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False Messiah
A biography of England football coach Terry Venables.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1996
4 people want to read
About the author
Mihir Bose
51 books17 followersAbout Mihir Bose
Award-winning journalist and author Mihir Bose writes and broadcasts on social and historical issues and sport for outlets including the BBC, the Guardian, Financial Times, Evening Standard and Irish Times.
He has written more than fifty books on sport, including football and cricket, and history, such as Bollywood, India and the extraordinary WW2 quintuple agent Silver. The subjects of his many biographies include Michael Grade, Moeen Ali and the Indian nationalist Subhas Bose (no relation).
Mihir was the BBC’s first sports editor and first non-white editor. He was chief sports news correspondent at the Daily Telegraph and worked for the Sunday Times for 20 years.
His honorary doctorate from Loughborough University was awarded for his outstanding contribution to journalism and the promotion of equality. Mihir is a member of the English Heritage Blue Plaques Panel and former chairman of the Reform Club. He and his wife Caroline live in London. He has a daughter, Indira.
Award-winning journalist and author Mihir Bose writes and broadcasts on social and historical issues and sport for outlets including the BBC, the Guardian, Financial Times, Evening Standard and Irish Times.
He has written more than fifty books on sport, including football and cricket, and history, such as Bollywood, India and the extraordinary WW2 quintuple agent Silver. The subjects of his many biographies include Michael Grade, Moeen Ali and the Indian nationalist Subhas Bose (no relation).
Mihir was the BBC’s first sports editor and first non-white editor. He was chief sports news correspondent at the Daily Telegraph and worked for the Sunday Times for 20 years.
His honorary doctorate from Loughborough University was awarded for his outstanding contribution to journalism and the promotion of equality. Mihir is a member of the English Heritage Blue Plaques Panel and former chairman of the Reform Club. He and his wife Caroline live in London. He has a daughter, Indira.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 24, 2022
Please note: for those of the American persuasion when I mention football I mean “soccer”.
This is investigative journalism at its most meticulous and, as a great deal of it involves financial shenanigans rather than football, not to everyone's taste. Forget about the subtitle (The Life and Times of Terry Venables) it does not contain that much of his life and not a great deal more of his football career. The author concentrates on the events surrounding the takeover of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club by Alan Sugar (now Lord Sugar) and Terry Venables in 1991 until their falling out, Sugar's moves to oust Venables as Chief Executive, and the early stages of court cases in 1996.
While it is intriguing to go through the ins and outs of business deals, both legitimate and shady, the overall impression I gained is that the author is quite firmly on Alan Sugar's side. Sugar and Venables had similar working class origins and used their talents and ability to work hard to push their way into success and wealth. However, and admittedly reading between the lines, I gained the idea that, while Sugar was by nature gruff and difficult to befriend, he developed a business sense based on strict reliability, honesty and straight dealing; Venables on the other hand was always affable and had an easy charm that he could turn on when required thus propelling him into business as some sort of Essex wide boy – yes, he worked hard and when it came to football he knew his job inside out, but in those days, when footballers' wages were not high, his attitude to business was to take shaky advice and make money at anyone's expense other than his own.
Now, as I have never had the acquaintance of Mr. Sugar or Mr. Venables I have no idea of the validity of those impressions. Mr. Bose may have had no intention to produce such an interpretation or, as a journalist, he may have had one eye on the views of his editor and the owner of the Daily Telegraph. I know that after 1996 the court judgements went against Mr. Venables and in favour of Mr. Sugar and that may be seen as a justification of Mr. Bose's opinions. I am not in a position to judge. I can only conclude by saying that if I had read this book in 1996 I would have been torn between believing that Terry Venables, sporting hero and England team manager, would never in a million years do such things; or, following the author, and agreeing Mr. Venables was an unreliable witness and was about to receive no more than he deserved. I think on the whole I would have disagreed with Mr. Bose. Of course that may indicate that, like so many others, I had fallen under the irresistible El Tel charm myself. By the way, at 429 pages the book desperately needed an index.
This is investigative journalism at its most meticulous and, as a great deal of it involves financial shenanigans rather than football, not to everyone's taste. Forget about the subtitle (The Life and Times of Terry Venables) it does not contain that much of his life and not a great deal more of his football career. The author concentrates on the events surrounding the takeover of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club by Alan Sugar (now Lord Sugar) and Terry Venables in 1991 until their falling out, Sugar's moves to oust Venables as Chief Executive, and the early stages of court cases in 1996.
While it is intriguing to go through the ins and outs of business deals, both legitimate and shady, the overall impression I gained is that the author is quite firmly on Alan Sugar's side. Sugar and Venables had similar working class origins and used their talents and ability to work hard to push their way into success and wealth. However, and admittedly reading between the lines, I gained the idea that, while Sugar was by nature gruff and difficult to befriend, he developed a business sense based on strict reliability, honesty and straight dealing; Venables on the other hand was always affable and had an easy charm that he could turn on when required thus propelling him into business as some sort of Essex wide boy – yes, he worked hard and when it came to football he knew his job inside out, but in those days, when footballers' wages were not high, his attitude to business was to take shaky advice and make money at anyone's expense other than his own.
Now, as I have never had the acquaintance of Mr. Sugar or Mr. Venables I have no idea of the validity of those impressions. Mr. Bose may have had no intention to produce such an interpretation or, as a journalist, he may have had one eye on the views of his editor and the owner of the Daily Telegraph. I know that after 1996 the court judgements went against Mr. Venables and in favour of Mr. Sugar and that may be seen as a justification of Mr. Bose's opinions. I am not in a position to judge. I can only conclude by saying that if I had read this book in 1996 I would have been torn between believing that Terry Venables, sporting hero and England team manager, would never in a million years do such things; or, following the author, and agreeing Mr. Venables was an unreliable witness and was about to receive no more than he deserved. I think on the whole I would have disagreed with Mr. Bose. Of course that may indicate that, like so many others, I had fallen under the irresistible El Tel charm myself. By the way, at 429 pages the book desperately needed an index.
August 24, 2023
May have been interesting 20+ years ago when Venables was relevant, but reading about his 'shady' business dealings now is incredibly dull.
First book I've ever started and had to give up on.
For anyone expecting this to be a biography of El Tel, it isn't
First book I've ever started and had to give up on.
For anyone expecting this to be a biography of El Tel, it isn't
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews