At last a Wright good read about the Beckham of his day

Football books for Christmas

Billy Wright was a right gent. Those of us who had the good fortune to know him a little never knew much about his problems; never wanted to. We prefer to remember him as the first footballer to win 100 caps and the media colleague who never pulled rank. He captained Wolves in their golden era of the Fifties and England at the depths of humiliation when losing their unbeaten home record to Hungary in 1953. He was also in some ways the David Beckham of his day.

In his warm, personal biography Billy Wright: A Hero for All Seasons (Robson Books, £16.95), Norman Giller understandably tries hard to link Wright with Beckham. Wright married one of the Beverley Sisters, Joy, and though there was a good deal of publicity about it at the time, it was not in quite the same league as that surrounding David and Victoria.

Giller details Wright's 105 international matches but really gets to grips with the man himself when pointing out that when manager of Arsenal he brought together and developed many of the club's first Double-winning side but was sacked before he got any of the credit. After retirement this most agreeable of champions went into television administration, but it meant moving to Birmingham on his own, which led to a drink problem after years of self-discipline. He beat the addiction and called it his greatest victory.

If a fitting tribute to Wright was overdue, even more so has there been a need to explain the debt sport owes to its first great administrator, Charles W Alcock. Keith Booth calls his book The Father of Modern Sport (The Parrs Wood Press, £16.95), which may seem expansive but is justified. Alcock has been the subject of several biographies but none so comprehensive. He was an extraordinary all-round sportsman who captained the Wanderers in the first FA Cup final and appeared in the earliest England national teams. He also played cricket for Essex, yet above all he was a remarkable organiser.

Because of him county cricket became established. He organised the first Test against Australia and as secretary of the Football Association for 25 years saw in professionalism. At the same time he was secretary of Surrey County Cricket Club and a journalist.

Several years ago it was often an unpleasant duty to warn that the formation of the Premier division could, and probably would, lead to rampant greed and eventually the cutting away of football's grass roots. Justification is now all too easy to find. Professional football is in a mess and the reasons are painstakingly, painfully detailed in Simon Banks's Going Down: Football In Crisis (Mainstream Publishing, £15.99). Banks's conclusion is that "football's crisis is deep and wide-ranging, but it need not be terminal". He reckons there are enough wise people in the game to pull it through. The current problem in finding a replacement for Adam Crozier at the FA and the League's continuing turmoil perhaps suggests otherwise.

In financial terms, British football has had to pay heavily for the huge influx of foreign players. Perhaps not so much in transfer fees but personal contracts. In terms of improving the quality of domestic football, however, their contribution has been priceless. And not only players. With their intelligence, tactical awareness and even an ability to speak grammatical English, Arsène Wenger and Gérard Houllier put home-born managers to shame.

The French Revolution by the Independent on Sunday's Alex Hayes, in collaboration with Daniel Ortelli and Xavier Rivoire (Mainstream Publishing, £15.99), absorbingly plots 10 years of English football after Cantona. This is an optmistic book concluding with the view that by playing with the best of the French players, the English ones, especially those who have recently established themselves, have moved the national team to the verge of becoming "the new France". We wish.

Murray Walker's autobiography Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken (CollinsWillow, £18.99) is, unless this reviewer is very much mistaken, going to be a hugely popular Christmas present for motor sports enthusiasts who hold Murray dear and know that his dedication and enthusiasm ought to be, but will not be, remembered for much longer than his wonderful gaffes.

A few curious, worthy or just quirky stocking fillers this Christmas:

Scum Airways (by John Sugden, Mainstream Publishing, £9.99). A look into football's growing black economy.

Niall Quinn: The Autobiography (with Tom Humphries, Headline £17.99). Refreshing confessions of a player troubled by the greed of his fellow professionals.

One Night At The Palace (Alan Wilkie with George Miller, The Parrs Wood Press, £16.95). A referee's tale by the man who sent off Cantona when he famously attacked a spectator.

Ron Manager The Autobiography: Marvellous Isn't It? (Paul Whitehouse and Jim Reilly, Headline, £14.99). No.