Product Description

Lee Sharpe burst onto the scene at Old Trafford as a seventeen-year-old flying winger: fast, skilled, confident and clearly enjoying his football. The fans took him to heart as the first sign of the rebirth of the club under Alex Ferguson. At the start of the 1990s, with the Madchester scene in full swing, Sharpe enjoyed all the fruits of being young, good-looking and wealthy: he enjoyed a party and the company of women. After all, wasn't this what he'd worked so hard to get? But increasingly his lifestyle came into conflict with Fergie's wishes; like most managers, he wanted his players to live quietly. For Sharpe, there was so much more to experience. In the end, feeling he needed to try other options, he decided to leave Old Trafford and moved to their rivals Leeds. But once he got there, and suffered from injuries and the managerial merry-go-round, things were rarely quite the same. By the time he was thirty, it was the beginning of the end for him as a top-level player, and when he was sacked for having a drink five days before a game at Iceland's Grindavik, he decided enough was enough. Sharpe's story tells of a period when it was still just about possible to have fun and be a Premiership player, when a team would go out drinking together to celebrate. Already, in less than a decade, it seems a world that has gone for ever. Sharpe tells it like it was, and you will wish you had been there with him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98147 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 5 Feb
"Sharpe's wit and exuberance, expertly rendered by David Conn, are as infectious as his grin."

Review
"Football fans and social historians will be better entertained and educated by My Idea of Fun. The quality and candour of ghosted autobiographies have improved this year." (THE INDEPENDENT, 17 December )

About the Author
Lee Sharpe was signed by Manchester United at the age of 17 in 1988. He stayed at the club for eight seasons, winning three league titles and two Doubles, before being transferred to Leeds United for 4.5 million. After that he played for a variety of clubs, before eventually retiring from the game at the age of 32. He won 8 caps for England. More recently, he has worked for Sky Sports and appeared on ITV's Celebrity Love Island.

Customer Reviews

The original fergie fledgling
Just picked this up along with the Giggs autobio, and though Giggsy is my favorite player ever, Sharpey's book is better. Gives a good look into how football has evolved as Sharpe bridged the old first division era to the glitz and glamour of the premiership. The book also gives a good look at Ferguson and shows how once you leave the hallowed walls of Old Trafford, its all downhill from there.

Lee - Fergie was right!
What is it with footballer's autobiographies? Fans don't want to know what street your Grandma lived on - they want to know about Fergie's half-time team talks, who got a rollicking and who hates who, and why. This book is a blend of both. Mainly, however, it is all about Lee Sharpe's self-doubts (and that hat-trick against Arsenal - mentioned 43 times) - and no Lee you're wrong, you were a great player, and however much you try and kid yourself, you did throw it all away. It's clear from your book that Fergie rated you - he just didn't like your lifestyle and thought it would ultimately be your downfall - he was right. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you'll be able to put it behind you. Hope this helps.

Good Read - Sharpey was an entertainer but flawed as a professional footballer in the modern era.
Really enjoyed this book. I loved him as a player, the way he played the game with a smile on his face brought joy to everyone. I think Sharpey is a bit bitter about how Ferguson treated him. I think he should look more at his own part in his downfall, and make no mistake, it was a downfall. He must have known leaving Utd that he would never achieve the success he could achieve if he stayed, yet he chose to move on just to continue to "be himself" and play as many games as possible. He wanted to be a professional footballer at one of the biggest clubs in the world and still be himself, not change one iota. Sharpey was not willing to adapt and he thinks he was right. Maybe he was, for himself, but he has no right to be bitter against anyone because of the decisions he made. Fergie didn't want to sell him. He expected Fergie to adapt and cajole him because that was what he needed, but he refused to adapt himself. Still, I think he was one of the great entertainers in English football over the past 20 years. He achieved a great deal while still having his "idea of fun" so he looks back correctly contented with that. But he comes up short in terms of having realised his potential as a professional footballer with a god given talent that very few have.