An Autobiography
by Norman Uprichard with Chris Westcott

Amberley, £14.99
Reviewed by Robbie Meredith
From WSC 300 February 2012

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It is a standard and understandable practice for footballers who played long before the Baby Bentley-fuelled Premier League age to use parts of their autobiography to lament some of the traits of the modern pro. Norman Uprichard, the notoriously brave Northern Irish goalkeeper who played for Arsenal and Portsmouth in the old Division One in the 1950s, is an exception to the rule. He has virtually nothing, negative or positive, to say about the game after his own career finished in 1961. It is a pity, as he had more right than most to regret missing out on the comparative riches available to later generations.

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The Autobiography
by Dixie Deans with Ken McNab
Birlinn, £16.99
Reviewed by Jonathan O'Brien
From WSC 300 February 2012

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It requires little brainpower to work out how John Deans, Celtic's powerhouse striker of the early 1970s, came by his nickname. But it seems even that was beyond some people. Early on in this autobiography, a well-known horseracing pundit accosts Deans at a function and slaps his back, under the impression he has just met the Evertonian Dixie Dean instead. "For me to be Dixie Dean, I would have had to be about 90," he writes. "I must look like I had a hard paper round."

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The Autobiography
by Dominic Matteo

Great Northern, £16.99
Reviewed by Simon Creasey
From WSC 300 February 2012

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He may have made fewer than 150 appearances, scoring a measly four goals in the process, but at Elland Road Dominic Matteo's name ranks right up there with other legendary figures from Leeds' halcyon days. Whether home or away, Matteo's name is sung every week by Leeds supporters to commemorate the "fucking great goal" he scored against AC Milan in a Champions League tie at the San Siro.

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My Life on Football's B-Roads
by Chris Hargreaves
The Friday Project, £8.99
Reviewed by Piers Pennington
From WSC 299 January 2012

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If you were told that a footballer called Hargreaves had written an autobiography you might not be surprised, although Chris is probably not the first name that would spring to mind. Despite the unpromising title, arising from a tenuous connection between the author having played for a lot of clubs and having long hair, it proves to be a thoroughly enjoyable and – in an immediate, haphazard, unpolished kind of way – well-written account of what life as a lower-League professional footballer is really like.

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Ten Years at Anfield – A Liverpool Fan's Dream Job
by Frank Gamble
SportsBooks, £7.99
Reviewed by Mark Rowe
From WSC 299 January 2012

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Frank Gamble has given us a rarity: an original football memoir. "The idea for this book," he says, "was to try and express what it was like crossing the threshold of just being a fan, no matter how fervent, to depending on that commitment for your livelihood." In the 1980s he worked for Liverpool as the lottery sales manager. Liverpool taxed and insured his beige, nearly-new 1300cc Ford Escort estate. "How cool was that?" Frank writes. "Had somebody offered me a swap for a Ferrari there and then I would have politely declined."

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