Biting Talk : My Autobiography

by Norman Hunter

Norman Hunter was one of the greatest love-hate figures in football history. He played for Leeds during the 1960s and 1970s under the great Don Revie, earning himself the nickname 'Bites Yet Legs' due to his fierce tackling. However, this notorious reputation sometimes disguised the fact that he was a player of outstanding skill and talent; he won 28 caps for England and became the first ever footballer to achieve the Player of the Year award in 1973 from the Professional Footballers Association. Norman Hunter talks candidly about what it was like to gain a reputation as one of football's hard men, which at one memorable match resulted in a charge of misconduct by the FA. He reveals how he was witness to one of the most controversial chapters in Leeds United's history, the appointment of Brian Clough as successor to Don Revie, and recalls the stormy dressing room scenes that led up to Clough's sacking after only 44 days. Norman Hunter's fearless style in his playing days is reflected in his autobiography; his strong views and open recollections make for an intriguing story.

Genres: Football

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 2004

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norman Hunters autobiography is a fantastic book. It primarily discusses his time at Leeds where he was a tough tackling centre back in a team that included Jack Charlton, Eddie Gray and Billy Bremner under the management of Don Revie. As a Bristol City fan, I read this book hoping to getting more of an insight of his time at the club but there wasn't as much as I would have liked but it's understandable when considering the length of time he was at the club. I found this book really interesting, especially when he discusses Don Revie, Alf Ramsey and the short stint with Brian Clough. Overall, this book was great and is definitely worth a read if you are a football fan, even more so if you are a Leeds United fan as that's who this book is really aimed at.

[Roger Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

As Norman Hunter is no longer with us the kindest thing I can do is not to write a review on this poorly written book.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but could have been much more detailed. It felt like he wanted to get the book out of the way quickly (with help from a writer).

[Stuart S · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, another of the Revie old guard writes up his memoirs. But I think this one, while definitely worth reading for fans of the Revie era, fails on several counts.

It's always interesting to read the early life of an aspiring player, and Hunter gives fair coverage to this - his boyhood dream of becoming a footballer during his upbringing in the harsh economic climate of the North East in the 1940s. He of course goes on to describe how he was selected to join Leeds as a 'groundsboy', and once established in the first team, gives a more-or-less season-by-season recount of Leeds' best years.

So where do I think this book fails? Well, I think firstly that he spends far too long banging on about Leeds' fall, rise then plummet following his departure for Bristol City. The last 50 or so pages are devoted to this, and I think Hunter would have been better advised to spend longer in describing some of the crucial games, and events, Leeds were involved in between, say, 1965 and 1975. Secondly, although he (quite rightly) devotes a fair bit of space to England's World Cup win in 1966 - even though he himself made no appearances - he makes no mention whatsoever of England's campaign in Mexico in 1970, in which he did play a part. Hunter played for part of the traumatic quarter-final against West Germany, and it would have been interesting to hear of his feelings at the end of that game and of the Mexico campaign in general. I found this exclusion somewhat bizarre. And last but by no means least - there is no mention either of the Revie-era players' final get-together in 1988 with their former boss, by that time sadly wheelchair-bound and stricken by motor neuron disease. How he could leave that out of the book, I simply don't know.

So, to summarise - it's worth reading for Revie-era aficionados (I count myself in that category). But this won't, in my opinion, go down as one of the classic ex-footballers' memoirs.