1. Bobby Robson - "Farewell But Not Goodbye"
This was one of two books I was kindly lent by my next door neighbour. Few who have followed football in the last 30 years and more will have a bad word to say about Sir Bobby - now sadly departed. This autobiography had plenty of interesting tit-bits in - although could have given some more details about his European exploits, managing PSV, Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Barca, in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, I learnt some interesting things...:
- Robson very nearly became Everton manager in the mid 70s, but backed out on a handshake agreement after Everton leaked the news to the press against his expressed wishes that they keep it quiet until he had spoken to his employers, Ipswich Town. Sad!
- He considered Jermaine Jenas to be capable of being England's key midfielder for 'many years to come'. Oh dear....
- Liverpool bid £3m for Alan Shearer when he was 33.
- He actually had 2 serious battles with cancer before it finally claimed his life a year or two ago
A big chunk of the book towards the end is understandably devoted to Bobby's time at Newcastle, and to be fair, the board there come across as complete pillocks. But that's no great surprise.
2. Barry Fry - "Big Fry - The Autobiography"
The other book I borrowed from my neighbour. Decent- but not as enjoyable for me. Fry is certainly a colourful character, and lived a very different football life to Robson. Some of the characters he's dealt with down the years have been, frankly, mental (Stan Flashman, Keith Cheeseman etc), but I couldn't help but disagree with a lot of stuff he said, and I got the impression he wasn't telling the whole truth a lot of the time!
Still - a decent read.
3. Kenneth E. Bailey - "Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes"
A good, meaty, theological book, with some excellent insights on what Jesus' words would have meant to his actual contemporary audience. There are some really interesting things to think about - but I'm not even half way through the book yet and I think it's taking a little while to get going!
One thing that has challenged me a lot has been Bailey's analysis of the Lord's prayer, in which he highlights the importance of forgiving even when the people we are to forgive have shown no repentance. Jesus is the ultimate model of this - even on the cross, as he shouted out, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do". It's not easy to forgive people who have wronged us even when they've apologised - but it's a whole new level to show grace to those who have not even asked for it. Challenging!
4. The Bible
Ok - who's going to make the joke about me not enjoying fiction? I'm close to the end now of my 'Bible In One Year' programme, which I've followed since September 1st 2010. It's been tough going at times, but I've kept up to date with it, currently racing through the very challenging books of Ezekiel and James. I've learnt a lot through the year, and have a much improved idea of how it all fits together. Definitely a worthwhile year!
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