Fathers, Sons and Football

by Colin Shindler

The fascinating story of one unique family. the Summerbees, whose trade for seventy years has been professional football.

Genres: Football, Sports

Hardcover

First published April 29, 2002

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great examination of 3 generations of a footballing family. In this book you meet the Summerbee family one of whom would go on to play for England and Manchester City and a winner at all levels in Mike Summerbee, his father a journeyman football and Mike's son Nikey who like Mike played for Manchester City.

This is a wonderful account of the footballing family and that it isn't all about the money but the love of the game and the love for the Summerbee family. A must read for all those with an interest in football and Manchester City.

[Charles James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the football dynasty the Summerbee family . George who was a primarily a second team player for Preston North End , Mike an England international and Manchester City legend . Nicky Mike's son also played for Man City , but hit his heights playing for Sunderland . I purchased this as a Swindon fan as both Mike and Nicky had played for my team . The details on Swindon are scant . The book does really make you feel you know the players well after reading it . It also lacks the humour of Colin Shindler's first book.
It does give an interesting insight into the way football has changed over the years and the unfairness of the player registration system in the years George was playing .

[Huw Rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

There can't be many families who have produced three successive generations of professional footballers - but the Summerbee family has, and the author cleverly uses this fact to present us with a meticulously researched chronicle of how football has evolved over three generations - when top players were lucky to be paid pennies when the first generation of Summerbee's played, right through to the ridiculous over inflation of the Premier League. It's a very enjoyable read if you're a football fan, and enjoy reading about a slice of the history of the game over the last 60 years.

[Lee Wainwright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frequent weird word choice and baffling turns of phrase left me having no idea what the writer was trying to say a lot of the time. Anyway, awkward writing style aside, this should be read by any aspiring professional footballer, as it shows that the beautiful game isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sports in families will always have a history to them. Each generation has some great stories to tell to the next one.

[David Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a sad story by a City supporter going though bad years. It’s now going in the bin mainly because of his nasty comments about Man United and in particular David Beckham. Jealousy.

[Neale Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel way of charting the ever-changing (and increasingly grotesque)face of football, through the careers of three members of the Summerbee family. While Mike and Nicky enjoyed the fruits of the morally-bankrupt modern game, George's story was tragic, beset by struggles on and off the field and ending in his death from Addison's disease aged only 40. Interesting to read that as recently as the 1970s, a respected international footballer (Bobby Moore) could crawl into the bed of an eight-year-old under the pretence that he was lonely and scared of the dark, and no-one batted an eye-lid. How far we done fell.

[Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable biography of the Summerbee family, which profiles the changes in the game over the past 70 years or so. Shindler's Man City anorakism, along with his refusal to criticise anyone or anything Summerbee-related can be a little grating, but this is still one of the better football books that I have read.