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If I Can Dream: The Life of Terry Venables
A richly detailed biography of English footballing icon Terry Venables, telling the story of his playing career, managerial successes (and failures) and fascinating life away from the pitch.
Released to mark the 30th anniversary of Euro 96, the tournament when Venables managed England and very nearly helped football come home.
If there was a year when English football exploded into the public consciousness it was 1996. It was the summer when the phrase "Football's coming home" echoed from car radios, when Alan Shearer and Paul Gascoigne orchestrated England's campaign in the European Championship that captivated a nation.
At the centre of it all was Terry Venables, managing England in what, remarkably, was his only international tournament. He was not the most successful man to manage England, but he was unquestionably the most interesting.
As a manager and coach, he was startlingly successful. He was 39 when he took Queens Park Rangers to an FA Cup final, 43 when he steered Barcelona to their first La Liga title in a dozen years. An estimated one million people cam on to the city's streets to welcome the team home from the airport. The tributes on his death in 2023 spoke of a man of enormous achievements who might have achieved very much more.
In this World Cup summer, with the 30th anniversary of Euro 96, interest in that team and the man at its centre will peak once more.
If I Can Dream will feature interviews with every available major figure in Terry Venables’s life.
Released to mark the 30th anniversary of Euro 96, the tournament when Venables managed England and very nearly helped football come home.
If there was a year when English football exploded into the public consciousness it was 1996. It was the summer when the phrase "Football's coming home" echoed from car radios, when Alan Shearer and Paul Gascoigne orchestrated England's campaign in the European Championship that captivated a nation.
At the centre of it all was Terry Venables, managing England in what, remarkably, was his only international tournament. He was not the most successful man to manage England, but he was unquestionably the most interesting.
As a manager and coach, he was startlingly successful. He was 39 when he took Queens Park Rangers to an FA Cup final, 43 when he steered Barcelona to their first La Liga title in a dozen years. An estimated one million people cam on to the city's streets to welcome the team home from the airport. The tributes on his death in 2023 spoke of a man of enormous achievements who might have achieved very much more.
In this World Cup summer, with the 30th anniversary of Euro 96, interest in that team and the man at its centre will peak once more.
If I Can Dream will feature interviews with every available major figure in Terry Venables’s life.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2026
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June 26, 2026
Read a book by Tim Rich and you can be assured it will be of exceptionally high quality.
His account of Les Sealey’s life was heartrending and unforgettable but Rich has reached new heights with his new biography of Terry Venables.
Venables was a massive figure in English and to a degree Spanish football for 40 years from the 1960’s and he deserves a book of this calibre.
Many writers would write this either as a hagiography or character assassination but this is a measured account of a life well lived.
Perhaps mistakenly Venables saw himself as a bit of a polymath and he was a gifted singer and writer but perhaps he over reached himself when it came to business as the likes of Alan Sugar would undoubtedly attest.
He was a footballer man of almost unparalleled ability in terms of management, coaching and even wheeler dealing but he was no businessman and the book provides several examples where he should have stuck to what he did best.
Director of Football certainly - Chief Executive- certainly not.
This is a sympathetic account that gives praise and criticism where appropriate and is very well researched.
Rich has spoken to many of those who influenced or were influenced by Venables and tells many fascinating stories that will probably be new to most readers.
The writing is lush and stylish and the book is a pleasure to read.
David Pleat’s autobiography was exceptional and this was just as good. Tim Rich was involved with both!
His account of Les Sealey’s life was heartrending and unforgettable but Rich has reached new heights with his new biography of Terry Venables.
Venables was a massive figure in English and to a degree Spanish football for 40 years from the 1960’s and he deserves a book of this calibre.
Many writers would write this either as a hagiography or character assassination but this is a measured account of a life well lived.
Perhaps mistakenly Venables saw himself as a bit of a polymath and he was a gifted singer and writer but perhaps he over reached himself when it came to business as the likes of Alan Sugar would undoubtedly attest.
He was a footballer man of almost unparalleled ability in terms of management, coaching and even wheeler dealing but he was no businessman and the book provides several examples where he should have stuck to what he did best.
Director of Football certainly - Chief Executive- certainly not.
This is a sympathetic account that gives praise and criticism where appropriate and is very well researched.
Rich has spoken to many of those who influenced or were influenced by Venables and tells many fascinating stories that will probably be new to most readers.
The writing is lush and stylish and the book is a pleasure to read.
David Pleat’s autobiography was exceptional and this was just as good. Tim Rich was involved with both!
Displaying 1 of 1 review