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Title – “Full Time – The Secret Life of…”

Author(s) – Tony Cascarino (with Paul Kimmage)

Publisher – Scribner  

ISBN - 1903650542  

Released - 2000. 

Price - £5.59

Available - Amazon

Review – Browsing in the sports section of your local book store, the memoirs of Tony Cascarino do not really jump out at you. Amongst more illustrious names such as David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Ireland striker’s life story pales into insignificance. Ironically, once you’ve read it, it does stand out…because it is so different. Cascarino cannot marvel at the major trophies that he won or tell us about his famous wife... because he didn’t win them and he hasn’t got one.

Instead, he tells us a little about his own – less than stunning – career, which included spells at illustrious clubs such as Gillingham and Millwall. Not enthralling enough for you? Well the revelation that Ireland striker Cascarino was about as Irish as the aforementioned Beckham adds a little spice. You see, Cascarino is not your conventional footballer. The former hairdresser and bricklayer is brutally honest – as he talks about the abuse, the bad press, the pressure, cheating on his fiancée just before his wedding, leaving his wife and his team mates amongst other things. This is more like a novel than a football book and should thus appeal to a much wider range of audience. “Full Time” is an easy read, a candid confession and – whether you’re a football fan or not – definitely worth that six quid…

What they say -

The Sunday Times “Full Time: the Secret Life of Tony Cascarino is the most praised football autobiography in a very long time. Reviewers' jaws dropped at "the searing honesty ... and the breathless style"

The Guardian "Compared with the standard-issue footballer's autobiography, this is Tolstoy."

Eamon Dunphy, The Times "If it were fiction this book could win the Booker Prize "