Bremner!: The Legend of Billy Bremner Book

Shortly after the untimely death of Leeds United legend Billy Bremner comes the authorised biography aptly entitled, in the down-to-earth and straightforward style of its subject, simply Bremner!. The Scotland international, who lit up the Elland Road pitch with his style and flair, died of a heart attack on December 7 1997, just two days shy of his 55th birthday. Author Bernard Bale was a close friend of the wily Scot and much of the book is extracts from the long footballing reminiscences the two shared in the years after Bremner's retirement from the game. Organised in such a fashion that the reader may take each chapter as a stand-alone tale, Bremner! is a very readable tome. The story of a football-mad Scottish boy begins in the working-class Raploch district of Stirling, where a flame-haired lad pushed his way into a local amateur side and stunned players five years older than him with his skills. The book takes us through Bremner's signing for Leeds, through the dark days on the fringes of the first team when he longed for a move back to Scotland to be with his sweetheart Vicky, and on to the seasons after he established himself as one of the mainstays in arguably the greatest Elland Road side. Bremner muses over his exploits in the FA Cup, the League and in European competitions, marvels at his boyhood heroes and relives the moments of glory and disappointment down the years. Friends and team-mates pay tribute to the dynamic midfielder, and even those who never had the chance to see him play realise that this man called Billy Bremner must have been something special. Bale guides us through the years when Bremner left his spiritual home to play for Hull City, and two whole chapters are devoted to the Scotsman's time as manager at Doncaster Rovers and Leeds respectively. Ultimately, the collected comments of famous footballers past and present close the story of the remarkable life of Billy Bremner, but typically, not without a final word from the man himself.Read More