Just One of Seven: The Autobiography of Denis Smith

Denis Smith was football's real hardman in an era in which brutal defenders such as Ron "Chopper" Harris, Norman Hunter, and Tommy Smith introduced themselves to opposing center-forwards with a friendly whack on the upper thigh. A man who knew no fear, Smith's fierce tackling once earned him the accolade in the Guinness Book of Records of the most injured man in football. Despite his reputation as a hatchet man, earned partly because of his tough upbringing on the unforgiving streets of Stoke-on-Trent, Smith was an integral part of the Stoke City team which won the first major trophy in the club's history in 1972. Coveted by Leeds, Manchester United, and Brian Clough, alongside greats such as Gordon Banks, Alan Hudson, George Eastham, and Jimmy Greenhoff, the unfashionable Potters established themselves amongst the elite in the English game. Then, as his career developed into management, Smith was responsible for the birth of the careers of the likes of Andy Cole, Garth Crooks, Steve Bould, Lee Chapman, and Marco Gabbiadini. As manager, Smith helped York tot up the first ever hundred point total in Football League history, defeated Arsenal in the FA Cup and took on mighty Liverpool before moving on to Sunderland, a club who had fallen to the lowest position in their history. Dragging them up by their bootstraps, Smith led his rebuilt team back into the top flight within three years before being sacked in a season in which his side eventually reached the FA Cup final. A career managing clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, Oxford United, Bristol City, and Wrexham has provided him with an incredible breadth of experience of how to deal with footballers with problems as diverse as egos, jealousy, and a death amongst his playing squad and seen him become one of the few managers to preside over 1,000 matches in charge. Tough-talking, candid, and in places brutally honest, Smith's autobiography reveals his tough upbringing amidst the gangs of Stoke-on-Trent, how he helped save Sir Alex Ferguson's job, the stories behind encounters with the likes of Ian Botham, Eddie Jordan, Clive Lloyd, Geoff Hurst, Frank Williams, and how he nearly changed the course of former England coach Steve MacLaren's career.