A Wonderful Insight into the life of a Maverick Footballer
This is a biography about an often overlooked but supremely talented footballer, a maverick of the late 50’s/early 60’s. It is criminal that he is pretty much forgotten outside of the clubs he played for as he was an extra special footballer. His record speaks for itself and it is sad that there is limited footage of his exploits on the pitch as he was an artisan of the game. This wonderfully researched book brings his memory to life and gives a rare insight into the player and the man, who could often be described as ‘difficult’. The authors are meticulous in their detail, gleaned from newspapers and interviews with the many protagonists in Roy’s life. Being a biography, it does not suffer from the inaccuracies you often encounter with autobiographies written by players with or without ghost writers. Both France and Sawyer are true Evertonians with a stickler for detail and this is a labour of love for both of them. It is the perfect companion piece for David’s biography of Alex Young, Rob’s book about Harry Catterick and Gavin Bucklands book ‘Can’t buy us love’, detailing an exciting period in Everton’s history, but it also chronicles Roy’s early years at Blackburn Rovers and latter years at Stoke City, as well as his international career with Wales. A marvellous book.
Reviewed by Trevor Edwards on 12 Mar 2020 | Permalink
This review has no votes.