Gerrard: My Autobiography (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
You know how people say that when you read A Clockwork Orange, the first 100 pages are a real strain to get through? Well, the first 100 pages of Gerrard’s Autobiography are like that. The prose in the entire book is monosyllabic, full of an embarrassing level of romanticising of Liverpool FC and their supporters, and replete with sentences so short as to make Hemingway raise a bushy eyebrow, and it takes a while before you stop grinding your teeth and get used to it. What makes it worse is the knowledge that these aren’t actually Gerrard’s words; rather, this is the work of two journalists who have tried to imagine what Gerrard’s writing style would be like. They couldn’t have been more patronising. Quite honestly, you can skip the first 64 pages – all they do is paint the picture of a spoilt brat, constantly crying when mum and dad wouldn’t buy him the latest replica kit or other such banal tragedies – because once that obstacle has been overcome, you reach the stage where Gerrard’s book becomes one of those rare things in this genre: a sports autobiography where the subject isn’t afraid to get a few things off his chest. Igor Biscan is “a tit”, gamesmanship is branded solely “a foreign disease” (swiftly followed in the next paragraph by an account of Gerrard himself once diving to win a penalty), Clinton Morrison is “a complete prick”.For that reason alone, Gerrard’s book is worth a read compared to most modern-day footballers' efforts. You may well not agree with a lot of what he says – his sincere belief that Liverpool somehow have more of a right to win trophies than other clubs is a bit baffling – and he can come across as a little confused at times – the attempt to paint Liverpool as the bad guys during his flirtation with Chelsea fails completely, and you have to wonder if Steven Gerrard himself can’t make himself out to be the one sinned against in that situation, who can? – and truth be told he does come across as a little dull, but you have to acknowledge he hasn’t held back with this.
Steven Gerrard is an English football player who currently plays for Liverpool FC and captains their side. It was really interesting and entertaining to read about such an amazing player. Also, since I play a lot of football myself, it was very inspiring and innovative. For some footballers, it is easy to be successful, but for Gerrard this was not the case. It was pretty cool to read about his times at school with Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher who are other rather famous football players. When he was very young he got spotted by the youth scouts. He got spotted at only 14. He was scouted by several organizations but his true home was at Liverpool. It was nice to see that even though he was benched so many times when he started off and he played 13 games without scoring, he still got chances to play. He scored the winning goal in the Uefa Cup and won Young Player of the Year that year. Gerrard had to go through so much, his parents got divorced in 2002. He didn't score or play well for a little while probably because he was saddened by his parents decision. There was a time where Gerrard had got dropped because he got injured so often but he still never gave up and performed everytime he got the chance. I really learnt a lot from the book as I play football aswell. I recommend this to anybody who follows football or plays the sport.
What do You think about Gerrard: My Autobiography (2007)?
This book comes under the category "an award winner"1. I decided to read this book because I am huge Liverpool fan, and I am interested in football autobiographies. I am reading another football book because I find them very easy to read, because I love the sport.2. A person I found interesting in this book was Steven Gerrard. His desire and determination has crafted him to become one of the all time England greats, and a captain that will never die at Liverpool football club. He is a leader and has a winning mentality like no other person on the planet. 3. A quote that I found interesting was. "It's to easy to blame people in football." I found this interesting because this quote sums up his attitude as a person. Work hard, never take the easy way out of things. The book really shows you what made Steven become such a great player, and I think this attitude is one of those things.4. Just like the other football autobiography I read, this book has shown me that you need to be brutal and hard to make it as a footballer. If you are weak mentally than you are just as weak physically. It has made me think about what I need to change in order to become a better player and even a better person.
—Dane Oram
Shameful but true fact: I bought the book in the evening, then was up from 12-6 reading it, with about an hour of trying-to-sleep time in between. Why does a book with suspect grammar and too many uses of the phrase "top man" make a good enough read to keep me going on past the edge of exhaustion? I don't know the answer to that! In any case, an altogether honest and charming autobiography, very Stevie in all aspects. A tip: while at the bookstore or library, it might be tough trying to withstand the embarrassment of holding a book with Stevie's face all over the cover, but this will only build character and is totally worth it.
—sam
En tant que fan du Liverpool FC, et bien évidemment de notre Captain Stevie G, je me suis enfin décidée à commander son autobiographie.J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce livre, notamment car on ressent la détermination de Steven, sa frustration, sa joie ect, aux moments venus. Il n'hésite pas à dire ce qu'il pense, ce que je trouve vraiment intéressant. De plus j'ai aimé découvrir son point de vue personnel et en apprendre plus à son sujet.J'ai été agréablement surprise.Cependant j'ai dû arrêter un peu cette lecture car j'ai trouvé qu'elle était vraiment répétitive par moment et je ressentais le besoin de m'arrêter un peu et de lire autre chose. Gros plus pour les photos à l'intérieur du livre!
—Ynwa
