Autumn Reading – the best football books of 2015

As the football season throughout Europe begins fans simply can’t get enough. Forums and social media are trawled for any extra information you can get. But the long lost art of reading has seen a revival in recent years, with football fans looking to read an increasingly high quality and quantity of football literature available.

Here, we will list you several books which were shortlisted for the British Sports Book awards for 2015 in the football section.

All books can be bought online or through their publishers – simply Google the title and you will quickly find the best way to secure any listed title.

*Disclaimer – the awards have already happened earlier this year*

I Don’t Know What It Is But I Love it – By Tony Evans

Written by the now former Football Editor of the Times Tony Evans passionately details Liverpool’s iconic yet curiously underrated 1983-84 campaign wherein the ruled both the domestic but European scene too. The above title made the shortlist for the award – and is the only book from the list which I have read myself.

Detailing many interviews from players of the side, alongside the stories of the fans throughout the season, the book is an easy read and certainly a must buy for any Liverpool fan.

In Search Of Duncan Ferguson – By Alan Pattulo

In Search Of Duncan Ferguson is the first-ever biography of Duncan Ferguson, who went from being British football’s most expensive native player to an inmate in Glasgow’s infamous Barlinnie Prison, after head-butting an opponent during a Scottish Premier Division match.

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Reports suggest the book is a must read for any Everton or Rangers fans especially – or even those pining for the days when football simply was a bit rougher.

Bobby Moore: The Man In Full – By Matt Dickinson

The definitive biography of England’s greatest footballer, and World Cup winning captain by one of the country’s most-respected football writers.

Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy who became the patron saint of English football, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Bobby Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full.

Fergie Rises – By Michael Grant

Fergie Rises returns to a time when Ferguson was lucky to get Aberdeen, not the other way around. It’s the story of an eight-year revolution that saw the Dons and their ambitious young manager knock the Old Firm off their perch, taste victory in Europe for the first time, and electrify Scottish football.

When Ferguson finally left the club for Manchester United, in 1986, fans and rivals were unanimous in believing he had engineered one of the most astonishing upheavals in the game’s history. Taking a view from inside the dug-out, Michael Grant lays bare the full story of this remarkable but little known period of Ferguson’s career, revealing it as the crucible in which Britain’s greatest football manager was forged and examines the personal tragedies Ferguson overcame, the rivalries, setbacks and triumphs that shaped a sporting genius.

The Second Half – Roy Keane with Roddy Doyle

As part of a tiny elite of football players, Roy Keane has had a life like no other. In a stunning collaboration with Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle, The Second Half blends anecdote and reflection in Roy Keane’s inimitable voice. The result is an unforgettable personal odyssey which fearlessly challenges the meaning of success.

The Life And Times Of Herbert Chapman – By Patrick Barclay

Herbert Chapman, the boss of the all-conquering Arsenal team of the 1930s, was the father of all football managers, arguably the greatest of all time and certainly the most imaginative. Patrick Barclay’s perceptive and highly informed biography weaves Chapman’s story into the momentous times through which he lived.

The Boy In Brazil – By Seth Burkett

The Boy In Brazil is a charming, insightful account of an 18-year-old’s magical season as the country’s only English professional, taking a bittersweet look at the beautiful game and cultural concerns of the 2014 World Cup’s vibrant hosts.

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On his journey from boy to man, Seth Burkett also discovered an uncanny family link to football’s foundation in Brazil and came to see, through a tragedy and the sad fate of his club, that a childhood dream joyously fulfilled also had a dark side.

Thirty-One Nil: On The Road With Football’s Outsiders – James Montague

And finally the winner of the 2015 football book of the year – Thirty-One Nil: On The Road With Football’s Outsiders, by James Montague.

The book, which details story of the immense struggle to qualify for the 2014 Brazilian World Cup,Thirty-One Nil roams from American Samoa to Zambia in a remarkable and insightful journey that gets under the skin of world football.

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