The Man Behind the Goal

by Brian Glanville

The Man Behind The Goal is a new collection that brings together the best short stories, many out of print for a while, by the acclaimed football writer Brian Glanville. The subjects include embittered managers raging against their foes, the shady world of the hanger-on, bewildering transfer negotiations in Italy and the coaching theories of eccentric amateurs. As Harry Pearson writes in the "Most are set in the Britain of my childhood, a slightly seedy place of mist and dampness... This is a world of players named Jimmy and Ron, agents who lived above suburban sweet shops, wild nights of light ale that end when the pubs shut at 11... Sympathy is with the losers, however ill-suited for it they may at first appear."

Paperback

About the author

Brian Lester Glanville was an English football writer and novelist. He was described by The Times as "the doyen of football writers—arguably the finest football writer of his—or any other—generation", and by American journalist Paul Zimmerman as "the greatest football writer of all time."

Reviews

[Ian Plenderleith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glanville's early stories from the 50s and 60s are are his best, he's less at ease when describing the more modern game of... the 70s. There are some beauties in here, especially Footballers Don't Cry, Goalkeepers are Crazy, Greenberg and the title story. Descriptive prose and a feel for the essence of the game are his strengths. The references to women as "tarts" and "crumpet" (though mostly in the mouths of his characters) you have to overlook and move on quickly.