His knee was cut right down to the bone, but he didn’t want to go off because he was desperate to play in the Cup-Winners’ Cup final a few weeks later. On Days Like These is his third book and follows his acclaimed biography of Marcelo Bielsa, The Quality of Madness , which was shortlisted for The Daily Telegraph Football Book of the Year. A London east end boy born into poverty, he was an unique character and a very talented goalkeeper, who coached at West Ham after his playing career was over.

Sometimes – because I’m on the telly with my wife on Real Housewives of Cheshire – if people come up to me in the street, they tell me that they remember my Dad playing for United. Even when he’s played badly, the manager never says anything to him, hardly ever gives him instructions. I just found it really interesting because it coincided with a period of time when I was really emotionally invested in football so I remember quite vividly the people and matches referred to in the book.The trauma I went through in that period wasn’t great and it took me a long time to get back on track. He also played in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle, Birmingham City, Blackpool, Leyton Orient and Bury.

years ago, goalkeeper Les Sealey helped Manchester United win their first trophy under Sir Alex Ferguson, beating Crystal Palace in an FA Cup Final replay.By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Unfortunately, he missed out on the club’s finest moment – the 1988 Littlewoods Cup Final win over Arsenal.

A few days later, Ferguson is sitting in his office at the Cliff [training ground] when he sees the barrel of a rifle poking through the gap in the door, which slowly swings open. I know I started supporting them after they were winning on TV in the Littlewoods Cup semi-final – quite possibly the first time I’d seen Sealey play, but then as a football badger already at that point, there is every chance I was aware of every goalie in Division One. Alan Sealey wrote his name in club folklore when he scored both goals in 1965’s Cup Winners’ Cup final triumph, and is immortalised in one of the buildings built on the site of Upton Park. It isn't just a touching tribute: it also offers a rich portrait of the near-unrecognisable world of English football on the precipice of the Premier League - and the vast riches that would change it forever.He was by far and away my favourite at a young age – though, credit to Andy Dibble, he probably found himself as my second favourite after that penalty save at Wembley which won us the Littlewoods Cup. After the Cup Winners’ Cup, United signed Peter Schmeichel and my dad went to Aston Villa for the 1991/92 season. Ad Feature Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley starred as England snatched an unlikely victory in the opening Test against India.

If the manager wanted to make a specific point to either of them or give Andrei a bit of a b---------, they would be taken into a side room with the Prof, and if the manager began shouting, George would raise his voice with him. Sealey has rebuilt his life after admitting his dad’s sudden death in 2001 from a heart attack sent him into a dark place with addiction.And then when he signed for them, well I am not too proud to admit that I started following United a lot more closely than I had before – and even got his goalkeeper jersey for Christmas, probably in 1990. Every day I was having either the hardest possible massage or agonising physio, to build the arm back up and get fit. Despite being written in this way there is still a distinct sense of Les’s voice and personality throughout the book. Then somebody – Steve Bruce, because he’s always rallying the troops – says: “Shall we get changed and get on the bus?