On Days Like These: The Lost Memoir of a Goalkeeper

by Tim Rich

'Emotional, insightful, beautifully written. A story of making saves and being saved. The best football book I have read this year.' Henry WinterJoe Sealey was watching his son play for Manchester United's Under-14s when a man came up to him and 'I've got your dad's book.'Joe's father, Les, had been Manchester United's goalkeeper but had died of a heart attack in 2001 at the age of 43. His death tormented Joe, who had been West Ham's reserve keeper. Joe had given up on football, slipping into an alcohol and drug addiction that almost killed him. He had forgotten what his father's voice sounded like. Now, here it was in form of a Tupperware box full of cassette tapes.The centrepiece of the tapes is the most important game in the modern history of Manchester United, the 1990 FA Cup final. After three barren years at Old Trafford, Alex Ferguson was on the brink of dismissal. There was just the FA Cup final left. He knew that, if it was lost, he would almost certainly be sacked.After the first game against Crystal Palace was drawn 3-3, he dropped his goalkeeper, Jim Leighton, who had been with Ferguson for most of his managerial career, and replaced him with Sealey, who had played just two matches in a year.The replay was won and by the time Sealey left Old Trafford in 1994, Manchester United had become the dominant force in English football.On Days Like These is an intimate portrait of a club dragged from the brink. It is also the story of Joe Sealey's journey to the edge and back. Many years later Joe met Ferguson. 'Your father saved my career,' Ferguson said. 'And you saved his,' was the reply. On Days Like These is a story of two rescues.'Brings alive early 90s #MUFC & the mad genius of Ferguson' Sam Wallace

Genres: Football, Sports

400 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Kevin]

It means a lot that my Dad recommended this book to me. This is a father and son story, but in a way that the stories of both Joe and his father Les are separate but always intertwined. As the stories bounce back and forth between the two, you always have the other person's story in mind.
Concerning the footballing parts of this book, they are powerful narratives of a game and league that is passed on to history. Les was playing at the dawn of the modern game and of Manchester United's part of it. His takes on Alex Ferguson alone are enough to encourage any fan of the game to read this book.
This can be a tough read sometimes, with a lot of hard times, and the kind of heartbreak that only the death of a parent can bring, but it's well worth it in the end.
I can't think of another book like this one that does this with both the game of football and its relationship to fathers and sons.

[Ahmed Bahaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it! the author did a great job as this was put together from cassette tapes, it is beautifully written!
I got what i wanted from the book; in terms of: locker room situations, humility between people in the football industry, 90s reds stories, professional footballers’ life, the match from the inside.. &the gaffer! Aside from that les&joe’s stories were powerful. Im happy that i got it and feel a bit more connected to the game now.

[Flyss Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m only really a casual football fan, but picked this up as I had heard it came about when a set of tapes that Les Sealey had recorded years before came to light and were passed on to his son. This is for sure a story about a talented goal keeper, a warts all insight into the footballing profession but it’s also a story of family, fathers and sons, loss and grief.

[sam cerw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story about one of football's real characters and a new insight into Fergie's early days at Old Trafford.

[Matt Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not big on footballers biographies, but really enjoyed this. Enjoyed the dual narrative going on. And Les Sealey came across as a great guy.

[Shane O · Rating 4 out of 5]

a brilliant heart warming book about career or a great goalkeeper and family man and his sons story when he sadly passed away when he was just 43.