Glenn Hoddle: My 1998 World Cup Story Book

This is the story of how Glenn Hoddle coached England to defeat in two of their four matches in France 98, and thus failed in his efforts to lead the country to World Cup triumph. Though to read Hoddle's unrepentant assessment of his decision making and approach, you might initially be fooled into thinking that England actually won the thing, until we eventually get round to David Batty's missed penalty and sad reality is again restored. Hoddle, as he must be in his position, is a stubborn and talented man who is utterly certain of his own mind. This is fine when you're winning but, as ever in football, when you lose it's not enough to say that you should have won. All that matters is the final score and so, for instance, Hoddle's cruel disclosure of Paul Gascoigne's response to being left out of the squad or his trust in faith healer Eileen Drewery now sound just embarrassing, while if he'd pulled it off they might seem like strategic masterstrokes. But at least in this book you get Hoddle's side of the story absolutely straight. Sporting biographies are the home of the dilute and the banal but here what you see is what you get and the reader can judge Hoddle accordingly. So start judging! --Nick WroeRead More