#258 Tales from the Secret Footballer (2013)

Author: Anon
Title: Tales from the Secret Footballer
Genre: Sport
Year: 2013
Pages: 250
Origin: read on the Kindle
Nod Rating: 2 nods out of 5

 

The Secret Footballer found (slight) fame in a series of articles published in The Guardian. The column promised to lift ‘the lid on the world of football’, with topics ranging from what happens in the changing rooms, to motivations of players and how they deal with the press and agents. Such was the popularity of the regular column that it led to a couple of books; Tales from the Secret Footballer is the second to be printed.

Clearly, this read is only suitable for those with an interest in football. But in terms of the usual tosh spewed out by publishers on various sports, Tales from the Secret Footballer is actually entertaining. Blessed with anonymity, the author is able to openly discuss (and deride) former bosses and team-mates in small chapters. He also floats various ideas of working in other football related industries, from coaching to taking up opportunities in China.

Of course, the biggest entertainment factor is in the guessing as to who the Secret Footballer actually is. Various names have been suggested, including Phil Neville, Danny Murphy and Leighton Baines (if none of these name ring a bell with you, then this review is really not your cup of tea… in which case, why are you still reading this?). The biggest culprit, however, appears to be Dave Kitson. Yes, that house-hold name of a player.

Tales from the Secret Footballer is a light-weight read, never threatening anything more than to engage the interest of its reader for a short-time. But for football fans it makes the perfect stocking-filler at Christmas time. To be fair, the book has no pretensions on anything greater.

Read more about the Secret Footballer here