"God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure."
On days like these
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Martin O’Neill, MacMillan, 2022 ISBN 978-1-0350-0846-9
Simply the best football book that I have read in years. It is written by Martin O’Neill and is therefore so much better than and different from the traditional ghosted football autobiography. The book is in two halves – the player, the manager.
It is excellent on his time as a player with Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough, winning the European Cup (Champions League), the league championship and two league cups. He also describes well the experience of playing in the World Cup 1982 with Northern Ireland.
As a manager, he gives the inside story of the challenges of working with chairman and board.
At several clubs, including the Republic of Ireland, where again he describes the experience of taking the team to the European Championship finals. The honesty with which he describes day-to-day management of a football club is fascinating in terms of interactions with players, supporters, negotiations over new signings. He comments, about his time at Leicester City, “it's hard to win back supporters, if the tide has turned against the manager” but he was able to do so at Leicester.
It is extremely funny in places and his descriptions brilliant - such as his first meeting with Brian Clough where he is transfixed “like an apostle in the upper room”. Similarly, his first meeting with Doug Ellis, chairman and owner of Aston Villa for his interview to be manager, Ellis
enters the room in tennis kit “with shorts displaying a pair of legs that a stork might be embarrassed to own”.
His description of Nottingham Forest winning the first European Cup where he is.
not picked because he is recovering from injury, attending the club’s celebrations.
But not feeling part of anything, is poignant.
His Catholic upbringing is strongly referred to, growing up praying with rosary beads every evening. Becoming the first Catholic to captain Northern Ireland Is mentioned as an issue.
But the book betrays nothing of where he is in terms of personal faith.