The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw


Book Description

Robin Friday was an exceptional footballer who should have played for England. He never did. Robin Friday was a brilliant player who could have played in the top flight. He never did. Why? Because Robin Friday was a man who would not bow down to anyone, who refused to take life seriously and who lived every moment as if it were his last. For anyone lucky enough to have seen him play, Robin Friday was up there with the greats. Take it from one who knows: 'There is no doubt in my mind that if someone had taken a chance on him he would have set the top division alight,' says the legendary Stan Bowles. 'He could have gone right to the top, but he just went off the rails a bit.' Loved and admired by everyone who saw him, Friday also had a dark side: troubled, strong-minded, reckless, he would end up destroying himself. Tragically, after years of alcohol and drug abuse, he died at the age of 38 without ever having fulfilled his potential. The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw provides the first full appreciation of a man too long forgotten by the world of football, and, along with a forthcoming film based on Friday's life, with a screenplay by co-author Paolo Hewitt, this book will surely give him the cult status he deserves.




Charlie Hurley


Book Description

Welcome to the new edition of the authorised biography on CHARLIE HURLEY; "The Greatest Centre Half the World has Ever Seen." On 19 November 2016 Sunderland fans paid an emotional tribute to a man who had last played for the club over 47 years earlier. That man was 80-year old Charlie Hurley - or King Charlie - whose appearance at the Stadium of Light prior to the match against Hull City was greeted by rapturous applause and cheers from fans, many of whom were far too young ever to have seen him play. Eight years earlier in October 2008 Hurley's appearances at the launch of this book in Sunderland were also greeted with widespread enthusiasm by fans, many of whom told the great man as he signed their book that it was the first they had bought since leaving school many years earlier. At times there was so many people waiting to collect signatures that it was not possible for Charlie Hurley to sign all of them at the time. But everyone who wanted a signature in their book did get one, Charlie made sure of that! Little surprise that the book has gone on to be the best selling Sunderland book this century and has now sold out. Charlie Hurley was voted 'best ever player" at Sunderland and Millwall, two of the three clubs for which he played, even though he did not occupy one of the glamour positions. The man who played forty times for the Republic of Ireland was a centre half but that did not stop the fans from idolising him. As he strode forward to corners in the late 50s and 60s at Roker Park the Sunderland fans used to chant 'Charlie, Charlie, Charlie' in hope and encouragement. This is his story: from his birth in Cork to growing up on the eastern fringes of London. From playing for Millwall, to stardom at Sunderland. He ended his career Bolton Wanderers before taking over as manager at Reading Football was different then, and Mark Metcalf's meticulously researched book shows how players and fans had a different relationship in the days before football clubs became brands and players became millionaires.




With the IRA in the Fight for Freedom: 1919 to the Truce


Book Description

With the IRA in the Fight for Freedom offers eyewitness and first hand accounts of Ireland's struggle for independence in various parts of the country. It presents a representative picture of the fight by the IRA for independence and of the reign of terror endured by the civilian population. Only idealism and courage on the part of the freedom fighters and the steadfast support of the Irish people could have carried such an unequal struggle through to the end.With barracks attacks, ambushes and shootings, it brings to life a conflict that is fading from the collective memory of county and country and offers a fascinating perspective on the struggle for independence, directly from the men who took part in the actions themselves.




Guerilla Days in Ireland


Book Description

First published in 1949, 'Guerilla Days in Ireland' is an extraordinary story of the Irish War of Independence and the fight between two unequal forces, which ended in the withdrawal of the British from twenty-six counties. Seven weeks before the Truce of July 1921, the British presence in County Cork consisted of a total of over 12,500 men. Against these British forces stood the Irish Republican Army whose flying columns never exceeded 310 riflemen in the whole of the county. These flying columns were small groups of dedicated Volunteers, severely commanded and disciplined. Constantly on the move, their paramount objective was merely to exist, to strike when conditions were favourable and to avoid disaster at all costs. In 'Guerilla Days in Ireland' Tom Barry describes the setting up of the West Cork flying column, its training and the plan of campaign, which he implemented. In particular he gives his account of the Kilmichael ambush, one of the most controversial episodes of the War of Independence.




Theo Give Us a Ball


Book Description

Theo Foley has been involved in professional football for over six decades as a player, coach and manager. During the early days of his playing career, whilst captain of Northampton Town, Theo ran a pie and chip shop to supplement his income from football, a far cry from the riches enjoyed by footballers today. In his autobiography, Theo Give Us a Ball: A Life in Football, co-authored with his son, Paul, Theo details the highs and lows of professional football in a bygone age. From kicking a ball about on the streets of 1950s' Dublin to captaining a First Division team during the 1960s and becoming assistant manager at Millwall and Arsenal, this book provides a fascinating insight into football in the days when a love of the game came before wealth and fame. During his time at Highbury, Theo became a local legend and fans would chant ‘Theo, give us a ball,' to which he duly obliged. In this honest account, Theo reveals the highs and lows of his life in football and shares his memories of working with some of the football greats of the past.




Rebel Cork's Fighting Story 1916 - 21


Book Description

Originally published by The Kerryman in 1947, this is one of the four titles in the Fighting Stories Series. It records the events of the War of Independence in the words of the people who fought it and those who wrote about it at the time. The book features reports on the Cork City Volunteers, the ambushes at Tureengarriffe, Clonbanin, Rathcoole, Tureen and many others, the murder of Tómas MacCurtain, the disastrous battle of Clonmult and the campaigns of the flying columns around the county from Mitchelstown to Blarney.With a selection of original pictures from the conflict and reports from both Kilmichael and Crossbarry, Rebel Cork's Fighting Story is a treasure trove of information and intriguing detail.




The Men Will Talk to Me (Ernie O'Malley series, West Cork Brigade)


Book Description

In the 1940s and 1950s Ernie O'Malley interviewed survivors of Ireland's struggle for independence. These interviews, now being made available to the public for the first time, give a fascinating insight into the times and the people who fought. The West Cork interviews detail IRA intervention in Ulster, as well as giving prominence to the Cork No. 5 Brigade. Of eight interview subjects, five participated in the IRA's invasion of Northern Ireland. The interviewees talk about the Republican rifle exchange with the National Army which occurred secretly in May 1922, as Free State rifles supplied by Britain were swapped with IRA rifles, which were then sent to arm the IRA in Ulster. They also document the gruesome torture of Brigade Commander Ted O'Sullivan.




Tom Barry


Book Description

Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter chronicles the action-packed life of the Commander of the Third West Cork Flying Column, including the decisive Kilmichael ambush and the controversy regarding sectarianism during the 1920–22 period. Author, Meda Ryan, details his involvement on the fringes of the Treaty negotiations; his Republican activities during the Civil War; his engagement in the cease-fire/dump-arms deal of 1923; his term as the IRA's Chief of Staff and his participation in IRA conflicts in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and right up to his death in 1980. Includes an extensive body of primary source material, including Tom Barry's papers,




Gaffers


Book Description

Did you know that an Irish manager did not pick the Irish football team until 1969? Do you know who that manager was? Contrary to popular opinion, Irish football management did not begin with Jack Charlton! From the early days when Irish footballers travelled across the Irish Sea on ships through to today's high-flying superstars, the role of the Irish soccer manager has changed and this book charts their experiences as both players and as managers in the dugout. The Irish Football manager is a high profile and prestigious position with many dramatic highs and lows. Including over 55 personal interviews from the key personalities and the people who knew them best, this book gives a long overdue insight into what it's like to be the manager of the boys in green. For lovers of statistics (and there are plenty!), the book lists results for all the managers during their time in charge as well as their win/loss ratio, so we can finally decide who was the greatest manager Ireland ever had.




Denied Promotion By A Tree


Book Description

Do you know the only English league club not obliged to change their strip in the event of a colour clash? The four Bolton Wanderers players who played for Brazil during the 1966 World Cup? The team which, in 2020, contained five players whose name was the same as the club they played for? How about the only English league club never to have played a game on their home ground? Or, the player who scored with a header from his own cross? You can find the answers, along with over 5,000 other amazing and little known football facts in ‘Denied Promotion By A Tree’, the definitive football fact book that will entertain, inform and be a talking point for football fans of all persuasions. There is no place for the common-place in ‘Denied Promotion By A Tree’. Every current and former English/Welsh and Scottish club is mentioned at least twice. There are multiple entries relating to most clubs, so, plenty of amazing facts about the club(s) which you cover. Discover the only club (British) to have played both legs of a European tie at home. The two team mates who left Port Vale, one to manage Juventus, the other, Real Madrid. The club drawn away from home in 19 successive Scottish FA Cup ties and...the club denied promotion by a tree. Packed with images of football memorabilia relating to the entries, this is a book which captures the spirit of affection and belonging keenly felt by all lovers of football.




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