Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
God's Story,,,, 25 Nov 2005
Just finished reading this Amazon purchase today and the account of a great footballer, near-legend and Anfield hero. For the first time this is a reveal-all account of his tumultuous footballing career, what was, what is and what could have been. Despite ending on an optimistic note where he sums up just how much he's achieved as a player (3rd highest premiership scorer, stackloads of cups and fastest hat-trick of all time etc), it's no secret that things could have turned out significantly better, which he makes no attempt to gloss over and hide throughout.
This truthfulness is reflected in the style of the book in general and David Maddock as co-writer and probably editor makes no attempt to polish up the star's bad language and slang, which in turn shows how heartfelt and refreshingly honest the account is. Let's see how much of that there is in old Pinocchio's new book (if anyone's interested).
Indeed it is his relationship (or lack of) with Thompson and Gerard Houllier that generates the most interest here, and their shameful and sometimes hilarious attempts at railroading Anfield's favourite son until he was left with no option to quit his beloved club, which destroyed my enthusiasm for the team no end. This and his addressal of the drug rumours and media hysteria over his 'antics' - (nicely blown out of all sensible proportion by our supportive and encouraging media) make it a real treat for any Fowler fan. I just wonder why he never tried to defend his reputation so publicly before, it's believable that he just wanted to get his head down and play football for his club but Houllier never deserved that level of regard in truth.
Also covered is his time with England, his career never really taking off there - not difficult when you have Glenn Hoddle managing you followed by Kevin Keegan and Sven, then consequently the disaster of financial mis-management that unfolded at Leeds and the turmoil of the first two seasons at Man City. The bad luck as a striker he's had, plagued with injuries, bad people management and mis-sold information (e.g. 'Come to Leeds! We've got loads of money and we'll be in Europe next year!) only demonstrates how far he could have actually gone in the game without it all. But that's for Houllier and all to spend their time worrying about, he's got three or four years in him at least and perhaps we can be as entertained by 'God' just as much, wherever he plays.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
worth the price tag, 26 Jan 2006
I enjoyed reading this book almost as much as Shankly's. I would definitely say it rates amongst the best Liverpool FC autobiographies ever written, unlike Michael Owen's which was about as exciting as my big toe. It is difficult to choose a favourite part although I would definitely cite the story of 'little Robert Ryder' and the Glenn Hoddle incident(s) as highlights, simply because I had heard nothing about either tale before reading the book. It was also interesting to be given an insight into Robbie's relationship with Houllier and Thompson. If his account is true, he definitely got a raw deal and deserved to be showed a lot more respect for his loyalty to the club. And it did make me sad to be reminded how much home grown and English talent was lost in that era. There was only one feature that annoyed me slightly. It just seemed as though Robbie tried to justify certain incidents by claiming they weren't such a big deal because everyone else (at United or wherever) was at it as well. A very interesting theory...
Then again if you read what he has to say, you may agree with him. I would recommend the book to all Liverpool fans but I reckon most football fanatics would love it too. (I got it for Christmas off me nan and even she read a bit before she EVENTUALLY handed it over!)
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic insight into a true star, 16 Sep 2005
By A Customer
This book is a lot more than your typical football autobiography. This is Robbie's attempt to tell his remarkable story from Toxteth to Anfield and beyond, as well as putting to bed the rumours about drug addiction that have plagued his career since the early days, exposing the truth behind how he was very deceitfully forced out of the club he gave everything to and ultimately standing up to those who said he was finished as a footballer. Robbie is the first to admit he is no saint and he honestly describes the events that have landed him in hot water, but it would be extremely hard for supporters of any team not to sympathise with this player whose career has been ravaged by injury since late 1997 and whose "personal life" has been created by the media who have always sought to destroy him. A great read for anyone who is a Robbie fan, a football fan, or even a fan of a fascinating story well told.
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