Tony Waddington: Director of a Working Man's Ballet - Hardcover

John Leonard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1785314238 ISBN 13: 9781785314230

Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd, 2018

Synopsis

Waddington, Director of a Working Man's Ballet is a biography of the former Stoke City manager, Tony Waddington, one of the most underrated figures in 60s and 70s football. It charts how a man with the appearance of an urbane bank manager belied the stereotype of the hard-nosed football manager as he turned around the fortunes of an ailing club on the brink of going out of business. Instead, Waddington led the Potters to promotion, secured the club's first major trophy and challenged for a league title in a season bedevilled by bad luck, before a financial calamity led to his departure. An advocate of free-flowing football, yet fielding some of the most uncompromising defensive players of his era, he reinvigorated old pros, inspired young players and won the adulation of a generation of fans. Tony Waddington, or 'Waddo' as he was affectionately known to fans and players alike, achieved all this as the director of what he fondly termed 'a working man's ballet'.

About this title

Review:

"New book on the footballing evangelist who brought gold dust to Stoke City. Leonard, a journalist with red and white-striped blood, writes from personal memory and from the testament of others when paying homage to the Waddington legend." --Stoke Sentinel

"A super soccer book on super Stoke City's former manager. Insightful and interesting. Leonard succeeds in giving a very balanced account, and so does reticent Waddington justice. 8.5/10." -Mark Wadkins, Dare Radio

"Excellent." --The League Mag

About the Author:

John Leonard is a news and sports journalist of more than three decades' standing, having worked at ITN first as a sports news editor and then as a programme editor for both ITV News and 5 News. John is the author of Fair Game?, which explored the history of the clash between sport and politics. A lifelong Stoke City fan, he himself enjoyed a brief, ill-starred sporting career as an athlete with Staffordshire Moorlands AC.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1785314238
• ISBN 13: 9781785314230
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256