Day Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 I was contacted by Rob at MacAnthony Media and asked if I could read this book and do a review for the forum, no problems I love a good book and it's even better when free! I'm not being paid for this review, I've not been asked to only make positive comments nor will I be receiving commission on any sales, this is simply read the book and tell your members what think and most importantly where you can buy it from. The book, let's get the bad out the way first, there is a few errors with players names and spelling mistakes, nothing which distracted from the reading that much. For example Gary Cahill scoring for Everton (Tim Cahill) and wanting to sign Michael Knightly who ended up at Wolves (Michael Kightly). I'm not going to let these little slip ups take away from what was otherwise an enjoyable read. Oh before I move on, I posted a picture of the book on Twitter after receiving it and tweeting my intentions for the day as you do, one of the replies was "did a child create that book cover?", he further went on to ask if it was made on Microsoft Paint, to be fair it's not the best cover you are ever going to see on the bookshelf but as I said to him, don't judge a book by it's cover. If you have ever read any footballers or managers autobiographies you will know they can be tedious reading at times, yes you Michael Owen, they offer no real insight into the player or manager just the usual I played football all the time as a kid, signed for X club, married X wag, scored a few goals, had a few kids and here I'am now. Nothing you couldn't of read on a Wikipedia page in a fraction of time and saved yourself a few quid. This book is nothing like that at all. Yes you get a few snippets of family life but these are kept to a minimum and are covered in a few sentences rather than full chapters of utter boredom. It's the first owner/chairman book I have read, I wasn't totally sure what to expect if I'm honest but the book gave you a real look at behind the scenes of not just running a football club but buying a football club. At times I found myself drawing comparisons with Derby, dealing with property developers, master plan of buying young hungry players with potential from leagues below where as other clubs prefer to take the safe option of buying established players, this time next year Rodney will be in the Premiership. The master plan was one that Darragh pushed onto his managers and makes interesting reading, it's what you would of expected from the tales of Roman Abramovich with a slightly smaller budget and no oil. One of the players in the master plan being a young Jamie Ward at Chesterfield, Darren Ferguson however wasn't interested in at the time, I wonder if he'd take him now? Managers did have a say but on a few occasions were over ruled and players were forced upon them. This is very much an owner who likes to have a major say in the clubs transfer policy, the master plan is his plan and one which the manager has no choice but to accept or look for employment elsewhere. To be fair all of the managers knew this when taking the job on apart from Keith Alexander who was already at the club when Darragh took over. Darragh doesn't hide figures either, you won't see the word 'undisclosed' anywhere is this book, he reveals most of the transfer fees, how much clubs wanted, wages, how long fees were paid over etc. There is a little mention of a George Boyd loan fee paid by a certain club down the A52 which effectively made Boyd a free transfer for Peterborough, yes I will admit to smiling quite a bit at that. It's not a book that leaves you wanting more information, which I'm actually trying to do now without giving away to many spoilers for those thinking of reading the book which I do recommend you do by the way. I realise this book will not be everyones cup of tea, it is a book on Peterborough United after all and I can understand why you wouldn't be interested but for those who love a good football autobiography this is one of the most interesting and revealing books I have ever read. From Hobby to Obsession will be available to buy from the Peterborough United club shop when we play them on 27th October, it is also available from Amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/From-Hobby-Obsession-Darragh-MacAnthony/dp/0957302401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350033584&sr=8-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derbydan Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 As if the google ads weren't enough its a slippery slide he'll be reviewing the JML ped-egg next week available at all good stockists 'http://www.dcfcfans.co.uk/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> 'http://www.dcfcfans.co.uk/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ph34r' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ph34r:' /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 are you leaving the book in the mod room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GboroRam Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 are you leaving the book in the mod room? If you just leave it in the lavvy, we can all have a peek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I bet he tells his missus that all the mags under the bed are sent from the publishers for review anorl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob231289 Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Just to let everyone know the book is available from the club shop tomorrow and is now also available on iTunes as well as the Kindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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