Product Description

United We Fall is the unique story of life inside football, told from behind the scenes of one of Britain's most legendary clubs – Leeds United. It is also the true story of the childhood fan who became chairman of his Premiership team.

Peter Ridsdale, one of the game's most controversial and colourful figures, oversaw the most dramatic and talked-about period in Leeds United's history. In this compelling account, he writes about how the dream spectacularly unravelled when the club went into financial meltdown. It is a fall from grace which speaks volumes for the politicking, pressures, successes and failures within the professional game today.

This book is like reading the confidential files of a Premiership football chairman, detailing the characters, the prima donnas, the fall-outs, the outrageous transfer demands, and the secret deals. Then there is the Leeds United trial, a near-death plane crash, and the fatal riots from Galatasaray – and the tale of how one chairman fought to keep a club together throughout it all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44280 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 356 pages

Independent
`Genuinely compelling reading...The book is his eloquent response.'

About the Author

Peter Ridsdale is a former chairman of Leeds United, and is currently chairman of Cardiff City F.C. A former owner of Barnsley FC, he rescued them from folding after dropping from the Premier League to Division Two. He was formerly deputy chairman of Cardiff City F.C., who recruited him to help with their new stadium project, and was appointed chairman in October 2006.

Customer Reviews

Marching On Together.....despite the soap opera
I'm a Leeds fan who's never subscribed to the scapegoating of Ridsdale. We were all in it together, urging him on to put more coal on the fire of the "juggernaut" (his words) and never stop. Football is about Roy of the Rovers dreams (his words, again) and he financed those dreams. Hindsight brings us all a wisdom we were blind to at the time - and then we look for someone to blame. This book is partially wisdom in hindsight. But it's much more than that. Like the other reviewer, I couldn't put it down. It was like living the dream all over again but, this time, seeing what was happening behind the scenes, like one of those documentaries. This is an enlightening read that shines a light on the decisions, the manager's office and the boardroom with an account that will be forever open to judgement. He's honest, and you can tell he's beaten himself up over the ruination of his club. But, whatever your views on him, I defy any Leeds not to enjoy this read, and feel the same triumphs and injustices all over again. We didn't just live a dream, we lived a soap opera, and we'll keep 'Marching On Together', forever more. We'll be back.
Fascinating story. Great footie book.

The Ridsdale Years
He knows, of course, why we hate him, is how this surprisingly good book starts, and you wonder whether he's after the sympathy vote. Oh God, here we go, I thought, as I persevered through the first few pages. Then, you end a galloping read, and another surprise hits you: that you actually do feel some sympathy, as well as pity, for the man. How badly he got it all so wrong, and yet how badly he wanted to get it right. But he got drunk on his own success. There's no doubt that the 'Ridsdale Years' provide a compelling story. You forget what we went through as a club at that time and he's right about one thing: the "indomitable spirit" of the Leeds fan. Ridsdale has written it well (if only he was so competent as chairman!) and he evokes the magical atmosphere of Elland Road. He perhaps veers into defensive mode a little too much for my liking, making an argument as if he were pleading an alibi. But his bleatings don't interrupt the flow of the story too much, and, after some vaccuous football autobiographies of late, this is a book Leeds fans will find hard not to get wrapped up in. Hey, you can always burn it afterwards!

Football love affair turns sour
To my eternal shame and personal disgust, I actually LIKED this book. I bought it with a cynicism and with dubious thoughts about the much-loathed author, and expected a pile of self-indulgent, pass-the-buck rubbish. Then, seven hours after being unable to put it down, I realised that this is a story that every Leeds fans in love with the club must read. And we don't need to line Publicity Pete's pockets by doing so - all royalties, he promises, are going to St Gemma's Hospice. This is a book that will stir the memories, the anger and despair all over again, reminding us all of some brilliant times, and the mess Ridsdale and Co left behind. For the first time, we get the full picture of what really happened at Elland Road: the good, the bad and the ugly. It's a journey that makes for riveting reading and, as much as we hate the guy, this is an important contribution to our history. Ridsdale comes across as incompetent, niave and a coward in not standing upto O'Leary more. But he also comes across as someone who genuinely loved Leeds, and made it all go wrong by acting like a bafoon. In this life story, he tells how he cheated on his first two wives, and messed up those marriages. In the same way, he cheated on us, too, and messed up his marriage with the club. I'm sorry to say that this is a book that I could read again and when I'm feeling nostalgic for the good times to return, I probably will.