The Smell of Football II

The searingly honest and unputdownable sequel to the award-winning The Smell of Football, balancing laugh-out-loud moments with darker periods of difficult self-reflection.

In this engrossing and moving memoir, Mick ‘Baz’ Rathbone picks up from where his highly acclaimed debut tome left off:

• We follow him from his shock departure from his role as head of medical at Everton in 2010, to finally finding the internal peace and self-worth he has searched for all his life, some ten years and ten teams later, on a paradise island in the Caribbean
• He takes us on a hilarious, yet thought-provoking journey through the international team’s setup via the biggest club in the world and many other famous football clubs along the way
• Skilfully told, in the same self-deprecating way as the original, there are great stories involving such football luminaries as David Moyes, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton and the late, great Ray Clemence to name but a few
• With revealing insights into the world of professional football, Mick highlights how the game has changed since he left school in 1975, as a wide-eyed 16-year-old, to join his beloved hometown club, Birmingham City

At its heart, this is a book about doubt and lack of direction and an ageing man searching for his rightful place at the football table, increasingly filled by younger and more academically qualified protagonists, fear of the future and the fear of growing old. Mick’s story will resonate with all football fans, and especially those of a certain age – from any walk of life – who are fighting to stay relevant.