🎯 An Assassin's Guide to Xmas Sports Books 🎯
Featuring Ireland's former tennis No.1, Elton John, Jude Bellingham and the Scottish Cup
What kind of shopper are you? The leisurely browser? Or the trained assassin? At Christmas time, I’m the latter. I get that gift in the crosshairs, then I’m out of there with a snap of my Google Wallet. Here’s four sports books to train your sights on this Xmas (sorry not sorry for shameless plug at No.4)
The Racket, by Conor Niland. I read it during Wimbledon and began to ration my pages-per-day consumption to ensure it lasted till the end of the tennis fortnight. Niland was once Ireland’s No.1 tennis player - and good enough to brush the edges of the top 100. Below is a flavour.
At my level, travel was relentless, and it was a constant battle to stay out of the lower levels. After going all the way to Montreal to lose in the first round of a Challenger event, I flew home and signed up to play a Futures event in Wrexham in north Wales. I had to go through qualifying as I hadn’t entered the main draw in time. It was back to the Futures after a week at the Challengers, and I could feel the difference. My hotel lobby was connected by a swing door to a Wetherspoon’s pub, a nightly scene of Welsh youths drunk on summer pints and alcopops. Did they know I had nearly beaten a guy who had once beaten Pete Sampras?
It’s a great story, expertly shaped by journalist and ghostwriter Gavin Cooney. I tweeted about it in July. It won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in November. The two are unrelated, but I still feel smug - like when you get into a band before they hit the big time. I’ll to return to The Racket on Monday’s post but, for now, stick it on your list.
Watford Forever, by John Preston. A masterful portrayal of Elton John’s love affair with Watford FC. I came to this book via another of Preston’s projects, Fall, his biography of Robert Maxwell. Fall is an astonishing tale, brilliantly told (don’t let the subject put you off - my dad nearly spat his tea out when I recommended a book on the notorious pension pilferer). Preston is such a lucid, ego-free storyteller - a rare treat these days - and Watford Forever is a story to match his talents.
Hey Jude, by Graeme Croser
Croser is an experienced sportswriter who vowed not to produce a ‘cuts job’ when embarking on his biography of Jude Bellingham. Travelling to Birmingham, Dortmund and Madrid, he paints a reliable and authoritative portrait of the charismatic midfielder. Here’s a fascinating piece Graeme wrote for The BackPage on the process of writing the book and landing a key interview.
Cup Tied, by Daniel Gray and Alan McCredie. If you’ve not read Daniel Gray, then check out his glorious Slow Match Reports on Nutmeg. He writes like a poet and has found his perfect foil in photographer McCredie. The two artistic souls have put together a beautiful photo essay book, in which they follow the Scottish Cup in its 150th year through every round - from Luncarty Thistle to a Celtic-Rangers final at Hampden. And yes, yes… we published it. But that’s got nothing to do with it. Honest, guv. Buy direct
🎁 … And a few non-fiction recommendations: Killing Thatcher (Rory Carroll), Food of the Cods (Daniel Gray), Hidden Potential (Adam Grant), Going Infinite (Michael Lewis)… and thanks to my aforementioned dad, who put me onto Michael Connelly’s Bosch novels.
👉 And finally, the brilliant
has compiled a list of forthcoming sports book in 2025
Some lovely books there. The Racket is one that it seems I have to get (especially after reading your latest piece).
For what it is worth, I've done a series of football themed Gift Guides over at Cultured Football including one on football books & magazines: https://www.cultured.football/p/cultured-footballs-gift-guide