Product Description

Bryan Robson is widely remembered as a fearless and inspirational player and captain, both for club and country, whose presence lifted team-mates and intimidated opponents. At his peak, he was acknowledged as the most complete midfield player in the country, and played at the highest level despite a series of devastating injuries. He began his playing career at West Bromwich Albion, then moved to Manchester United in 1981 for a then record British transfer fee of GBP1.5 million. He soon became captain, and enjoyed regular Cup success, eventually winning the Championship. He also won 90 caps for England, 65 of them as captain. His autobiography reveals a fascinating insight into his days with the England and United camps and characters such as Paul Gascoigne, Gary Lineker, Roy Keane and Alex Ferguson. He puts the record straight on the 'drink culture' that Ferguson sought to stamp out at United, and describes his pain when he discovered he was surplus to the manager's requirements. He candidly reflects on the highs and lows of his football life, and discusses incidents on the pitch as well as some of the clashes that have happened behind the scenes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #173936 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

About the Author
Bryan Robson is married with three children, one of whom is a budding footballer.

Customer Reviews

Captain Marvel on pitch only
I have been a lifelong supporter of Bryan Robson; he was my boyhood idol, and unequivocally one of Manchester United and England's best ever captains. The most telling statistic in this regard is how Manchester United and England frequently won when he played, and frequently lost when he didn't. He also straddles several unique eras in football; from the "smash and bash" 70's, through to the Ron Atkinson era in the 80's, and on to the reign of Ferguson and the coming of Cantona and then the advent of the premier league as we know it today.
The trouble is, the story is just not told with as much colour as one would have expected, given the talent in the cast of characters he was writing about. All the details of the relevant games are there, but not enough of what was going on and being said on the training ground is there. This is the material we all want to hear - the interpersonal relationships between different players and managers. There is just not enough of it, and alot of what there is is treated in too bland a fashion. The matter of his being dropped from the 1994 FA Cup final, and realistically Manchester United for good, was dealt with in a couple of paragraphs, and then it was "on with management". I just believe there must have been alot more emotion than this at that time - what conversations did he have with Ferguson at the time and before that?But there is no mention, apart from a couple of flippant sentences about disappointment.
So to me, this is what the book lacks - Robson was a legend on the field, a colourful, aggressive vibrant character. But unfortunately, he comes across as very bland and colourless off it. I think this is a real shame.

Quite Dull
Being a hardcore Middlesbrough supporter I just couldn't wait to get the low-down on Bryan Robson and perhaps to the truth being a lot of the press gossip surrounding the club at the time.

Unfortunately I was disappointed with the book on the whole, simply because it was without passion, detail or anything controversial. All the time we listen to players being interviewed on TV coming out with the same standard boring footballers speak; maybe I thought here was an opportunity to tell the real truth not so!

The section on Middlesbrough which I was specifically interested was really low on detail certain hints were made about Ravanelli being a big time Charlie but no real direct examples were laid bare.

This is the tone of the book throughout plenty of memories about great games and great names, but nothing out of the ordinary off the pitch.


Graeme Parker

Robbo the Boreography
As an admirer of Captain Marvel since 1975 I eagerly awaited this autobiography.

As a whole it was a typical autobigraphy, I did this, that and the other.

Considering the monumental career he had I was expecting more.

One saving face were the photographs, it was nice to remember the glory days but nice to see the personal photographs too.

This book would suit a Manchester United and England fan the most.