Book description
Malcolm Allison is one of the most controversial figures of the last
half-century of English football. Leader of the famed 'West Ham
Academy', his playing career was cut short by the loss of a lung to
tuberculosis. Disillusioned, he became a professional gambler before
acknowledging that football was his calling. After humble beginnings
as a coach, he began a celebrated partnership with Joe Mercer, turning
Manchester City into one of the most stylish teams English football
has produced.
Along with the trophies came the birth of Big Mal, the
larger-than-life personality who helped revolutionise televised
football. He became instantly recognisable for his cigar and Fedora,
and equally notorious for a string of affairs with beautiful women.
As the dark side of Big Mal took over, he was banned for life from
the touchlines, became embroiled in a series of boardroom battles and
spent time in police cells and rehabilitation clinics fighting the
effects of alcoholism. Yet despite the often-destructive effect of his
Big Mal persona, Malcolm Allison retains his status as one of the most
incisive minds to have graced the game. This book tells both sides of
the story, tracing the life and times of one of the most charismatic
characters in British sport.
David Tossell has been a sports journalist for three decades and is
Director of European Public Affairs for the NFL. His two most recent
publications,
Grovel!
and
Bertie Mee,
were nominated for British Sports Book awards.
