Product Description

A mercurial, raiding left-winger, Charlie Mitten was part of the first great post-war side that became Manchester United. The man the FA once admitted was the greatest outside-left England had ever had stepped out of line as a trailblazer in the player's contract revolution, walking out on club and country in 1950 to play in South America. During one short season with Bogota Santa Fe, Mitten won a place in South American folklore as orchestrator-in-chief of one of the most sensational upsets in football history - a makeshift Combian XI's victory over the newly-crowned world champions, Uruguay. Rejecting an offer from Real Madrid, Mitten returned to Britain only to find he was a football outlaw, frozen out by the FA selectors and by United who refused to take him back. After a spell at Fulham, he went into management at Mansfield and Newcastle, but his attempts to produce a more skilful approach to the game and his warnings of an impending soccer hurricane from South America were largely ignored. Today, Charles Mitten believes British football is still paying the price.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #770826 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-16
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From the Publisher
Cantona, Giggs, Law, Charlton and Best - all would seem obvious candidates for the accolade of Manchester United's 'penalty king'. But none has come close to the record of the man the FA once admitted was the greatest outside-left England never had: Charlie Mitten. Mitten was an ever-present in the first great post-war side which established the legend that is Manchester United today. His tally of 17 spot-kicks taken, 17 scored remains unbeaten.

About the Author
Richard Adamson is a print and TV journalist who has worked for, amongst others, Granada, LWT and Central, the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, the Daily Express and the Daily Mail.

Customer Reviews

bandit
I read this straight off more or less as I am of the generation that saw the seismic shift in football in the sixties after watching the likes of Charlie Mitten in the fifties. I remember the outlaws Franklin, Mountford and Mitten and the widespread feeling that somehow they had let the side down. How wrong that was on the evidence of this book. I would have liked more penetrating analysis instead of the assertion of prejudices, and certainly more about Mitten's role in the Eastham case. It was ironic that Mitten was the manager of a club refusing to give up feudal control of their players. A good read, but not as well written, insightful and moving as Gary Imlach's My Father and other Working Class Heroes.