The Secret Footballers Guide to the Modern Game: Tips and Tactics from the Ultimate Insider by The Secret Footballer

The Secret Footballers Guide to the Modern Game: Tips and Tactics from the Ultimate Insider Reviews

• 
  Ken

  Whilst The Secret Footballer's insight isn't as revealing as he thinks it is, there's still plenty of little intresting facts that make this an entertaining read.
  
  The main issue with the series is that he thinks every football supporter is stupid, of course those that have played the game will have a different understanding - but there's plenty of intelligent passionate fans that invest a lot of time an effect into following their team and are just as knowledgeable on the game.
  
  I mean it's not exactly rocket science stating that using statistics from the previous season's managers are able to work out how many wins/goals/points are needed to win the league.
  It's pretty obvious which teams rely on a striker to get the majority of the goals, whilst others build a strong defensive setup and use the midfield players to chip in with the goals...
  
  The main aspects of this entry that I really enjoyed was his opinions on the global game.
  It's true that most World Cups are pretty generic now, with host countries build all new stadiums that lack character.
  The archive football of the likes of Mexico'86 and Italia'90 highlighted the cultural aspects and had a distant foreign feel.
  
  It's also true how football has it's own fads with the 2002 World Cup having been South Korea and Japan saw an influx of both Asian players to capitalise on the growing intrest from the continent, plus African players after Senegal performed well at the tournament.
  
  Also sadly I think his right that most fans would prefer all the big teams progressing to the latter stages of tournaments so that the best players are on show.
  The reason why Champions League teams drop into the Europa League also makes sense now.
  
  Those intresting points help make this one of the better entities in the series.
• 
  Paul

  The Secret Footballer’s Guide To The Modern Guide
  
  The Guardian’s Secret Footballer is back in book form, those who have read his columns are still trying to guess his identity and once again he is back in form. The Secret Footballer who has been a hit since first being published has now taken a look at the tips and tactics of the modern game and some of it can be quite eye opening.
  
  Like many football fans with a season ticket I like to think I know all about football, the tactics, the politics and everything else that makes up the modern game. I was attending games before the modern game so like many of my generation might think this book is condescending towards them as there is nothing new you could tell us. Well I am happy to say there is plenty to learn from reading this book especially from a professionals’ standpoint.
  
  This book is not quite like his columns and previous books in that it is far less gossipy and is attempting to show us what life is like as a professional football player. We go through the preseason training and the diets that they have to keep, which probably explains why my career ended when I discovered booze, birds and fags.
  
  There is also some excellent analysis of other professional footballers and the clubs that they play for, which again is quite eye opening for the fan. When he tackles the commercial side of the game, the sponsorship of players and those who sponsor is shown to be a reflection of what else is going on within the game. We see how it has also influenced the guardians of the game such as FIFA who the Secret Footballer like the rest of us does not respect.
  
  What I like about this book while not being as humorous as his previous outings we are treated to a real insight of the game that we the fans do not normally see. My hope is that the Secret Footballers revelations continue and that he is never uncovered. Buy this book and you will learn something about the game we love.
  
• 
  Jake S

  At time interesting, at times boring. This book is set out in a weird way, if it was more gossip it would have been good fun. I mean a behind the scenes, what you don't see kind of book. Instead it is quite a technical book, written by someone hiding behind a cloak of anonymity who has a real axe to grind.
  
  Great effort and energy has been expended to try and work out who the secret footballer is. I feel like a new clue can be gleaned from this book, they are a real misanthrope. While I say I have read this book I gave up with 40 pages to go as it really wasn't adding anything to my life, or to my knowledge of football. The Secret Footballer would say I am one of the vast majority of people who don't 'truly' understand football... i've thought about it and I don't care.
• 
  David Ramiro

  I must admit I'm not disappointed. I was expecting secret stories about footballer's life explained from an insider with valuable information and that's what I found. The first chapter was probably the worst, talking about health routines, diets and injuries, but after that there was so much gossip of the Football planet. The Secret Footballer is also very tough towards the FA, criticising its management and the lack of quality of the teams' academies. I was also shocked (well... not really) by how much he worships the Barcelona style and philosophy. He's definitely right about it.
• 
  Filip Olšovský

  Often you feel like he has nothing special to say. But you keep on reading because, believe it or not, The Secret Footballer is an excellent writer. He knows how to wrap a single point into several sentences and keep you interested all the time. It is a simple read in the most positive meaning of the term – you get information, you get stories and you get the feeling you are now wiser than your football mates. Which is, of course, the most important part of it all.
• 
  Amanda

  It's an interesting one. Didn't know anything about football before reading it. Know more now. Started reading it so I have something in the car the boys would also want to listen to. Not really my thing and they listened to their own stuff anyway so it sort of fizzled out. I imagine if you knew a lot about football you wouldn't learn that much from it. As a novice it was interesting but I'm not really the target market.
• 
  Alistair Miller

  This is an interesting book on the tactics of modern football and the different philosophies. As with all Secret Footballer books, there is interesting insight. You get a feel for the soul of the dressing room and not just a rote explanation of the different football tactics.
• 
  Gheorghe Cazacu

  A very good educational book!
• 
  Sandy Morley

  A disjointed collection of thoughts on football. Not particularly insightful.
• 
  The V Man

  Outdated and lacking in detail.
  
  I liked the first book as it was interesting and timeless.
  
  This one is limited in comparison and very outdated if being read several years after publication.
• 
  Stuart Bird

  Firstly, this is a short book with the page counted bumped up by absurdly lengthy index. As the the content, the beginning section on fitness and nutrition us the weakest in that in parrots much of the stuff you would have read in the tabloid press health sections (dark chocolate is good for you, take cod liver oil etc) whilst the fitness tips are all things that anyone with a modicum of interest in the subject would have come across before ( eg the benefits on interval training). Currents beliefs on recovery, such as ice baths, are presented as facts when there is limited evidence of effectiveness. I would have liked footnotes to studies and suchlike.
  
  The sections in the game itself, on tactics and coaching and the way in which English football is failing, are what make the book a worthy read. The writer is clearly a big admirer the barca way of playing and he offers interesting and intelligent views of the way in which the game should be played and taught. Overall, a recommended read.
  
• 
  Donny

  Wonderful. I'm one of those fans described exactly in the book - love to watch the game, has opinions but have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.
  
  This book obviously didn't change me in a major way, yet at the same time it did. I now know a little more about the tactics employed by managers, and truly, it cements the fact that there's simply no way for someone to truly understand what happens on the pitch when the only way you're seeing it is via the telly (I'm going British now). So much of the nuance appears outside the area where the ball is being played, and as the Secret Footballer points out, the only way one would know something is taking place tactically is when you know the secret nods and signals, or 'triggers', that the players use among themselves.
  
  Anyhow, it's an entertaining read, and I got the 'I am the Secret Footballer' as a result.
  
  Looking forward to it.
• 
  Pete

  The Secret Footballer's Guide to the Modern Game: Tips and Tactics from the Ultimate Insider (2015) by Anon is another book by the secret footballer about the modern game.
  
  The book looks at fitness, food, tactics and the way the modern game works. There is also a fair amount on why England haven't done as well as expected.
  
  This book isn't as good as the first book by the secret footballer but is much better than the second. The information about what modern footballers eat, how they train and the tactical insights are really interesting. The tactical discussions are probably the highlight of the book, hopefully these will be fleshed out further at some point.
  
  If you're into football this book is definitely worth a read. If you're vaguely interested in football the first Secret Footballer's book is a better bet.
• 
  Jonny

  The sections on tactics are pretty interesting, though they don't really offer any insight over and above what you could read by, say, Michael Cox for free on the internet.
  
  The opening of the book is a tedious pseudo-scientific journey through training and nutrition. A few too many things are stated as fact in this section, which I will take with a pinch of salt from a person who hides behind anonymity.
  
  Then there are some uninteresting stories about people with money or something.
  
  Overall, if it weren't for the fairly interesting tactics discussion/whinging about the current state of the England football setup, I'd have given it one star.
• 
  Kelvin Zhou

  Simple and easy read
  Nothing very enlightening or revealing but I do find the chapter on Fashion in Football about lesser teams following a fad for the sake of it and The Commercial Game (simple explanation about how the players’ salaries have gone exorbitant) interesting.
  
  The epilogue was a simple advice that applies to anyone, not just footballers - “no matter who you are and what you’ve done, you’re never too rich to be taught a lesson. I don care how much champagne you are afford.”
  
  I did pick up a few key points that footballers follow that can be applicable to anyone who is keen on a healthy living - cut out sugar and alcohol.
• 
  Peter K

  The latest in the range of books from the Secret Footballer is, as ever, a quick read, which is also by turns illuminating and amusing.
  
  I found the chapter that focused on modern tactics and planning most interesting as it helped me as a fan understand more of what is going on on the pitch, which was the main reason I bought this book.
  
  I also enjoyed the descriptions of a footballer's life from the discipline around diet to the way that players can be treated.
  
  An interesting insight into the football world that I enjoyed reading
• 
  Kevin Conlon

  I enjoyed this book much more than the first book by the Secret Footballer. There was a lot less backbiting, a lot less getting back at people and trying to make oneself look good compared to other professional footballers. Instead, this book offered a good insight into what it takes to be a successful team and the thinking strategies applied by players, managers, agents and clubs to reach the heights of their success. Worth reading for anyone with an interest in the tactical side of football
• 
  Alejandro Shirvani

  Opinionated and interesting, the Secret Footballer doesn't just churn out the same stuff the media pundits do so offers a different insight.
  
  Fantastic description of the development of formations in the modern game, the pros and cons of different types of tactics and his views on where the English game lags behind other countries.
  
  This is a short and quick read and a definite eye-opener for the football fan.
• 
  Grace

  The bit on formations was super helpful, but otherwise it was too broadly written, not enough detail, and didn't really live up to the subtitle of "tips and tactics."
• 
  Don Jimmy Reviews

  felt like i was being talked down to for long periods, easy for the writer to criticise tactics and ideas whike hiding behind his keyboard, stories are interesting enough to warrant a rounded up 2.5
• 
  Erlend Bergsagel

  Ok, but huge part quite basic.