Product Description

Alan Ball always wanted to be the best. Small in stature, red-haired and fiery, Alan was one of the most recognisable players of his generation. Fans on the terraces and team mates immediately took to his whole-hearted enthusiasm and never-say-die attitude. Alan is a fighter - from overcoming his diminutive size to become a professional player and the youngest member of the 1966 England squad, to the rejection he repeatedly faced as a club manager.

In 2004 Alan faced the toughest battle of his life. His wife Lesley lost her fight with cancer. From the moment their daughter was diagnosed, to the shocking realisation that Lesley also had the disease; Alan learnt to cope in the face of insurmountable odds. His hugely successsful playing and managerial career that took him to Everton, Arsenal, Manchester City, and two World Cups with England took a back seat to the real test of character brought about by the illness of his loved ones. Now Alan is learning to live life without his beloved Lesley, while continuing to support his daughter whose cancer is in remission.

'I have never stopped fighting but now I am on a different playing field - this has been the biggest fight of my life.'

This is an autobiography that transcends football - a story that is both inspirational and deeply moving.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85067 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author

Alan Ball was born on 12 May 1945 in Farnworth, Bolton. He scored 170 goals during a career that took him to Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton and Bristol Rovers. He played seventy-three times for England, winning the World Cup in 1966.

Customer Reviews

Great Insight
The book not only had an emotional feel to it but i felt it was written in a quite frank and truth telling manner, it lets the reader know exactly what happens in some footballing clubs and lets the suppoters know that they should be venting anger out on the men in suits and not just the manger and players when things are not going well with their clubs, i would recommend this book as a great stocking filler, and a must read for fans of Stoke, Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City which will hopefully change some peoples views of this great 66 ledgend.

The World Cup, Relegating City and Motivational Speeches in the Third Person
I had an agenda when reading this book - what were his excuses for the ineptitude displayed when he was in charge of Manchester City FC. In short - he blames everyone but himself. In the chapter called 'My Mistake', Francis Lee is fingered by Ball as being reticent publicly when forcing him to sell players - players which in theory were the club's best, but when managed by Ball, or mis-managed, were turned into a collective of ineffective dead wood due to his policy of 'give everything to Kinkladze'. It would have been easy for anyone to blame the chairmen when forced to sell players at the end of a season that resulted in relegation - he seems to forget that it was his management all season that caused the relegation and forced Francis Lee's hand.

A small man with an inproportionately large chip on his shoulder, you get the sense when reading the book that he expected his success as a player (and to be honest, you can't deny the man his world cup winners medal) to directly translate into sucess as a manager. He didnt seem capable of admitting defeat and owning up to his inadequacies in the management game.

All in all, quite a one sided book, after all - 'Alan Ball says what Alan Ball wants you to hear, as Alan Ball expects'. For a more objective look at Alan Ball's career as player and manager, I would advise looking for an independant biographer's book about his life.

LITTLE MAN WITH A BIG HEART
Mention Alan Ball and most football fans of a certain vintage, myself included, would say, World Cup winner,Blackpool star who became an Everton legend who then went to Arsenal and wore snazzy white boots, tireless little player...and a disasterous manager. A read of this book might just change a few people`s minds. It certainly did mine. As well as the stories involving the great players he played with and against and the games they were involved in, Ball lays it on the line when it comes to the people he doesn`t like. THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE and now we do. Ball comes across as a devoted father husband and son and the many unfortunate incidents involving his wife and children make for uncomfortable reading in a football book, but that`s just the way the wee man is. He tells it as it is. The game is poorer for his absence.