If the company of Frank Lampard, Robbie Savage and Ashley Cole, adorned by his other half, the pretty one in Rod Stewart's band the Pram Faces, is your dream ticket to the night out of your life, then perhaps best to put this book down now to avoid further confusion. "The Heart of Football" does not strive to ingratiate itself with the precious young things of celebrity culture, nor does it attempt to sip cocktails in the Sugar Lounge while gushing adoringly at Wayne Rooney's pina colada.Generally, David McVay is more than grateful to gain entry to any lounge that serves cold drinks and hot food, from Darlington to Dagenham through Carlisle, Wrexham and Mansfield. As a player in the 1970s, the author was the victim of a variety of physical assaults - as the outlawed tackles from behind might be termed in modern parlance - at most of those venues. Three decades on, he has been let loose with pointed pen rather than sharpened stud to write the weekly "Heart of Football" column for the "Daily Telegraph" which continues to understand and rejoice that there is life beyond the Premier League, a fact woefully neglected by others of the genre.
It was a season that saw Leeds United performing in the third tier of the domestic game for the first time, Luton Town sinking under the burden of administration and the league's oldest members, Notts County, trying to avoid a devastating expulsion to the Conference."Heart of Football" follows their fortunes and those of the less opulent in the sport's pecking order. McVay reported it like he played, with one eye on the ball and the other trained on impending danger from a splash of opposition colour or a loose cannon emerging from the maddening crowd. Essential on wet, windy and wild nights at The Shay, Spotland or any of the game's endearing and enduring heartlands.
- ISBN10 095588070X
- ISBN13 9780955880704
- Publish Date 1 August 2008
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Reid Publishing
- Format Paperback
- Pages 174
- Language English