Broken Dreams: Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football - Tom Bower

I am not a great reader by any account (I watched the film of Lord of the Flies in a misguided attempt to fool my GCSE English teacher that I had read the text!) but with my interest in football I somehow felt compelled to read this expose of the corruption and lies that underlie our beautiful game.

The scandals of bribery and corruption are well documented abroad at clubs like Marseille but such allegations have remained relatively ...
...that we are clean here. What Bower does in this enthralling account is demonstrate beyond doubt that we are not. The truth is that a series of high profile managers, chairmen and agents have contrived to bring British football into disrepute.

There are a number of minor flaws in this book, not least that you get the overriding sense that the author does not have an intimate knowledge of the subject matter, but what he succeeds in doing ... more

I am not a great reader by any account (I watched the film of Lord of the Flies in a misguided attempt to fool my GCSE English teacher that I had read the text!) but with my interest in football I somehow felt compelled to read this expose of the corruption and lies that underlie our beautiful game.

The scandals of bribery and corruption are well documented abroad at clubs like Marseille but such allegations have remained relatively muted in England as the authorities cling onto the thought that we are clean here. What Bower does in this enthralling account is demonstrate beyond doubt that we are not. The truth is that a series of high profile managers, chairmen and agents have contrived to bring British football into disrepute.

There are a number of minor flaws in this book, not least that you get the overriding sense that the author does not have an intimate knowledge of the subject matter, but what he succeeds in doing is using fascinating and detailed examples of specific people and deals which show the bungs and backhanders which have become commonplace in high profile transfers.
The likes of Harry Redknapp, Brian Clough, Peter Reid, George Graham and Terry Venables all suffer at Bower’s hands with detailed chapters exposing their willingness to use the cheap foreign players to make themselves a quick buck. In many cases managers are shown to have purchased players on the advice of an agent without any knowledge of the players ability. The chairmen were either too weak to do anything or were in on the deal themselves. Throughout it is the agents such as Dennis Roach and Rune Hauge who contrive to manipulate transfers to provide them with large fees.

One striking theme throughout the book is that it is not the foreign managers such as Wenger or Houllier who are bringing our game into disrepute, but rather the old school of English managers caught up in what is now inherent in the game.

The level of detail is a key feature of this book and Bower’s use of contacts within the game and his dediction to researching previously unchartered territories make this a must read for any football fan in my opinion. It is an eye opener for fans of all the major clubs and a reminder for those of us who support the smaller teams that having millions and millions to speand is not always a good thing!

The title of this book sums up the conclusions perfectly but Bower’s comment that the 'beautiful game' has now become 'a game without shame' illustrates the damning nature of his findings.

Overall this is a very good and interesting read and will provide an insight into football for even the most staunch supporter. It will also ensure that the next time you see Terry Venables or George Graham on TV you will look at them in a different light!
 

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