Magical

A Life in Football

Paul Fletcher MBE with Dave Thomas

Specifications

Publication date: 20 October 2012

Pages: 272

Illustrations: 30 photographs

Binding: Hardback

ISBN: 978-1-904091-70-7

Size: 234 x 156 mm

Price: £14.99

Availability

Available from good bookshops and internet retailers.

About the Book

A hero at Burnley FC, Paul Fletcher established himself as a potent striker amassing nearly 300 appearances for The Clarets in the 1970s after signing from local rivals, Bolton Wanderers.

Following his football career, he went on to become one of the world’s leading stadium experts having been involved in the construction of four UK stadiums and adviser to 30 others around the world. He was commercial director of the new Wembley Stadium until controversially walking away as costs escalated and has been chief executive at Huddersfield Town, Coventry City, Bolton Wanderers and latterly again at Burnley FC

Aside from his professional football and stadium building career his CV includes playing football on Blackpool Beach, being a speaker at Cambridge University, meeting kings and queens, bishops and prime ministers, sporting legends and heroes, comedians and football’s top brass. And he has stories about most of them. He’s also a much-in-demand after dinner speaker and can turn his hand to playing the ukulele – his rendition of When I’m Cleaning Windows is said to be legendary!

The title Magical comes from his experiences in the game that have given him such a wonderful life and varied career – not bad for a lad from a council estate who left school at 16, who helped set up a university and received an MBE for his services to football!

Availability

Available from good bookshops and internet retailers.

Thanks for the Memories

Roger Eli

Roger Eli with Dave Thomas

Specifications

Publication date: 14 April 2012

Pages: 272

Illustrations: 45 photographs

Binding: Hardback

ISBN: 978-1-904091-62-2

Size: 234 x 156 mm

Price: £14.99

Availability

Available from good bookshops, internet retailers, the Burnley FC Clarets Store and Vertical Editions, Unit 4a, Tel: 01756 790362

Snaygill Industrial Estate, Fax: 01756 798618

Skipton Email: custserv@verticaleditions.com

BD23 2QR

Web: www.verticaleditions.com

About the Book

This isn’t a book about money. This isn’t a book about playing in European Leagues and World Cups. Nor is it a sensationalist, tabloid style, expletive-filled story of recovery from debt, gambling and alchoholism. It’s just the story of a player who had his dreams but never made the big-time, and met no end of hurdles and injuries along the way. It’s a story about life, the crossroads that we meet, the choices that we make, and the way that the decisions of others affect the paths of our lives. It is both heartrending and heart-warming.

Roger Eli’s career was influenced by several managers, Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, Eddie Gray and Billy Bremner at Leeds United and then Frank Casper and Jimmy Mullen at Burnley. There are others who appeared fleetingly in his story. It’s a story of struggles, determination and bravery, and then brief success before the man who mattered, the man who picks the team, decided he was of no further use.

Roger Eli was one of those pioneer black footballers of the early 90’s. He was Player of the Year at Burnley in ‘91/92. After several years of knockdowns he eventually tasted glory. This is a story about what lies at the heart of football, about how cruel football can be, and how success is so fleeting. For every Terry, Tevez or Torres there are scores of other footballers that make a living from the game, but who could write a manual on the pitfalls and obstacles along the way, yet not without a little humour and a store of good memories. Roger Eli is one of them.