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Details
Title: Flawed Genius – Scottish Football's Self-Destructive Mavericks
Author: Stephen McGowan
Published: Nov 2009
Synopsis
As Rangers manager Walter Smith once put it, Scottish football supporters have always liked their footballing superstars to come complete with very human flaws. But what is it that makes the seriously flawed footballer so intriguing?
From Hugh Gallacher, the Wembley Wizard who died of shame, to George Best, Hibernian's ageing lothario, to the Three Amigos – Celtic's trio of wayward overseas mercenaries – the great entertainers have always come with baggage. Never before have the individual stories of these mavericks of Scottish football's past been collated and told in one place. 'Flawed Genius' does just that.
Through the words of the men themselves – allied to testimonies from friends and close colleagues – McGowan recounts the in-depth stories of Gascoigne and Goram, Best and Baxter, Charnley and Cadette and the equally wayward figures of Paolo Di Canio, Andy Ritchie, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Willie Johnston and Willie Hamilton. Here, together for the first time, the colourful contributions of each and every player in the Scottish game's rich tapestry of flawed geniuses are brought vividly back to life.
Review
(Review by TheHumanTorpedo May 2012)
A miserable November evening 2009. As Scotland trudged off the Cardiff pitch the whistles, abuse and boos rained down from the emptying stands. Outclassed by an understrength and youthful Wales side the drab Dark Blues could consider themselves fortunate to escape with only a 3-0 drubbing. Another miserable chapter in the history of Scottish football had been written and all hope of a happy ending was fading fast.
Scottish club football offers little respite from the gloom. From financial implosions to European humiliations, the SPL is a joke to everyone bar those unfortunate supporters who are paying for the privilege of watching the national game dying on its arse. Anyone looking south in search of a glimmer of hope would also be bitterly disappointed. Where once the superpowers of England's top league was stockpiled with talismatic Scots there is now little more than a handful of Caledonians plying their trade in the Premiership – the vast majority with club's whose only goal is avoiding relegation.
But it wasn't always like this. There was a time when a former Fife miner tormented and humbled England's world champions underneath their own fabled Twin Towers. There was a time when a chronically shy guy from Chapelhall inspired Hibernian to a famous triumph over the legendary Real Madrid. There was a time when the goals of a cheeky Glaswegian striker had fired unfashionable West Ham to the brink of the English title.
While Scottish football (and its footballers) may not have always been universally successful it has produced and attracted countless performers who entertained, bewitched and enthralled their adoring public. These were the guys you wanted to be in the playground. These were the guys who would be the talk of every boozer on a Saturday night. But while Gods on the football pitch, in their private lives these heroes saw their weaknesses and mortality all too frequently and painfully exposed.
It is these characters then that provide the fascinating subject matter for Stephen McGowan's excellent 'Flawed Genius – Scottish Football's Self-Destructive Mavericks'. Until recently Scotland has never been short of such characters. So much so that you would need several volumes to record the talents and misdeeds of them all. With this in mind McGowan has focused on those players he feels failed to reap the success and glory their ability should have demanded.
It would have been easy to churn out the usual after dinner tales of sex, drugs and goals but thankfully the author has produced something much more substantial and rewarding than the usual superficial glamorous recollections of bets, booze and birds. That's not to say that 'Flawed Genius' doesn't contain such tales, it does but this time – thanks to candid interviews with many of the players featured, their families and their former team-mates – we get something much more insightful and brutally honest.
We hear of the iconic, brilliant but ultimately under-achieving Jim Baxter. Despite his hero status with the self-proclaimed 'establishment club' Baxter possessed a loathing of authority and the Fifer relished every opportunity he had to stick two fingers up to the pompous officials at Ibrox and the SFA. We also learn when it came to social occasions 'Slim Jim' preferred the company of his Celtic Park rivals to his Ibrox team-mates.
High profile characters Andy Goram and Paul Gascoigne – with their equally high profile off-field problems – also feature while the pantomime farce that was George Best's 11 months at Hibernian makes eye-brow raising reading. But aside from these superstars there is plenty of space devoted to lesser known characters such as Willie Hamilton – and 'Flawed Genius' is all the better for it.
The brilliant Hamilton was a Hearts and Hibs legend who Jock Stein rated as the most complete footballer he had ever worked with. When asked by Pat Stanton to describe Willie, the Big Man said: "Think of Kenny Dalglish. If you think he's a good player you should have seen Willie Hamilton". Sadly Willie was a crushingly shy individual who suffered from a severe lack of self-confidence. Unless he had a ball at his feet Willie simply thought of himself as little more than worthless.
For Celtic fans 'Flawed Genius' is packed with points of interest. There are chapters on George Connelly and the 'idle idol' Andy Ritchie. We also follow Frank McAvennie on his bizarre journey from St Mirren to Durham Prison via West Ham, Wogan, Stringfellowes, cocaine and Celtic's double winning Centenary team – learning along the way the depressing fact that Kevin Kyle has more Scotland caps than Macca.
The phenomenon that is Chic Charnley is also revealed in all its madness. The ultimate underachiever Chic was a man who would have given his right arm – and probably that of his immediate opponent as well – to have played for Celtic. The same could not be said of Paolo Di Canio, Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Jorge Cadete – 'The Three Amigos'. The chapter dedicated to these much vilified yet compelling characters reveal that ego and greed can be every bit as detrimental to a successful career as a fondness for the bookies or the bevvy.
In 'Flawed Genius' Stephen McGowan has produced a truly fascinating, informative and hugely enjoyable look at some of the most colourful and controversial characters ever to grace Scottish football. He does so not by rehashing well worn caricatures but by providing a fresh and honest look at the individuals featured and the complex and dark demons they faced. Preferring honesty to sensationalism doesn't dilute the ability of 'Flawed Genius' to entertain. McGowan knows that when it comes to the stories of men like Best, McAvennie, Charnley and Gascoigne that truth and reality will always be far more gripping than any hyperbole.
Jack Kerouac once wrote: “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"
It's fair to say the Beat author wasn't giving too much thought to Scottish football when he was furiously typing away at the opening chapter of 'On The Road'. But his words express the intense fascination we all share for the maverick. Those who won't – or can't – stick to the rules. Scottish football desperately needs a 'Flawed Genius' right now.
For any follower of Scottish football 'Flawed Genius' is simply a must read.
Product Details
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd (30 Oct 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1841588423
ISBN-13: 978-1841588421
Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 16.2 x 2.8 cm
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