot magazine
Nostalgia rules as ERIC BROWN reviews a new birthday book celebrating 50 years of one of football’s most iconic magazines. It’s August 16,…
Read More
Read More
The rise and fall of Aston Villa – but don’t blame Doug Ellis
The rise and fall of Aston Villa – but don’t blame Doug Ellis, writes ERIC BROWN. Doug Ellis remains a controversial figure at Aston Villa…
Read More
Read More
How England’s 2018 World Cup penalty heroes laid the ghost of G O Smith to rest
England and penalties. We have history, as a new book on the national team reveals. ERIC BROWN reports. The year was 1899 and a quarter of the world s…
Read More
Read More
Everything you ever wanted to know about Arsenal from 1886-2018
A monumental new history of Arsenal including details of the glory years under Herbert Chapman, George Graham and Arsene Wenger as well as reflecting …
Read More
Read More
Bumble goes around the world in 80 pints
David Lloyd has perhaps the most rounded and comprehensive CV in cricket, writes ERIC BROWN. Lloyd graduated from the Lancashire League to become a co…
Read More
Read More
Simon Barnes goes in search of the soul of sport and asks why it matters
Review by ERIC BROWN Lights began to flicker on one by one in the early hours of the morning as bleary-eyed souls reached for telephones whose insiste…
Read More
Read More