Home

© Pride of Anglia. All rights reserved.

Pride of Anglia legal stuff.

 

Book Review - Your Guide to Town Related Reading Material

Contents    
New & Recent Publications
Club History
Other Books of Interest
The Management: Sir Alf Ramsey
The Management: Sir Bobby Robson
The Management: Joe Royle
The Management: Jackie Milburn
The Players
Persons of dubious parentage
 
New & Recent Publications  
 

Curse of the Jungle Boy

Author: Ray Crawford (with Michael Wood)
Publisher: PB Publishing (December 2007)
ISBN: -

Synopsis: Ray Crawford is one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation bettered only by Jimmy Greaves. He scored on 228 occasions for Ipswich Town in 354 appearances and in1962 he became the first Englishman to score five goals in a European game. In all he played in excess of 500 games with Portsmouth, Ipswich, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Charlton Athletic and Colchester United. He holds the enviable record of scoring a goal in every two games played and represented England at full International and Football League level. In this book Ray, the son of a professional boxer, tells of his childhood growing up in Portsmouth and of his time on national service in Malaya where he earned his nickname “Jungle Boy.” He also reveals the strange tale of being sold by three different clubs who were promptly relegated, thus being struck by ‘The Curse’. Ray shares his memories of some of the great names in football such as Sir Alf Ramsey, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Robson and tells of the highs, lows, humour and scandal of a life in football. The book is in hardback and is a substantial 340 pages containing 32 pages of photographs and a unique 32 page scrap book section. A great insight into the golden age of football told by a man who was a true goalscoring legend.

  Click for larger image
 

The World Cup Baby: A Life of Servitude

Author: Euan McCabe
Publisher: - 2007
ISBN: 978-0-473-12177-8

Author Euan McCabe, a New Zealand based Town fan, explains why he is obsessed with the Blue's and the World Cup. The book can be ordered here.

  Click for larger image
 

Ultimate Goals

Author: Martin Dobson
Publisher: SportsBooks Ltd (October 2007)
ISBN: 1899807594

A novel by Town Scout Martin Dobson. Dobson has worked for the Blue's since being taken on in a freelance role by former manager Joe Royle.

  Click for larger image
 

Both Barrels From Brazil: My War Against the Numpties

Author: Alan Brazil (with Mike Parry)
Publisher: Highdown (September 2007)
ISBN: 1905156413

Synopsis: In this sensational new book, one of Britain's favourite broadcasters details the thoughts and philosophies that have shaped his life. 'We're only here for a visit' is one of the Scottish firebrand's most determined mantras. Why worry about tomorrow when today can be so much fun. And if anybody tries to get in the way of the action, swat them away. Politicians? Forget it. They're in it for their own ends, not to improve our lives, according to the former Scottish football international who now addresses, in his own inimitable style, more than a million loyal talk "Sport" listeners each weekday morning. Traffic wardens, ticket collectors, life-style 'experts' and a whole truckload of other 'jobsworths' are in Brazil's sights in this very funny follow-up to the bestselling "There's an Awful Lot of Bubbly in Brazil."

 
 

The Greatest Footballer England never had

Author: Rob Finch
Publisher: Cult Figure Publishing 2007
ISBN: 13 978-0-9554884-0-5

Kevin Beattie has co-operated fully with author Rob Finch and has been very frank and forthright about both his football career and his sometimes troubled life away from the game. With a foreword by Blue’s President Sir Bobby Robson this book is a great read for all football fans, especially those of the Town.

To order a copy visit CultFigurePublishing.com

 
Click for larger image
 
Club History  
 

Five Score: The SIL Football Book of the Century

Author: K P Wood
Publisher: Suffolk & Ipswich Football League 1995
ISBN: 0952627205

KP Wood's excellent book "Five Score: The SIL Football Book of the Century", published in the SIL's Centenary year, makes numerous references to Town's involvement in the league in the first half of the last century. Although a fairly hefty tome, the book makes for an interesting read, particular for those with an eye for local non-league football, and also contains many great black and white photographs of the pioneering days of football in East Suffolk!

 
Click for larger image
 

Football Gentry: The Cobbold Brothers

Author: Brian Scovell
Publisher: Tempus Publishing October 2005
ISBN: 0752434640

Publishers Notes: Nephews of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, John Cavendish Cobbold and Patrick Mark Cobbold were both chairman of Ipswich Town FC during the club's most successful and high-profile years. Both Old Etonians and heavy drinkers, this account of their time in charge of the club and their lives outside football is full of entertaining anecdotes. The brothers were known for their practical jokes and worked closely with the two greatest Ipswich and England managers of all time - Ramsay and Robson.

 
 

The Old Farm: Ipswich Town v Norwich City, A History

Author: Rob Hadgraft
Publisher: Desert Island Books November 2005
ISBN: 1905328125

Publishers Notes: Urban neighbours Celtic and Rangers are known throughout British football as 'The Old Firm', but for Ipswich Town and Norwich City it's more the case of 'The Old Farm'. Separated by 40 miles of arable fields and woodland, the Canaries and the Tractor Boys have been doing battle for more than 100 years, just like their counterparts in Glasgow. Eastern England may be a footballing outpost, but its derby games arouse massive local interest. The first East Anglia derby game was in 1902 and by 2005 there had been 140 hard-fought contests. This book traces the history of a soccer rivalry that is intense and unique.

 
Click for larger image
 

100 Greats: Ipswich Town Football Club

Author: Tony Garnett
Publisher: Tempus Publishing Ltd 2002

Synopsis: Tony Garnett, who as a journalist for the East Anglian Daily Times has covered the ups and downs of Ipswich since the days of Alf Ramsey, select his all time 100 greatest Town players. The careers of Paul Mariner, Kevin Beattie, Arnold Muhren, Ray Crawford, John Wark, Jimmy Leadbetter and many more are covered in detail and illustrated with archive pictures throughout.

 
 

Champions of England

Author: Rob Hadgraft
Publisher: Desert Island Books 2002

Synopsis: Tells the story of Ipswich Town's wonderful championship victory in 1961-2 season. It is written by former EADT/Green 'Un journalist Rob Hadgraft. The book has a foreword by BBC commentator John Motson OBE, is illustrated, has 160 pages, and contains unprecedented statistical detail, in addition to many tales from supporters and players of the time.

 
Click for larger image
 

Ipswich Town: The Modern Era A Complete Record

Author: Rob Hadgraft
Publisher: Desert Island Books 2001
ISBN: 1874287430

Synopsis: Written by Rob Hadgraft, a former local journalist, the book is in the Desert Island Complete Record series and runs to 352 pages. The first half of the book provides a season by season narrative of the past 30 years, and the second half match by match details and summaries of every fixture since 1971.

 
 

Ipswich Town: The Modern Era A Complete Record (Revised Edition)

Author: Rob Hadgraft
Publisher: Desert Island Books October 2006
ISBN: 1905328249

Synopsis: The second edition of Rob Hadgraft's club history with coverage of Town's relegation from the Premier League in 2002, the subsequent fall into administration and the fight to regain top-flight status under Joe Royle and now Jim Magilton.

 
 

Ipswich Town: The Inside Story

Author: Phil Ham
Published: 2001
ISBN: 1903854040

Synopsis: This is the inside story of the dramatic past decade at the club. With exclusive access to current and former players, managers and club personnel, this book tells how the former League contenders and European campaigners slumped from the Premier League to hit rock-bottom in the mid-90s and the dramatic turnaround of fortunes both literally and on the pitch, with Burley and Sheepshanks, culminating in the deserved European place in 2000.

 
 

The Essential History of Ipswich Town

Author: Mel Henderson
Publisher: Headline 2001

Synopsis: Traces the club's modest roots and brings us right up to date with the current events at Portman Road. Contains an in depth statistical section compiled by Paul Voller.

 
 

The Men Who Made the Town: The Official History of Ipswich Town FC from 1878

Authors: John Eastwood and Tony Moyse
Publisher: Almeda Books 1986

Dust cover note: During the summer of 1936 the Ipswich Town Football Club resolved to turn professional. The newly appointed directors of the new venture held their first meeting on Tuesday 2 June 1936. To celebrate the jubilee we have produced this history of the club, not only to record the events since 1936 but also to examine the varied and often amusing history of the old amateur club. The roots of football in Ipswich can be traced back to the 1870's when the pioneers, mainly old boys from Ipswich School, used to play on Broom Hill. We trace the the development of the Portman Road headquarters from a bleak, inhospitable marsh to the present magnificent stadium. Once they became a professional club, Town quickly graduated from the Third Division (South) to the First Division, heading the premier division at their first attempt. In 1977/78 Town won the FA Cup, and three years later they went on to win the UEFA Cup. We trace all these events and many more in our season by season commentary. The efforts of all the staff, players and directors of Ipswich Town Football Club have done much to popularise the name of the town all over Europe, indeed all over the world. It is fitting then that the title of this book should be - The Men Who Made the Town.

 
Click for larger image
 

The Ups and Downs of Ipswich Town

Author: Steven End
Publisher: End Publications 1997
ISBN: 095321740X

 
Click for larger image
 

Ipswich Town FC an A-Z

Author: Dean Hayes
Publisher: S.B.Publishers 1998
ISBN: 1857701747

 
Click for larger image
 

Champions In Europe

48-page review of the 1980-81 UEFA Cup-winning campaign.

 
Click for larger image
 

Back in the Big Time

48-page review of the 1991-92 Division Two Championship-winning season.

 
Click for larger image
 

Against All Odds

104-page review of the 2000-01 Premiership season with pull out poster entitled "Passport to Europe".

 
Click for larger image
 

An Illustrated History of Ipswich Town Football Club

Author: Ken Rice
Publisher: Wensum Books 1973

Publishers note: A history of the football club written by a local journalist which includes a comprehensive statistical section. Has many contemporary photographs.

 
 

Suffolk Punch: Ipswich Town Football Club: 1936-96

Author: Tony Moyse
Publisher: Extra Cover 1996

Publishers Note: A statistical update to "The Men Who Made The Town" with details of every match and every player up to the date of publication. Results, attendance's, scorers and appearances season by season.

 
 

Blue and White Crusade

Author: Ken Rice
Editor: Neal Manning
Publisher: George Nobbs 1978

Publishers Note: The story of Ipswich Town Football Club during the matches leading up to the winning of the FA Cup in 1978.

 
 

Pride of Anglia: Ipswich Town - Norwich City: Over 90 Years of Soccer Rivalry

Publisher: Nostalgia Productions 1994

 
 

Images of Sport - Ipswich Town Football Club

Compiled by: Tony Garnett
Publisher: Tempus Publishing Limited 2000

ISBN: 0752421522

Publishers Note: This book illustrates the remarkable history of East Anglia's premier side with almost 200 images from the East Anglian Daily Times and Evening Star's archive ..... each picture is supported by a detailed caption from experienced football writer Tony Garnett, who has been covering the club for four decades

 
 

The Who's Who of Ipswich Town

Author: Dean Hayes
Publisher: Breedon Books (October 2006)
ISBN: 1859835155

Synopsis: In the years since Ipswich Town played their first game in the Football League, hundreds of footballers have pulled on a Tractor Boys shirt to represent the club in first-class competitive matches. In this richly illustrated, hugely informative reference work, Dean Hayes has detailed the careers of every single one of those players, whether they are household names or men who made only a handful of appearances at Portman Road. The book is highly illustrated throughout, and various statistics are included to supplement the career details of the players. Ipswich's all time top twenty goalscorers appear, along with appearance statistics, and managers of the club have their own section. This remarkable and comprehensive book is an essential addition to the bookshelves of any Tractor Boys fan, and is sure to delight both young and old supporters alike.

 
 

Ipswich Town: A History from 1938

Publisher: Historic Newspapers
ISBN-10: 1-905966-21-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-905966-21-9

Captures the history and greatest moments of the club through the newspapers of the time. Starting with coverage of Ipswich’s entry to the Football League in 1938 right up to the present day. Available from various websites including Newsrecreated.co.uk, Mirror.co.uk, gettingpersonal.co.uk and IntoSport.co.uk.

 
Click for larger image
 
Other Books of Interest  
 

Terrace Heroes

Author: Graham Kelly
Publisher: Frank Cass Publishers December 2004
ISBN: 0714653594

During 1930's Britain, football became increasingly commercialised, and the rise and development of both local and national media, in particular broadcast media, enabled players to become widely recognised outside of their immediate local context for the first time. Tracing the origins, playing careers and 'afterlives' of several First Division players of the era, Graham Kelly's history explores the reality of living in Britain in the 1930's and draws comparisons with lives of our contemporary 'terrace heroes', the football stars of today. A chapter of the book is devoted to Billy Dale who made his name at Manchester City and, following Town´s election to the Football League in 1938, became one of a number of league player's signed by then Town manager A. Scott Duncan. A great coup as Dale was considered to be one of the best uncapped defenders of that era.

 
 

Through Open Doors

Author: Brian Radford
Publisher: Harrap (30 Jun 1984)
ISBN-10: 0245542213
ISBN-13: 978-0245542213

Football League Chairman reveal their secrets! The book includes a number of stories about the Cobbold family and the cover features a picture of the Town boardroom as it was in the early 80's.

 
 

In Soccer Wonderland

Author: Julian Germain
Publisher: Booth-Clibborn Editions (Oct 1994)
ISBN-10: 1873968302
ISBN-13: 978-1873968307

Julian Germain - local lad and Town fan - is a well known art/football photographer. This particular book of his features a number of pictures of Ray Crawford and Ipswich.

 
 

Dynamo: Defending the Honour of Kiev

Author: Andy Dougan
Publisher: Fourth Estate 2002
ISBN: 1841153192

Former Town defender Sergie Baltacha is credited in the opening passages of Andy Dougan's excellent book for the background information he was able to provide on the Dynamo Kiev side for whom he played for so many years. 'Dynamo: Defending the Honour of Kiev' tells the true story of Dynamo players caught in Nazi-occupied Ukraine capital Kiev during WWII. Led by their charismatic goalkeeper Trusevich, the players re-form as Start FC to play in a series of fixtures, all of which the team won easily, until a showdown against a no nonsense Luftwaffe XI. A fascinating story with a quite brutal conclusion.

 
 

The Football Grounds of Great Britain

Author: Simon Inglis
Publisher: Collins Willow 1996
ISBN: 0002184265

Publishers Synopsis: As a result of the Taylor Report, which arose from the Hillsborough disaster, Football League and Scottish League clubs are having to make stringent alterations to their grounds, in preparation for all-seater stadia. This revised edition reflects many of those changes, as well as the promotion to Football League status of Maidstone United and Barnet. New illustrations have been included, where appropriate. Since his book was first published in 1983 as "The Football Grounds of England and Wales", Simon Inglis has become acknowledged as an authority on the safety aspects of football ground architecture, and is now a member of the Football Licensing Authority. His survey, in this book, of every ground in all Divisions of the Football and Scottish Leagues, discusses their significance from the perspectives of football history, architecture, safety and social history.

Relevance: A superb book. Contains a four page section on Portman Road.

 
 

Game of two halves (Football yesterday & today)

Author: Tim Glynne-Jones
Publisher: Carlton Books 2003
ISBN: 1842229451

This has just one connection with Ipswich - the cover (with the same picture repeated inside). It shows Ipswich players in the team bath after an FA Cup replay against Aston Villa in 1939. Wonderfully politically incorrect!

This is a 200 page 'coffee table' photo album contrasting archive black & white photographs of footballing life in the first half of the 20th century with colour images from the last decade of the century. The visual impact makes the commentary contrasting each pair of pictures redundant but there are some really excellent images that make the book worthwhile seeking out - David Bull.

 
   
 

Ipswich Town FC Soccer Quiz Series

Author: John Eastwood
Publisher: Almeida Books circa 1992

 
Click for larger image
 

The Official Ipswich Town Quiz Book

Author: John DT White
Publisher: Apex Publishing Ltd 2005
ISBN: 1904444571

Compiled by sports fans John DT White, with a foreword by David Sheepshanks and published by Apex Publishing Ltd, the book contains 1,200 questions on East Anglia's finest football club.

 
 

Ipswich Town Head to Head

Author: Peter Waring
Publisher: Breedon Books 2005
ISBN: 1859834612

Publishers Notes: From the Breedon "Head to Head" series, the book shows how Town have performed on a club by club basis against every club they've ever played, in any competition, since 1938.

 
 

Songs the North Stand Sing

Author: Mark Jarman
Publisher: Arcade Press 2000
ISBN: 1901263010

 
Click for larger image
 

The Alpha Protocols

Author: David T Francis
Publisher: AuthorHouse (December 2006)
ISBN: 1425959407

Written by Town fan David Francis, this is believed to be the first ever science fiction novel to include references to ITFC and Portman Road. The Alpha Protocols is the story of how the United Kingdom responds to an invasion by an alien species and features one scene set at Portman Road during a game between Town and Leeds United as the 30,000 crowd come under threat from a deadly alien virus!

 
 

Peter Swan: Setting the Record Straight

Author: Peter Swan with Nick Johnson
Publisher: Tempus Publishing Ltd (September 2006)
ISBN: 0752440225

Synopsis: Eight months after Town rocked the footballing world with their entirely unexpected League Championship triumph, English football was rocked again but for very different reasons. "The People" newspaper revealed that three Sheffield Wednesday players Peter Swan, Tony Kay and David Layne, had been bribed to throw their game with Town at Portman Road on December 1st, 1962. Town won 2-0. The trio were later found guilty and sent to prison in January of 1965. In this book, one of the trio, Swan, speaks openly about his life, his career and the scandal, setting the record straight on many of the myths and half-truths that have surrounded the affair.

 
 
The Management: Sir Alf Ramsey  
 

Sir Alf: A Major Reappraisal of the Life and Times of England's Greatest Football Manager

Author: Leo McKinstry
Publisher: HarperSport April 2006
ISBN: 0007193785

Synopsis: Since England's famous 1966 World Cup victory, Alf Ramsey has been regarded as the greatest of all British football managers. By placing Ramsey in an historical context, award-winning author Leo McKinstry, provides a thought-provoking insight into the world of professional football and the fabric of British society over the span of his life. Ramsey's life is a romantic story of heroism. Often derided by lesser men, he overcame the prejudice against his social background to reach the summit of world football. The son of a council dustman from Essex, Ramsey had been through a tough upbringing. After army service during the war, he became a professional footballer, enjoying a successful career with Southampton and Tottenham and winning 32 England caps. But is was as manager of Ipswich Town, and then the architect for England's 1966 World Cup triumph, that Ramsey will be most remembered. The tragedy was that his battles with the FA would soon lead to his downfall, a broken man ostracised by the football establishment, left to die alone in 1999 in the same modest Ipswich semi he'd lived in for most of his life. It is this mixture of triumph and disaster, of acclaim and rejection, which makes the narrative of Ramsey's life so compelling. Drawing on extensive interviews with his closest friends and colleagues in the game, author Leo McKinstry will help unravel the true character of this fascinating and often complex football legend.

 
 

Alf Ramsey: Talking Football

Author: Alf Ramsey
Publisher: Stanley Paul 1952
ISBN: -

Publishers Notes: Captain of England's soccer team, known as "The General" by his colleagues in the all-conquering Tottenham Hotspur team, Alf Ramsey is today one of the greatest personalities in football. Since the war he has rocketed to the top of the soccer ladder and won many honours, yet Ramsey, but for a serious knee injury, might never have achieved his present position, as he reveals in this book. He also discloses how his job in a grocery business ended his soccer career for five years - and how the Army made him take up the game once more. From an inside-forward he became a centre-forward until switched to full-back in emergency. Since then he has captained the England side; won First and Second Division Championship medals; twice vistied Brazil - once as a member of the England World Cup XI - and played all over Europe. Ramsey tells his story as he has seen it from "behind the scenes", introduced great players and provocative views in a book which should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in Association Football.

 
Click for larger image
 

Sir Alf Ramsey: Anatomy of a Football Manager

Author: Max Marquis
Publisher: Barkey 1970
ISBN: 0213001667

Publishers Notes: This is an examination of England's team manager - of the man and of his methods right down to the bone. Max Marquis, one of our shrewdest soccer reporters, is not content to appraise Sir Alf Ramsey's record with the England team. He traces his career as a player with Southampton and Spurs, his spell as Ipswich manager when he took the Town to the top of the Football League, and by interweaving reminiscences by players who knew him well with quotes from books on Sir Alf as manager, builds up the England boss's whole world. To complete the picture he uses the same treatment to show us the virtues and failings of Walter Winterbottom, Sir Alf's predecessor. If you want to become a really enlightened critic of international soccer - and, in particular, England's performances - a study of this book will give you a head start.

 
Click for larger image
 

Sir Alf Ramsey: Anatomy of a Football Manager (Sportsman's Book Club edition)

Author: Max Marquis
Publisher: Sportsman's Book Club 1972
ISBN: -

Synopsis: As original edition above.

 
Click for larger image
 

England: The Alf Ramsey Years

Author: Graham McColl
Publisher: A.Deutsch 1998
ISBN: 0233993312

Publishers Synopsis: This is a book that recreates the feel as well as the football of the time, with the added bonus of authentic memorabilia - newspaper reproductions, programmes and collectibles, all taken from key events that are hallmarks of the era.

 
 

Winning Isn't Everything: A biography of Alf Ramsey

Author: Dave Bowler
Publisher: Gollancz 1998/Orion 1999
ISBN: 0575066016/0752827332

From the dust cover: England has never had a more successful national manager than Sir Alf Ramsey. A cultured full-back with Tottenham's push and run stylist's, he turned to management once his international career had been cut short by Puskas' rampant Hungarians. At Ipswich Town he piloted a collection of comparative journeymen from the depths of the Third Division South to the heights of the League Championship, acquiring the job of England manager along the way.

Feted for the winning the 1966 World Cup, castigated for the way he won it with his 'wingless wonders', then reviled for going out of the 1974 competition, Ramsey's achievements are lost in the legend's of Russian linesmen, Bogota and a Polish clown. Yet he was a commanding general, a football intellect beyond compare and a man who deserves more than caricature.

Thoughtful and incisive, Dave Bowler's biography features extensive interviews with Geoff Hurst, Walter Winterbottom, Mick Cannon, Tom Finney, Ray Wilson and Jimmy Armfield, among others, and reassesses Ramsey's contribution to the English game.

 
 
The Management: Sir Bobby Robson  
 

Farewell But Not Goodbye

Author: Sir Bobby Robson
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd 2005
ISBN: 0340823461

Publishers Notes: Sir Bobby Robson, national icon and widely admired footballing legend, tells his life story. Revered in Newcastle and the North-East, Sir Bobby Robson is a man whose fame knows no boundaries and who enjoys phenomenal popularity. His playing days with Fulham and West Brom in the 1950s and 60s, his twenty England caps and his brilliant management career over the past thirty-eight years mean that he has inspired generations of fans. He has been witness to some of the most historic sporting moments throughout his incredible career, and in his book remembers epic incidents from the 'Hand of God' to the tears of Gazza. He also relives leading England through two World Cups, and the pain of coming within a penalty kick of the 1990 World Cup final. Sir Bobby's story is a rich and diverse one and this autobiography will celebrate his remarkable life.

 
 

Time on the Grass: An Autobiography

Author: Bobby Robson
Publisher: Arthur Baker Limited 1982
ISBN: 0213168456

From the dust cover: The career of Bobby Robson is one of the biggest success stories in British football, although, as this autobiography shows, his path to the top was anything but smooth. The son of a Durham miner, Robson grew up in the North-East, that famous breeding ground for great football players and managers. He developed early on a resilience which has served him well, both in his distinguished playing career with Fulham and West Bromwich Albion, during which he won twenty England caps, and in his brilliant career as a manager.

Robson's managerial debut, however, was hardly auspicious. Within months of his return to Fulham in 1968 he had fallen foul of the wilful chairman, property tycoon Sir Eric Miller, and by Christmas Bobby Robson was on the dole. His decision to take on the Cinderella club of Ipswich Town was a turning point both for him and the club. In the next thirteen years, after the fiery start which saw the notorious fist fight between the young manager and two rebellious players, Robson turned the unassuming East Anglian club into one of the most powerful in Europe. In doing so he won an enviable reputation as a tough, outspoken and intensely loyal manager, who is not afraid to speak his mind about the problems besetting the game or to impose his authority on wayward players. He also repaid the faith of his directors by staying on at Ipswich, in spite of tempting offers from richer clubs, to steer them to success in the UEFA Cup - and agonisingly close to the elusive treble - and to become the longest serving manager in the League.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the success of Ipswich Town is that it has been achieved not by expensive signings - Robson's activity in the transfer market has been unusually profitable - but by the brilliant results of his youth policy and a training system of which 'time on the grass' is the corner-stone.

There can have been few better stories in football than this forthright autobiography by one of its outstanding figures.

 
 

High Noon: Bobby Robson: A Year at Barcelona

Author: Jeff King
Publisher: Virgin 1997
ISBN: 1852276339

Publishers Synopsis: An insight into the everyday madness and intense pressure of managing the world's biggest football club, with its superstars, super egos, impatient fans and relentless press gangs.

 
 

My Autobiography: An Englishman Abroad

Author: Bobby Robson
Editor: Bob Harris
Publisher: Pan, 1999
ISBN: 0330369857

Publishers Synopsis: Bobby Robson is still one of the most sought after managers in football (having also played for England, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion), and few can match his international expertise. He built Ipswich up from a struggling league side to League Champions and is till revered there as a hero. England reached the 1990 World Cup semi-finals under him and he tell the inside story of working with Gasgoine, Lineker and others. Robson managed PSV Eindhoven and won over the sceptical Dutch, before going to Barcelona (at the third time of asking) and buying Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player. They won three trophies, only for him to be displaced due to political infighting. Now back with Eindhoven, Robson is uniquely placed to compare managing football teams both here and in Europe, and he talks candidly about the future of the game.

 
 

In Quest of Glory: Ipswich Town FC under Bobby Robson (1969-82)

Author: Tony Moyse
Editor: John Eastwood
Publisher: Extra Cover 1997

 
 

So near and yet so far: Bobby Robson's World Cup Diary 1982-1986

Author: Bobby Robson with Bob Harris
Publisher: Willow (London), 1986
ISBN: 000218186X

 
 

Against The Odds - An Autobiography

Author: Bobby Robson with Bob Harris
Publisher: Stanley Paul (London), 1990

 
 

Sir Bobby Robson: Living the Game

Author: Bob Harris
Publisher: Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated, October 2003
ISBN: 0297843621

Synopsis: An authorised, pictorial celebration of the life of Sir Bobby Robson, one of the most successful football managers ever, and much loved and respected throughout the world of football. For over 50 years (he joined Fulham in 1950) he has been involved at the highest level in football, as a player, at first division and international level (21 caps), coach and international coach (1982-90). As well as the triumphs; capturing the UEFA Cup with Ipswich and winning great respect at Barcelona, he has had his share of drama and despair; sacked from Fulham and from Sporting Lisbon, and hounded by the press from his position as England coach as well as recovering from cancer. Bob Harris, a close acquaintance of Sir Bobby, tells the football manager's own story, which is exclusively interlarded with stories and anecdotes from many of the most famous names in football. A must for football fans everywhere.

 
 

Sir Bobby Robson: Living the Game (Softback Edition)

Author: Bob Harris
Publisher: Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated, 2004
ISBN: 1841882445

Synopsis: As above. Includes a postscript covering his departure from Newcastle.

 
 
The Management: Joe Royle    
 

Joe Royle: The Autobiography

Author: Joe Royle
Publisher: BBC Books, 2005
ISBN: 0563488956

Publishers Notes: Joe Royle became the youngest player to play for Everton in February 1966 and went on to win six caps under Alf Ramsey and Don Revie. Injury forced a premature end to his career at 32, after spells with Manchester City, Bristol City, and Norwich. Then he became the manager who fell of the back of a lorry when joining Oldham in 1982. Fourteen fantastic, fairytale years followed at the hard-up, homespun Lancashire club which Royle put on the soccer map. Oldham achieved the impossible by going to Wembley and spending three years in the Premiership. Then, it was off to Everton, to Manchester City, and to Ipswich as manager. With a foreword by Sir Alex Ferguson, this book is an honest account of Joe's career and life, written with his full cooperation.

 
 

Royle Flush: Joe Royle an Autobiography

Author: Joe Royle
Published: Pelham Books, 1969

Difficult to call it BFJ's life story as he was only nineteen when it was written, all though that was some three years after he became Everton's youngest ever player as a 16-year-old in January 1966. Dubbed by his Everton team mates at the time as the "Royle Blush" because it was so bad.

 
Click for larger image
 
The Management: Jackie Milburn  
 

Jackie Milburn: Golden Goals

Author: Jackie Milburn
Publisher: Soccer Book Club, 1957

 
Click for larger image
 

Jackie Milburn's Newcastle United Scrapbook

Author: Jackie Milburn
Publisher: Souvenir Press, 1981

 
Click for larger image
 

Wor Jackie : The Jackie Milburn Story

Author : John Gibson
Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd, London, 1981

 
Click for larger image
 

Jackie Milburn in Black & White: A Biography

Author: Mike Kirkup
Publisher: S. Paul 1990

Synopsis: A portrait of the Newcastle United footballer, Jackie Milburn, using many of his own words recorded in interviews, by the author of the award winning musical "Jackie: the Musical".

 
Click for larger image
 

Jackie Milburn: A Man of Two Halves

Author: Jack Milburn
Publisher: Mainstream Publishing (Due for Publication October, 2003)
ISBN: 1840188049

Synopsis: Written by his own son, "Jackie Milburn: A Man of Two Halves" gives an unprecedented insight into the life and career of legendary Newcastle United forward Jackie Milburn. To this day, "Wor Jackie" remains the Magpies top goalscorer, having notched up 238 goals in 492 League and Cup appearances throughout the 1950s. Milburn also won the FA Cup with Newcastle three times in six years and, in the third final in 1955, he scored one of the competition's fastest-ever goals, after 45 seconds. This book delves beneath the surface of the glory to reveal how, in spite of his remarkable success as a player, Milburn was constantly tortured by his lack of self-belief. It details his days across the Irish Sea after becoming player/coach at Protestant Linfield FC, and explains why he felt the need to move on after receiving menacing threats directed at his family. It reveals how, as newly appointed manager of Ipswich Town, he had a totally unexpected fall out with the departing England supremo, Alf Ramsey. We also learn how the pressures of work led Milburn to the bottle, and how he spent his post-football days working in a scrapyard, before being rescued by the world of sports journalism. Later in life, many honours continued to be bestowed upon Milburn and, on his death in 1988, huge crowds lined the streets for his funeral parade, all the way from his home in Ashington to St Nicholas Cathedral in the centre of Newcastle. Throughout his life, few people had a bad word to say about Jackie Milburn and this candid biography demonstrates why he is still held in high esteem half a century after the peak of his career and 15 years after his death.

 
 
The Players  
 

Matt Holland: Diary of a Tractor Boy

Author: Matt Holland
Published: 2001

Synopsis: Matt Holland epitomises the spirit of Ipswich Town Football Club. This personal diary covers the recent monumental period in the club's history: from the play-off victory at Wembley through to a brilliant return to the Premiership and a UEFA Cup campaign.

 
 

Kevin Beattie: The Beat

Author: Kevin Beattie
Editor: Neal Manning
Publisher: Skript Design and Publishing 1998
ISBN: 1874799083

Publishers note: An absolute must for all Ipswich Town supporters, Kevin Beattie's autobiography recalls the Town's "glory days" during his time with the club, from 1972 to 1981.

From the fly cover: "Kevin Beattie was a great player for Ipswich and England. He was brave and strong with good ball control and had a great attitude. Had it not been for his unfortunate injuries he could have been one of England's all time-greats" - Sir Bobby Charlton.

 
 

Butcher: My Autobiography

Author: Terry Butcher
Publisher: Highdown 2005
ISBN: 1905156006

Publishers Notes: Terry Butcher is a name that resonates with all football fans. Who can forget the pictures of the giant central defender, fists clenched, bloody head bandaged, the Three Lions on his once white England shirt streaked with claret? Butcher has earned his stripes and his reputation over the years not only as an honest and committed footballer but also as a broadcaster who says it exactly as he finds it and a manager who never asks for more or less than 100 per cent from his players. This long-awaited autobiography chronicles - with absolute candour and a great sense of fun - Butcher's playing days with both Ipswich and England before his momentous move to Scotland where he led a rampant Glasgow Rangers side to just about every domestic prize. You have read footballers' stories in the past but nothing quite like Butcher.

 
 

Terry Butcher : Both sides of the Border

Author: Terry Butcher
Editor: Andy Cairns
Publisher: Weidenfeld and Nicholson 1987
ISBN: 0297798081

From the fly cover: Terry Butcher is one of the best defenders in world football. Dominant in the air and accomplished on the ground, his style of play is hard and uncompromising. As club captain of Rangers, 'Big Terry' has led his Glasgow team with great verve to a series of triumphs, culminating in a Premier League and Skol Cup double in 1988-89. Both Sides of the Border charts his career from his days at Portman Road with the 'best team in Europe' and three World Cup campaigns to the roller-coaster of life at Ibrox, where the pride of captaining the best supported team in Britain and the elation of winning trophies have been interspersed by the despair of injury and the anxiety of a controversial court case, following a highly-charged derby against Celtic. Terry Butcher's fully updated autobiography will make compulsive reading for all loyal Rangers supporters, as well as the many football fans in his native East Anglia who still follow his progress with great affection.

 
Hardback edition - click for larger image

Paperback edition
 

Lee Chapman: More Than A Match - A Players Story

Author: Lee Chapman
Publishers: Arrow 1993
ISBN: 0099228319

Relevance: None, being that it was published several years prior to his arrival at Portman Road. Guaranteed to put you to sleep faster than a general anesthetic.

 
 

Arnold Muhren: Alles over links

Authors: Arnold Muhren and Jaap De Groot (forward by Johan Cruyff
Publishers: Unknown 1989

The autobiography of Town's greatest ever player. Sadly only available in Dutch.

 
 

Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football

Author: David Winner
Publishers: Bloomsbury 2001 (paperback version)
ISBN: 0747553106

Journalist David Winner explores his personal fascination with the land that gave the world Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Johan Cruyff - searching for reasons why such a tiny country has produced some of football's most intelligent, enigmatic and unfulfilled teams. Contains a chapter devoted to the Muhren brothers Arnold and Gerrie.

 
 

Kissed by an Angel

Author: Tony Mowbray with Paul Drury
Publishers: Bookman Projects (paperback version)
ISBN: 1898718164

Tony Mowbray talks about his time as a player at Middlesboro and Celtic and the loss of his first wife Bernadette who died of cancer.

 
Click for larger image
 

There's an Awful Lot of Bubbly in Brazil

Author: Alan Brazil (with Mike Parry)
Publisher: Highdown (September 2006)
ISBN: 1905156243

Synopsis: This is a tale about a boy from the back streets of Glasgow who rose from being a fanatical Celitc fan to leading Scotland's World Cup attack with Kenny Dalglish. It is also the tale of a bon viveur, a 'champagne charlie' who lives life to the full. With a shock of curly ginger hair and feet of fire, Brazil was to shine at Ipswich under the wing of Sir Bobby Robson. It coincided with the Suffolk club's most successful ever era, culminating in winning the UEFA Cup in 1981. Following an early retirement because of a back injury, Brazil forged a new career in the media where his insight and keen sense of humour took him to the heights as a football presenter and commentator on TV and as the star of talkSPORT's award-winning radio show "The Sports Breakfast". Funny and controversial by turns, "There's An Awful Lot of Bubbly in Brazil" will entertain and amuse all followers of football as well as the multitude of fans of his radio show.

 
 
Persons of dubious parentage  
 

Clive Thomas: By The Book

Author: Clive Thomas
Publisher: Collins 1984
ISBN: 0002180839

Thomas, one time FIFA referee, officiated at the top level of the game for some twenty-years before retiring in the early 1980's. The man from the Rhondaa Valley has some critical words for Bobby Robson, Mick Mills, Terry Butcher, Russell Osman and the Portman Road crowd. Read an extract from the book here.

 
Click for larger image

Note:
Many thanks to Ian Hunneybell, David Bull, Alasdair Ross and Andrew for their help with book details and images.

Back to the top ^^