Graeme Le Saux: Left Field: A Footballer Apart
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‘Refreshingly honest’ Observer Sports Monthly
‘An engrossing and candid take on the lot of the affluent Premiership footballer.’ FourFourTwo magazine
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A former Southampton, Blackburn, Chelsea and England full-back, the erudite and engaging Graeme Le Saux is far removed from the archetypal British footballer. His distinctive commentary on all the major issues in football, on the pitch and beyond, promises to challenge everyone's perception of the game in this country.
Graeme Le Saux made an outstanding international debut for Terry Venables' new-look England side in a 1-0 win over Denmark at Wembley in March 1994, becoming the first Channel Islander ever to be capped for England.
After joining Chelsea direct from Jersey, where he used to spend his Saturdays on his father’s fruit and vegetable stall, his career flourished under the guidance of Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn Rovers where they won the Premiership title in 1994-95. Graeme transferred back to Chelsea in 1997 for a record fee of £5.5 million before joining Southampton in 2003. He retired as a player in 2005.
In his book, Le Saux addresses the gay slurs that dogged his career – including the infamous Robbie Fowler exposure – how he was vilified by a minority that labelled him a Guardian reader and too smart for football, and life at Stamford Bridge before Roman Abramovich millions changed the club and the game. His thoughtful manner and views on the modern game (he is now consulted for comment regularly by BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel Five) are expanded upon here, with particular focus on the huge amounts of money in top-flight football, players’ agents and the spiralling debts of countless football clubs.
As a player, Le Saux was always seen as different – someone who broke the mold, an individual with his own agenda who sought more to life than playing 90 minutes of football. His insight into the game is informed by those experiences.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Graeme Le Saux was not your stereotypical footballer. Turning up for training at his first professional club, Chelsea, with his "student look" and a copy of `The Guardian', heightened his awkwardness in a dressing room of laddish cliques. Le Saux was something of a square peg: his book's subtitle is `A Footballer Apart' and it's a great read.
One of the most memorable and controversial incidents in Graeme Le Saux's career came during his second spell at Chelsea. In a match against Liverpool, that club's striker, Robbie Fowler, had fouled Le Saux and continued baiting him by proffering his backside. Le Saux's sexuality had been questioned for sometime, beginning as dressing room banter, but then spilling over into terrace chanting and culminating in that ugly incident at Stamford Bridge in 1999. Le Saux writes about the spiteful (and untrue) jibes that dogged much of his career in the book's opening chapter.
The first two chapters contain the most powerful writing. `A Secret', is the title of the book's second chapter, and here, Le Saux writes movingly about the death of his mother, the profound effect that this had on him, and his anxiety about talking of this part of his life.
Much of the rest of the book is devoted to Le Saux's playing career. He won the Premiership with Blackburn Rovers (still the only club to win that competition outside of the so-called big four) and thirty-six England caps. He is pleasingly candid about certain other players and managers. There's a lot on Glenn Hoddle's tenure as England manager: "A manager for whom I had a lot of respect," but you wouldn't necessarily think that on reading the book. In fact, I had to go back to make sure I hadn't misread that quote. That is not to say that there's anything nasty said against Hoddle, but there's certainly some criticism of his methods.
There's plenty on Blackburn under Kenny Dalglish, Chelsea under Gianlucca Vialli and Ruud Gullit, and England under Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan. Le Saux doesn't hide his dislike of Sven-Goran Eriksson for whom he never played.
Journalist, Oliver Holt, is listed as a contributor on the book, but his name does not appear on the title pages, so I assume that there was little if any ghost writing involved here. `Left Field' is a well written, fascinating read from a man who did not conform to the usual footballer stereotype.
One of the most memorable and controversial incidents in Graeme Le Saux's career came during his second spell at Chelsea. In a match against Liverpool, that club's striker, Robbie Fowler, had fouled Le Saux and continued baiting him by proffering his backside. Le Saux's sexuality had been questioned for sometime, beginning as dressing room banter, but then spilling over into terrace chanting and culminating in that ugly incident at Stamford Bridge in 1999. Le Saux writes about the spiteful (and untrue) jibes that dogged much of his career in the book's opening chapter.
The first two chapters contain the most powerful writing. `A Secret', is the title of the book's second chapter, and here, Le Saux writes movingly about the death of his mother, the profound effect that this had on him, and his anxiety about talking of this part of his life.
Much of the rest of the book is devoted to Le Saux's playing career. He won the Premiership with Blackburn Rovers (still the only club to win that competition outside of the so-called big four) and thirty-six England caps. He is pleasingly candid about certain other players and managers. There's a lot on Glenn Hoddle's tenure as England manager: "A manager for whom I had a lot of respect," but you wouldn't necessarily think that on reading the book. In fact, I had to go back to make sure I hadn't misread that quote. That is not to say that there's anything nasty said against Hoddle, but there's certainly some criticism of his methods.
There's plenty on Blackburn under Kenny Dalglish, Chelsea under Gianlucca Vialli and Ruud Gullit, and England under Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan. Le Saux doesn't hide his dislike of Sven-Goran Eriksson for whom he never played.
Journalist, Oliver Holt, is listed as a contributor on the book, but his name does not appear on the title pages, so I assume that there was little if any ghost writing involved here. `Left Field' is a well written, fascinating read from a man who did not conform to the usual footballer stereotype.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Le Saux is a very smart man and as far from the stereotypical footballer as one can imagine. This is well written and I suspect Le Saux handled most of it for himself. There is not a lot new to learn in the book apart from a bit more detail about the difficulties that Le Saux overcame in respect of some of the brainless colleagues he played with. In particular Robbie Fowler is accurately portrayed as a very unpleasant character indeed. I just felt that Le Saux came across as a little too sorry for himself and perhaps it was as much this side of his approach to football life that fellow players found off-putting alongside his undeniable intelligence.
Format:Paperback
Graeme Le Saux was born and raised on the small island of Jersey and joined Chelsea as a wide eyed youngster in a era long before Roman's riches made them Premiership champions. Whilst cutting his football teeth at Stamford Bridge Le Saux had to deal with constant abuse about his own sexual pervasion. Le Saux suffered in the dressing room as a result as he wasn't your typical footballer who loved a good drink, a good night out or got involved with card schools on away trips. The abuse then went from dressing room to the terraces and almost every time Le Saux went onto the field it became a personal battle.
In 1993 the then Chelsea manager David Webb told Le Saux he was no longer good enough for Chelsea he signed for Blackburn Rovers. At Ewood Park Le Saux joined a more united dressing room and joined the Lancashire club just as millionaire business man Jack Walker's investment in the club started to pay dividends. Le Saux explains how former Liverpool legend Kenny Daglish bonded a team together to became the only team outside the big four in England to win the Premiership.
Le Saux then talks openly about how things went wrong at Ewood Park after the departure of Daglish and eventually lead to him and his team mate David Batty having a fight on the pitch in a Champions League match in Moscow. Things then went from bad to worse and his career at Blackburn came to end after a ankle injury and Le Saux explains about how little the medical team and staff at Blackburn did for him whilst he was recovering from injury.
Le Saux rejoined his old club Chelsea in 1997 and he could believe how much the club had changed since his first spell and goes on to talk about the effect Ruud Gullit had on his career and how he changed the ethos at Stamford Bridge. Ruud's change in ethos and playing style almost landed them the Premiership title a few seasons before the Roman revolution.
Le Saux was also a England international and despite missing out on the Euro 96 party the full back still enjoyed success on the world stage and played in the World Cup in 1998 in France. Le Saux gives his frank and insightful view of what went on at England during the Hoddle and Keegan era's and the England chapters are the most interesting parts of the whole book.
Most footballers Autobiography tell the story of them growing up becoming a footballer earning vast sums of money and what matches and trophies then won.
Left field in my opinion is more than that it's a fascinating read that gives a real insight into what really goes on inside the dressing room both at club and International level and goes some way to explain why England never won the World Cup in 1998.
Not many footballers Autobiography are page turners but this one certainty is.
In 1993 the then Chelsea manager David Webb told Le Saux he was no longer good enough for Chelsea he signed for Blackburn Rovers. At Ewood Park Le Saux joined a more united dressing room and joined the Lancashire club just as millionaire business man Jack Walker's investment in the club started to pay dividends. Le Saux explains how former Liverpool legend Kenny Daglish bonded a team together to became the only team outside the big four in England to win the Premiership.
Le Saux then talks openly about how things went wrong at Ewood Park after the departure of Daglish and eventually lead to him and his team mate David Batty having a fight on the pitch in a Champions League match in Moscow. Things then went from bad to worse and his career at Blackburn came to end after a ankle injury and Le Saux explains about how little the medical team and staff at Blackburn did for him whilst he was recovering from injury.
Le Saux rejoined his old club Chelsea in 1997 and he could believe how much the club had changed since his first spell and goes on to talk about the effect Ruud Gullit had on his career and how he changed the ethos at Stamford Bridge. Ruud's change in ethos and playing style almost landed them the Premiership title a few seasons before the Roman revolution.
Le Saux was also a England international and despite missing out on the Euro 96 party the full back still enjoyed success on the world stage and played in the World Cup in 1998 in France. Le Saux gives his frank and insightful view of what went on at England during the Hoddle and Keegan era's and the England chapters are the most interesting parts of the whole book.
Most footballers Autobiography tell the story of them growing up becoming a footballer earning vast sums of money and what matches and trophies then won.
Left field in my opinion is more than that it's a fascinating read that gives a real insight into what really goes on inside the dressing room both at club and International level and goes some way to explain why England never won the World Cup in 1998.
Not many footballers Autobiography are page turners but this one certainty is.
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