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Lionel Messi and The Art of Living Andy West Pitch Publishing 2018 Hardback 223pp £16.99 The greatest player of all time? If not, then certainly up there on the podium. Someone who can turn matches, competitions, seasons, and, seemingly, with an innate, instinctive talent. Is it really that simple? Or is there an underlying framework of processes and approach that can be analysed and possibly applied to other activities? This book attempts to understand how Messi has got to the status he has, delving into his own development along with the manner in which the output of those alongside him has been maximised. It isn’t a chronology of his career rather a dissection of what has made it so successful. Assisted by interviews with just seven people, only two from football, the author provides a description of the persona that is Lionel Messi that helps the reader understand why it is like that - and are there lessons that can be taken from it. This isn’t a management textbook, or a treatise on leadership, but it could hold its own against publications that set themselves up as such. It uses examples from Messi’s career to draw out approaches to life and work that could be applied by or to others. At a superficial level Messi appears to turn up and just be magnificent, something that most of us would struggle to do in our own lives. That level of excellence is something that has been achieved by building on natural ability with attitudes and outlooks on life and challenge that many others could adopt. A readily understood blend of footballing situations, matches, and individuals together with a disassembling of how outcomes have been arrived at makes this a stimulating read. There are elements of philosophy, insofar as they illuminate how the performances of Messi are affected by an outlook on life and the author has never let go of their practical application. Messi has worked incredibly hard both mentally and physically to be where he is today. He has not achieved the complete success that he would have liked ( a World Cup win has been out of his reach) and he appreciates that there is still a joy to be had in the “workplace”. Disregard the rewards that come his way financially. He is still an employee who comprehends the responsibilities of turning up for work: not only has he an excellent appearance record, he knows that those around him both contribute to and benefit from his contributions. (I found the chapter titled “The Reciprocal Altruist” one of the most enjoyable and readily applicable to elsewhere.) Failure and setbacks, dealing with personalities and the demands that the expectation of others place upon him, changing colleagues and managers, preparing for retirement; all positions most of us will recognise. The manner in which Messi copes with them, uses them to advantage on occasion, and maintains an apparent equilibrium on and off the field is in itself worthy of examination. The extra bonus of Andy West’s study is the lessons that can be extended to a wider arena than football. It is, indeed, about “the art of living”.

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Ben Futcher was on the touch line yesterday , Asst Mgr at Mansfield

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You’re too far gone Andy.....

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Accepted .

Sorry, i’ll have the programme...

Don’t know what the fuss is about. i sit in the MSU and if I have to move for one match it doesn’t bother me. Plenty of space. And I really can cope with a week’s notice - I doubt if the trauma will take that long to get over...

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True. But that's possibly because they play at Prenton Park..

Don’t we say that no one individual is bigger than the club? I’m in s group of 10 Main Standers , ages 35 to late 60s, all been going for donkeys years, dislike much of what AL seems to be doing, or not doing, but will be there Saturday supporting the team. And any protest or boycott needs convincing people like us that it’s needed.

Coach breaking down? Wouldn’t have been an away trip on Barlows in the 60s if that didn’t happen.

Oh dear.

That’s not what I was talking about. Jorvik said that he wasn’t going. BigDog indicated that he disagreed with that stance. Both are entitled to their own opinion- and shouldn’t be outraged if someone disagrees with it. I felt “f off for judging people” was ott. Some of us will boycott, some of us will continue attending.

But if you proclaim (probably a bit strong) that you are not going, and give your reasons ( “a disconnect with the club”), then you have to expect a critique of them surely?

Or why should he ?

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Goal! The Ted MacDougall Story Neil Vachter & Ted MacDougall Pitch Publishing 2018 Paperback 381pp £12.99 A player who scored 308 times in 617 matches is entitled to a soubriquet and “Super Mac” was certainly appropriately applied to Ted MacDougall as he racked up the goals in the 1960s and 70s. His was a career that saw him succeed at nearly every level and club. Whether as part of a striking duo, as with Phil Boyer at Bournemouth and Norwich, or operating more alone, he invariably delivered the goods. Ironically his first three seasons as a league player saw York twice have to apply for re-election to the Fourth Division, and Bournemouth relegated. However, after that his “jinx effect” disappeared and he became part of the Cherries’ promotion line up and scored goals at a rapid pace in the Third Division. From 1970 to 1972 his record was 96 goals in 102 games, including nine in one match in the FA Cup. The 70s was a period when top flight clubs had no problems in signing players from further down the league and Manchester United paid £195,000 to take him to Old Trafford. The title of the chapter in his book is “Nightmare at the Theatre of Dreams” and that sums it up. Signed by Frank O’Farrell and jettisoned by Tommy Docherty after 26 games, MacDougall then moved to another club where he became a legend - Norwich City. Taking off from before he reclaimed his reputation as one of the country’s top strikers and maintained it after further moves to Southampton and back to Bournemouth. He makes no bones about what he saw as his role in the team: to score goals. The concept of a workhorse, covering the pitch is not one that sits easily, but he relished learning about how to do his job better. When John Bond, manager at Bournemouth, said that he had the best striker in the land, Bond made it clear that the rest of the team had the responsibility to get the ball to Ted. Then, after hours honing movement, finding space and working on angles, Mac would more often than not put the ball in the net. Despite his time at a “top club” not working out he maintained a fantastic strike rate in teams with so-called less able players. In all four divisions he appeared near, if not at, the top of the goal scorer charts. Whilst capped just six times by Scotland he still managed three goals, a 50% strike rate that mirrors his total career. Super Mac is now long retired, but he is not short of opinions on the modern game. Like many former centre forwards he regrets the “softening” of the game, with defenders not allowed to make rugged challenges and almost yearns for the return of Gordon McQueen and his like! There’s a continuing relationship with several of his former clubs despite him now living in the USA. Returns to Portsmouth, York, Norwich and, of course, Bournemouth, prompt him to offer a perspective on their stories between his time and more recently.

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