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I Am The Secret Footballer: Lifting the Lid on the Beautiful Game [Paperback]


3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 23 Aug 2012

Who is The Secret Footballer? His identity is jealously guarded by just a handful of people. But whoever he is - and whoever he plays for - he is always honest, always fearless and always opinionated.

This genuine story of one player's career is a unique combination of considered analysis, tell-all gossip and the joys and frustrations that only someone who plays the game at the highest levels can really feel. From the realities of racism and depression, to the pleasure and pain of sky-high salaries and the scandals of Christmas parties, The Secret Footballer reveals everything you need to know about the beautiful (and not so beautiful) game.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Guardian Books (23 Aug 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0852653085
  • ISBN-13: 978-0852653081
  • Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 1.8 x 21.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

This is better than any turgid football biography on the bookshelves and well worth seeking out (Sunday Business Post )

A recklessly honest read that pairs huilty pleasure gossip with a moral compass, as TSF is force-fed a lifestyle that comes with being a Premier League footballer (Loaded )

Not since the days of the great super-injuctions has the identity of an anonymous sports star cause as much speculation as that surrounding the mysterious author of the Guardian column, The Secret Footballer, which has been running in the paper for the last 18 months (Choice magazine )

A hugely insightful and opinionated commentary on the modern game (Morning Star Online )

Book Description

The honest truth about professional football, by the Guardian's man inside the game.
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping but very frustrating 31 Aug 2012
By M. Johnes
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is both a gripping and a deeply frustrating book.

In terms of its aim of lifting the lid on the hidden world of football it's very good and better probably than every Premier League autobiography. It's far most honest and open than is the case with almost everything else written from within football. There's much here on the shenanigans, the money, the mindset of players, their relationships with people outside football and about the playing of the game itself. Every fan will learn something from it.

But, in terms of trying to understand the secret footballer himself, the book is deeply frustrating. It's not so much the fact that he's anonymous but that so much of the detail is left out.

He talks a lot about money and about figures but at the same time is vague enough that you don't really understand whether he's very rich from his investments or broke from his tax bill (or both). Understanding the trajectory and nature of his career is impossible because he, understandably, doesn't give too much away in order to protect his anonymity. This means understanding quite where he's coming from is very difficult, as is understanding why he suffers from depression.

Indeed, building up some sympathy for the writer is almost impossible. He comes over as rather arrogant but I guess that's inevitable with any highly-paid, high-profile elite athlete. He seems to see himself as both an insider and an outsider within football culture but how that affects his relationship with his teammates is never as explicit as it might have been. His wife is virtually absent from the book, despite the talk about the impact of home life on performances. You get the sense that while he might not want fans to know who he is, his identity within the game isn't a secret. For all the discussion of his wages and his depression, he's holding back.

This is shame because there was the potential here for the best book ever written about football. It could have been a very open autobiography that told us everything about his personality, his life and the game itself. That was never going to happen though because he's still playing and wants to stay in the game.

What he's given us is very good but it leaves the reader with as many questions as answers. He's just had to leave too much out in order to protect his identity and, presumably, his reputation within the game.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't quite do it for me 22 Aug 2012
By G. Waterman
Format:Kindle Edition
The concept is great, an anonymous top flight footballer telling it as it really is without fear or favour and this is certainly an insider's view bit it falls a little bit short for me as it tantalises but in many cases fails to deliver.

I appreciate that the content needs to be tailored in such a way as to protect the author's identity but this means that it reads as too generic rather than specific with not enough names mentioned.

Robby Savage and Ashley Cole might take exception to the vilification they receive but they are in the minority with too much waffle and generalities.

I understand that his Guardian columns are far more hard hitting and I shall certainly be seeking them out from now on but I found this book ultimately frustrating rather than the insider's guide I was expecting and hoping for.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and revealing. 27 Aug 2012
By Niall
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been reading The Secret Footballer's column in The Guardian for the last couple of seasons and enjoy it hugely. It's always the first thing I read on a Saturday morning, and has the advantage of being topical because he tends to write about issues that have come up in the professional game in the preceding week. Therefore, and let's get it out of the way immediately, the thing that did disappoint me slightly was the cut-and-paste nature of some of the chapters which had simply been lifted straight from the columns.

Having said that, despite what some of the other reviewers have said, I really enjoyed the book. He is very clearly a different cut to the majority of professional sportspeople and that comes out in his ability to construct a sentence, provide insight and make the reader laugh. Although the chapter focussing on 'Bad Behaviour' was at times puerile and toe-curling and will re-enforce much of the disdain that footballers are held in, it painted a picture.

Britain is still, whatever some will say, a deeply divided and class-obsessed nation and TSF's journey was brilliantly chronicled from council estate to ridiculously over-appointed mansion. The passage about his birthday celebration with some of his oldest friends was (Psueds Corner Alert!) written with genuine pathos. He had become a different person and there was real pain in his writing. Earlier in the book, he covers his time as a young professional the contrast between where he started and the 'Money' chapter is stark and, again I don't mind saying it, insightful.

It doesn't set out to be a seminal piece of sporting literature. It's not 'Beyond a Boundary', 'The Fight' or 'Moneyball' but it is a good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A great read
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.. I had hoped for more detail but it was a fascinating read..would highly recommend
Published 1 hour ago by Pam
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Clever
It is a fabulous book about the behind the scenes footballers life. It is also very clever how he hides his identity - missing out key information on his life so interested readers... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Stephen
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not totally eye opening
This book is well worth a read, it has some interesting insights into the modern game but most of the stories don't surprise just disappoint you as that is what you expect of the... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Ian High
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Read
If you are looking for a good, fast paced short read with an insight into modern football then this is your book. Read more
Published 3 days ago by pphillips
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
As a football fan interested in the on goings behind the scenes at club's it was very good. Details on how transfers work, player/manager relationships, image rights etc were... Read more
Published 6 days ago by MR MWT TOPP
4.0 out of 5 stars Short but unique perspective
A book from the Guardian's secret footballer. Ex pro telling it like it is have played in the Premiership. Read more
Published 10 days ago by N. Brett
5.0 out of 5 stars You have driven me nuts!!!
Fantastic read. I could not put this down once I started reading it. Who are you? When's the next book?
Published 10 days ago by Irene F
1.0 out of 5 stars Does it matter who he is?
Not to me. Could be anyone but he is strangely likeable despite the hideous excesses. Definitely a tale of our warped football times.
Published 11 days ago by Michael Bell
4.0 out of 5 stars Eric 1966
It's easy reading and quite interesting, It would have been a lot better if names had been added, plus points are his disdain for John Terry, Ashley Cole and Chelsea. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Hank'$ a million
3.0 out of 5 stars Stick to football..................
Not very revealing, the most interesting part is trying to work out who it might be.
Blue Square rather than Premiership.
Published 16 days ago by Zed
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