'Aloof, solitary, impassive, the crack goalie is followed in the streets by entranced small boys. He vies with the matador and the flying aces, an object of thrilled adulation. He is the lone eagle, the man of mystery, the last defender.' Nabokov (quoted here), Camus, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, James Joyce, even Julian Barnes ...it's safe to say the goalkeeper hasn't always been a team player. In THE OUTSIDER, Jonathan Wilson traces the sometimes dangerous intellectual and literary preoccupations of the keeper, and looks at how the position has secured a certain existential cool, as well as taking a deep tactical and technical look at the history of goalkeeping. There has been the odd, minor work on goalkeeping in the past, but nothing like this in scope or depth.
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absorbing... Wilson's book offers a Christmas pudding of a narrative, richly packed with diverting nuggets of goalie lore (Paul Connolly METRO )
Wilson's thoughtful look into one of football's most under-discussed positions took him across several continents in search of some of the most eccentric, intellectual and downright bizarre individuals to have starred in the game... engrossing... The seamless and fascinating story of this curious outsider is a resounding success, and Wilson has once again come up trumps (DAILY MIRROR )
a splendid history of football's complicated scapegoats (Jim White THE DAILY TELEGRAPH )
fascinating... From the obese, to the heroic and the corrupt, goalkeepers provide endless anecdotal material. Wilson weaves it together skilfully, from Victorian times to the present, from Charterhouse to Cameroon. The case for the position provoking a kind of existential unease is elegantly made (LITERARY REVIEW )
Wilson's 'part technical, part tactical, part cultural reassessment' is as fascinating a study as FFT has ever seen on the psyche and evolution of the keeper. From tales of tragedy to examining the recent rise of American stoppers, you'll never view No.1 in the same way again (FOUR FOUR TWO )
Jonathan Wilson usually gives you more than you bargain for and The Outsider is no different... So plentiful were the extroverts and introverts in the goalkeeping fraternity, one wonders how it has taken this long for such a detailed all-encompassing account to emerge (IRISH TIMES )
In The Outsider, Jonathan Wilson offers an ebullient history of the goalkeeper and tries to work out what it is that attracts the spiritual, the quizzical, the odd and the reflective to the position... Wilson offers a picture of the goalkeeper as an outsider, but also more of an everyman than you might think. (David Goldblatt THE INDEPENDENT )
Few other positions in football are worth writing a book about... It is the goalkeeper who is the true object of fascination. As Jonathan Wilson points out in his excellently researched and written The Outsider, the reason for this is probably that the whole purpose of goalkeeping is to thwart everyone else (Peter Chapman FINANCIAL TIMES )
the ever-readable Wilson explores the psychological pressures of being cast in the role of the scapegoat...Thought-provoking and full of interesting detail... this book scores on every level (Simon Redfern THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
Wilson's thoughtful look into one of football's most under-discussed positions took him across several continents in search of some of the most eccentric, intellectual and downright bizarre individuals to have starred in the game... engrossing... The seamless and fascinating story of this curious outsider is a resounding success, and Wilson has once again come up trumps (DAILY MIRROR )
a splendid history of football's complicated scapegoats (Jim White THE DAILY TELEGRAPH )
fascinating... From the obese, to the heroic and the corrupt, goalkeepers provide endless anecdotal material. Wilson weaves it together skilfully, from Victorian times to the present, from Charterhouse to Cameroon. The case for the position provoking a kind of existential unease is elegantly made (LITERARY REVIEW )
Wilson's 'part technical, part tactical, part cultural reassessment' is as fascinating a study as FFT has ever seen on the psyche and evolution of the keeper. From tales of tragedy to examining the recent rise of American stoppers, you'll never view No.1 in the same way again (FOUR FOUR TWO )
Jonathan Wilson usually gives you more than you bargain for and The Outsider is no different... So plentiful were the extroverts and introverts in the goalkeeping fraternity, one wonders how it has taken this long for such a detailed all-encompassing account to emerge (IRISH TIMES )
In The Outsider, Jonathan Wilson offers an ebullient history of the goalkeeper and tries to work out what it is that attracts the spiritual, the quizzical, the odd and the reflective to the position... Wilson offers a picture of the goalkeeper as an outsider, but also more of an everyman than you might think. (David Goldblatt THE INDEPENDENT )
Few other positions in football are worth writing a book about... It is the goalkeeper who is the true object of fascination. As Jonathan Wilson points out in his excellently researched and written The Outsider, the reason for this is probably that the whole purpose of goalkeeping is to thwart everyone else (Peter Chapman FINANCIAL TIMES )
the ever-readable Wilson explores the psychological pressures of being cast in the role of the scapegoat...Thought-provoking and full of interesting detail... this book scores on every level (Simon Redfern THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )
Book Description
First ever cultural history of the goalkeeper, the 'loner' between the posts.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By G. Waterman
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Jonathan Wilson books follow a pattern, containing a deep forensic examination of his chosen subject demonstrating his powers of analysis, depth and breadth of research, passion, enquiring mind and sheer writing ability.
His study of the history, esoterica and meaning of goalkeeping is no different containing an in-depth historical, philosophical and practical study of how the role of the goalkeeper originated and has developed since the game of football was invented.
He examines, profiles, critiques or interviews the colossuses of the sport from all continents of the world and his descriptions of greats such as Yashin, Zoff, Shilton, Seaman and Buffon never fail to entertain or educate.
Being Wilson he takes detours into tributaries and backwaters of the game with an acute and forensic examination of the battle for the number one position between the two fantastic Cameroon keepers N'kono and Bell and the political sensitivity of their rivalry.
Fans of literature too will have a field day with goalkeeper themed novels from writers as diverse as Camus, Nabokov and Glanville coming under scrutiny.
This is an eclectic masterpiece and anyone who has either been thrilled or stunned at the exploits of a goalkeeper or taken their place between the posts will understand what it means to be a true Outsider and be both entertained, educated and fascinated by this wonderful book.
One tiny quibble - I was a great fan of the Flying Pig, Tommy Lawrence, one of the first sweeper keepers but surely he didn't merit two mentions of Joe Mercer's eulogising quotation about him, sharper sub-editing would have caught that one!
His study of the history, esoterica and meaning of goalkeeping is no different containing an in-depth historical, philosophical and practical study of how the role of the goalkeeper originated and has developed since the game of football was invented.
He examines, profiles, critiques or interviews the colossuses of the sport from all continents of the world and his descriptions of greats such as Yashin, Zoff, Shilton, Seaman and Buffon never fail to entertain or educate.
Being Wilson he takes detours into tributaries and backwaters of the game with an acute and forensic examination of the battle for the number one position between the two fantastic Cameroon keepers N'kono and Bell and the political sensitivity of their rivalry.
Fans of literature too will have a field day with goalkeeper themed novels from writers as diverse as Camus, Nabokov and Glanville coming under scrutiny.
This is an eclectic masterpiece and anyone who has either been thrilled or stunned at the exploits of a goalkeeper or taken their place between the posts will understand what it means to be a true Outsider and be both entertained, educated and fascinated by this wonderful book.
One tiny quibble - I was a great fan of the Flying Pig, Tommy Lawrence, one of the first sweeper keepers but surely he didn't merit two mentions of Joe Mercer's eulogising quotation about him, sharper sub-editing would have caught that one!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Paul Owens
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having received the book for Christmas, I quickly turned to the index and scanned the pages for the surname of my goalkeeping hero: Neville Southall. Alas, his name wasn't there, and I immediately started to question the quality and validity of a book about goalkeepers without reference to the best of the lot. I was wrong to do so. Wilson has done a fantastic job, his research taking him all over the world to talk goalkeeping and goalkeepers with good, bad and indifferent custodians. I really enjoyed the chapter on the Cameroon goalkeeping rivalry (Nkono was my favourite keeper in Italia 90), and the chapter on Europe's finest is both brilliantly written and wonderfully informative. Goes one step further than Bob Wilson's excellent 'You've got to be crazy'.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By MITHRAKE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I a a keen soccer fan but was very disappointed in this book. Too much waffle about unknowns.
No mention of some of the greats - Bob Wilson, Gil Merrick, Frank Swift, David Seaman.
What has Peter Shilton done to deserve little acknowledgment.
No mention of some of the greats - Bob Wilson, Gil Merrick, Frank Swift, David Seaman.
What has Peter Shilton done to deserve little acknowledgment.
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