Taxi for Farrell: Football Between the Lines

by David Farrell

David Farrell's 28-year footballing odyssey has taken him to 12 clubs and given him an insight into the realities of the game that few can match.He never enjoyed the riches that many associate with modern football and was forced to fight back from the scrapheap several times. The pressure and desire to keep playing in spite of serious injuries has left his legs ravaged and he has known the ignominy of unemployment on more than one occasion.Far from becoming cynical, he remains as passionate about the game as he was growing up in Glasgow's east end and throughout his stops at Oxford United, Hibernian, Airdrie, Partick Thistle, Clydebank, Stranraer, Albion Rovers, Gretna, Clyde, Dundee, Notts County and Celtic Nation.This is the story of real football, told by someone who experienced its highs and lows from the inside and who has reclaimed the term journeyman as one of pride.

272 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2015

Reviews

[Johnboy]

It's a story from the twilight zone of professional football. It relates in sometimes gruelling detail the ups and downs of a determined but average standard player and coach who never quite manages to hit the big time but endures considerable injury in attempting to get there. He does, however, emerge as a tough man dedicated to the game but acknowledging the privations he puts his wife and family through in pursuit of his dream.

What intrigues me is life in the closed community of football below the glamour level. In this environment vital contacts are made and used to advantage or otherwise and strong bonds are forged between men who are addicted to the game. No cups are won, no fortunes earned, but there are little victories and justifications that serve to prolong the thing. Above all, there's hope.