Product Description

Paul Lake was Manchester born, a City fan from birth. His footballing talent was spotted at a young age and, in 1983, he signed coveted schoolboy forms for City. Only a short time later he was handed the team captaincy.

An international career soon beckoned and, after turning out for the England under-21 and B teams, he received a call-up to the England training camp for Italia '90. Despite missing out on a place in the final squad he suitably impressed the management, with Bobby Robson earmarking him as an England captain in the making. As a rising star Paul became a target for top clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool, but he always stayed loyal to his beloved club, deeming Maine Road the spiritual home at which his destiny lay.

But then, In September 1990, disaster struck. Paul ruptured his cruciate ligament and sustained the worst possible injury that a footballer can suffer. And so began his nightmare.

Neglected, ignored and misunderstood by his club after a succession of failed operations, Paul's career began to fall apart. Watching from the sidelines as similarly injured players regained their fitness, he spiralled into a prolonged bout of severe depression. With an enforced retirement from the game he adored, the death of his father and the collapse of his marriage, Paul was left a broken man.

Set against a turning point in English football, I'm Not Really Here is the powerful story of love and loss and the cruel, irreparable damage of injury; of determination, spirit and resilience and of unfulfilled potential and broken dreams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5319 in Books
• Published on: 2011-08-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Review
'my favourite player in those days was always Paul Lake. I used to love watching him. I don't know what it was about him, but he was just a top footballer and cool as !**k, never any pressure on him, always knew what he was doing. He could play for us now, man' --Liam Gallagher

"It's the best book I've read for a long time...beautifully, powerfully written...a must-read for any fan of football" --Oliver Holt, Daily Mirror

"A raw, sometimes unsparing and frequently moving account of how Lake's career was shipwrecked...an epic, harrowing and gripping story...an astounding football autobiography" --Daniel Taylor, The Guardian

"Lake's touching story isn't all doom and gloom - it's packed with humour and insight into the game. A superb read." --FourFourTwo magazine

"...a happy, sad, thought-provoking autobiography...a book that captures a time, a place and a club." --Michael Walker, Daily Mail

"I'm Not Really Here spares nothing in the raw details of what Lake endured. A football read even more harrowing than an England player's World Cup diary" --Sport Magazine

From the Inside Flap

Paul Lake was Manchester-born, a City fan from birth. His footballing talent was spotted at a young age and, in 1983, he signed coveted schoolboy forms for City. Only a short time later he was handed the team captaincy.

An international career soon beckoned and, after turning out for the England under-21 and B teams, he received a call-up to the England training camp for Italia '90. Despite missing out on a place in the final squad he suitably impressed the management, with Bobby Robson earmarking him as an England captain in the making. As a rising star Paul became a target for top clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool, but he always stayed loyal to his beloved club, deeming Maine Road the spiritual home where his destiny lay.

But then, in September 1990, disaster struck. Paul ruptured his cruciate ligament and sustained the worst possible injury that a footballer can suffer. And so began his nightmare.

Neglected, ignored and misunderstood by his club after a succession of failed operations, Paul's career began to fall apart. Watching from the sidelines as similarly injured players regained their fitness, he spiralled into a prolonged bout of severe depression. With an enforced retirement from the game he adored, the death of his father and the collapse of his marriage, Paul was left a broken man.

Set against a turning point in English football, I'm Not Really Here is the powerful story of love and loss and the cruel, irreparable damage of injury; of determination, spirit and resilience; and of unfulfilled potential and shattered dreams.

From the Back Cover

'I used to ask for £10 million when clubs asked about him but that was in the days when clubs couldn't afford that sort of money. He could have gone all the way to the top if he had stayed injury free. Paul was as good a young player as I've ever worked with. It's a tragedy he had to retire without being able to prove to people how good he was.'Howard Kendall

'Paul Lake was the most gifted in the group of young players who brightened Manchester City up for fans in the 1980s who were pining for the glory days to return...his is an inspirational human story' David Conn, Guardian

'It was like having one of your mates playing for City. He would've captained England. No question. He was - and remains - one of us' - Noel Gallagher