Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57816 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-02
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

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

Synopsis
"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 secret deals. Then there is the Leeds United trial, a near-death plane crash, and the fatal riots from Galatasaray - and how one chairman fought to keep a club together throughout it all.

Customer Reviews

Another Side to the Story
Having read and heard what the Media portrayed to us at the time and then read David O'Leary's account of events I think it only fair to listen to the once Chairmans record of events.
And I'm glad I did. OK, so Peter plays some of the blame game throughout the book but he is brutally honest about his own failings and the mistakes he made along the way.
You are given an insight into the childhood of Ridsdale and how he worked his way through the retail business world to ultimately land his dream job at Leeds United.
It brings back those dreams we had and puts light on those decisions we all questionned at the time (Why was he sold?, How much was he paid?)
It also tells the story of how the 'Board' operated at Leeds and how the football world puts on the media 'spin' to manipulate us fans.
All in all it appears to be a very honest view of events at Leeds and where it all went so horribly wrong - and maybe if we had given him just a couple more months things could have been different? - Who knows?

A surprisingly good read.
I approached this book with the lowest expectations, anticipating a long, self-justifying whinge. I was surprised to find it captivating and very convincing. I regret to say that I had thoughtlessly climbed on the Hindsight Bandwagon and had previously blamed Ridsdale for the wrecking of our great club. Call me naive and gullible if you like, but after reading this, I think that Ridsdale always did his best for the club, and, crucially, the collapse hinged on factors (the collapse in the transfer market + duplicity and selfishness of the likes of O'Leary & Bowyer) which he could not have been expected to anticipate and over which he had no control. Overall, the book is a rattling good read, and brings back many conflicting memories of an amazing and glorious few years. And to the redmanc reviewer who somehow got his totally inappropriate comments past the editors of these pages..............you can sit at Old Trafford every week munching your prawn sandwiches while you watch Rio and his chums just about stirring themselves enough to be bothered to beat Middlesbrough 2-1. but you will never know the thrill and excitement we had that night in the San Siro..............a thrill and excitement for which I personally will forever be grateful to Peter Ridsdale for.

'Ruined United' by Peter Ridsdale
If you liked Damned United, you like this offering from damned Ridsdale.
Only this dream-to-nightmare account is no fiction; it's laid out in full, absorbing detail as a true horror account of what goes wrong when the dream fails. It's a cracking, pacy read that doesn't need the brilliance of Dave Peace to examine the mind of Publicity Pete. He does that on his own, laying out his niave worship to his flaws and weaknesses to his self-hate and then delayed introspection, against a back-cloth of tumult at Elland Road. This is a must-read for all Leeds fans. My only criticism is the title. A more apt one might have been 'Ruined United'.