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Product Description
Product Description
Leigh Richmond Roose was a brilliant and controversial Edwardian goalkeeper - so good at his job that the FA had to change the rules of the game to keep him in check. His was the first name on the "Daily Mail's" teamsheet for their "World XI to challenge another planet at football". He was an inspirational figure for Stoke City, Sunderland and Wales (when they won their first Home Nations Championship), also playing for Aston Villa, Arsenal and Everton. Through dating music hall stars he became the first footballer to regularly appear in the newspaper gossip columns. Like millions of others he died serving his country in the Great War; unlike millions of others, nobody knew how or where...until now.
About the Author
Spencer Vignes is a freelance journalist who writes regularly for The Observer. He lives in Cardiff and has good connections in the Welsh media. His first book, The Server, was listed for the 2003 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Leigh Roose was the Welsh goalkeeper before the first world war. This is the story of his wonderful yet ultimately tragic life. The book shows how football rules changed because he was so proficient at his craft. He features in the earliest surviving football movie ever (Ireland v Wales 1906). It always finally unveils the mystery of his death - tragically lost on the Somme and explaining the mystery of why his name has never appeared on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission register (that is until now). There is so much to learn here - about Britain before WW1, about early football and society, about the politics of the time and about war. This is a truly wonderful book, for anyone with even a passing interest in football, or Wales, or War. Can't recommend it highly enough.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a football fan now, it's tempting to think that the game has always been played with the current rules, and that the key differences between the early years of the FA and today's game is that the on-screen footage is now in colour and the ball is a little lighter. In fact, when you read Spencer Vignes book that is about all that is different between then and now. Reading about the league games of the early 20th century is very much like reading about the trials and tribulations of a modern player or team playing "one game at a time". Showmanship, occasional crowd trouble, financial scandal and the pull of the game's money men all feature here - in a book written about the trials and tribulations of a footballer I hadn't previously been aware of. I read it over a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed this insight into the game of yesteryear and one of its currently unsung heroes.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Lost in France
Although I'd regard myself as a football fan with an interest in the history of the game, I admit to never having heard of Leigh Richmond Roose before I bought this book. Yet he was one of the best goalkeeper of the Edwardian period (before 1914) and had something of a reputation as a playboy to boot. To add to his mystique he was killed on the Western Front in the First World War and his body was never found.
The book is a carefully researched biography, doing a good job of recreating the world of professional football at the time. It covers Roose's upbringing in Wales and early career followed by a succession of clubs, notably Everton, Stoke and Sunderland. Roose was not an easy man to deal with, it seems, "knowing his own value" and moving on frequently (somewhat reminiscent of a modern Welshman, Craig Bellamy!)
The book also covers as much of Roose's personal life as possible. He had a strong preference for living in London and made a requirement of signing for Stoke that he could commute. This seems to have been to continue to enjoy the London social scene, a taste he acquired while studying as a medical student. He is seen out with musical hall star Marie Lloyd in an obvious parallel with modern times.
And yet ... despite this careful and meticulous research, do you really feel at the end of the book that you `know' Leigh Richmond Roose? He was an intelligent and talented man, not one to be pushed around by football club bosses. But there is so little of the man himself - whether he had any banter, a Welsh accent, how he was regarded by his team-mates (or women), who he voted for, and so on.
The value of this book is in reminding us, a century on, who Leigh Richmond Roose was and what he achieved, as well as recreating the Edwardian world. But Roose the man is lost to us in more ways than one.
Although I'd regard myself as a football fan with an interest in the history of the game, I admit to never having heard of Leigh Richmond Roose before I bought this book. Yet he was one of the best goalkeeper of the Edwardian period (before 1914) and had something of a reputation as a playboy to boot. To add to his mystique he was killed on the Western Front in the First World War and his body was never found.
The book is a carefully researched biography, doing a good job of recreating the world of professional football at the time. It covers Roose's upbringing in Wales and early career followed by a succession of clubs, notably Everton, Stoke and Sunderland. Roose was not an easy man to deal with, it seems, "knowing his own value" and moving on frequently (somewhat reminiscent of a modern Welshman, Craig Bellamy!)
The book also covers as much of Roose's personal life as possible. He had a strong preference for living in London and made a requirement of signing for Stoke that he could commute. This seems to have been to continue to enjoy the London social scene, a taste he acquired while studying as a medical student. He is seen out with musical hall star Marie Lloyd in an obvious parallel with modern times.
And yet ... despite this careful and meticulous research, do you really feel at the end of the book that you `know' Leigh Richmond Roose? He was an intelligent and talented man, not one to be pushed around by football club bosses. But there is so little of the man himself - whether he had any banter, a Welsh accent, how he was regarded by his team-mates (or women), who he voted for, and so on.
The value of this book is in reminding us, a century on, who Leigh Richmond Roose was and what he achieved, as well as recreating the Edwardian world. But Roose the man is lost to us in more ways than one.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lost In France
An excellent account of a long forgotten sporting hero who deserves wider recognition. A timely reminder that the celebrity culture is not a recent phenomenon.
Published 8 months ago by Pinetree
First rate
This book gives an interesting account of the life of a footballer who is not known to many of us now but in his day he was the second most recognised sportsman after Jack... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. Richard Comrie
Fantastic
I have emailed the author Spencer to say how much i enjoyed his book, i think he has really researched the life of Leigh and told a wonderful story about his life. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2009 by P. Wharton
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