Morning all, My son got me the ' I am the secret footballer ' book for Christmas and it is very interesting reading so far. If you are not familiar with him, he is a serving professional who writes anonymously for the guardian on football matters. The articles are very honest and frank and generally speaking enlighten the reader into the world of football, both on the pitch and behind closed doors. I can totally recommend it for anyone who loves football and the first 30 odd pages alone make compelling reading. There is a bit in it which describes the role of a captain within the team and the club. Somewhat naively I assumed he was the leader on the pitch, but it would appear that the role does not stop there - " a manager will select a captain who can act as a link between him and the dressing room. But where there are tensions between the squad and the club's hierarchy, the captain should always act in the interests of the players. From bonuses and player fines to club functions and time off, a good captain is the one player who concerns himself with the off field politics of a football club. " When Luis boa morte became captain years ago his game on the pitch changed and his form declined. Arguably the same could be said for Brede. I wonder whether the stress involved in being captain and therefore dealing with matters outside of the football just does not suit some players. On the other hand some sure far more suited, take Danny Murphy, no nonsense but applauded good work. The same can be said for Scottie Parker, we are a much better outfit with a leader suited to captaincy now. Anyway, if want an insight into the world of footie behind the scenes this is an excellent read.
I have it on fairly good authority that it is Dave kitson. I have checked online as well and there is a Danish journo who also claims to have studied his work and figured it out. It is very shocking the stuff that goes on in and around a football club. It is not such a glamourous life style.
Yeah I saw that Danish journo thing, it seems fairly nailed on that it's him, the remark about his father having no problem going on holiday to Denmark completely gave it away. I've read the book and it's interesting stuff. Well worth a read.
Link to Danish jounrno, please. Btw, there used to be a UK site (Who Is The Secret Footballer, or something like that, I believe, that had charts and everything). Interesting reading.
Here's the video, it's in Danish but has English subtitles. [video=youtube;N_0DQAfNzEk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_0DQAfNzEk[/video]
I've read the book - quite a good read. I also heard it was Kitson - which makes sense when you read it
Back in the days before the book, when it was a regular column in the guardian, I used to read it from time to time. One of the strongest theories at the time was that it was our own Danny Murphy. There was another theory that it was actually four or five players with their writing styles unified by a ghost writer.
