- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Empire Publications Ltd (1 April 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1901746399
- ISBN-13: 978-1901746396
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13.4 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 948,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Review
"Viollet called his unwritten autobiography 'The Kings Have Gone' -- this excellent work restores one of them to his throne..." -- Book of the Week, The Independent. "Entertaining and richly anecdotal..." -- Les Scott, Stoke Sentinel.
Product Description
A legendary goalscorer and Busby Babe, Dennis Viollet's career took in tragedy and triumph in equal measure. As a player he thrilled thousands as an outstanding teenage footballer with Manchester United's all-conquering Babes, developing an almost telepathic understanding with fellow striker Tommy Taylor. Later, after surviving the Munich air disaster, Viollet broke Manchester United's record for goals in a season -- a mark he still holds despite the attempts of Van Nistlerooy, Law, Cantona, Hughes and Cole. Along with Wilf McGuinness, Dennis campaigned for the abolition of the maximum wage which saw United's greatest ever goal-poacher on wages of GBP20 per week. But by 1961 Dennis was mysteriously transferred from Old Trafford without a word from Matt Busby, the club or a good luck farewell from fans -- United even denied the goalscoring legend a testimonial. Rather than dwell on his misfortune however, Dennis began a second career at Stoke City alongside Sir Stanley Matthews. There he helped the Potters win promotion back to Division One and, once he hung his boots up in 1967, received the testimonial he should have received in Manchester. In the second half of his life Dennis became Coach Viollet', a respected member of the British coaching establishment in the United States. But in 1998 Dennis fell ill and died, after a painful illness, in his adopted home of Florida in March 1999. A gentleman footballer from a bygone age, Dennis was a loveable rogue, a charmer in turn of both the opposite sex and opposing defences: Dennis didn't so much bludgeon opposing defenders as pick their pockets. In this respect he was ahead of his time, a Manchester lad with the brains, style and skills of a continental forward.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
The most famous of the Busby Babes were probably Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton, followed by Tommy Taylor and Roger Byrne. Dennis Viollet was a name I knew but assumed to be one of the `squad players', probably because of his lack of international appearances.
To someone of my age (born after Munich) this book is a useful corrective in filling in the career of a man who was one of United's top scorers and who, by all accounts, made many goals for others. You will learn all about his United career, virtually match by match. The book's other strong point is giving insights into the life of a footballer in the 1950s and (to a lesser extent) the 1960s, making clear George Best didn't invent the nightclub!
The book is clearly a personal tribute by the authors and in some ways it is so personal it seems unfair to comment further. In the interests of helping you to decide whether to buy this or not, I feel compelled to mention a few things, though:
(i) It is written by devotees for devotees - at 321 pages it is way too long for the general reader and I found myself start to skip the match by match accounts. These lack context, rarely covering the league position or significance of the match.
(ii) If, like me, you have never seen Dennis Viollet play the text can only take you so far. Being written by fans, they tend to eulogise to some extent and you are left desperately wishing you could see him play. If you are looking for DVD the obvious choices are the 1957 and 1958 cup finals - but Dennis was injured just before the former and played poorly in the latter (understandably, it was only three months after Munich). There is a suggestion a modern parallel would be with a Teddy Sheringham type role, but also that his performances were not always eye-catching: he is described as a player's player.
(iii) While Dennis Viollet co-operated with the book before his early death, and his wife contributed a postscript, the book is curiously devoid of insights into Dennis as a person. On one level this is about his character: he is portrayed as a pleasant, polite and decent man, but there are hints at an alter ego who enjoyed drinking and womanising. Old team-mates contributed comments but these are fairly glowing and you wonder if you are really getting to know the main. On another level it is about his thoughts and feelings, notably after Munich, which remain hidden.
(iv) The main focus is up to the time he left Manchester United: the later chapters are fairly brief by comparison.
So, I quite enjoyed this and got to the end of the book (which is starting to become a rarity for me!) but I felt a sense of dissatisfaction, that the book could have been shorter and a bit better focused. I felt I understood what the authors thought of Dennis but not necessarily what he was really like.
To someone of my age (born after Munich) this book is a useful corrective in filling in the career of a man who was one of United's top scorers and who, by all accounts, made many goals for others. You will learn all about his United career, virtually match by match. The book's other strong point is giving insights into the life of a footballer in the 1950s and (to a lesser extent) the 1960s, making clear George Best didn't invent the nightclub!
The book is clearly a personal tribute by the authors and in some ways it is so personal it seems unfair to comment further. In the interests of helping you to decide whether to buy this or not, I feel compelled to mention a few things, though:
(i) It is written by devotees for devotees - at 321 pages it is way too long for the general reader and I found myself start to skip the match by match accounts. These lack context, rarely covering the league position or significance of the match.
(ii) If, like me, you have never seen Dennis Viollet play the text can only take you so far. Being written by fans, they tend to eulogise to some extent and you are left desperately wishing you could see him play. If you are looking for DVD the obvious choices are the 1957 and 1958 cup finals - but Dennis was injured just before the former and played poorly in the latter (understandably, it was only three months after Munich). There is a suggestion a modern parallel would be with a Teddy Sheringham type role, but also that his performances were not always eye-catching: he is described as a player's player.
(iii) While Dennis Viollet co-operated with the book before his early death, and his wife contributed a postscript, the book is curiously devoid of insights into Dennis as a person. On one level this is about his character: he is portrayed as a pleasant, polite and decent man, but there are hints at an alter ego who enjoyed drinking and womanising. Old team-mates contributed comments but these are fairly glowing and you wonder if you are really getting to know the main. On another level it is about his thoughts and feelings, notably after Munich, which remain hidden.
(iv) The main focus is up to the time he left Manchester United: the later chapters are fairly brief by comparison.
So, I quite enjoyed this and got to the end of the book (which is starting to become a rarity for me!) but I felt a sense of dissatisfaction, that the book could have been shorter and a bit better focused. I felt I understood what the authors thought of Dennis but not necessarily what he was really like.
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