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The Rodfather: Inside the Beautiful (Ugly, Ridiculous, Hilarious) Game
The hilarious memoir from the funniest man in football!
Roddy Collins is a football man - now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at sixteen clubs), manager (twelve clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he'd just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he'd 'rather dig holes in the road'.
Now, with the brilliant Paul Howard, Roddy puts it all down on paper for the first time - the adventures, the rows and the craic - in what is not only one of the funniest but also one of the most eye-opening books ever written about professional football.
Roddy Collins is a football man - now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at sixteen clubs), manager (twelve clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he'd just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he'd 'rather dig holes in the road'.
Now, with the brilliant Paul Howard, Roddy puts it all down on paper for the first time - the adventures, the rows and the craic - in what is not only one of the funniest but also one of the most eye-opening books ever written about professional football.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2022
20 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 3, 2022
Funny yet sincere
Despite enjoying the excerpts from this book in a Sunday newspaper, I was reluctant to buy it based on my perception of Roddy Collins as arrogant and unlikeable.
But I thoroughly enjoyed the book and warmed to him as the chapters rolled on.
Perhaps the best parts are the intimate descriptions of working class Dublin in the 70’s / 80’s and the stuff that went on in the League of Ireland…hilarious!
Despite enjoying the excerpts from this book in a Sunday newspaper, I was reluctant to buy it based on my perception of Roddy Collins as arrogant and unlikeable.
But I thoroughly enjoyed the book and warmed to him as the chapters rolled on.
Perhaps the best parts are the intimate descriptions of working class Dublin in the 70’s / 80’s and the stuff that went on in the League of Ireland…hilarious!
December 27, 2022
Roddy Collins is a chancer, a header, a spoofer, a bowsie, a ‘Big Time Charlie’ and – as he freely admits pondering on the very first page of his autobiography – quite possibly a wanker.
But he is also a world-class yarn merchant, a Lionel Messi of the outlandish anecdote. And that’s what “The Rodfather” essentially is: the life of the journeyman footballer, manager, bare-knuckler boxing trainer, and eternal optimist and self-promoter Roddy Collins recounted through a series of tall stories (all collated and expertly woven by Paul Howard). You could open any page of “The Rodfather” at random and be greeted with a cracking – if possibly far-fetched – yarn about Collins’s travails in the League of Ireland, on the fringes of the managerial big time, the boxing industry, the building trade, or with club officials who could quite possibly have links to loyalist paramilitaries.
You would be mad not to take every tall tale detailed here with a cement mixer full of salt, but you cannot deny that “The Rodfather” isn’t riotously entertaining. In the canon of football literature, it isn’t exactly “Inverting the Pyramid”, with Roddy very much being of the “gerrit in the mixer” philosophy of coaching. But it is also unexpectedly touching at times, with “The Rodfather” being a surprisingly strong document of a working-class, inner-city Dublin culture that is rapidly disappearing.
And “The Rodfather” merits an extra star from this Bohs fan purely on the basis of the 2001 double and the 6-4 against Rovers in Santry.
But he is also a world-class yarn merchant, a Lionel Messi of the outlandish anecdote. And that’s what “The Rodfather” essentially is: the life of the journeyman footballer, manager, bare-knuckler boxing trainer, and eternal optimist and self-promoter Roddy Collins recounted through a series of tall stories (all collated and expertly woven by Paul Howard). You could open any page of “The Rodfather” at random and be greeted with a cracking – if possibly far-fetched – yarn about Collins’s travails in the League of Ireland, on the fringes of the managerial big time, the boxing industry, the building trade, or with club officials who could quite possibly have links to loyalist paramilitaries.
You would be mad not to take every tall tale detailed here with a cement mixer full of salt, but you cannot deny that “The Rodfather” isn’t riotously entertaining. In the canon of football literature, it isn’t exactly “Inverting the Pyramid”, with Roddy very much being of the “gerrit in the mixer” philosophy of coaching. But it is also unexpectedly touching at times, with “The Rodfather” being a surprisingly strong document of a working-class, inner-city Dublin culture that is rapidly disappearing.
And “The Rodfather” merits an extra star from this Bohs fan purely on the basis of the 2001 double and the 6-4 against Rovers in Santry.
January 29, 2024
Vaguely remembered Roddy as a manager of some of the clubs around Ireland when I was younger, listening to him on Talking Bollox made me want to read his book and I’m delighted I did, he’s a notorious spoofer so definitely take his stories with a pinch of salt but I’m sad I’ve finished the book, hilarious easy read about football 5/5
November 29, 2022
A funny and endearing read about the life of mad bastard Roddy Collins
December 30, 2022
Enjoyable craic
March 8, 2025
An excellent read, an interesting biography of a subject who has never in his life been less than colourful. Lots of anecdotes about a life scrabbling in the lower echelons of football. Very enjoyable and engaging.
December 26, 2022
Great audiobook/story as Roddy narrates, incredibly touching and never overly self serving, funny and heartwarming, really solid.
November 23, 2022
The only reason anyone would not give this book a good mark is that they don’t like Roddy for some personal reason. A cracking read, genuinely hilarious at times and always funny. A great insight into what goes on in soccer and the always interesting life of Roddy Collins. Superb stuff.
April 2, 2023
Auto biography about football manager for Irish soccer teams. The author can be very witty and funny at times. It is a fascinating insight into the lifestyle of people involved in soccer, and also boxing as his brother was an international champion. It suffers at times from cataloguing so many players and clubs and match results - a typical problem where auto biographers try to include all the factual details. Perhaps this part would have been more interesting to someone who knows more about football.
6 out of 10
6 out of 10
March 22, 2025
Paul/Roddy world class story tellers - exceptional descriptions and anecdotes of working class Dublin in the 70’s/80’s. The book is touching, charming, and Roddy’s general attitude to the world is so uplifting and really would alter your perspective on life.
First audio book I’ve listened to - narrated by Roddy himself and it’s absolutely stunning. Full of emotion and charm. Sees the good in almost everyone. Such a positive uplifting read. Funny and enthralling. Feel like if I read the book I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much without Roddy narrating it.
First audio book I’ve listened to - narrated by Roddy himself and it’s absolutely stunning. Full of emotion and charm. Sees the good in almost everyone. Such a positive uplifting read. Funny and enthralling. Feel like if I read the book I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much without Roddy narrating it.
December 6, 2024
Listened to Roddy narrate the audio himself, it made it 100 times better. I knew very little about him before I started. I’m left thinking he’s great, I’d love to go for afternoon pints with him. Absolutely recommend it to anyone loves football or chancers or a great story of a fella putting it all into life and talking about it honestly.
August 24, 2023
Great read about one of the most original characters to grace Irish soccer life. His heart was in the right place and his fists were never far behind :)
An antidote to the money-strewn business that is football as its played today in Europes top leagues.
An antidote to the money-strewn business that is football as its played today in Europes top leagues.
February 17, 2024
A brilliant 5 star read from start to finish. An emotional roller-coaster, packed with hilarious stories and cautionary tales. I'd highly recommended the book even if you're not into football, I can't say the same thing about becoming a manager!!!
November 3, 2022
Craiced altogether. The man and the clubs he's worked for.
January 7, 2023
Brilliant book, some life
January 8, 2023
Not my usual fare but a great read, laughed out loud so often!
March 14, 2023
An absolutely superb read. Whether you love him or loath him, there's no doubting he can sure tell a story. Fantastic read.
March 26, 2023
One of the funniest sports books i’ve read. Listen to the audio book version, hilarious , especially the first half of the story . would highly recommend.
March 29, 2024
A look at the life to date of Roddy Collins, funny at times, a peak into life of low league English Soccer management. I’m sure we have only heard half the story but that’s enough.
May 7, 2024
Proof that craic is an emotion!
July 1, 2024
Entertaining, inspirational and insightful. I listened to the audiobook version and Roddy's narration really brought some of the funny yarns to life. Highly recommended.
July 23, 2024
Incredible amount of stories - thanks for sharing Roddy. A must read for League of Ireland fans
September 12, 2024
Heartfelt warts and all reflection on Roddys life. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended it
December 28, 2024
Funny stories
October 12, 2025
Good read. Very entertaining account of some character
August 29, 2023
This was an interesting read into the mind of one of the biggest journeymen footballer/managers in the semi-professional leagues. No doubt a passionate football man and loyal husband and father, Collins has his flaws like us all. Growing up watching the League of Ireland, he always came across as brash, loudmouthed, and cocky, in fact he sums it up correctly by calling himself a pantomime football manager. However, one cannot take away his achievements with Bohs, Carlisle (under difficult circumstances) and Athlone Town.
I was too young to follow his career as a football player, but it seems his progress was cursed with injuries and also his attitude at times didn’t help. Walking out of the Irish underage team because he wasn’t in the starting line-up for one of the matches shows petulance and years later, Johnny Giles told him that he was “full of himself”. It’s hard not to disagree with Giles’s comments. When reading about his playing career, one is left with the impression that he’s a misunderstood genius, but in reality, he was just a burly centre forward with a loudmouth and an over inflated ego about his ability as a player.
As a manager his success was mixed, he made a name for himself at Bohs but the finances of the club during his tenure were poorly managed, Collins writes about player wages and transfers that he agreed and it’s hard to believe that a manager in the League of Ireland would have autonomy over such transactions. Was there no oversight into the dealings at Bohs? Throughout the book, Collins volunteers many examples of appalling financial management in particular regarding his business as a Plasterer, his Gym and his lack of understanding of credit, which ultimately led to him losing his house. His time at Carlisle was tumultuous, inviting John Courtney to take ownership of the club was like allowing a fox into the chicken coup, it must have been miserable working under someone who is actively working against you. Courtney who held a lot of sway in Irish football at that time, made it very difficult for Collins to bounce back into football, and thus he became like a “gun for hire” for struggling clubs with form or in financial difficulty. One must give him credit for the job he did at Athlone but other spells at clubs didn’t work out so well. In fact it could be pointed out that appointing Collins as manager signaled the death knell for any club already on edge of bankruptcy.
Still, it was an interesting read and lifts the lid on what went on in Irish football during the noughties, I would rate it 3.5 stars if that were possible.
I was too young to follow his career as a football player, but it seems his progress was cursed with injuries and also his attitude at times didn’t help. Walking out of the Irish underage team because he wasn’t in the starting line-up for one of the matches shows petulance and years later, Johnny Giles told him that he was “full of himself”. It’s hard not to disagree with Giles’s comments. When reading about his playing career, one is left with the impression that he’s a misunderstood genius, but in reality, he was just a burly centre forward with a loudmouth and an over inflated ego about his ability as a player.
As a manager his success was mixed, he made a name for himself at Bohs but the finances of the club during his tenure were poorly managed, Collins writes about player wages and transfers that he agreed and it’s hard to believe that a manager in the League of Ireland would have autonomy over such transactions. Was there no oversight into the dealings at Bohs? Throughout the book, Collins volunteers many examples of appalling financial management in particular regarding his business as a Plasterer, his Gym and his lack of understanding of credit, which ultimately led to him losing his house. His time at Carlisle was tumultuous, inviting John Courtney to take ownership of the club was like allowing a fox into the chicken coup, it must have been miserable working under someone who is actively working against you. Courtney who held a lot of sway in Irish football at that time, made it very difficult for Collins to bounce back into football, and thus he became like a “gun for hire” for struggling clubs with form or in financial difficulty. One must give him credit for the job he did at Athlone but other spells at clubs didn’t work out so well. In fact it could be pointed out that appointing Collins as manager signaled the death knell for any club already on edge of bankruptcy.
Still, it was an interesting read and lifts the lid on what went on in Irish football during the noughties, I would rate it 3.5 stars if that were possible.
December 17, 2025
Enjoyed it. Lots of interesting stuff that I didn't know about Roddy. Often kept me reading when I had planned only to read a page or two.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews