Please may I have my football back? - Eric Alexander

Please May I Have My Football Back? is the story of the Alexander family and how they helped run Manchester City football club from its foundation in 1880 until the club was sold to Peter Swales a century later. Written by Eric Alexander, former Chairman and current Honorary President of the club and board member throughout the glorious 60s and 70s, it contains wonderful behind-the-scenes stories detailing what it was like running one of the world's biggest football clubs at that time. Crammed full of stories about players such as Rodney Marsh, Colin Bell, Franny Lee, Mike Doyle, and Mike Summerbee, this book also tells many boardroom stories of the kind of shenanigans that go on in negotiations between clubs, how Eric's grandfather, then Chairman of Manchester City, was asked to drive the victorious Manchester United team on their tour of the city following the 1909 FA Cup final victory, his dealings with football's administrators and referees, which would often leave him incredulous and how City won bundles of silverware throughout that successful era. Eric followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father as Chairman of the club and he tells the tale in full of how he stood aside to allow the controversial Peter Swales to assume the mantle in 1972 amidst a battle within the club between manager Joe Mercer and coach Malcolm Allison that split the club and cost it the chance of further Championship glory. But there are splendid tales about City's summer tours abroad, the decision-making process behind the appointment of Joe Mercer, which saw Don Revie, Bill Shankly, and Peter Doherty all rejected, and the strange tale of the confusion over the assassination of Bobby Kennedy in 1968. There are also intriguing stories about the likes of Matt Busby, Adi Dassler (founder of Adidas), Nancy Sinatra, Billy McNeill, King George V, Josef Goebbels, Denis Law, Bobby Robson, and Trevor Francis. Please May I Have My Football Back? looks back at a bygone era, bids farewell to Maine Road in tear-jerking manner, and allows fans of all hues to understand how much the game has changed from its humble roots to the multi-million pound industry of today.