Read all about it....

READ ALL ABOUT IT.................................

This time last year I was riding a rollercoaster with ‘Just Follow the Floodlights’ – one I didn’t want to end. You see my ode to the League of Ireland had made the Longlist of the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year and was frantically pushing for one of the six golden tickets in a Shortlist that would have brought even more media interest on a book that the Irish Times, Examiner & Daily Mail had already waxed lyrical about. I pinched myself so many times last December that I’m only now getting over the black and blue bruising.

With no national offering this year I still kept a close eye on what this year’s competition would produce. Would Katie Taylor’s ‘My Olympic Dream’ top the poll, or John Hayes autobiographical offering ‘The Bull’ be the choice of this year’s panel. Surely my old pal Jimmy Magee (who done the foreword on ‘Singing the Blues’ for me) would be close to taking the overall prize with Memory Man?

To my astonishment I found nothing. No William Hill, no prize money, no book awards. When the sponsor left, the funding went and now shamefully we are left without a nationwide award based purely on sports books.

The book awards once aspired to be this country’s Booker Prize but those in the know will tell you it struggled to get credibility among Irish sportswriters for several reasons. The judging panel was unknown but guessing by their criteria it was thought to be a group of wholesalers, too concerned about which book would actually sell the most and not particularly about the story and it’s content. Some of the more high-profile autobiographies were nominated before they were even launched. Can you judge a book before you’ve even opened its pages and read it?

I was happy to be nominated and though my publisher had to supply almost 20 books to the Longlist to Shortlist process, we were happy with the publicity ‘Just Follow The Floodlights’ was getting, made better by the fact I dragged my ass all around Ireland with seven different books launches in a month.

Effort alone might have got me into the final six- however I wasn’t naive. Going to Dundalk, Dublin, Monaghan, Waterford, Cork, Galway and Sligo giving it a romantic labour of love feeling was one thing – going up against some of the finest writers in Ireland was another.

Paul Kimmage had wrote ‘Engage – the rise & fall of Matt Hampson’ – the eventual winner, whilst books from Nicolas Roche, Ronnie Whelan, Bernard Jackman, Paul Carberry, Michael Duignan and Barry McGuigan meant it would have been a tall order for this little old Larchville boy to break up the party!

So it’s sad to say William Hill pulled the sponsorship (whilst collecting millions from us gambling degenerates at the same time each year) to leave some very interesting books with a real platform to shine on.

We all have our own favourite sports books, past and present, so in light of no awards for the best of Irish this year, I can only recommend the following that have a comfortable slot alongside the nine that I’ve currently wrote!

POINTLESS by JEFF O'CONNOR

Telling the story of East Stirlingshire Fc, the worst club in Britain for three seasons on the trot in the mid 2000’s, O’Connor gets an access all areas to a club with an average home attendance of 200 and a side lucky to field 11 men each week. From board room bedlam to regular ridicule from their own fans, O’ Connor begins the season as a scoffing cynic and ends up lost in admiration for a club whose goal is to reach the promised land...2nd from bottom in the Scottish Third Division! Trust me it’s a heart-warming story despite defeat after defeat and as events unfold you really find yourself rooting for the guys! Loved this book and have read it several times over!

GODS Vs MORTALS  by PAUL KEANE

Went under the radar when it came out in late 2010, but make no mistake, this is a superb read. It does exactly what it says on the tin, and even if your club isn't one of the ten mentioned, the book is still a must have for League of Ireland fans. The best chapter ? I'd like to say when Waterford FC drew Manchester United in the European Cup in '68, but the Athlone Town v AC Milan story , and the way Paul builds up the tie , is simply the best in the book. Paul's a smashing guy and helped me with info and pics for 'JFTF' and deserves some success with this publication. 

THE BROMLEY BOYS by DAVE ROBERTS

An author I befriended on Facebook some time ago was Englishman Dave Roberts. I wanted to know what inspired him to write a story about a club dear to his heart, but , bar a couple of hundred die-hards every other Saturday, meant little to the masses. Within the first two minutes of the conversation it was obvious we'd been singing from the same hymn-sheet...the love of the club despite their lowly non-league position, his history and memories with Bromley  , both intertwined in his brain and the fact it actually made a great story despite the fact Bromley were, as the sub title says, 'The Worst Football Team in Britian' . It was reasons like this that had made me write 'Confessions of an Exeter City Nut' four years earlier.  Since then I've had the luxury of seeing 'The Grecians' go to Wembley twice, gain back to back promotions and are still a league club. 

Bromley? Well they hover dangerously over the relegation zone of the Blue Square Premier South...not that it will stop the now American based author from popping over to see his beloved Bromley - the book is also the inspiration behind a movie adaptation of 'The Bromley Boys' which will hopefully hit cinemas in 2013. Take out the quote from the most annoying person on television anywhere in the world (Adrian Chiles) on the front , you'll soon find your own superlatives to describe this book.

FEVER PITCH by NICK HORNBY

Yes I know it's been around ages...yes I know you've probably seen the movie..and yes it's quite possible you already own Mr Hornby's classic, but if you havent.......

The best way to describe the book is to say you don't have to be an Arsenal fan to fall in love with this book. If your a footy fan and you can't raise a smile anywhere between these pages there is something fundimentally wrong with your love of the game!

A genuine classic.

BLACK & BLUE by PAUL CANOVILLE

Paul Canovilles story is one of extreme racist bigotry, shattering career-ending injury, a decline into drug abuse, battles against cancer, family tragedy and a determination to beat the odds. Canoville was Chelsea's first black first-team player, making his debut in 1982. But as he warmed up on the touchline, his own supporters began chanting 'We don't want the nigger!' The racist bile continued whenever he played, but within a year he had won over the terraces with his explosive pace and skill. Read it a copy of times - powerful stuff.

From a League of Ireland point of view there's been many books wrote, primarily on clubs, but have an interest to all fans of the game here as practically every other club bar your own will get a mention in some other clubs publication!

Robert Goggins new tome to Shamrock Rovers has just been released but there are many great publications over the last few years that fans should have purchase or be aware of - there may be too many to mention but those that should be in your collection are ...

We Are Rovers - an oral history of Shamrock Rovers  - Eoghan Rice

DUFC - a claret and blue history - Brian Whelan

The History of Dundalk FC - Jim Murphy

A Century of Soccer Cork Memories - Plunkett Carter

The Bass Book of Irish soccer (various editions ) - Gerry Desmond & Dave Galvin

The Finn Harps Story - Bartley Ramsey

The End of An Era - The history of Limerick senior soccer at Market's Field 1937-84

A history of Sligo Rovers - Joe Molloy

The Hoops - Robert Goggins & Paul Doolan

Mud, Sweat & Jeers - Jim Rhatigan (book on Kilkenny City)

Yes I know there are many more, but these are just a few of my favourites - I know I'll think of more the minute I put this to print. Obviously my own books on Waterford United are ones I like as well.

Happy reading!