| We will never know if Tommy Lawton was truly the greatest centre-forward ever produced by England but we do know that he played in an era totally different from today. It is probable that Lawton never earned in a 20 year career what Rio Ferdinand earns in a week!
Certainly in 1955 when Tommy Lawton was in his mid-thirties and playing for Arsenal he was on £17 a week. He was approached by the brewers Guinness to head a poster campaign for a fee of £10,000. But he had to turn it down, no Arsenal player was allowed to be associated with alcohol. How different from today!
The book also touches on the darker side of Lawton’s life. The court appearance for passing dud cheques, his failed marriage and the dodging of bailiffs before he was re-discovered as a pundit and journalist.
The authors David McVay and Andy Smith, were among the latter, although they never saw him in his prime. They spoke to Tommy Lawton at length on several occasions and received his full co-operation. They also traced many of his contemporaries who provide a fascinating insight into the football pre- and post-war.
What the papers said about
The Complete Centre-Forward
Lovingly crafted
Bryon Butler, The Daily Telegraph
Fascinating reading
Richard Frost, Manchester Evening News
The contrasting images of then and now keep hitting you as you turn each page
Ken Roberts, Liverpool Echo
A rounded and often intimate study
David Foot, Western Daily Press
Close on faultless in its research and writing
David Llewellyn, The Independent
An excellent football book
Cameron Carter, When Saturday Comes
Read this outstanding book
Gary Brie, Total Football
A veritable goldmine for historians and all those who love to wallow in football nostalgia
Programme Monthly
Big Tommy’s lifetime... is reproduced with loving care
David Prole, World Soccer
För alla er som vill veta den bakgrund “Tipslördag” aldrig beráttar, är det här definivit en bok för er
Frank Östergren, Sportbladet, Norway
A remarkable story, to which the authors do justice... an outstanding football book
Gerald Mortimer, Derby Evening Telegraph
A must for any football reader's library
Bill Carne, South Wales Post
A penetrating biography
Richard Whitehead, The Times |
