This is a write-up, in journal form, of Mansfield Town’s fictional 1999-2000 season, played out through the football simulator Championship Manager.

In order to appreciate this book, one must be a fan of the CM/FM series, especially the earlier versions. I cut my teeth on the 99/00, 00/01 and 01/02 versions of CM, so I took a particular interest in this book for the nostalgia trip. Therefore, similar CM/FM addicts will find this book worthwhile in some sense.

What is typical of a season summary in the CM universe is repetitive writing (game, incoming news, game, incoming news…). This can be overcome by providing the reader with a team to support and empathise with through the fleshing out of players’ personalities and elaborating upon results.

However, I could not identify with any of the players, simply because I didn’t know who they were. Most players were simply referred to by their nicknames (Chrissy G, Lins, Bowler, Clarkey…), and featured minimally outside of match play. Asides with staff members were a tad hackneyed, and the anecdotes with ‘Leathers’ were repetitive and unnecessary. Also, early pages had an overabundance of prophetic quips regarding some players (“Wenger has bought that French lad, Pires…doubt he’ll do anything over here” and “Graham Barrett. What a talent, if he doesn’t play 100 times for Ireland I know nothing”) that become tired.

All this contributes to the often uninspiring writing which is typified by the Mansfield Town chairman ‘Hazza’ frequently uttering “Absolutely delighted!” after a good win (CM fans will understand this reference, though it gets tiresome quickly).

Fans will, however, get something out of this. Cooper’s blokey, jocular voice is well suited to this story, and his love of Onesimo (a CM legend) will resonate with long-time CM addicts. Brief allusions to Cooper’s playing history with Wimbledon and Nottingham Forest allows him to name-drop some blasts from the past, proving his managerial bona fides. Finally, I felt a sense of vicarious satisfaction when Cooper’s scouts discovered an ‘excellent prospect’ in deep Scandinavia and South America; or when Cooper haggled with rival managers over the price of a Mansfield Town player.

This is a light and breezy read that won’t even take half a day to read. For avid CM/FM players only!

STARS: 1/5

FULL TIME SCORE: A dead-rubber 0-0 draw, both sides parking the bus.

There are a multitude of accounts depicting Leicester City’s remarkable road to the 2015-16 Premier League title, but The Unbelievables is certainly one of the better ones.

David Bevan takes the reader through every Leicester City league game of that season, with each chapter providing a the lead up to the match, a brief synopsis of the match, and finally followed with a relevant anecdote influenced by Bevan’s experiences of watching Leicester City for decades.

This is an important point to consider–Bevan is a dyed-in-the-wool Leicester City fan and therefore his writing is honest and holds legitimacy. Compared to other published accounts, Bevan doesn’t focus overly on the behind-the-scenes support staff, but only what he can see as a dedicated fan. His emotion is palpable and will certainly resonate with fellow Leicester City fans and aficionados.

As previously stated, The Unbelievables analyses all 38 of Leicester City’s Premier League games. This format may seem tedious, but when dealing with such an unprecedented story, the narrative builds a wave of suspense, tension, and exhilaration. Breaking down this story into its 38 parts is a necessary endeavour to truly re-live one of football’s greatest stories.

STARS: 4.5/5

FULL TIME SCORE: A passionate 3-0 win against all the odds.

Beyond Borders is truly a special read that transcends the typical autobiography of a retired footballer. Indeed, not many footballers of international status can claim to have had such a turbulent, winding, and ultimately successful career and life as Aleksandar Duric.

As such, this is not a tedious and watered-down blow-by-blow account of his exploits on the football pitch that are prevalent on the market nowadays. Instead, Duric (with Glenn Wray) honestly takes us through his early years in Yugoslavia as he pursued his dream of becoming a successful canoeist while sifting through local rubbish dumps to help earn some money with his family.

The years that follow ultimately shape Duric’s character–from his experiences in the Bosnian War, his representation of Bosnia in the 1992 Olympics, his dabbling in smuggling to earn a crust, and his fractured relationship with his father, we can see how resilient and determined Duric was to eke out a living away from his true home, let alone eke out a footballing career.

The second half of the book details his football exploits in Hungary, Australia, China, and ultimately Singapore. For a footballer of international stature, Duric comes across as incredibly humble and truly thankful of the career he has truly earned. And boy, did he earn it–he was a late bloomer in the world of international football, and became a fully-fledged Singaporean citizen and national at an age when other players would consider retirement. By the time he retired in his early forties, the evergreen Duric had won numerous domestic and regional accolades with his domestic teams and the Singapore national team. He truly did it his own way.

Duric’s honesty is also reflected in his scathing criticism of the S-League format. Even though I couldn’t identify with this as a non-follower of Singaporean football, I nevertheless appreciated his bravery in putting forward such thoughts, and shows how much he cares about his adopted-country’s footballing fortunes.

Beyond Borders is a highly recommended read and a hidden gem that deserves more than a regional audience.

HIGHLIGHTS: Honest anecdotes of Duric’s upbringing; his account of a turbulent footballing career in Hungary and Australia; critique of Singaporean football

STARS: 5/5

FULL TIME SCORE: A comprehensive 4-0 aggregate win over two legs.

Welcome to Dispatches from Row-Z, your trusted source for quality football book reviews.

“I fell in love with football as I was later to fall in love with women: suddenly, inexplicably, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain or disruption it would bring with it.”

— Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch

Football reflects life, and sometimes football is life. This site aims to find and review the best books that show the human element of the world game. With the growing abundance of football long-form, this site will be your trusted compass in getting to the heart of the game we all love.

Dispatches from Row-Z already features several reviews to help you find your next book. The last offerings we have for you are below:

• Mr and Mrs Soccer – Andy Harper
• Raising a glass of Wrexham, to Wrexham
• Tinseltown: Hollywood and the Beautiful Game – Ian Herbert
• Football – Jean-Philippe Toussaint
• My Story – Mark Bright

If you have a recommendation, tip, or general comment, feel free visit the Contact page and drop us a line. Thank you for visiting Dispatches from Row-Z.

Enjoy reading!

-Blake