Football books for Christmas

Not a great year for the Irish, but a very good year for books about them

It was Wellington, who knew a thing or two about away wins in Continental campaigns, who is thought to have first said "Publish and be damned". The Iron Duke was responding to a blackmail threat but, 177 years later, a few football folk must wish they had heeded such advice.

In 2001 it was Jaap Stam who wrote himself out of a job, being swiftly shunted to Lazio after one revelation too many about Old Trafford. This year it is David O'Leary who has been given unwanted time to count his royalties.

O'Leary's Leeds United On Trial (now in paperback, Time Warner, £6.99) may not be the best book this year but it was the most influential. Since it came out the club have plunged into freefall with O'Leary the prime casualty. Since he and the club are yet to settle his severance pay O'Leary may now be reviewing his description of Peter Ridsdale as "the best chairman in football". The same paragraph notes his new contract, though a five-year deal, would only entail Leeds paying him one year's salary "if they decided to get rid of me".

There is interesting detail on "the trial" and a certain amount of score-settling. Often, though, you wish it had been written after his departure from Elland Road.

There is no shortage of candour in Keane: The Autobiography (Michael Joseph, £17.99) whose "author" also landed in trouble after revealing he deliberately sought to injure Alf-Inge Haaland.

Combining Keane's directness with the phrase-making of his ghost, Eamon Dunphy, this angry book spares few. The now-obligatory addiction is here, drink in Keane's case, together with the concomitant self-loathing. There is also the pair's one-eyed take on the World Cup row.

For the other eye see Mick McCarthy: Ireland's World Cup 2002 (Simon & Schuster, £16.99). Superficially a straightforward diary of the campaign, it is dominated by Keane's brooding presence. The most telling line is penned under 26 May, by which time Keane is back in Manchester: "Jack Charlton always told me that the public are the ones who decide when a manager should go, not the FAI." They did.

Completing a quartet of current or recent Irish internationals to go into print is Niall Quinn: The Autobiography (Headline, £17.99). While full of praise for Keane the footballer it also gives his view of Keane the man: "I have him down as another victim of the game. He wouldn't see himself that way but when is the last time you saw the guy look happy?"

Honestly written, with many revealing anecdotes, the book has echoes of the fine autobiography by Tony Cascarino, Quinn's contemporary in the Irish forward line. The technique of relating Quinn's life against a background narrative of Ireland's World Cup campaign sometimes appears artificial but, generally, the book is beautifully ghosted by the Irish journalist Tom Humphries. From the fight with Steve McMahon ("One punch, no regrets"), to attempting to find anonymous pubs to evade his wife, Gillian, while out drinking with Alex Rae – "Like drinking on an FBI Witness Protection Programme" – it is all there, including a sense of guilt at his good fortune.

The last word on the Keane row goes to The Gaffers (O'Brien, £6.99) by Paul Howard, another Irish journalist. Though it lacks inside knowledge it is non-partisan and strong on the background of what he portrays as a good-cop, bad-cop pairing.

Compared to McCarthy's problems, Sven Goran Eriksson's difficulties with Ulrika Jonsson appear trivial, though they would not have done to those involved. The admission, by Athole Still, Eriksson's agent, that the England manager "can't resist a bird" is the stand-out quote from Joe Lovejoy's Sven (Collins Willow, £17.99). Indeed, there are five references logged in the index under "Eriksson: weakness for the ladies". If this suggests it's a bonkbuster it is not. It is primarily about football but the most interesting elements are where Lovejoy uncovers the personal side of a man who is still largely an enigma.

Alex Ferguson is better known, a mixed blessing. In The Boss (Simon & Schuster, £17.99), an exhaustively researched account, Michael Crick provides a complementary tome to Ferguson's one-sided autobiography. There was, for example, little mention in Fergie's book of the conflict of interests involved in his son, Jason, being an agent. Crick goes into detail on the issue, and has doubtless been damned for it.

Also recommended

World Football Yearbook 2002-2003 David Goldblatt (Dorling Kindersley, £19.99). A truly magnificent guide to the stats and facts of the world game with graphics including city-maps of stadia, shirt colours and financial minutiae. Every anorak's Christmas must-have.

Complete Book of the World Cup 2002 Chris Freddi (Collins Willow, £12.99). Very little about 2002 but everything you could ever want to know about the other 16 tournaments including well-written reports on every match.

Masters of Old Trafford Peter Keeling (Robson, £16.95). Knowledgeable run-through of the managers from Busby to Ferguson.

The Sack Race Chris Green (Mainstream, £15.99). A look at football management with observations from many witnesses.

Going Down Simon Banks (Mainstream, £15.99). Dry but thorough account of how football has mismanaged the boom.