Book reviews | When Saturday Comes

Raising the bar

Martin Pilkington on former England winger Stuart Ripley, who began an unusual post-football career when he took up law at college.

Some footballers stay in the game when their playing career ends, others break into a whole new world. Stuart Ripley, who started out at Middlesbrough, won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and was capped twice for England, has managed to do both. Ripley is now a solicitor working in Manchester with the major law firm Brabners Chaffe Street.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

Attention deficit

A stalwart defender has made a startling confession to the Norwegian press about how retirement affected him, writes Lars Sivertsen

“Depression and the emptiness after the end of my career was probably the main reason. I was 35 years old and an injury deprived me of a life on the top shelf overnight. My status disappeared.” Such confessions are becoming sadly familiar.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

Hostile takeovers

Rather than being a blessing, new owners often leave managers looking for a new job of their own, writes Mark Segal

Apart from the first day of the season, there are very few times in the life of a football team when you think anything is possible. The arrival of a new manager often brings increased expectation, but the fact they have been appointed more than likely means the club are already in the mire.

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

Keeping faith

Adam Bate considers why so few former goalkeepers have been managers in the Premier League

Joey Barton may have felt he was insulting Neil Warnock by likening him to the eponymous film hero Mike Bassett, but there is no identikit for the football manager. All sorts of folk have trodden the touchline in England, but only two goalkeepers have ever managed in the Premier League. Nearly two decades on from Mike Walker’s sacking at Everton, it is surely high time we asked the question: where are all the goalkeeper managers?

Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

Out of time

As Arsenal celebrate their 125th anniversary with the unveiling of three bronze statues outside the Emirates, Jon Spurling looks at their somewhat disputed origins

With a parade of former stars prior to the league victory over Everton, and the official unveiling of the bronze statues of Herbert Chapman, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams outside the Emirates Stadium the day before, Arsenal celebrated their 125th anniversary in some style. Over the last few years, the Arsenal History Project, run by the Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association (AISA), has undertaken a review of the club’s often murky formative years. One of the main drivers of the Arsenal History Project, Tony Attwood, commented on his blog: “In the early days of writing histories of the club, people relied on their memories or occasional comments from others. This built up a range of documentation all based on the flimsiest of evidence.” The Woolwich Arsenal blog has highlighted and questioned several elements of the story of the club previously been taken as gospel.

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - Book reviews