"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
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Maurice Watkins, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2024
At first glimpse, a book by a lawyer who was a director of Manchester United, sounds a bit boring. This book is anything but! Maurice Watkins was involved in so many of the big moments which have shaped the modern Manchester United - from the recruitment of Alex Ferguson to the club’s flotation on the stock market to the signing of many of the Manchester United legends. As a lawyer he kept detailed notes of the all the meetings.
He was a key player in the various tribunals and court cases arising from Eric Cantona’s Kung Fu kick. The book even reveals the Watkins helped Cantona express in grammatical English his famous pronouncement on why seagulls follow trawlers.
It was interesting to read the inside story of familiar events but also accounts of events that I had quite forgotten – like the attempt by Sky TV and Rupert Murdoch to buy Manchester United. He comments with considerable irony that Sky and Murdoch were considered unsuitable whereas the Glazers were welcomed.
Beyond Manchester United he details his roles with The FA, Premier League, PFA, UEFA, FIFA etc. At times one wonders how he fitted it all in.
A really interesting book.