A Man Walks On To a Pitch: Stories from a Life in Football

by Harry Redknapp

‘When a man walks on to a pitch there’s always a chance something magic can happen, that’s what keeps us coming back…’In A Man Walks On To a Pitch, Harry shares a lifetime’s experience of obsessing over football, during which he has seen it all first hand – the good, the bad and the unbelievable. Harry started in an age where players were ordinary blokes who might live on the same street as you and earn a similar wage. Now he manages in an era of player power, multi-million pound wages and teams assembled from around the globe.As he shares stories of some of the legends and journeymen he played, coached, argued and drank with, Harry picks a team for each decade from the 1950s to the present. He gets to the heart of what was right and wrong with each era and explores the changes in the game from lifestyle to tactics. He weaves his choices together with unforgettable tales from the training pitches, boot rooms and card schools.There are tales of the untutored genius of Duncan Edwards and Tom Finney, legendary tough Scots like Bobby Collins, Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner, the world-beaters of 1966, unpredictable one-off wizards from Sir Stanley Matthews to Matt Le Tissier, natural-born goalscorers from Greaves to Dalglish and the greatest foreign players to grace our game from Trautmann to Bergkamp. It is one of the best informal histories of the British game you’ll ever read.

Genres: Football, Sports

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2014

Reviews

[JayP · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked most of what Harry covers in his book on players from previous decades, however I felt the book was a little repetitive in the manner each of the players were described.
I was expecting stories from Harry's life - an autobiography really, that would have been more interesting.

[steve day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry’s Game

A great walk down memory lane with the old Maestro himself, hugely entertaining and perceptive. There will never be another like Harry. Highly recommended.

[Helen Magee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting book, a selection of best teams over the decades but justified and linked to various stories and experiences. Felt like a chat with an old friend reminiscing!

[Ian Curragh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3stars

In this book Harry Redknapp picks his team's of the decade from the 50s to the present day. An interesting read that could stir up much debate. An interesting read though.

[Mr David Bevan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really wanted to enjoy this book, but I was really disappointed. I found it hard to read, it appeared to just be a list of occurrences. I even tried skipping a section, but to no avail.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that goes into great detail about the players that Harry thinks are the best. Very interesting hearing his thoughts.

[Jorgen Lundgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.
Can not agree more then to what Harry mention top on page 319. This is something not just footballers do but our society as a whole and it does effect football as well.
If you read the book you will find out what he mentioned.
This is one of the main reasons I strongly believe in sports such as football and the importance and value it give to our kids in today's world!
Sad to say but I just hung up my own boots after coaching kids football for 10 years,from u7 to u17.


In A man walks on to a pitch, Harry Redknapp shares a lifetime's experience of obsessing over football,during which he has seen it all first hand - the good, the bad and the unbelievable.Harry started in an age where players were ordinary blokes who might live on the same street as you and earn a similar wage,and now manages in an era of player power, multi-million-pound wages and teams assembled from around the globe.

Harry share with us his view and recommendations of his best XI from the fifties until today.

[Graham Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Class book by a man who knows what he is talking about. Picking a team through each era in Harry's eyes as the best at that time and who would not agree with Harry as the man has known and played against the majority of these players. Great book for football fans who like the history of the game.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slow to get into, I'm sure most of us could of got close to Harry's team of the decades so nothing really shocking. There were some nice amusing stories from throughout his career in football and I did agree with some of his views on the problems with the state of the modern game. An ok read only.