Fighting Like Beavers On The Front Line Of Football
by Chris Kamara
Harper Sport, £15.99
Reviewed by Barney Ronay
From WSC 283 September 2010

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Mr Unbelievable is a mess. It is, structurally and tonally, a confused and uneven affair. It is without doubt unbelievable – an unbelievable dog's dinner. Having said that it isn't a particularly boring book, or at least not uniformly boring – open its pages anywhere and you find yourself assailed, bothered, nudged and jabbered at. Mr Unbelievable has one constant: the sound of uneasily giggling professional banter, the banter of a man who appears to be laughing so hard he has tears in his eyes, but who you feel might, at any moment, jab you in the eye and ask you what's so funny.

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The Chic Charnley Story
by Chic Charnley with Alex Gordon
Black & White, £14.99
Reviewed by Chris Fyfe
From WSC 281 July 2010

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One match can define a player's career: Archie Gemmill's goal against the Netherlands; Diego Maradona's Hand of God; Eric Cantona's karate kick. It was Chic Charnley's acclaimed guest appearance for his beloved Celtic against Man Utd in Mark Hughes's 1994 testimonial that summed him up.

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On Life, Football & Cosmetic Surgery
by John Ryan with John Brindley
Scratching Shed, £15.99
Reviewed by Glen Wilson
From WSC 281 July 2010

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"Just a lad from a Doncaster council estate", John Ryan made his money in cosmetic surgery, not as a surgeon, but as a salesman. As he himself says: "I've always seemed to have the ability to persuade people to do what I want." So we can all be thankful that he chose to channel his powers to resurrecting his hometown football club rather than becoming the world's first true super-villain. A life-long supporter, Ryan has taken Rovers from their lowest point to their highest, and all in little more than a decade.

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The Dark History Of The World Cup
by Jon Spurling
Vision Sports, £14.99
Reviewed by Terry Staunton
From WSC 281 July 2010

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Zaire full-back Mwepu Ilunga's odd behaviour at the 1974 finals, breaking off from the defensive wall to boot the ball away just as Brazil's Rivelino is about to take a free-kick, has gone down as one of the most comical scenes in World Cup history. It is replayed time and again on the obligatory TV clips shows in the run-up to each subsequent tournament.

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A History In Ten Matches
by Jonathan Wilson
Orion, £14.99
Reviewed by Harry Pearson
From WSC 281 July 2010

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Jonathan Wilson produces so much high-class writing about football that, had I not met him on a couple of occasions, I'd be tempted to believe he was actually a workers' collective. The Anatomy of England is Wilson's fourth book on the game and while the subject – the England national team in all its splendid misery – might seem less exotic, esoteric and altogether more familiar than those covered in his excellent Behind the Curtain and Inverting the Pyramid the result is every bit as thought-provoking and entertaining.

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