This is a slow starter, but when Greenwood's playing and coaching career gets underway it really takes off! Which is strange considering the book's unusual format of commencing at Greenwood's career's end as England manager and then returning to the beginning. The man was truly a pioneer in football thinking and really should get more recognition as one of the game's greats.
The writing style is warm and personal and makes for quick reading. The glory days in his career as West Ham manager are of course covered, and as a lifelong Hammer it makes for very satisfying reading! His realisation that the Hungarian football of the '50s was the future, while still a player, leads him to set about learning all he can as a modern coach and always being prepared to incorporate new methods and to learn from as many different experiences as possible.
Getting the manager's job at Upton Park gives Greenwood the opportunity to put it all into practice. The results were impressive as he turned a cosy east-end 'family club' into - with the possible addition of Tottenham Hotspur - the first football team in England playing truly modern football. It was no coincedence that England won the World Cup in '66 with 3 Hammers in the heart of the side..
