Mick Rathbone’s new book ‘The Smell Of Football’ finds all the right aromas.
It’s often said that there’s a fine line between the top and bottom of football in England and that sentiment is perfectly illustrated in Mick Rathbone’s book ‘The Smell Of Football’.
Perhaps best known for his time as Head of Medical at Everton over the last few years, the book charts the career of Rathbone from his days as a precocious teenager on the books of his hometown and boyhood club Birmingham City, before moving on to a colourful playing career at both ends of the Football League.
Rathbone, who worked for The FA earlier this year with the
England U17 team, is a popular personality in football with his enthusiasm and attitude to the game and life in general. That is particularly evident throughout the book which was entirely written by him in the months following his departure from Goodison Park last May.
Affectionately known as ‘Baz’, the story shows just how tough it can be to make it in the game with Rathbone representing England at youth level and captaining his county before finding all his confidence drained during his early days as a young professional at St. Andrews.
Rathbone’s self-deprecating sense of humour is prevalent throughout, as he charts how his time with Blues took a slippery slope before a move north to Blackburn Rovers saw him pick up his career, with some amusing anecdotes and quotes from several of the football personalities he both worked with and against.
After becoming a well-liked and consistent performer for Rovers and Preston North End, it’s when Rathbone ends his career at Deepdale that he finds himself at a loss as to what he could do following his retirement.
After initially taking on a job selling menswear from the back of his car to former team-mates in Lancashire, a chance of studying physiotherapy through a PFA scheme in the early 1990s heralded another change in his career path.
An incredible spell at Halifax Town, where he combined his studies with being the club’s physio, cameo midfielder and eventually manager, provides more insight and amusement before a return to Preston sees his fortunes climb higher before he followed David Moyes to Goodison Park and the big time.
Having stuck to his methods throughout his career in the way he works and builds relationships, he’s a big hit on Merseyside, working with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Tim Cahill amongst others.
The book is one that any football fan would find honest, compelling, entertaining, informative and above all humourous, with some of the tales, trials and tribulations bringing a smile to the face.
‘The Smell Of Football’ is published in hardback by Vision Sports Publishing on 2 August.
