Reviews

• This is a well written, engaging story of John Giles professional career as one of the best soccer players in England in the '60's and '70's. He grew up in a working class area of Dublin in the 1950's, obsessed with soccer in a country where it was often regarded as a "foreign" game. He was invited by a scout to go to Manchester United as a 14yr old. He describes in wonderful detail leaving Dublin, on his own, to navigate the boat and trains to Manchester to meet a representative of the club at the train station. His mother so worried about him that she pinned a pound note inside his coat with his address in case he got lost! He describes the camraderie of the other Irish players at Manchester looking out for him, and eventually moving there at 15 as a trainee, and signing on fully at 17; soon he was playing with the legendary side coached by Matt Busby. Along the way he endured living in a rented room in Manchester with a landlady who allowed only one bar on the electric fire at night, sometimes Giles slept in his clothes he was so cold in the attic bedroom! The details of what the young players endured at the time, the tragedy of the Munich air disaster and how poorly it was handled by Manchester United, are all revealing and fascinating stories Giles tells very well. He recounts in vivid detail playing for Ireland at Dalymount in Dublin, only a few years after he was going there himself as a boy with his father to watch soccer games. His elation at scoring with a volley from outside the box, any boys dream come true. The excitement helped erase the memory of the FAI's ridiculous disorganisation and crazy selection process (Giles only heard he was selected because one of his friends saw it in a newspaper article a few weeks before the game!). Moving to Leeds United in the early sixties was the beginning of a remarkable career, and an unprecedented period of success for Leeds. Giles and the Leeds team developed a reputation, at the time, for hard play, and as Giles says, he was well able to "look after myself" on the field. It's interesting to read his take on football at that time, the roughness that went on, not just at Leeds and the gamesmanship that went on to gain any advantage possible in the game. I suppose it's ironic that Giles is now often a vocal critic on TV of the diving and flopping often seen in professional games now! He genuinely loved the game, and realised over and over, how lucky he was to be able to continue playing avoiding serious injury over the years (he played his last game as a 40 yr old for Shamrock Rovers in Dublin). The book is well writte, and a great read, especially if you're familiar with the clubs in England in the 60's and 70's. It's also a great social history of Dublin, and the soccer club training system in England in the late '50 and '60's.

• As a child growing up in Leeds in the 60's, I was lucky enough to see the emergence of one of the greatest football teams ever to grace the beautiful game. Wrongly maligned as "dirty Leeds" by history, (Everton, Chelsea, Spurs, and others were FAR worse back then), I watched a group of teenagers like Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer, Billy Bremner etc become legends under the guidance of Don Revie. Two players remain in my memory as onfield 'generals' who transformed Revie's vision into reality. John Giles and Bobby Collins. One a Celtic "has-been", the other, a 22 year old Irish lad not wanted at Man Utd. Incredible footballers! It's strange now thinking back that both were victims of horrific assaults on field, yet Leeds were branded dirty. Poor Bobby Collins had his leg shattered by a Torino player in the old Fairs Cup, and John survived two serious injuries which could easily have finished his career. What a mistake Busby made selling Giles - and I will always thank him for that. John was one of the most gifted midfielders I have ever seen. Two footed, intellegent, creative, and he always had space and time. The true mark of a genius. And yes - tough. But you had to be in those days when football was a man's game I think this is the most honest football autobiography I've ever read. Anyone who knows John's writing from his newspaper columns knows he is not shy about saying things the way he sees them. This book pulls no punches, and he is totally truthful about his own wrongdoings. (Few though they were - contrary to what pseudo-history would have you believe). If you are a football fan you have to read this. You don't have to be a Leeds United fan, just a fan of real football when players were men and not overpaid prima donna's. If you ever see this review, thank you for writing this John. I'm 58 now, but you gave me some of the greatest memories of my life. Awesome player, (I wish you were 22 now, cos Leeds need someone like you), and a really entertaing writer.

• Prompt delivery, great read!

• Although I am not a Leeds United fan I really liked John Giles as a footballer and later still as a football journalist, this is a good read.

• A great journey through the life of one of the greatest footballers of all time. The book is very well written and perhaps even more importantly very well edited so you do not get any of the stories that repeat a few chapters later, unlike some others sports autobiographies I have read recently. But most of all it was the honesty that came through, from his views of Revie to Busby to his time playing for the infamous Leeds team of the 70's. Just like some of his tackles, the studs are showing in this book. Highly recommended for any football fan regardless of the team you support.

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