Life with Sir Alex, By Will Tidey

The Fergie years: Flying boots and a storm in a teacup

Will Tidey is a lifelong Manchester United fan, and this book chronicles the story of Fergie's 25-year reign.

It is pleasant to be reminded of what great players Cantona, Keane, Beckham and Giggs were in their pomp; but one problem was always going to be that, unless you're a fan, it's hard to sympathise with a club that has won everything going loads of times.

Moreover, Tidey leans heavily on cliché and some of the writing is downright sloppy: Fergie's hurling of a boot at Beckham is described as "quite literally a storm in a tea-cup". Nor does one learn anything more about Ferguson than one could have learnt from the sports pages. It's a book about football; but Fever Pitch it ain't.