Reviews from When Saturday Comes. Follow the link to buy the book from Amazon.
From Championship to Conference
by Rob Hadgraft
Desert Island Books, £14.99
Reviewed by Neil Rose
From WSC 279 May 2010
Many clubs have had a sob story to tell in recent years, but do any of them match that of Luton Town? Since 1999 there have been three periods of administration, a record 40 points deducted, four relegations, one league title, one other promotion, one Johnstone’s Paint Trophy victory and one infamous rant about female officials.
More Than Just Tricks
by Lee Trundle with Chris Wathan
Mainstream, £16.99
Reviewed by Huw Richards
From WSC 289 March 2011
Lee Trundle always did trade in the unexpected. There is some surprise in a large publisher seeing sufficient demand in a book about a lower-division local hero, but a changing media landscape means that where Robin Friday and co were confined to Saturday night football editions and fan word-of-mouth, Trundle has reached wider audiences through YouTube and Soccer AM.
Steve Hodge
by Steve Hodge
Orion Books, £18.99
Reviewed by Al Needham
From WSC 290 April 2011
It's not at all surprising that Steve Hodge – who was the prototype for a seemingly unending line of nice, sensible-haircutted players turned up by Brian Clough – should choose to place himself in the role of spear-carrier in his own autobiography. The words "Model Professional" are etched through the book like the lettering in a stick of rock, from the photo of him holding his schoolboy contract in an outfit straight off the rack of C&A's Young Mr Disco collection to being poked in the eye by Eric Cantona at the end of his career.
The Autobiography of a Goalkeeping Legend
by John Burridge
John Blake, £16.99
Reviewed by Damon Green
From WSC 295 September 2011
Like the tale of one of those old ladies born in Paris to the sound of Robespierre's guillotine, and eventually run over by a motor car on the Champs-Élysées, it is hard to believe that the two ends of the John Burridge story belong in the same lifetime.
The Story of Derby County's Record Breaking 2007-08 Season
by Edgar Smith
Pure Phase, £8.95
Reviewed by Terry Staunton
From WSC 289 March 2011
Early on in a top-flight campaign that would ultimately end in a litany of unwelcome "records", Derby County's website did manage to strike a brief note of positivity. Pride Park was (drum roll) the first UK football ground to install a branch of Starbucks. However, as the back slaps and double-espressos-all-round subsided, it was soon time to wake up and smell the coffee.