tiger76 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:51 pm

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I couldn't find anything when I searched.

Not Such a Bad Life: Burnley, Gazza, Wrighty, Waddle and Me (Paul Weller (author), Dave Thomas (with).

Glad to see the prolific Dave Thomas is still writing about his beloved BFC, he has some collection to his name, a brief synopsis below for those interested, and you can pre-order now on various sites.

Paul Weller was a one-club player. He moved from sunny Brighton aged just 16 to dreary Burnley, with its grey skies, run-down terraced streets and mill chimneys, where riots were among the first things he saw. A more timid person might have caught the first train home. But he went on to play 252 games for the Clarets between 1993 and 2005. He would have played many more but for suffering the debilitating effects of colitis. It took a huge chunk out of his career, forcing him out of the first team. Other players might have capitulated, but he faced the problem head on, battled it and beat it and got back into the first team, with a promotion to the Championship. Remarkably, he was 'player of the season' the very next year. This is a real-life story of how to overcome obstacles and fight illness using courage, grit and determination. But it is also a story of the bullying, pitfalls and perils that await any aspiring footballer, the impact of managers and the inhuman cruelty with which players can be so casually released.

It's a hardback and it's 320 pages.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:00 pm

Paul Weller wasn’t a one club player. He also played for Rochdale & Carlisle and he left Burnley in 2004.

CleggHall wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 9:25 am

Jimmy Adamson said similar things about Burnley when he signed many years earlier, and he came from ....Ashington!

Herts Clarets wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:10 pm

So Paul moved to Burnley as a 16 year old, which puts it around 1991, given he was born in 1975. In 1991, I had just started seeing a girl from Burnley that went on to become my first wife and i don't recall any problems in the town back then that could be described as 'riots'.

Which riots is Dave Thomas referring to?

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:18 pm

Stoops Estate ? Think that was a year later though

tiger76 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:30 pm

Yes we moved to Glasgow just after those riots, they weren't the main reason we moved north, but they did play a part in our decision.

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:31 pm

Did you move to Glasgow because the riots had finished and you were missing the action

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:31 pm

Did you move to Glasgow because the riots had finished and you were missing the action

Erasmus wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 5:04 pm

Paul Weller made me very, very happy when I was on holiday in Italy one summer. I got hold of an English Sunday paper from a little shop and found out that we had beaten Wimbledon 1-0 with Paul as the scorer. That might have been just after a promotion. No internet in those days.

I've also got a vague recollection of my son telling me he had played against him in the Accy Combination after he had retired professionally. But that might be my memory playing tricks on me.

Rodleydave wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:58 pm

Waterstones have issued this...and they might just have jumped the gun.

Papabendi wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:53 pm

it was a good goal too.

Erasmus wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 20, 2020 5:04 pm

Paul Weller made me very, very happy when I was on holiday in Italy one summer. I got hold of an English Sunday paper from a little shop and found out that we had beaten Wimbledon 1-0 with Paul as the scorer. That might have been just after a promotion. No internet in those days.

I've also got a vague recollection of my son telling me he had played against him in the Accy Combination after he had retired professionally. But that might be my memory playing tricks on me.

tiger76 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:51 pm

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I couldn't find anything when I searched.

Not Such a Bad Life: Burnley, Gazza, Wrighty, Waddle and Me (Paul Weller (author), Dave Thomas (with).

Glad to see the prolific Dave Thomas is still writing about his beloved BFC, he has some collection to his name, a brief synopsis below for those interested, and you can pre-order now on various sites.

Paul Weller was a one-club player. He moved from sunny Brighton aged just 16 to dreary Burnley, with its grey skies, run-down terraced streets and mill chimneys, where riots were among the first things he saw. A more timid person might have caught the first train home. But he went on to play 252 games for the Clarets between 1993 and 2005. He would have played many more but for suffering the debilitating effects of colitis. It took a huge chunk out of his career, forcing him out of the first team. Other players might have capitulated, but he faced the problem head on, battled it and beat it and got back into the first team, with a promotion to the Championship. Remarkably, he was 'player of the season' the very next year. This is a real-life story of how to overcome obstacles and fight illness using courage, grit and determination. But it is also a story of the bullying, pitfalls and perils that await any aspiring footballer, the impact of managers and the inhuman cruelty with which players can be so casually released.

It's a hardback and it's 320 pages.