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Glory Glory!: Man United in the 90s
Why did Eric Cantona start wearing his collar up? Which player got so drunk after a title-winning party he wet himself in a taxi? Why did Andrew Cole and Teddy Sheringham fall out? And which international star burnt his wedding tackle on a scalding hot tea urn? Glory Glory is the story of one of the greatest eras in the history of England's most famous club through the eyes of the players who made it happen. Not just the great wins, the cup finals and the trophy parades, but the half-time rows, the mad pranks, the boozy nights out and the training ground bust-ups. Andy Mitten has tracked down ten of the stars from that team ― including Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Lee Sharpe and Nicky Butt as well as controversial chairman Martin Edwards ― to open the door to both the dressing room and the boardroom at Old Trafford as the club emerged as the dominant force in English football. Glory Glory is an astonishingly candid and revealing insight into a club that was enjoying a magnificent decade of success. More than that, it is as lively and entertaining a sports book as you will ever read
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 3, 2011
This is the equivalent to eating a family bag of minstrels. If you are a United fan, you will seem to enjoy it thoroughly. But somehow it leaves you unfulfilled and vaguely guilty afterwards. Andy Mitten is the editor of United We Stand, one of the less acerbic, first wave of Manchester United fanzines. His longevity as a connected fan – he was recruited to work for the club for a while - means he was able to gain interviews with 12 players from United’s 1990s teams, with the intention of showing what these players were really like, and their experience playing for United in the most successful period of their history.
But though Mitten introduces the book as a departure from the PR soaked clichés of ‘Giggsy was a great player’ and ‘Playing at United was an honour’, you also sense that he doesn’t want to fully expose these ex-players that are now apparently his friends. Much of the book is an interesting though relatively plodding narrative of each player’s career trajectory, but there’s little in the way of deeper characterisations, or a real sense of what playing in this era was actually like. What does come across from these stories – though it isn’t brought out by the author – is the transitory nature of football, where injury or a new player means that you quickly move on, often never meeting your team-mates again. You also get a sense of the very military discipline that surrounds professional football that would be positively frightening if any other walk of life. Fergusson sounds like a psycho, yet is still respected by players who he regularly tells are shite and will never play for the team again.
Of the stories which emerge, Keane is confirmed as a madman, on one occasion deciding to walk home after a celebration only to fight a random tourist on the way. But, inexplicably, he is also apparently popular in the dressing room where Andy Cole calls him ‘Scitz’. David May was a bit of a prankster, though he had to tone it down from his days at Blackburn where they used to piss and shit in each other’s property. The youth team players once locked Russell Beardsmore in a bag and left it in the middle of a main road. Lee Sharpe slept around a lot, and this and the Sharpey shuffle meant his relationship with Ferguson was tense. And Gary Pallister was a terrible dresser, once turning up for training wearing his wife’s coat. Andy Cole sounds an awkward sod, disliking Teddy Sheringham apparently because he didn’t wish him luck when subbed for Cole in an England game, but at least has the self-awareness to know it himself.
There are nuggets of interest, though. Johan Cruyff’s christening of his son with the name of the patron saint of Catalonia is one (the Spanish authorities had banned the name), as is learning of the extent of Jesper Blonkvist’s nerves ahead of the 1999 European Cup final. Lee Martin’s journey to Old Trafford on match days on the local bus is a throwback to pre-Sky wages. And the interview with chairman Martin Edwards offers some interesting biographical detail, plus testament to an unjustified resistance to any form of supporter group sitting on the board. He did play a pivotal role in the Cantona deal though.
Writing an interesting football book about the lives of footballers isn’t a contradiction in terms. Mitten doesn’t make the most of his opportunity here, probably because he is too close to his subjects. There’s no analysis, no sense of theatre, no real insight. Having said that, I read it in a matter of hours.
But though Mitten introduces the book as a departure from the PR soaked clichés of ‘Giggsy was a great player’ and ‘Playing at United was an honour’, you also sense that he doesn’t want to fully expose these ex-players that are now apparently his friends. Much of the book is an interesting though relatively plodding narrative of each player’s career trajectory, but there’s little in the way of deeper characterisations, or a real sense of what playing in this era was actually like. What does come across from these stories – though it isn’t brought out by the author – is the transitory nature of football, where injury or a new player means that you quickly move on, often never meeting your team-mates again. You also get a sense of the very military discipline that surrounds professional football that would be positively frightening if any other walk of life. Fergusson sounds like a psycho, yet is still respected by players who he regularly tells are shite and will never play for the team again.
Of the stories which emerge, Keane is confirmed as a madman, on one occasion deciding to walk home after a celebration only to fight a random tourist on the way. But, inexplicably, he is also apparently popular in the dressing room where Andy Cole calls him ‘Scitz’. David May was a bit of a prankster, though he had to tone it down from his days at Blackburn where they used to piss and shit in each other’s property. The youth team players once locked Russell Beardsmore in a bag and left it in the middle of a main road. Lee Sharpe slept around a lot, and this and the Sharpey shuffle meant his relationship with Ferguson was tense. And Gary Pallister was a terrible dresser, once turning up for training wearing his wife’s coat. Andy Cole sounds an awkward sod, disliking Teddy Sheringham apparently because he didn’t wish him luck when subbed for Cole in an England game, but at least has the self-awareness to know it himself.
There are nuggets of interest, though. Johan Cruyff’s christening of his son with the name of the patron saint of Catalonia is one (the Spanish authorities had banned the name), as is learning of the extent of Jesper Blonkvist’s nerves ahead of the 1999 European Cup final. Lee Martin’s journey to Old Trafford on match days on the local bus is a throwback to pre-Sky wages. And the interview with chairman Martin Edwards offers some interesting biographical detail, plus testament to an unjustified resistance to any form of supporter group sitting on the board. He did play a pivotal role in the Cantona deal though.
Writing an interesting football book about the lives of footballers isn’t a contradiction in terms. Mitten doesn’t make the most of his opportunity here, probably because he is too close to his subjects. There’s no analysis, no sense of theatre, no real insight. Having said that, I read it in a matter of hours.
April 3, 2022
I feel like I’ve read most United books and heard most stories but this one was really interesting cult heroes of mine growing up. Blomqvist, Sharpe, pallister and even Cruyff lol Mitten does well to make you feel you’re in the discussion.
December 12, 2020
Mere interessante / vedrørende persongalleri end "We're the Famours Man United", men til gengæld har historierne lidt mindre bid.
January 25, 2020
Mitten as teenager started the fanzine "United We Stand" and is a passionate United fan, he writes for MEN and 442 amongst other publications. It is a book, that is the players stories during the 90's- Fergie’s period at United. The book doesn't pick the most glamorous names and that’s the way he wanted it. Mitten wished to reveal a real book with individuals willing to speak their mind with no caution over offending others/club itself. Players featured include Cantona, Cruyff, Butt, May and Pallister- Martin Edwards is also interviewed amongst others. Players reflect in their own words what life was really like, some excellent stories and hilarious ones too. It is good to read it from their side. The book looks into what the players did after United and are doing now. Very enjoyable and there is a great story about Nicky Butt burning Schmeichel’s nether regions with a teapot and big Pete chasing him all about the changing room naked!
February 4, 2013
A good read for Utd fans but nothing majorly eye opening in it, but worth a read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews