I pre-ordered it and it arrived promptly on publishing day. And then sat on my coffee table for two weeks. Why did I want to read a footballer's memoirs?
I read a lot when I was younger, especially in my early teens. At that age they give a fascinating insight into the glamorous world of football, but even then, you don't expect great works of literature. Nevertheless, looking back, and, indeed, looking at some I have read in more recent years, one has to conclude that Footballer's Memoirs, as a genre, on the whole are pretty appalling.
It's not that they're badly written, after all, they're mainly ghost written by journalists. Let's face it, who, other than writers actually write their own autobiographies. (Well, okay, politiicans. I haven't read Bill Clinton's, which ought to be fascinating, because, reportedly, it's full of long, turgid prose and it almost unreadable. ) The problem is, most footballers don't really have anything to say. Once they have shopping-listed their career successes, their injuries, their goals, what more is there to say?
And, I have to say, Lee Sharpe's memoirs are a perfect example by contrast of why footballers' memoirs are so boring. His are interesting, and analytical, and contain a surprising level of self-awareness. That didn't entirely surprise me. When he was at his prime, I used to buy a video magazine about Manchester United; he featured heavily, being so telegenic. He always struck me as articulate, and intelligent. (I have to say that I didn't watch more than fifteen minutes of Celebrity Love Island, despite his presence).
Although, obviously, it's difficult to tell how much is him and how much the ghost writer, there are some extraordinary descriptions of the unglamorous side of football including his days as an apprentice at Torquay. Fascinating portrayal of life as a young professional at Manchester United. And interesting insight and analysis into the psyches of Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane. I don't think Fergie comes out of it very well. Not that Sharpey is nasty, he just highlights Fergie's shortcomings, and concludes with extraordinary high praise for him. And he explains Fergie's shortcomings by his limited background.
He describes when he was at Bradford, at age about thirty, he decided to enrol on a course, aimed primarily at business people, about motivation, positive thinking etc. It was a revelation to him that something so simple could actually be so effective. All the time previously in his career, it had been about fear - fear of the opponenets, fear of making a mistake, fear of failure. Yet he believes that by telling people they can do it, or writing a positive score on the wall before a game can dispel many of the self-doubts. He says all he ever wanted to do was go out and play football, he wasn't even bothered about medals. He wanted to feel the ball at his feet. And to earn big money and attract beautiful women.
He was shocked when on loan at Portsmouth, Graham Rix took the more experienced players aside, and, whilst emphasising that his word was final, he wished to hear their views. This was a shock to Sharpey , because hitherto, he had been used to having to do what he was told, unquestioningly. Even to the extent that Fergie ordered him to move out of the house he shared with his grlfriend and move back into digs.
He illustrates how much has football has changed since he joined Torquay in 1987 and United in 1988; sometimes it's so easy to forget. I suppose what is most noticeable is the extent to which managers like Fergie, for all his proven track record, really are a dying breed. He talks about Sam Allardyce at Bolton, and how they have teams of psychologists.
It's also interesting to read what he has to say about his cohort of players and how little they were taught about to live their lives, in contrast to that cohort (four years younger) of Beckham, Scholes, Butt, the Nevilles. He's funny about the Nevilles, without ever - quite - being cruel.
I would say it is a must-read for any Manchester United fan, and highly recommended to any football fans. Totally essential if you're a Sharpey fan, of course.
I know it sounds silly, considering that this is a former Manchester United and England player, with an impressive list of honours, but I sort of thing that this is the waste of a good brain. I know he's getting more into punditry, and he hints that the Celebrity Love Island thing has opened the door for more TV work, but, even though I know the book was ghost-written, I can tell that the originator is Sharpe just not by name.
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