Author:Paul Sculthorpe
PAUL SCULTHORPE is the man who was born to be a superstar. Touted as a future Great Britain skipper before he even played his first game as a professional, he has more than lived up to the billing over the ensuing years.
The only player to ever be named Man of Steel in successive years, the St Helens captain is arguably the most talented man to grace a rugby league field in modern times. Yet Sculthorpe did not always have his sights set on Challenge Cup and Grand Final glory. As a youngster he spent his time booting a football around with brother Lee - and actually had to be forced into playing his first game of rugby.
From that moment a star was born, as he went on to captain every side he represented, even though he was often playing a year above his age group.
Warrington were the first to spot that potential, snapping him up on schoolboy terms, and helping shape the greatest player in Super League history. When he went hunting a bigger stage, St Helens had no hesitation paying a world record £370,000 - a transfer fee that quickly looked a bargain.
Since then various rugby union clubs have sounded out the chances of tempting him into a code switch, while the biggest names in Australia would love to take the prize Pom Down Under.
Throughout it all Scully has stayed true to his roots, even though that loyalty was sorely tested when knee injuries led to a whispering campaign that he was finished.
Now Sculthorpe lifts the lid on a remarkable career. The highs and the lows; the friendships and the fall-outs; and where he feels his future REALLY lies. It's a no-holds barred account of one man's incredible rise to the top - and the steely determination which keeps him there.
[Sculthorpe] lifts the lid on what really makes him tick ... terrific
—— Oldham Evening Chroniclean inside glimpse into one of the finest players of his era and, arguably, the greatest team of Super League to date
—— BBC.co.ukGo Like Hell is a wonder, chuck-a-block with great heroes and villains, a pedal-to-the metal account of greed and gumption, a chronicle of obsession and vain glory. Don't worry about that seat belt. Just go for the ride.
—— Leigh Montville, author of At the Altar of SpeedReliving the titanic battles between Ford and Ferrari that payed out in the mid-sixties at Le Mans . . . a riveting read
—— Choice MagazineMarcotti has an unrivalled network of contacts, and writes with authority and style... an intriguing portrait
—— Liam Doyle , The BooksellerInformative, entertaining
—— When Saturday ComesEasily the most successful club manager ever to coach England, Fabio Capello won Italy's Serie A seven times with AC Milan, Juventus and Roma, and Spain's La Liga twice with Real Madrid - nine league titles in 15 seasons. So what led him to oversee a national team without a major trophy for more than 40 years? One of the strengths of this expertly researched biography is that such enigmas are pondered in a very Italian way, which revels in the availability of several answers rather than grasping for a single truth. In this case, Marcotti suggests managing Italy did not appeal, and points to Capello's long-standing affection for English football and his love of big cities. Other puzzles (was he really unaware that Juventus's boss was fixing matches?) receive similarly complex examination. Capello emerges as a pragmatic imitator rather than an innovator, a mix of sophisticate and martinet - padding around art galleries on his days off, but a believer in "putting a razor blade up against players' arses" if they let him down.
—— John Dugdale , GuardianExcellent... an irreverent, entertaining resume of cricket's long history
—— ChoiceBrilliantly retold
—— Mark Perryman , Socialist UnityIf you haven't bought Tom English's book about the 1990 match - The Grudge - then do yourself a favour and get it now. It's terrific
—— Alex Massie , SpectatorTom English's excellent book, The Grudge, revisits an occasion when sport and politics and ancient rivalry came together
—— Chris Foy , Daily MailTrue tales: great stuff
—— Frank Keating , The GuardianShudderingly good ... English has a rare talent for getting to the core of a person
—— Rugby WorldThatcherite politics and rugby come crashing into contact in this rich and textured account
—— i
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