Recent
United Books
Manchester
United must be the most written about football club
on the planet and it's hard to keep up with the new
publications which pour off the presses. We do our very
best to keep you up to date with our comprehensive guide
to the latest books about the club and the players.
We
still like to handle our books and haven't fully got
into the e-reader world so apologies if your a Kindle person.
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Our featured choice.
There's been a shortage of decent books on Manchester United over the past two or three years, probably in part due to the dire football seen in the Moyes and Van Gaal era. Our featured book of the moment provides an in-depth study of those gloom-laden post-Fergie years from a fan's perspective.
The fan in question is Bruce Thomas, who made his name as the bassist in Elvis Costello's Attractions. A lifelong Red, he's well-informed, perceptive and a really good writer. Bruce is highly critical of the two sacked managers, but this is not a rant. It is a well researched and passionate look at a period which had fans of other clubs thinking that we may be entering the black hole of ongoing mediocrity. The book doesn't follow the common trend of a match-by-match commentary, but focuses on the bigger picture of internal politics, relationships, ambition and inflated egos. Thankfully, it finishes on an upbeat note, with Mourinho in charge and his first trophy in the cabinet.
Our bookshelves are weighed down by books celebrating our successful years but it's difficult to find any offerings, for example, on the Sexton, O'Farrell and McGuinness Years so we're pleased that one author has bitten the bullet at an early stage and written a definitive account of a period of failure and a troublesome search for a worthy successor to the greatest manager in history.
The one mistake for me is the title of the book because everybody knows that "We'll Never Die, We'll Never Die!" Any would-be assassins will never get their way.
The Men Who Killed Manchester United by Bruce Thomas is a self-published book issued in 2017.
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Other Manchester United books
Let's
start with books which have been issued or re-worked
to mark the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson:
Fergie
- the Greatest. Manchester United 1986-2013 by
Frank Worrall
20/13:
A Tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson by
Harry Harris
This
is the One; Sir Alex Ferguson; The Uncut Story of a Football
Genius by
Daniel Taylor (Revised
and Updated)
Sir
Alex Ferguson. The Official Manchester United Celebration
of his Career at Old Trafford
So
far, there have been surprisingly
few efforts coming off the presses. Frank Worral and Harry
Harris are journalists who are always quick off the mark.
Daniel Taylor has updated his 2008 well-received book and
the Official Celebration has yet to hit the shelves. We'll
comment in more detail if we're sent review copies.
These
three classy books are all from the pen
of our favourite 'Red' writer, Iain McCartney
and they bring to life key matches from
United's history. The legendary games
are covered in all their glory, with great
illustrations, and are supplemented by
accounts of many other key matches not
usually mentioned. This type of book often
rather lazily reproduce newspaper reports
but that's not Iain's style. He can always
be relied upon to bring a fresh approach.
Iain
McCartney has been busy recently and this
is his account
of United's remarkable resurgence after
the tragedy of losing their magnificent
team at Munich. We've not yet had a review
copy but we know that Iain doesn't serve
up dud and are happy to recommend this one
blind!
David
Blatt shot to fame with his Manchester
United Ruined My Wife and this is
his excellent follow up, different but, again, very funny.
David and his "ruined" wife sold their house to
do a world tour and the book tells the story of their 90,000
mile trip, interwoven with an account of twelve months watching,
or trying to watch, the Reds from afar. We laughed from
start to finish. As you'll see, if you pick this book up,
David is very witty, a passionate Red, a great storyteller,
and (a big tick from us) a true member of the LUHG club.
This is a book which will will suit not just United fans
but also World travellers.
Manchester
United; 20 Times Champions of England. The Story of the
2012-13 Season.
John
White is a stalwart of the Irish Reds and has,
in recent years, come to the forefront with his
popular books. These are three examples, our personal
favourite being "the Irish Devils" which
tells
the story of the love affair between the Irish
and the Reds and the constant stream of both players
and fans across the Irish Sea. John has also produced
an app, which we wouldn't normally feature but
here's a link for those who would like to have
this inexpensive well-produced app on their phones
The
Story of Manchester United (App)
Mark Metcalf tells the story of United's first
Championship success back in the days of Meredith,
Bell, Turnbull et al. A match by match account
of the 1907-08 season, coupled with pen pictures
of players and officials.Some historic photos
embellish this welcome addition to the United
history bookshelves.
An
ambitious undertaking by multi-talented James
Mackie and his first book about football. This
offering tells the story of the many players and
coaches who have worked under and been influenced
by Sir Alex. A total of 23 individuals, going
back as far as his days in Scotland, are covered,
in every aspect of their individual careers.
The
Doc's Devils - Manchester United 1972-1977. Sean
Egan has done a superb job in telling the story
of Tommy Docherty's reign at United. This 580
page book is the definitive account of the Doc's
teams, which went from the ignominy of relegation
to Division 2 Champions to FA Cup Winners. Docherty's
initial cautious approach may have been the most
boring football seen at OT, but he then went on
to produce exhilarating, swashbuckling stuff,
which packed the place to the rafters. A terrific
book.
Manchester:
A Football History. A big
book in every sense - 544 pages packed with masses
of information about all of our local clubs. The
story is told with clarity and enthusiasm and
this is a must-buy for anybody who wants to understand
the rivalries and the development of our local
clubs. We doff our caps to its' author, Gary James
(despite his allegiance to the Blues!)
Forever
A Babe; Growing up with Manchester United. This
is an engrossing book and a must for anybody who really
wants to understand what makes United the legend they
are today. Tom Clare tells of his childhood in a poor
Catholic 'two-up, two-down' household in Chorlton-on-Medlock
in Manchester, at the time that Matt Busby was nurturing
his great Babes. Tom's grandfather had been a fanatic
Red since the Newton Heath days, and he instilled
in the young boy a passion which was all-consuming.
Tom grew up watching the Babes as they emerged from
the all-conquering youth team and he gives us a detailed
account of that momentous period of United's history.
This is a book which fills a big gap in the United
library and it does it in a hugely enjoyable manner.
Very highly recommended!
An
excellent personal memoir from one of United's legion
of overseas supporters. Kevin Leyland lives in Atlanta,
USA, and his account of watching the Reds' 2008/9
campaign from a distance is enlightening, funny and
passionate. Highly recommended.
is
a big book written by a renowned expert on United,
Iain McCartney, and is a detailed look at United's
post-war fixtures, which haven't previously received
much coverage.Testimonials, pre-season friendlies
and other matches are given detailed write-ups in
this well-illustrated tome from highly respected Breedon
Books
by
Keith Falkiner is an
excellent work, beautifully illustrated and very nicely
set out. It gives details of many of the legions of
Irishmen who have been such a huge part of United's
history.
Red
Dawn is another book giving us
an insight into where our great club has come from
- covering the first three decades from Newton Heath
onwards
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