How's Your Dad?

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Right,’ I said, ‘I’ll write it down for him. Show him this and he’ll tell you everything you want to know.’ Almost 100 racecourses in the UK closed in the 20th century and Chris has unearthed the stories behind them all. This is a book you can dip in and out of for a long time and never get bored. Fascinating stuff. 2. DOPED – JAMIE REID

I recall Bernie Clifton and his ostrich being there one year, and I even phoned in and got on the telly to ask for Southampton’s 1976 FA Cup goal to be shown because my dad was in the studio as a pundit with Brian Moore and the Saint and Greavsie in 1984. After an ill-fated move to Manchester City affected his form, Ron Greenwood chose to omit him from the starting line-up when England played the crucial World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg in October 1977. [26] England won 2–0 and, despite victory over Italy in the last game of the campaign, the goals record was insufficient to take them to the World Cup. [27] Channon was not selected for his country again; his international career ended with 46 appearances and a healthy 21 goals. England's failure to qualify for three major international tournaments during Channon's career leaves him as the most-capped player never to have been named to a World Cup or European Championships squad. As of 17 July 2018, he remains joint 18th in the all-time England scorers list, level with Kevin Keegan and Steven Gerrard. [28] Horse racing [ edit ] The list below is a personal one of course – and will be missing lots of good titles. But these are books that I have enjoyed and will read again. Graham Knight: Nijinsky, Triple Crown Winner by Richard Baerlein (1971). Factual and evocative account of the horse which grabbed the emotional heartstrings of the racing followers of the British Isles. Channon lasted barely a month at Newcastle before joining Bristol Rovers. [7] His impressive career seemingly on the decline, he failed to score in nine games for Bristol Rovers before a sudden departure again, this time to Norwich City where, at the age of 34, he found some of his old touch. [8] He played 88 games over three seasons, scoring 16 goals, and suffered a mixed end to his Norwich career in 1985 when the club won the League Cup — Channon's second and final domestic honour — with a 1–0 win over Sunderland at Wembley, but were then relegated (with Sunderland) at the end of the same season. [9] [10] Channon joined Portsmouth and Finn Harps (where he played in one League of Ireland Cup game), [11] before retiring from the game in 1986. [12] [13] International career [ edit ]The academic feel of the work may deter some, but McGrath's eye for a story and eloquent turns of phrase will delight many others. As well as a mastery of racing, McGrath has a sure touch with broader history that takes us from the English Civil War to the trenches of the First World War and across the globe from the diamond mines of South Africa to the Argentinian pampas. I’ve seen a million interviews with former footballers being asked to recall their big day at Wembley Stadium, and they usually say something along the lines of: ‘It’s a day I’ll never forget.’ Laugh-out-loud funny in many parts, touching and affecting in others, with the balance between the two delicately maintained, Channon Jnr has perhaps finally found his own niche, that thing he can excel at in his own right, because this is a book that deserves, and I’m sure will receive, widespread recognition and reading. I am already looking forward to his next.

When Saints finally sent him on his way, he eventually proved that the light still shone brightly by turning up at Norwich City, playing football as a hobby, training as often as he saw fit, and doing as he pleased. He was my dad, and that certainly helped elevate him in my estimations, but he was also a brilliant footballer. He made things happen and he made people enjoy the game. He was an inspiration to teammates and fans alike. He’s also a very abrupt and dismissive individual, which is not a particularly endearing feature, but very few successful people are ‘nice’. He’s grumpy and aggressive and perpetually demanding. We fall out often, and I’m aghast and infuriated for a lot of the time. In effect, he’s lived his life in reverse – blessed with natural ability and a carefree attitude to any real work ethic in the first half while grafting tirelessly in the latter. He’s a constant reminder of how life remains impossible is my old man. The majority of Channon’s big-race winners were sent out from West Ilsley Stables, which he bought from the Queen in 1999 but had been forced to put up for sale last year after being refused planning permission. He then moved to the West Ilsley stables near Newbury, formerly owned by the Queen, and began to increase his number of horses, eventually ending up with almost 200. [6] [30]Along the way Richard highlights some of the little‐known tales of great champions and enthusiastic amateurs that have tasted triumph and tragedy at the Festival. It’s a superb take on the all‐important meeting from a rather personal and unusual angle that will have the most casual jumps racing fan counting down to the next Festival. The closing chapter is entitled 'I'd be surprised if there's ever been a better horse', quoting Cecil's observation after Frankel's final performance on Champions Day. No, but there have been some incredible stories on the 300-year journey from Syria to that Ascot apogee. I’m not alone, though, when I say that FA Cup final day on the telly was the defining moment of the year. It had everything: Gerald Sinstadt and Martin Tyler in the team hotel at breakfast, Tony Gubba on the team bus and Freddie Starr joining Tarby on the hallowed turf when the teams arrived.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 2001 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel while being interviewed at his West Ilsley racing stables near Newbury. [34] Football honours [ edit ] Among owners who have had their horses with Channon are old colleagues and acquaintances from his footballing days, including Kevin Keegan, Alan Ball, Chris Cattlin and Sir Alex Ferguson. [30]As Wayne Rooney breaks Sir Bobby Charlton's Man Utd haul, who is your Premier League club's all-time leading goalscorer?". The Telegraph. 23 January 2017 . Retrieved 19 October 2018. But this is no extended bout of maudlin introspection, simply an attempt to put into words what it's like living one step behind a public superhero – "Embracing Failure in the Shadow of Success" as the subtitle goes.

I normally beat around the bush and arrive at my conclusion at the end of the review but let’s start by making it quite clear. If you buy only one racing themed book this year, this should be it. Most histories of Aintree and the Grand National do little more than regurgitate information from previous books, errors and all. John Pinfold has made full use of archives at Aintree and elsewhere, as well as gaining insights from interviews with major players of the recent past, to set the record straight and produce what may well be the racing book of the year.The undoubted highlight of this year's Cheltenham Festival, and probably many more before it, was the confirmation of the renaissance of Sprinter Sacre, now ridden by Nico de Boinville, and the emotional response of the Prestbury Park crowd. Even by Cheltenham's standards this outpouring was something else, and Lee Mottershead and Alastair Down captured the mood beautifully.