Product Description

Stanley Matthews was the most popular footballer of his era, the man who epitomised a generation of legendary players: Tom Finney, Nat Lofthouse, Billy Wright and many more. He was the first footballer ever to be knighted, the first European Footballer of the Year (at 41), and he played in the top division until he was 50 - and he will be forever remembered for his performance in the Matthews FA Cup final of 1953, when he inspired Blackpool to victory over Bolton. THE WAY IT WAS is a the fascinating memoir of a great footballer and the remarkable story of an extraordinary life, written in the last months of his life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146178 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 629 pages

Customer Reviews

Stunning view of the game when it was still beautiful
I am in my mid forties and I have read a lot of football biographies, and this is without a doubt the best I have read. I mention my age because I missed the golden age of football and I never saw any of the great players mentioned in this book, but what the book does do is bring to life some of the names and times that I missed, a great glimpse of football as it was.
Stan himself comes over as a humble football visionary, taking diet and fitness seriously about 40 years before anyone else and a true talent. There are some episodes of his personal life he skips over like his divorce and re-marriage but this is a real insight to the golden age of football and a true footballing great.
I was at Wembley watching an International (England/Brazil?) when they announced Sir Stan had died, a poignant place to be but it did feel the right place to mourn the passing of one of our greatest footballers.

A FITTING RECORD OF A TRUE GREAT
This is the story of one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen. Everybody has heard of Sir Stanley Matthews but relatively few can remember seeing him play. Here's the chance to experience his life and career through his own eyes, and turns out to be one of the best sporting tales ever told. Despite his brilliance and fame, Sir Stanley won relatively few honours during his career...thesedays he'd be a fifteen million pound player holding down a first team spot at Arsenal or Manchester United with a houseful of medals and trophies. There's no sense of bitterness here though...You get the impression that he cherished virtually every minute of his long career. His story is fascinating enough in itself but what shines through is the honesty and humility of this man whose talent was so great but whose feet stayed firmly on the ground. His memory is rightly revered in his home city and indeed throughout the footballing world and reading this book will allow you to understand just why. There's no prima donna behaviour, no arrogance and no airs and graces. Just a normal guy who just happened to be a genius. Highly recommended....an instruction in how football became the peoples game and a reflection on why it has lost that title in a wash of greed.

A fascinating account of football in its golden age
These days it`s hard to believe that football was once played by people with an absolute love of the game at heart.In an era when the maximum wage was in force players were often one or two club servants throughout their careers`.That was exactly the case with Stanley Matthews ,who unbelievebly played on until his fiftieth year.This book is a portrait of those more innocent times,a time when England was a major force in world football (younger readers may find this hard to envisage!). Matthews offers many insights into his long career and takes the reader on a journey through footballs` heady and exciting days.This book is a must for anyone with an interest in the beautifull game and how it was played before the money men got their greedy hands on it.