THE SUM OF THE PARTS, BY JON KEEN, PUBLISHED BY MICKLE PRESS, £17.99,RATING OUT OF 10: 8
STALWART Reading fan Jon Keen was so impressed with his club’s record-breaking season in the Championship a decade ago that he’s written a book about it.
The 53-year-old had been thinking about the book for a long time, but finally put pen to paper last June. In the next ten months, he investigated the factors that made Steve Coppell’s Royals so impressive in the 2005-06 season.
In that incredible campaign, the Royals notched up 106 points with 31 wins and just two defeats, they went 33 matches unbeaten and scored 99 goals to roar into the Premier League as champions. The book also covers how Reading finished an impressive eighth the following season, their first in the Premier League, and how they were relegated the following year.
Keen, an IT project manager, said: “It was a once in a lifetime couple of years and the team was so good that I wanted to get the story down before people forget it.
“Reading had been around a long time but their record was fairly undistinguished, but this was success with a capital S.
“It was the earliest promotion to the Premier League (March 25) and it was done in such style. “The only target they didn’t break was to score 100 goals.
“I’d been thinking about writing the book for years and, with the tenth anniversary approaching, it prompted me to do it.”
The book has been self-published and its publication was supported by crowd-funding by Reading fans. It includes interviews with those involved at the club at the time, including chairman John Madejski, director of football Nick Hammond, chief executive Nigel Howe and coach Wally Downes among others.
Keen has done a thorough job – and it’s clear a multitude of factors came together for Reading to hit that purple patch in their history.
A new ground, Madejski’s financial backing, the calm authority of manager Steve Coppell, quality coaches, players hungry to learn, clever recruitment and performance consultants all played a part.
Once you get on a roll, you can often keen the momentum going. But the book also establishes how difficult it was for Reading to take the next step after finishing eighth in the top-flight.
An unfashionable club who didn’t pay big money, they weren’t seen as an attractive option for players and found it difficult to replace key men who had been lured away.
It means those days in the sunshine can be shortlived – so you can understand why Keen has decided to keep the memories alive.
If you’re a Reading fan, you’ll love this book. If you’re not, then it’s still a fascinating tale.
John Lyons
1966 AND ALL THAT! THE 50TH ANNIVER-SARY, BY BOB BOND AND SOME OF FLEET STREET’S FINEST, PUBLISHED BY GREENWAYS PUBLISHING, £12.99, RATING OUT OF 10: 8
IF YOU don’t know that this year is the 50th anniversary of England’s sole World Cup win, then you must have been hiding in a cave somewhere.
There are so many publications, shows and tributes to the Boys of ’66 that it’s difficult to miss them. I suppose it shows how starved of success we’ve been ever since but that’s another story.
Anyway, 1966 And All That!, produced by the same publishers as this magazine, is a fun way to recall England’s feats of half a century ago.
The man at the centre of it is cartoonist Bob Bond whose superb drawings, combined with his quirky sense of humour, from the time bring the tournament to life.
And when you’ve got contributions from the likes of James Lawton, Patrick Collins and Steve Curry to go alongside, you’ve got a decent combination.
Lawton’s article on the impact of Sir Alf Ramsey and the belief he gave his players that they could take on and beat the world makes you stop and think, and wonder why we’ve never been able to do it again.
Curry gives a fascinating account of the day of the final, the match itself and the celebrations afterwards. He admits he cried tears of joy in the press gallery when England triumphed.
He also recalls how, many hours later, in the foyer of the newly-built Royal Garden Hotel he was giving World Cup winner Alan Ball a piggy-back! It sure was different back then.
There’s also a nice little story about the prize money the players received -£22,000 that they shared equally. It would be a bit more now.
Elsewhere, there is a Where are they Now? feature on the 22, plus reports of all the matches, stats and a bit about what else was happening in the mid-60s.
All in all, there’s lot to enjoy about the most special time in England’s football history. This will bring back memories for older readers and perhaps inspire younger ones.
Daniel Everitt
KICKING OFF IN NORTH KOREA: FOOTBALL AND FRIENDSHIP IN FOR-EIGN LANDS, BY TIM HARTLEY, PUBLISHED BY Y LOLFA, £9.99, RATING OUT OF 10: 7
TIM Hartley has been around the world watching football – and it’s given him a treasure trove of stories.
In his new book, Kicking off in North Korea, the Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust chairman takes us on a tour of around 20 countries watching football from 2001 to this year. It’s also a family story as he travels around watching matches with his son, Chester, who was seven back in 2001 and is now 22. The 56-year-old said: “The most bizarre game I went to was in North Korea. It was a bank holiday and it appeared the crowd had been told to go there. They didn’t cheer – it was such a controlled atmosphere. “The most passionate was the Belgrade derby. The passion in Eastern Europe is something else. They were my stand-out moments.”
One of the most interesting facets of the book is the mixture of places Hartley finds himself. He switches seamlessly from Kenya to Clapton, from Spain to Brazil, with ease.
There’s plenty of comment and analysis of the places he visits thrown in. To be honest, sometimes I’d have liked a little bit more on the football, but it’s unarguably well written. His description of the Belgrade derby between Red Star and Partizan Belgrade was particularly good, as was his disdain for the tourist trap to see Barcelona in action at the No u Camp.
Stories of blood feuds in Albania were disturbing, as were tales of suffering children in Azerbaijan, while attempts at livening up a North Korean football crowd brought a chuckle.
“We have watched football in some very strange places and have met fascinating people who open a window on several different worlds. ‘But I’ve found there’s no need to travel to the ends of the world to get some great travelling experiences. We have had brilliant weekends watching Welsh football games in Bala, Prestatyn and Cefn Mawr near Wrexham.
“I hope it will appeal to all kinds of football supporters, from the armchair supporter to the fanatic who will understand the obsessional culture within the sport,” he added. It’s certainly a worthy effort.
John Lyons
THE IMMORTALS, BY HARRY HARRIS, PUBLISHED BY G2 ENTERTAINMENT LTD, £9.99, RATING OUT OF 10: 7
HARRY Harris doesn’t hang about. The dust has hardly settled on Leicester City’s incredible season and this book’s out already.
Fair play, because everyone is talking about the Foxes and how they’ve stunned the Premier League big guns.
And it’s clear Harris didn’t suddenly pick up his pen with the title about to be won, because this book has a decent amount of detail to describe Leicester’s title raid.
Go back to last July and the appointment of veteran Italian boss Claudio Ranieri was hardly met with jubilation.
In the book, it mentions that BBC Sport’s Gary Lineker said: “Claudio Ranieri is clearly experienced, but this is an uninspired choice by Leicester. It’s amazing how the same old names keep getting a go on the managerial merry-goround.”
To be fair to former Leicester star Lineker, most people would have agreed with him.
With simple but detailed descriptions of the day-to-day events at Leicester throughout the season we begin to see how the unfancied Foxes somehow keep churning out results until they eventually become hot favourites to take the title – and achieve the unthinkable. With quotes from all the leading players and with a sprinkling of social media stuff thrown in too, there’s a good mix of news, views and opinions. With the season’s stats included too, Leicester fans will be more than happy with this offering. Fans who want a keepsake of an incredible story will enjoy it, too.
David Saunders
