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The Binman Chronicles. Neville Southall
Considered among the greatest goalkeepers of all time and one of English football's defining figures over a career that spanned more than two decades, Neville Southall has for the first time decided to tell his extraordinary life story. Uncompromising, unorthodox and often unkempt, Southall's career followed an incredible from football-mad binman, to the greatest goalkeeper in the world in the space of a few years. Southall's amazing story is the ultimate antidote to the dull stereotype of the modern footballer.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 2, 2022
Sports autobiographies can make tedious reading. Not this one. Stripped back, plain speaking, and brutally honest, Southall's authentic working class voice tells it as it is. Fame and fortune were never a driving force, being the best goalkeeper he possibly could...was. This focus came at a price but also opened other life doors. And..
Southall doesn't spare those, in the game, who know nothing of it. A man respectful of a football heritage he helped to create...a man who will always be one of Everton and Wales greatest ever footballers...and a man who never forgot his roots, as his subsequent journey reveals.
Southall doesn't spare those, in the game, who know nothing of it. A man respectful of a football heritage he helped to create...a man who will always be one of Everton and Wales greatest ever footballers...and a man who never forgot his roots, as his subsequent journey reveals.
September 9, 2016
It ain´t Shakespeare but it is Big Nev and while it´s true that it leaves plenty out, if you´ve ever heard the man talk, it´s fairly true to who he is.
The best goalkeeper I´ve ever seen play the game, at his peak, 84-87, Southall is rightly a hero to Evertonians and probably deserves to be called a living legend. Like goalies should be, he´s a loner and isn´t bothered about changing. He is who he is. I chuckled at his comment that he´s one of those people who look dishevelled even in a suit. But he´s also got the magic that makes the great great and as stodgy as this book is, you do get the feeling that he was always going to make it.
The only thing he ever wanted to do was play football, and so he did. He played a couple of matches a day at the weekends and once had to have his toes cut apart because his skin had sealed up thanks to wearing his boots and socks too much. Hates losing. Calls it as he sees it. Never looked back and kept getting better. At one point, when things were dire - or worse than ever at least - he was Everton, even if he wasn´t the goalkeeper he´d once been. He´s the sort of player you could imagine walking to the game, or talking to anyone. Non-drinker. Piss taker. Good man.
My favourite vision of him from the book was when his dad forgot to pick him up after a local game in Wales and he spent the night sleeping in the dugout, the pissing rain clattering on the metal roof.
The best goalkeeper I´ve ever seen play the game, at his peak, 84-87, Southall is rightly a hero to Evertonians and probably deserves to be called a living legend. Like goalies should be, he´s a loner and isn´t bothered about changing. He is who he is. I chuckled at his comment that he´s one of those people who look dishevelled even in a suit. But he´s also got the magic that makes the great great and as stodgy as this book is, you do get the feeling that he was always going to make it.
The only thing he ever wanted to do was play football, and so he did. He played a couple of matches a day at the weekends and once had to have his toes cut apart because his skin had sealed up thanks to wearing his boots and socks too much. Hates losing. Calls it as he sees it. Never looked back and kept getting better. At one point, when things were dire - or worse than ever at least - he was Everton, even if he wasn´t the goalkeeper he´d once been. He´s the sort of player you could imagine walking to the game, or talking to anyone. Non-drinker. Piss taker. Good man.
My favourite vision of him from the book was when his dad forgot to pick him up after a local game in Wales and he spent the night sleeping in the dugout, the pissing rain clattering on the metal roof.
December 6, 2020
Honest and a reality of a footballers life
Excellent book, quite emotional in some places but the keeper who I didn’t particularly like in the day has come over as one of the most honest footballers ever. Sorry about his view of Stoke City (my team), tbf he was way too good for us.
Excellent book, quite emotional in some places but the keeper who I didn’t particularly like in the day has come over as one of the most honest footballers ever. Sorry about his view of Stoke City (my team), tbf he was way too good for us.
July 31, 2022
Autobiographies of sportsmen are a variable feast. A few are very good, but many are poor, amounting to not much more than a list of achievements, which come across as egotistical. I'm also always in two minds as to whether ghost-written (auto)biographies are better than those written by the actual person, as you'd think that, if nothing else, the grammar and punctuation would be correct. Either way, this isn't one of the good ones. If you want to read how Neville Southall just wants to play football, doesn't let anything faze him, isn't bitter (told in a bitter way) and any number of other contradictions, then this may be the book for you. It wasn't the book for me. It's repetitive, not particularly informative and offers no real insight into football, or the person between the posts.
Generally, when a Kindle book ends before 90%, I'm disappointed. I wasn't disappointed this time, to see that it was all over at 89%.
Generally, when a Kindle book ends before 90%, I'm disappointed. I wasn't disappointed this time, to see that it was all over at 89%.
January 7, 2020
As interesting as I expected. Granted in many ways it is your standard ex-pro autobiography but Neville Southall was far from your standard ex-pro. He only ever wanted to play football but never ever expected to reach the heights he did, especially with Everton and Wales. A very single minded player who never socialised with his teammates, being a teetotaler, he was never part of the drink culture, to the continual bemusement of Howard Kendall. Interesting person indeed. On a final note, he states that Graeme Sharp joined Everton from Dunfermline. It was actually Dumbarton and I was glad to see the back of him as he liked scoring against the Pars. If only Everton had signed his less talented brother, Rikki, from Dunfermline. The money would have come in handy.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
November 30, 2018
I’ve always liked Neville Southall – the legendary Everton and Wales goalkeeper who played into his 40’s. By the time I was a football obsessive 8 year old, he was already in the later years of his Everton career and the team were a long way away from the League and FA Cup winning teams of the mid-80’s. Southall appeared to be a throwback to an earlier era as football became increasingly commercially driven.
The Binman Chronicles is a fairly standard ex-footballers autobiography. It follows an old-school format of focusing heavily on his playing career and, after covering his early years and how he got into professional football, chronologically detailing season-by-season. The book reads in Southall’s voice but the book could have done with tighter editing with a bit too much repetition – every off-season was boring, he doesn’t like holidays, just loves playing football etc. It feels too much like interviews with Southall were transcribed directly rather than a ghostwriter editing to capture Southall’s voice and story.
While the book can at times be a bit bland, Southall himself is an interesting character – as anyone who follows him on twitter will know. Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world during the mid-80’s, he never pushed for big money or a glamours move abroad. A tee-totaller but a piss-taker, he seems to have somehow been both a loner and a senior figure in the Everton dressing room. Never one to follow the crowd, Southall wears his differences as a badge of pride and seemed to have totally resisted any pressure/temptations to be ‘one of the lads’. There is a limited amount of detail on his own personal life – apart from his love of Wales and his daughter – but he is ultimately open about his failings and his affairs during his first marriage.
From a footballing perspective, any Everton or Wales fan will be fascinated by the insights into those teams at the times Southall played. He is open in both his praise and criticism for coaches and fellow players – he has warm words for Howard Kendall and Joe Royle despite some pretty negative experiences with both them, bit is damning in his criticism of Mike Walker’s ill-fated time as Everton manager. For those who are too young to have experienced English football in the 80’s, the book paints an interesting picture of Everton’s rise to rival Liverpool without really detailing what exactly led to the remarkable improvements during Kendall’s first spell in charge – it seems simply have been better players and good man-management.
I would have enjoyed more about his present work which involves teaching troubled young people. His own early struggles in education seem to help him build relationships with those who are struggling to find a place in society. It’s clear that Southall has found a passion that rivals football and is committed to helping.
You can read all of my sports book reviews at https://allsportsbooks.reviews
The Binman Chronicles is a fairly standard ex-footballers autobiography. It follows an old-school format of focusing heavily on his playing career and, after covering his early years and how he got into professional football, chronologically detailing season-by-season. The book reads in Southall’s voice but the book could have done with tighter editing with a bit too much repetition – every off-season was boring, he doesn’t like holidays, just loves playing football etc. It feels too much like interviews with Southall were transcribed directly rather than a ghostwriter editing to capture Southall’s voice and story.
While the book can at times be a bit bland, Southall himself is an interesting character – as anyone who follows him on twitter will know. Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world during the mid-80’s, he never pushed for big money or a glamours move abroad. A tee-totaller but a piss-taker, he seems to have somehow been both a loner and a senior figure in the Everton dressing room. Never one to follow the crowd, Southall wears his differences as a badge of pride and seemed to have totally resisted any pressure/temptations to be ‘one of the lads’. There is a limited amount of detail on his own personal life – apart from his love of Wales and his daughter – but he is ultimately open about his failings and his affairs during his first marriage.
From a footballing perspective, any Everton or Wales fan will be fascinated by the insights into those teams at the times Southall played. He is open in both his praise and criticism for coaches and fellow players – he has warm words for Howard Kendall and Joe Royle despite some pretty negative experiences with both them, bit is damning in his criticism of Mike Walker’s ill-fated time as Everton manager. For those who are too young to have experienced English football in the 80’s, the book paints an interesting picture of Everton’s rise to rival Liverpool without really detailing what exactly led to the remarkable improvements during Kendall’s first spell in charge – it seems simply have been better players and good man-management.
I would have enjoyed more about his present work which involves teaching troubled young people. His own early struggles in education seem to help him build relationships with those who are struggling to find a place in society. It’s clear that Southall has found a passion that rivals football and is committed to helping.
You can read all of my sports book reviews at https://allsportsbooks.reviews
November 7, 2020
Great rewd
Great to read about a true legend of the game I am not an Everton supporter but I do not miss any Welsh Games and have seen the Great Man Many Times great to hear his thoughts on the game,the people and the future.
Great to read about a true legend of the game I am not an Everton supporter but I do not miss any Welsh Games and have seen the Great Man Many Times great to hear his thoughts on the game,the people and the future.
March 11, 2019
He was My footballing hero.
June 3, 2023
Good read.
This is one of the better football autobiographies, in that you get a good sense of what the man is about. His work since finishing football is a credit to him.
This is one of the better football autobiographies, in that you get a good sense of what the man is about. His work since finishing football is a credit to him.
July 27, 2014
I'm sad to give this just two stars. Nev was one of my heroes and I still think he was possibly the best ever British goalkeeper. Then, when I heard he was now into teaching NEET youths, I felt I must read it.
Of course, many sports stars employ professional ghost writers to write their "autobiographies" but this clearly was not the case with Nev. I'm convinced every word was his own ... unfortunately. He paid little attention in school, he tells us, and was often sent out of class to play football as he was interested in nothing else. His lack of education is evident in a terrible writing style, one that seems to believe if you swear in your normal speech you should replicate this in your writing .... hmmm. Then there's the repetition: how many times does he have to tell us, as he relives every season he played, that he hated holidays and just wanted to train, or that he never thought of his future as "he just wanted to play"?] Other aspects of his language use too were poor, grating on me worse in writing than it ever does when people say it.
Nev says at one point that a chief reason for writing the book was to let people know his side of the stories he was involved in and that he is not just the grumpy, awkward character some made him out to be. Sadly, I finished the book feeling he was grumpy [his final chapter about football today is nearly all moaning] and he admits being argumentative and uncooperative with several managers.
However, I did enjoy reliving with him the seasons I remember and appreciating his comments on colleagues, opponents and managers. Even my wife liked hearing that Gary Lineker preferred lazing in a bath to training!
Finally, I would have loved much more about his present work. He gives us a glimpse into it and how he uses football as a way into helping disillusioned lads who have few prospects or interests, but it's just a mention. I wish there was more for this would have told us so much more about the man than all the many, many match reports earlier in the book.
Sorry, Neville. You have my respect and admiration for your keeping and teaching ... but let someone else write a proper biography.
Of course, many sports stars employ professional ghost writers to write their "autobiographies" but this clearly was not the case with Nev. I'm convinced every word was his own ... unfortunately. He paid little attention in school, he tells us, and was often sent out of class to play football as he was interested in nothing else. His lack of education is evident in a terrible writing style, one that seems to believe if you swear in your normal speech you should replicate this in your writing .... hmmm. Then there's the repetition: how many times does he have to tell us, as he relives every season he played, that he hated holidays and just wanted to train, or that he never thought of his future as "he just wanted to play"?] Other aspects of his language use too were poor, grating on me worse in writing than it ever does when people say it.
Nev says at one point that a chief reason for writing the book was to let people know his side of the stories he was involved in and that he is not just the grumpy, awkward character some made him out to be. Sadly, I finished the book feeling he was grumpy [his final chapter about football today is nearly all moaning] and he admits being argumentative and uncooperative with several managers.
However, I did enjoy reliving with him the seasons I remember and appreciating his comments on colleagues, opponents and managers. Even my wife liked hearing that Gary Lineker preferred lazing in a bath to training!
Finally, I would have loved much more about his present work. He gives us a glimpse into it and how he uses football as a way into helping disillusioned lads who have few prospects or interests, but it's just a mention. I wish there was more for this would have told us so much more about the man than all the many, many match reports earlier in the book.
Sorry, Neville. You have my respect and admiration for your keeping and teaching ... but let someone else write a proper biography.
May 21, 2015
Interesting, especially for the typical American latecomer to Everton support that I am, and probably better than the average 'footballer book'.
That said, the writing standard of North American athlete books is so much higher than that of their British counterparts (i.e. NA ghostwriters rewrite much harder), Brit books are often a tough slog if you've grown up on US/Canadian style. Footballer books also often come across as uninquisitive monologues vs. the American warts-and-all approach of the post-Ball Four era. Southall fights that impulse way more than most, to his credit, but it seems hard to completely shake the apparent cultural norm that writing a book is how you settle your scores.
That said, the writing standard of North American athlete books is so much higher than that of their British counterparts (i.e. NA ghostwriters rewrite much harder), Brit books are often a tough slog if you've grown up on US/Canadian style. Footballer books also often come across as uninquisitive monologues vs. the American warts-and-all approach of the post-Ball Four era. Southall fights that impulse way more than most, to his credit, but it seems hard to completely shake the apparent cultural norm that writing a book is how you settle your scores.
April 23, 2018
A decent enough read for the most part, I particularly enjoyed in the early chapters on Southall's years growing up and starting his career in North Wales and my interest kind of tailed off for a bit when I reached the meat of the book about his playing career with Everton. Your mileage may vary though and anyone who's a big Everton fan or who was actually about to remember English football during the 1980s might get quite a bit more out of that. It was also fun to learn a bit more about the small-time nature of the FAW and other details of his time playing international football. I got a bit more into it with the closing chapters of the book on his career after football although the final few paragraphs vaunting the merits of Andy Burnham as a potential prime minister felt like the product of a very specific, and fleeting, moment in time.
November 2, 2020
Considered among the greatest goalkeepers of all time and one of English football's defining figures over a career that spanned more than two decades, Neville Southall tells his life story. Uncompromising, unorthodox and often unkempt, Southall's career followed an incredible trajectory: from football-mad binman to the greatest goalkeeper in the world.
Neville Southall is a massive hero of mine (and Everton are my team!!!) and it was really interesting to find out about his rise to becoming the greatest Goalkeeper in the world.
Documenting his early beginnings to present day (ish) and everything in between was really fascinating to read and what's more, the workings of a club like Everton and what goes on behind the scenes was really interesting too.
I'd recommend this book to football fans. A really enjoyable book
Neville Southall is a massive hero of mine (and Everton are my team!!!) and it was really interesting to find out about his rise to becoming the greatest Goalkeeper in the world.
Documenting his early beginnings to present day (ish) and everything in between was really fascinating to read and what's more, the workings of a club like Everton and what goes on behind the scenes was really interesting too.
I'd recommend this book to football fans. A really enjoyable book
August 16, 2019
I found this book thoroughly enjoyable although if you are easily offended by bad language this book is not for you! It was great to find out Neville’s back story and what shaped his life and his career. I found this book was written straight to the point with very little waffle
December 21, 2012
Honest, compelling, genuinely interesting ... Best football book of the year (equal first with Mick Rathbone's 'Smell of Football') ... COYB
March 17, 2016
Great goalkeeper
Great keeper. Very blunt,honest,forthright and opinionated. There is only one southall. A breed apart not your ordinary footballer but definitely misunderstood
Great keeper. Very blunt,honest,forthright and opinionated. There is only one southall. A breed apart not your ordinary footballer but definitely misunderstood
May 3, 2020
Ordinary Welsh bloke becomes extraordinary goalkeeper. Find out how he did it.
Read
November 3, 2017Those were the days my friend.
Great read from one of the very best. Like many opposing teams I used to dread playing Everton and how I wished that Neville was English.
Great read from one of the very best. Like many opposing teams I used to dread playing Everton and how I wished that Neville was English.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews