The Smell of Football- Review.

Following our interview with former player/physio turned author Mick Rathbone, our very own Nathan Kosky gives us his view on The Smell of Football.

Mick Rathbone has wonderfully described his heart-warming journey through football over the last four decades in his 'must-read' biography The Smell of Football.

Supporters other than those of the teams he played and worked for (Birmingham City, Blackburn, Preston, Halifax and Everton) could be forgiven for not having Mick Rathbone on their footballing radar but don't let that distract from a story that deserves to be read.

'Baz' (obligatory footballing nickname after Basil Rathbone the actor) tells a wonderfully honest and frank tale of a life given to football, mainly in its lower reaches and via many ups and downs. With the 70's and 80's at the heart of this book, it reaches out to the nostalgic amongst us; regaling tales from a time when a pre-match meal was a large steak, or indeed on occasion a hollowed out loaf of bread, with a pie, chips and gravy inserted!

The Smell of Football is out now!

Probably the most striking aspect of this book is the experience of a young Rathbone fulfilling the dream and playing for his hometown club, Birmingham, and yet failing due to the crippling nerves and the pressure put on him by himself, his management and of course the fans. This manifested itself in actually being physically unable to pass or even talk to his hero, Trevor Francis, and having all sorts of odd routines just to avoid being promoted to the first team. This mental anguish comes as a refreshing antidote to so many sanitised footballing tales and is told in a humorous yet powerful manner.

Despite these early setbacks, Baz's eventual redemption and success as firstly a full-blooded defender, followed ultimately as a universally popular Head of Medicine at Everton under David Moyes comes via a long, amusing and precarious path full of obligatory footballing anecdotes and twists of fate that highlight just how fortunate and fragile a footballer's existence is.

Rathbone tells his story with charm, wit and will take the reader along for a great ride - as long as they don't sink like Yakubu in a swimming pool. Most of all, The Smell of Football takes an honest, cathartic journey through one man's experiences and insecurities.

This joins Hunter Davies' Glory Game and Garry Nelson's Left Foot Forward as seminal books that get under the skin of the real world of our football heroes and peels away the facade to reveal a fascinating insight that will entertain and inform.

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