Second revised edition of the autobiography of Scottish footballer and football manager Kenny Dalglish. This edition has been updated to cover the 1996/1997 season and Dalglish's move to become Newcastle manager.
Hardcover
,
276 pages
Published
December 31st 1996
by Hodder & Stoughton
(first published June 1996)
I've stood on the terraces of several clubs like Leeds, Liverpool, and Sheffield. I loved the Liverpool of Kevin Keegan and John Toschak, Ian Callaghan, Emlyn Hughes, Tommy Smith and Ray Clemence. I knew Kenny Dalglish accomplished great things but knew few details, and my soccer team mate who hails from Scunthorpe recommended this book. Co-authored by the Telegraph's Henry Winter, it is an insightful read into one of English football's great heros, both as a player and manager. Only, Dalglish g
I've stood on the terraces of several clubs like Leeds, Liverpool, and Sheffield. I loved the Liverpool of Kevin Keegan and John Toschak, Ian Callaghan, Emlyn Hughes, Tommy Smith and Ray Clemence. I knew Kenny Dalglish accomplished great things but knew few details, and my soccer team mate who hails from Scunthorpe recommended this book. Co-authored by the Telegraph's Henry Winter, it is an insightful read into one of English football's great heros, both as a player and manager. Only, Dalglish grew up in the shadow of Ibrox, but Rangers never came for him, and he became a star at Celtic, before Bob Paisley grabbed him for Liverpool.
He was a midfield playmaker with little pace, but his dribbling, vision, passing and shooting made others better. He also lived through Heysel and Hillsborough, and his accounts of each really opened my eyes to what little the players knew about the events. English fans were wrongly blamed for the events at Heysel and banned from European football for five years; the events at Heysel and in Rome's Olympic Stadium set the stage for Hillsborough. I never understood the relationship among these seemingly disparate events.
After burning out emotionally at Liverpool, with a splendid record as a player, player/manager, and manager, Dalglish returned to manage Blackburn Rovers. He took them from the Championship to the Premier League. From there, he took them to fourth in the EPL, second the next year, and he took an Alan Shearer-fueled attack to the EPL Championship. All told, it is a splendid record. Henry Winter deserves a lot of credit for not editing this book harder, because its style allows Dalglish to speak as the Scotsman he is: a basic vocabulary, flattish tone, but emotion and intensity are buried underneath a matter-of-fact recitation of major events, great games, and great personal accomplishments on the field and off. This book is a great read for a football fan.
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This Autobiography reminds me very much of the 'Kings' interviews, honest and to the point. If your idea of an Biography is a thrill at every-page, every moment in the life of that person exposed for the world to see on each and every-page. Each opinion, each controversy, each ounce of gossip exposed for entertainment value, then this book isnt what your looking for. This book is simply a true honest account about a legend by the legend. He tells you the bits he believes is worth putting down on
This Autobiography reminds me very much of the 'Kings' interviews, honest and to the point. If your idea of an Biography is a thrill at every-page, every moment in the life of that person exposed for the world to see on each and every-page. Each opinion, each controversy, each ounce of gossip exposed for entertainment value, then this book isnt what your looking for. This book is simply a true honest account about a legend by the legend. He tells you the bits he believes is worth putting down on paper. The bits of his life he wants you to know, and doesn't mind you knowing. A rare highlight in the life of a reserved giant in the world of football. Having said all that, he does talk about delicate subjects such as Hysel and Hilsborough, and how he remembers them taking place. his belief on why they happened, and how the authorities, media, fans,and fellow players handled them. These accounts again, are written in a dignified, honest and respectful manner (very much how he handled it at the time).
So if your looking to read about the life of King Kenny in the same way you'd read in the likes of modern footballers, and pop stars biography's then you may be disappointed. But if you want to know about the man himself, the legend. His love for the game, his clubs, hometown of Glasgow, adopted home of Liverpool and all the highlights of his life told in the most honest of words, then this book is a joy to read.
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