Product Description

Ten years in the making, DRIBBLE! is an A-Z of credulity-twanging facts and stories that includes: definitive explanations of everyday phrases such as 'keep your shape' and 'low centre of gravity', a complete guide to becoming a terrace wit, how Alex Stepney broke his jaw by shouting, why the old-fashioned British centre-half is like a red squirrel and hundreds of other fantastic tales from what Pele once memorably dubbed 'My bloody job'. DRIBBLE! addresses key hitherto ignored aspects of our national game, for example the relationship with Country and Western music and its long tradition of football-related songs. Jonny Cash dubbed himself 'The Man in Black' in homage to his idol, referee Arthur Ellis, and 'I Walk the Line' is arguably the greatest song ever written about the life of an assistant referee. DRIBBLE! will be every football fan's must-have book this Christmas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #203846 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
** 'Bitingly satirical and madly surreal, this must be the funniest book of the year . . . Monty Python meets John Motson Leo McKinstry', DAILY TELEGRAPH ** 'Monstrously, almost unreasonably funny. This is an author with an encyclopaedic knowledge of football, with a thorough grounding in modern culture, and with a brilliant sense of humour who - rare among his peers - knows when to stop.' Andrew Baker, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ** 'Harry Peason makes me laugh. In fact his columns and Marina Hyde's are the two main reasons why The Grauniad is my sports sections of choice... Be warned your head will explode if you attempt to read this in one go.' LONDON LITE ** 'Pearson has a knack for turning soccer cliches on their head and taking them in unexpected directions, as well as having a penchant for surreal flights of fancy, such as the little known fact that Bob Dylan's muse was awakened by a spell with Hartlepool United.' FT ** 'Highly entertaining' SUNDAY TRIBUNE

About the Author
Harry Pearson is a journalist and writer who contributes regularly to the GUARDIAN, GQ and WHEN SATURDAY COMES.

Customer Reviews

Dribble? Drivel.
It pains me to write this as in my view, Harry Pearson's 'The Far Corner' is the finest football ever written, and I love the chap.

This is just a mixture of made-up drivel and the odd fact, and- like his 'Around the World by Mouse'- one wonders why he wrote it, or why it was published.

Save your money.

Drivel, not Dribble
Another desperately disappointing book, as was 'Around the World by Mouse'
It is hard to believe that this is the same author who wrote the excellent 'Far Corner'. Dribble is an 'A to Z' style commentary on British football, which is already is badly dated. The mix of laboured humour, obtuse references to in-jokes, silly analogies all presented in a plodding style had me wanting to give up before I'd even finished the letter 'B'. I persevered to the end,but was punishing myself. Can't Harry write more books like 'Racing Pigs' and 'A Tall Man in ...'?PLEASE!

Hubby Hated it
I usually buy my non book reading hubby a couple for Xmas. Usually they are football or sport related and this looked interesting.

Sadly he hates it. He's been trying to get into it since Xmas but says that alot of it is only understandable if you read the newspaper this particular author writes for. Theres alot of waffling about dialogue between players and/or managers which is totally irrelevant and not at all amusing, never mind funny, and theres nothing to hold his interest.

I also bought him "you'll win nothing with Kids" which he loved.