Tales from the Dugout: Football at the Sharp End

by Richard Gordon

*** INTRODUCTORY OFFER PRICE *** The dugout can be a fearsome place. When the action heats up on the pitch, emotions in the dugout boil over. Grown men lose control. The normally sane turn into irrational agitators. And every decision, no matter how minor, is hotly contested. Tales From The Dugout is a fantastically entertaining collection of incidents and memories gathered from managers, players, referees, linesmen and broadcasters, which encapsulates the unique environment of the technical area and reveals how even limited exposure to it can transform people unrecognisably. And when the red mist descends, the consequences can be almost unbelievable - and frequently hilarious. With contributions from a host of those who have been at the sharp end and lived to tell the tale, Tales From The Dugout is a unique insight into life in the technical area. There are tales from Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, Craig Brown, Pat Nevin, Kenny Clark, Pat Bonner, Scott Booth, Terry Butcher, Jimmy Calderwood, Billy Dodds, Jim Duffy, Alex McLeish, Alex Smith, Willie Young and Chick Young - amongst many others. And brilliant stories about legends of the game like Tommy Burns, Walter Smith, Martin O'Neill, Ally McCoist, Jim McLean and, of course, Sir Alex Ferguson. And it explains why that small area by the side of the pitch is no place for the faint-hearted.

Genres: Football

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 19, 2015

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable 'dip in' book. A series of anecdotes by proper fitba players about the most amusing things that happened around the physical dugout - mainly about managers, managers and fans, managers and subs, subs and...well you get the picture. But it's a series of amusing stories distilled down to 2-3 paragraphs, which reads well.

I liked the structure of 2/3rds of the book being series of these short anecdotes, with a few longer chapters by the more eloquent characters - Gordon Strachan, Pat Nevin etc (er, and Chic Young...who is the least amusing...) able to go into longer anecdotes. Anyway this was a great read playing sardines on trains, and occasionally laugh out loud funny. I'd find it difficult to work out how to improve it.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating read for the first 3/4 of the book but then became a little repetitive

[Richard Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does exactly what it says on the tin - it's a collection of anecdotes, and therefore lacks the depth and narrative of Gordon's other books, but the stories are mostly new and have been carefully selected and edited (often a pitfall in books like this). A little inside knowledge of the Scottish game is an advantage, but raises a smile, chuckle or outright laugh on most of its pages.

Fun, if not exactly essential.

[Thomas Ranson · Rating 2 out of 5]

You would never know from the title, but it relates almost 100% to Scottish football. Former players relate their (sometimes) funny and strange stories of what happens on the bench / in the dugout at matches.

In fact most of the tales are not particularly interesting, resulting a definitely below-par book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny read.

[Stuart Airs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice collections of stories from the world of (mainly) Scottish football. Very much something you could pick up and read a few then go back to later and read a few more stories.