Paul McGrath is Ireland's best loved sportsman and also its least understood. An iconic football presence during a professional career stretching over 14 years, he played for his... more
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Having just finished this book i have to tell you how superbly written it is. Paul McGrath and established sports journalist Vincent Hogan put together a great insight into McGraths emotionally charged life. All I remembered of McGrath from his footballing career was his Aston Villa heyday and subsequent clubs Derby and Sheffield United. This book offers a great side of McGrath that the press were kept away from including ; suicide attempts and his ... ...about his alcoholism and his tough upbringing in different orphanages in Dublin. He moved to Ireland aged 6weeks and placed into the orphanage; not that he was unwanted by his mother but he was born at the wrong place and wrong time and couldn't be looked after. The story of McGrath also tells of his struggle re-structure his life after he left the orphanage system. This led him to 'crash' as he put it, this meant that he could barely function. the ...
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Advantages: Well written, heart warming, shocking, fantastic footballer Disadvantages: None
Paul McGrath, a fantastic footballer for Manchester Utd, Aston Villa, Derby County & with the Republic of Ireland who was troubled with the demons of alcoholism. What a shame as he could have easily been one of the best players the world had ever seen. Now as a 24 year old I only remember Macca playing for Aston Villa and the then Derby, but he was such an idol, reading the game so easily! Little did I know how deep his problems were until I got ... ...bringing in various orphanages in Ireland, where he learnt his footballing trade which changed him from an outcast to a well respected footballer. The book really delivers, telling you his first experiences with alcohol the reasons why he drank, the voices he heard, the astonishing story of how someone so under the influence of alcohol still managed to win PFA Player of the Year! The stories of day/night/day drinking binges, how injury drove him ...
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Back from the Brink: The Autobiography - Paul McGrath
Main specs
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Biography
Title: Back from the Brink: The Autobiography
Author: Paul McGrath
ISBN: 1846050766
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since : 06/11/2006
Manufacturer's product description
Paul McGrath is Ireland's best loved sportsman and also its least understood. An iconic football presence during a professional career stretching over 14 years, he played for his country in the European Championship finals of 1988 and the World Cup finals of 1990 and 1994. But, behind the implied glamour of life in the employ of great English clubs like Manchester United and Aston Villa, McGrath wrestled with a range of destructive emotions that made his success in the game little short of miraculous. That story has until now never been told. It is a story that runs from a hard, hidden childhood spent in Dublin's orphanages all the way to the pain of two marriage break-ups and the struggle to cope with life after football. Quite apart from his all too public struggle with alcoholism, the story runs through the surreal highs and calamitous lows of a life lived habitually on the edge of chaos. It is not just a football story. It is an extraordinary human story that is certain to surprise with its candour.Here, for the first time, read about the father he never met; the mother whose love never died; the routine loneliness and ritual bullying endured by a black kid growing up behind closed doors in 1960s Dublin; the emotional breakdown suffered on leaving that institution; the recovery that - remarkably - brought him all the way to Old Trafford; the rollercoaster ride that followed. Here, the guilt, fear, self-loathing are all laid bare in a story fired with hope and determination for the future. It may well be the most candid sports book ever written. From the PublisherThe autobiography of the greatest defender of the 1980s and 90s See all Product Description
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