Stan Bowles was one of THE iconic faces of seventies English football, alongside the likes of Peter Osgood, Tony Currie and Charlie George. A maverick in the truest sense of the word. He was a skilful player, a dribbler and a goal-scorer. He broke the British record for European goals in a season back in 1976/77, during QPR`s UEFA Cup run. The only problem for Stan and those others is they were in the shadow of THE top dog at the time, one George Best. Best gets a mention in this book of course.
Stan`s partner-in-crime was Don Shanks and their merry escapades make for marvellous entertainment, there is hardly a dull page in the whole book with loads of laugh out loud moments. If you like your football books to contain loads of anecdotes and opinions this is the book for you. It has some of the funniest I have ever read, and it is also the only footballer`s biography I can think of that mentions the Shoot To Kill inquiry and Thin Lizzy. Also, unlike many such books, Stan doesn`t bore us with his `romantic` laisons, he makes it quite clear his main obsession was betting, followed closely by betting. Although earning good money by the standards of the day, he doesn`t worship filthy lucre but rather regards it as a means to an end. More visits to the dog track. A brilliant read.