Anfield Iron
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This is the first time I have ever reviewed a book, but having read this book I feel I have to write to say how much I enjoyed it. Having been born on the Wirral and a Liverpool supporter all my life I loved Tommy Smiths book. The humour and honesty throughout, especially the stories about Bill Shankly are brilliant, I could not put the book down.
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Rock On Tommy...
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Picture the scene... Steven Gerrard leads Liverpool to their first ever League and European double and is rewarded by having his captaincy stripped from him because Fernando Torres says he's going to leave unless he gets the job. Guess you'd be pretty peeved too.
There was never any secret about Tommy and Emlyn's dislike of each other and it was a big part of the 'behind-the-scenes' stuff at Anfield in the mid '70's. Unlike the modern game when every whisper is snatched upon by the press and is followed worldwide via the internet, very little escaped from the dressing room and for many fans these books are a rare insight into what actually went on back in the heyday. It would have been wrong for Tommy to write his story without highlighting the bad, as well as the good times.
And this is Tommy's story, not Emlyn's. It is a no-holds barred story of his life, his career, his likes and his dislikes. To omit reference to Emlyn Hughes simply because it would upset some readers would be wrong. It's Tommy's life, his influences, his thoughts and his opinions. Agree with them or disagree with them, this is who he is. Maybe he'll lose a few fans as a result, but ignoring his relationship with Emlyn simply to pacify those who want to retain a rosy image of him isn't the Smith way.
Other than that, this is the first real book Tommy has done and I would strongly urge any football fan to buy a copy and relive the golden era, not just of Liverpool Football Club, but probably football as a whole.
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bitter undertones
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what i took most from this book is smith's constant slagging off of Emlyn Hughes.We are meant to believe that the great Bill Shankly took the captaincy of Liverpool from Smith and gave it to Hughes because Hughes had threatened to leave the club.Why Smith had to besmirk the character of Liverpool's greatest ever captain is non-sensical,and belongs in another book.If the book stuck to the subject matter it would of been much better.
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