Triggs: The Autobiography of Roy Keane's Dog

by Triggs

Meet Triggs - TV lover, hypochondriac, noted wit, football genius and best friend to the most talked-about footballer of his generation. Whether leading Manchester United to the Treble or telling Mick McCarthy to shove the World Cup up his bollocks, Roy was seldom out of the news. For more than ten years, through good times and bad, he could always rely on his friendship with his ever faithful Labrador retriever, Triggs. Their walks became the stuff of rolling news legend. But what did they talk about on all those famous days when they took the air while being chased by a media pack? And - at the end of the day - who was really walking who? Now, in his own words, Roy Keane's dog tells the extraordinary story of their friendship and reveals his part in the glories and controversies that marked his master's career. From his arrival through a small ad in the South Manchester Advertiser through to Keane's final days as manager of Ipswich Town, the brilliant but neurotic Triggs was never far from his side, directing events as best he could. He was just a pup when he discovered, while watching television one day in 1998, that he could read a football march 'like a virtuoso can read a five-line staff'. But the brilliant but illness-obsessed dog always preferred to avoid the headlines and leave the adulation to his master. Until now. Ten major trophies. A missed Champions League final. Player of the Year awards. Alf-Inge Haaland. Drunken nights. Contract negotiations. Patrick Vieira. Prawn sandwiches. The explosive end to his relationships with Ireland and Manchester United. Triggs was witness to it all - and a far from silent one. Funny, frank and never less than one hundred and ten per cent mean-spirited, Triggs tells the truth about what it was like to be a central player in the extraordinary drama of his master's life.
-Description from Amazon.co.uk

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Football

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jess Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I LOVE Paul Howard's satirical style of writing anyway throughout his "Ross O'Carroll Kelly" series.
But I have to admit I wasn't feeling too enthused about Triggs, come on, the inner thoughts of a footballers' dog? I did enough pisstaking out of Britain's got Talent last yr for that carry on.
Yet HOW I regret my delay in reading this book, I'm still kicking myself like I'm Alfie Haaland lying on the pitch!!

This beautiful Labrador Retriever Triggs (who sadly went to the kennel in the sky last year) is seen in this book as a constant friend and comfort to the much maligned Roy Keane, consistent for his perfectionist attitude, play on the pitch and a captain who could talk his team into any battle.

Again, Keane had quite a controversial few years for those who aren't familiar with him, I just personally thought he was a determined man who wanted to do things the right way, but ended up doing them in the wrong way.

Triggs is our narrator through the novel, highlighting and explaining players, incidents, and basically how he communicates with Roy through their thoughts.Triggs takes a lot of credit for success but is quite humble in other parts of the book

I found this an extremely clever funny yet moving novel, where we get snippets of the sense of self deprecating humour which Roy possesses and very witty aside thoughts/send ups of other well known players.

I highly recommend this to any book lover, whether or not you're into football, as there are other quite moving and very funny asides to the football aspect, but expect both roars of laughter and also a few tears.

Best book I've had the pleasure to read in ages, and the ages is my own fault for not giving it a chance. Only more charming writer than this is the wonderful Marian Keyes. Not just a good read, a great read.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few chapters of this book are great I had laugh out loud moments when the dog described her meetings with Ole Gunnar Solskar. I was hoping the book would continue this way but unfortunately as the book continued there were less and less funny moments. I thought the relationship between Triggs and Roy was great but I found the author focused more on the football and less on the comedy. I am a football fan, but I'd rather watch it than read books on it. I was hoping for a funny satire about Roy and Triggs friendship not a book analysing Manchester Uniteds matches.

[Baireadn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and I know that if I knew more about football I'd have enjoyed it even more. Given my lack of football knowledge, the joke probably got a bit old towards the end but overall I'd recommend giving this a read.

[Ciarán · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really entertaining read and even though it is a work of fiction, you really get the true sense of the bond between Roy Keane and his dog Trigg's. There are many funny moments throughout the book, not laugh out loud funny, but it makes you chuckle, especially Trigg's nightmares that featured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a starring role. Dare I say it, this book is better then Keane's first autobiography!

[Lucy Healy-Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and he develops each voice in this story really well, especially Triggs'. As a non-football fan it was too long for me though, it got repetitive after a while. But still good fun, I think particularly if you have ever owned a dog!

[Shane Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the autobiography of Roy Keane’s dog; mar dhea. Howard has a talent for immersing himself in character, and a fine comic tuning ranging from perceptive wit to farce. Keane himself has proved comedy gold. I Keano, a mock epic musical proved a big hit back in the Noughties. But was there much gold left to mine for Howard? Yes and no. Keane’s faithul dog, Triggs, gives the perspective of mutt to emerging star of Manchester United and Ireland from the 90s on. And on and on. Howard is witty in his analysis of the fascination and foibles of professional football. But often it’s more like taking the idea for a walk but not really going anywhere. Whereas Ross O’Carroll Kelly became a series of episodic compilations, becoming evermore hilarious and bizarre, Triggs is soon cramped by the domestic setting. You would need to be big into football and Man U to sink totally into this. I’m a big football fan, enough to get a few laughs from this, but finding it heavy going after a while. Perhaps the satire, or perhaps Howard himself, is a bit too fond of the subject. In short, it should have been shorter, and sharper. Howard is a good writer but this is not him at his best. I know, it’s a dog’s life for a writer.

[Jo Cleobury · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't but help but love Triggs .

[Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very funny book for football fans, as well as everyone else. Surprisingly it builds on themes of mortality and the purpose of life. The final chapter is one which upset and enthralled me throughout.
I'm a fan of Roy Keane and a ROI football fan. Not a manchester united fan, and too young to remember the events depicted here. But it is a wonderful story told from a unique perspective and made me laugh out loud several times.
My copy (2013 is the latest date printed on the inside) had a fair few (less than 15 I think) spelling errors. It was obvious what the author meant, usually a letter was missing from the start of a word or one letter in a word was misplaced (misplaecd for an example of what i mean). This didn't affect my enjoyment of the book, and it had probably been dealt with by the publishers by now but I felt I should mention it. The mistakes were slight and minimal, I'm not trying to disparage the author or the publishers, I just felt I should mention the fact I had noticed.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, probably more than any other footballer biog, its smart, witty, warm and very insightful, on players and the change of PL football culture. Which is more than you can normally say for a football biog. Its also as more likely written by a dog than ones are written by PL players.....

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good humoured fresh look at Keano through the eyes of his faithful companion Triggs the Lab. Funny throughout, a book for Keanes fans a bit tongue in cheek but a great account of all things United, Ireland and Bob Dylan.

[Oisin Byrne]

A comical yet surprisingly entertaining read. Triggs has quite a few stories to tell.