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John Barnes: The Autobiography
Battling against racism and the England establishment's mistrust of genuine flair, John Barnes soon became an icon for a generation of football fans. He will always be remembered for the extraordinary goal he scored for England against Brazil in the Maracana stadium. This is his autobiography
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1999
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About the author
John Barnes
2 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Charles Bryan Barnes is a Jamaican-born English former footballer and a former manager.
John Charles Bryan Barnes is a Jamaican-born English former footballer and a former manager.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2021
An enjoyable book about a player who I truly admired as I was growing up watching football in the late 1980s. John was one of the first true dribblers who I remember watching gliding pass people in that formidable Liverpool kit. The book gives a really interesting breakdown of his background as he originally came from Jamaica and gives a little bit more insight into his family and the environment which shaped him. What comes across very strongly is the influence that his dad had on him as a disciplinarian. A clearly talented individual who from a very young age showed multiple talents in multiple sports. Really enjoyed this book and certainly one to read if you want to get a better insight into some of the race relations and current black lives matter POVs. John has a slightly nuanced POV on this which I'll leave you to read about if you look at the book. Here are some of the best bits from the book.
I tell young players one thing: if you're having a bad time and fans are on at you, pass it to a teammate. It will give you confidence to know that you haven't made a mistake. Then when you feel confident again take someone on and do that piece of magic that you know you can.
On the field, so many white players called me black ******* that I developed an immunity to it. Racism never hurt me. Never. Insults and dirty kicks were the only way opponents felt they could intimidate me. I never reacted. When I examined why they vilified me as a black ******* I realized the abuser was either ignorant or trying to wind me up, both very good reasons for ignoring them. I thought about my father and knew he would never react: most intelligent people wouldn't.
Before racism can be tackled in football, rugby or cricket it has to be addressed in society.
Currently there is a tremendous stigma around Asians in English football but in 20 years time there will be as many Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi footballers as black ones. But for the first few it will be difficult. Sunny: this book was written in 1999 so this statement certainly isn't true.
In England some club sides have structures which allow them to punch above their weight. I admire teams like Leicester City, Wimbledon and Derby County who will never win the premiership. Sunny: again this book was written in 1999 and Leicester City have since won the premiership.
I lost count of how many practice games we played against imaginary opposition. Graham Taylor threw a ball into play and each Watford player immediately assumed his well rehearsed position. Graham would move the ball 5 yards away and each player had to readjust. When Watford held possession, Graham gave the ball to the right back and shouted: what are you going to do? The right back would reply: I'm going to play it into the channels, Luther Blissett is going to come short, Ross Jenkins is going to run down the channel.
Players can hear the screams from the terraces: take a risk, take the player on and attack quicker. Supporters do not worry about gambling with possession because opponents soon returned the ball anyway in England. Fans hate seeing English teams being methodical.
Just before my move to Anfield I stumbled across Stevie, an 8 year old who typified Liverpool for me. I was up at Anfield playing one of my last games for Watford amidst a whirlwind of speculation that I would be heading north permanently. As I made my way to the Watford coach afterwards a crowd of Liverpool fans surrounded me seeking autographs and asking: what's happening, John Barnes, are you coming? Amongst the crowd was Stevie who's mate was looking for him. Stevie Stevie came the shout. Stevie ignored him. Stevie Stevie came the shout again. What is it? replied Stevie in exasperation. Where are you? I'm standing beside John Barnes getting a stiffie! Stevie shouted back. I just looked at Stevie and burst out laughing. It was so different from Watford where you tend not to get 8 year olds out at night on the street. Stevie was a real Scouser the type you see standing outside Anfield flicking V signs at visiting players.
They needed someone who could bring it out of defence and Alan Hanson was the best in the world at that. He collected the ball off Bruce even if someone was marking him, beat that player or played a 1-2 and then glided into midfield. Allen suffered a problem with his knees that prevented him from kicking the ball further than 30 yards. That was one of the reasons why he always dribbled from the back.
I walked into Stanley Park and saw all the Everton scarves tide together. They stretched from Goodison Park to Anfield. A symbol of the unity between the two clubs in support of the Hillsborough disaster.
Graham took us to the Haydock Thistle hotel for a swim. As we played volleyball in the pool I jumped up to smash the ball and pulled a thigh muscle. That was it. I was out of the cup final. Liverpool won 2-0. Sunny: this highlights the importance of being careful when you're asked to play other sports as a professional in one sport. While you're relaxing there still is the possibility of getting injuries inadvertently which can rule you out of the game.
The sign of a good team is when they play two touch in training where they don't have to. Players natural instincts are to take more touches. As soon as a coach shouts all in, allowing them as many touches as they like, all the players say thank God for that. Knowing they can dribble. At Liverpool in the early days I can't remember Ronnie ever needing to say “2 touch”. It's just the way we played naturally.
The Academy boys will learn to show respect and humility. They will understand that the key element required to become a successful footballer is discipline. Kenny will demand that. He will spend a lot of time with them ensuring they acquired good habits. They are in good hands.
Before I joined, I remember watching games involving Celtic and Rangers in which the players took up bad positions. They do it because they haven't paid for it against weaker opposition. We must maintain the same level of concentration whoever we are playing. There is an element of playing against yourself. My sister is an accomplished squash player, even to the point of representing Jamaica. Recently she started playing against Carlos her new husband and her standard dropped to his. Because you were playing Carlos, I tell her, you try fancy shots. And you will still beat him. But when you play against jamaica's number one you will find it difficult to drag your level back up. You need to play the same against Carlos and maintain your standards. Football is exactly the same. I want Celtic to play the same way all the time. That's where Scottish teams have fallen down in the past.
I tell young players one thing: if you're having a bad time and fans are on at you, pass it to a teammate. It will give you confidence to know that you haven't made a mistake. Then when you feel confident again take someone on and do that piece of magic that you know you can.
On the field, so many white players called me black ******* that I developed an immunity to it. Racism never hurt me. Never. Insults and dirty kicks were the only way opponents felt they could intimidate me. I never reacted. When I examined why they vilified me as a black ******* I realized the abuser was either ignorant or trying to wind me up, both very good reasons for ignoring them. I thought about my father and knew he would never react: most intelligent people wouldn't.
Before racism can be tackled in football, rugby or cricket it has to be addressed in society.
Currently there is a tremendous stigma around Asians in English football but in 20 years time there will be as many Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi footballers as black ones. But for the first few it will be difficult. Sunny: this book was written in 1999 so this statement certainly isn't true.
In England some club sides have structures which allow them to punch above their weight. I admire teams like Leicester City, Wimbledon and Derby County who will never win the premiership. Sunny: again this book was written in 1999 and Leicester City have since won the premiership.
I lost count of how many practice games we played against imaginary opposition. Graham Taylor threw a ball into play and each Watford player immediately assumed his well rehearsed position. Graham would move the ball 5 yards away and each player had to readjust. When Watford held possession, Graham gave the ball to the right back and shouted: what are you going to do? The right back would reply: I'm going to play it into the channels, Luther Blissett is going to come short, Ross Jenkins is going to run down the channel.
Players can hear the screams from the terraces: take a risk, take the player on and attack quicker. Supporters do not worry about gambling with possession because opponents soon returned the ball anyway in England. Fans hate seeing English teams being methodical.
Just before my move to Anfield I stumbled across Stevie, an 8 year old who typified Liverpool for me. I was up at Anfield playing one of my last games for Watford amidst a whirlwind of speculation that I would be heading north permanently. As I made my way to the Watford coach afterwards a crowd of Liverpool fans surrounded me seeking autographs and asking: what's happening, John Barnes, are you coming? Amongst the crowd was Stevie who's mate was looking for him. Stevie Stevie came the shout. Stevie ignored him. Stevie Stevie came the shout again. What is it? replied Stevie in exasperation. Where are you? I'm standing beside John Barnes getting a stiffie! Stevie shouted back. I just looked at Stevie and burst out laughing. It was so different from Watford where you tend not to get 8 year olds out at night on the street. Stevie was a real Scouser the type you see standing outside Anfield flicking V signs at visiting players.
They needed someone who could bring it out of defence and Alan Hanson was the best in the world at that. He collected the ball off Bruce even if someone was marking him, beat that player or played a 1-2 and then glided into midfield. Allen suffered a problem with his knees that prevented him from kicking the ball further than 30 yards. That was one of the reasons why he always dribbled from the back.
I walked into Stanley Park and saw all the Everton scarves tide together. They stretched from Goodison Park to Anfield. A symbol of the unity between the two clubs in support of the Hillsborough disaster.
Graham took us to the Haydock Thistle hotel for a swim. As we played volleyball in the pool I jumped up to smash the ball and pulled a thigh muscle. That was it. I was out of the cup final. Liverpool won 2-0. Sunny: this highlights the importance of being careful when you're asked to play other sports as a professional in one sport. While you're relaxing there still is the possibility of getting injuries inadvertently which can rule you out of the game.
The sign of a good team is when they play two touch in training where they don't have to. Players natural instincts are to take more touches. As soon as a coach shouts all in, allowing them as many touches as they like, all the players say thank God for that. Knowing they can dribble. At Liverpool in the early days I can't remember Ronnie ever needing to say “2 touch”. It's just the way we played naturally.
The Academy boys will learn to show respect and humility. They will understand that the key element required to become a successful footballer is discipline. Kenny will demand that. He will spend a lot of time with them ensuring they acquired good habits. They are in good hands.
Before I joined, I remember watching games involving Celtic and Rangers in which the players took up bad positions. They do it because they haven't paid for it against weaker opposition. We must maintain the same level of concentration whoever we are playing. There is an element of playing against yourself. My sister is an accomplished squash player, even to the point of representing Jamaica. Recently she started playing against Carlos her new husband and her standard dropped to his. Because you were playing Carlos, I tell her, you try fancy shots. And you will still beat him. But when you play against jamaica's number one you will find it difficult to drag your level back up. You need to play the same against Carlos and maintain your standards. Football is exactly the same. I want Celtic to play the same way all the time. That's where Scottish teams have fallen down in the past.
September 19, 2020
This is an ok read about one of Liverpool's best players in the eighties/early nineties. The eighties were a period when Liverpool FC won everything it was possible to win and John Barnes played a huge part in that. From his early childhood right upto his management of Celtic FC there is something there of interest, whether it be manager insights or players pranks. The one thing that slightly irritated me was that there was too much emphasis on racism and while i know that is what the eighties were prevalent for, it does somewhat take away the good read. That said i read the book in just over 24 hours so there must have been something to stop me putting it down :)
November 24, 2021
Boy from Jamaica becomes best footballer in adopted country. Essential text on race and on the glory of Liverpool FC, especially after the disaster in 1989.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews