All Hail the King !, 8 Jan 2004

By	cluricaune "cluricaune" (Co. Armagh, N. Ireland) - See all my reviews

Law, of course, played for both Manchester clubs. While United signed him from Torino, the Italian club had signed him from Manchester City. Indeed, after being given a free transfer by Tommy Docherty in 1973, he returned to City. Docherty claimed in his own autobiography that he thought 'The King' wasn't worried about how he played and had stopped trying. He decided to give Law a free transfer - Law only found out about this while watching the television in an Aberdeen pub with friends. While Alex Stepney, Law's former team-mate at United, described it as a great injustice and an insult, "The King" is a little more circumspect - though it is clear how disappointed he was.

The following year, 1974, Law is widely credited with scoring the goal that relegated Docherty and United to the Second Division. United would have been relegated anyway, because of results in other games. How Law felt, however, about what he'd done is as obvious from his writing as it was from the television coverage. He finished his playing career that summer - his last professional match was for Scotland in the World Cup Finals.

This book will probably be passed over by most people who don't support either Manchester United or City. In my opinion, that would be a mistake for anyone who follows football. It's a very easily read biography, if a little too diplomatic at times, but Law did more than enough in his career to keep the reader interested. He played for two of Scotland's greatest managers (Shankley at Huddersfield and Busby at United), was one of the first British players to move to Italy (this section of the book is worth its price alone) and played alongside the likes of Kopa, Puskas, di Stefano and Yashin in a 'Rest of the World' selection. At club level, he played alongside George Best - a genius on the pitch and equally as famous for his off-field antics. Best, oddly enough, is the only player to merit a full chapter.

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