Steak... Diana Ross : Diary of a Football Nobody

Steak Diana Ross #1

by David McVay

For those of us who came from the Seventies, it should be obligatory reading. But younger folk should take a look too, for it beautifully captures a bygone era... Brian Viner, The Independent

There is a rough edge to his diary that reinforces its immediacy and credibility...a funny and fascinating document... Michael Parkinson, The Daily Telegraph

The flavour of the club [Notts County] is brilliantly captured... when younger first team players still took the bus to training and an ability to sink pints was still the measure of a footballer’s manhood... Richard Williams, The Guardian

A wonderfully earthy account of just how different life was for footballers of the time than for today’s pampered poseurs... Martin Chilton, London Evening Standard

Funny, frightening and revealing… there are no flash cars...but there are some desperate women and equally desperate men... McVay captures it brilliantly…. Paul Dennis, Shoot Monthly

These boys aren’t cool well-behaved ambassadors of the game… No this is Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious and the rest in shorts and a pair of shinnies. This is Banzai soccer; what we all know the beautiful game to really be deep down; passion, excess and overload; hungry lads let loose in a sweetshop where moments before they had their noses hard pressed against the window. And when you’re buggered, you stop. Brilliant… Billy Ivory, playwright and creator of Common as Muck and screen writer for the award-winning Made in Dagenham


David McVay is a former professional footballer who played for Notts County, Peterborough United and Lincoln City in the 1970s before joining the Nottingham Evening Post as a sports reporter then feature writer in 1983. He has worked for The Times, Daily Telegraph and BackPass retro football magazine. His other published works include The Meadows Remembered, The Complete Centre Forward, a definitive biography of the legendary England player Tommy Lawton which he co-wrote with Andy Smith, Heart of Football and Forest’s Cult Heroes.

Genres: Football, Autobiography, Biography

181 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ming Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main point I got from reading this book is how different football was in the 70s, compared to 2020, in the 70s the players lived a life very much like the average day man, going to the pub for a pint, so much different than present date which is dominated by money. A refreshing look at the lower leagues in England, in a period when money did not dominate the game, and people just played for the love of the sport. This book is well written, no editorial errors, a sort of time-machine to a past more humble era of sport. I really liked it, a story full of honesty, I guess allot of older football fans will love this book, tweaking their memories of an era gone by. A good football book, a breath of fresh air, a step away from the superstar dominated football game of today.

[Mahlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lighthearted look at English lower division Football in the 70's. David Mcvay, a player for Notts County chronicles a bygone era in which players trained in garden sheds and often had second jobs during the close-season. The diary format gives the book an intimate feel, and many times the reader will be surprised at how ordinary the life of a footballer could be. The love of the game these players had seeps from every page.

For those who lived through these years, this book is a nostalgic time-capsule. For those who came to the sport during the premiere league era, it serves as a great reminder that football wasn't always about flash cars, WAGS, and clothing lines.

Read the book and then see the play.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a light read. I bought it and read it because I'd enjoyed the stage version at Nottingham Playhouse. I bought tickets for that because I'm on the mailing list. See; advertising works.

Nice to have a football biography that is actually written by the footballer, and one that isn't just another no good at school but really good at football bore fest. This is funny, entertaining and quite touching at times. And for those of us who are about the same age, a good nostalgic wallow.

[Graham Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great diary style book based on 74/75 season - a time when lower league players went to their local for a few pints, travelled on public transport or beaten up secondhand cars. An era that seems a million years ago from modern day footballers!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm biased. COYP.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok diary from a second division footballer in the 70s albeit it does feel like it was written later rather than at the time

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be more interesting than it was!