Newcastle United Stole My Heart : Sixty Years in Black and White

The magnificent story of a writer's lifelong obsession with his city and its football club. When 5-year-old Michael Chaplin landed in a strange city of ships in the late 1950s, he looked in vain for something that would anchor him to it, make him feel at home. Then, one Saturday afternoon, it came: the roar of a crowd, and a football team to support. Young Michael became an avid Newcastle United fan, and has remained one-if sometimes disenchanted-for over sixty years. In this football memoir with a difference, the celebrated playwright and screenwriter tells the story of his six-decade love affair with the club, each chapter recreating an iconic Newcastle match: the players who graced the game, the managers in the dug-out, and the backdrop outside the stadium-both the changing face of Newcastle, and the ups and downs of Michael's own life and career. This vivid, thoughtful and entertaining book is an absolute must-read for all Newcastle United supporters, and indeed-given that the club is often described as everyone's second favourite-for football fans everywhere... Michael Chaplin's career includes executive roles at ITV and the BBC, and his writing credits include highly successful television series such as Monarch of the Glen, amongst others. When the boy landed in a strange city of ships as a 5-year-old in the late 1950s, he looked in vain for something that would anchor him to it. Anything that might make him feel at home. Then, one Saturday afternoon, it came-with the roar of a distant crowd and a football team to support. Michael Chaplin became an avid fan of Newcastle United and has remained so for the next sixty years and more, if latterly a somewhat disenchanted one. In this football memoir with a difference, the celebrated playwright and screenwriter tells the story of his six-decade love affair with the club in eleven chapters, each one recreating an iconic Newcastle match: the players who graced the game, the managers in the dug-out, and the backdrop outside the stadium-both the changing face of Newcastle, and the ups and downs of Michael's own life and career. This vivid, thoughtful and entertaining book is an absolute must for all Newcastle United supporters, and indeed-given that the club is often described as everyone's second favourite-for football fans everywhere...