Left Foot Forward

Garry Nelson's account of a run-of-the-mill season with Charlton Athletic instantly established itself as a soccer classic. It reveals more about the up-and-down reality of being a football player than any number of star autobiographies. Its focus is on the overcrowded treatment room, comeback games for the stiffs in front of a few fans, and the occasional highs before the next low strikes you from behind. Told with wit, intelligence, and insight, it is a riveting story as we come to appreciate one man's efforts to earn a living playing the game he loves and to which he has contributed so much.