Scottish Football: It's Not All About The Old Firm, by Scottish Daily Express sports writer Scott Burns, goes behind the scenes to tell the stories behind the triumphs of teams other than Celtic and Rangers in the last 30-or-so years.
Following the book's recent publication, Aberdeen-Mad takes a look...
Although not specifically about Aberdeen FC, this book stands out as being of interest to Dons fans in two important ways before you even open it.
Firstly, its strapline emphasises that the focus is not on the Old Firm (although, annoyingly, it has to mention them on the bloody cover to do so). Although we dyed-in-the-wool sheep shaggers love our club monogamously, unlike the rabid imbeciles who follow the gruesomes we are aware that there are other clubs in Scotland apart from our own, so we take an interest in their triumphs over the forces of evil too.
And it must be said that, despite AFC having won a bawhair from f-all in 20 years, the book's scope will certainly cover our most successful period of all. Bonus.
The second reason why Dons fans naturally gravitate to this tome is because the main image on the aforementioned cover is that of Willie Miller, arms aloft, holding the European Cup Winners Cup one-handed - you know, the image that's burnt into the retina of every Dons fan in the world.
Once inside, the first thing you notice after the introduction where author Burns outs himself as a Motherwell fan (frankly, if he'd said he was a true blue berr byraway, or a thupporter of thewtickfootbawclub, the book would not have worked, and would've been shut so fast that it'd measure on the Richter Scale), is the number of clubs that have actually won something in the last 30 years.
There is a chapter dedicated to each club's triumph (we had so many in season '83/'84 that they had to be combined into one chapter...) and, curiously, a chapter about Inverness Caley Thistle's rise to the SPL, which makes 24 in total - I'm ashamed to admit that I assumed there were much fewer non-OF successes in the last 32 years.
Firstly the good bit: eight of the first 10 chapters are about the glorious Reds. At least, I thought it was the good bit but there was in fact a problem. I have read about the Dons' dream decade so many times - indeed, once very recently when I reviewed Richard Gordon's excellent Glory In Gothenburg - that I immediately became hyper-critical about the way that the book is written. If you're not reading something that is news to you, then this is an easy thing to do I guess.
And with that in mind, the book is disappointing. It is painfully obvious that the author is a newspaper journalist when you read it. The prose is written in a newspaper style; the flow is erratic, it's heavy with quotes that seem shovelled onto the page with not much thought put to why they are there, and there is some infuriating repetition - throughout the entire book it seems that everyone spoken to can only "recall", "explain", or "admit". They don't remember, say, reply, add, tell, laugh, grin, chuckle, whisper, or confide. McGhee recalled. Harper recalled. McLeish recalled. Strachan admitted, then recalled.
Once you have grudgingly acquainted yourself with the tabloid prose and, ironically, particularly in the chapters not about the Dons, the book becomes a worthy read. It jogs several memories about successful non-Old Firm teams' triumphs, including the Ian Ferguson-inspired St Mirren cup win in '87; the epic cup final between Motherwell and Dundee Utd in '91; and Killie's cup win at Ibrox in '97.
As indicated above, the book is thick with quotes from the people involved in the stories being told - as alluded to, they are a bit scattergun but it can't be denied that valuable insight is gained from reading what the players and managers have to say about their achievements - even though you occasionally have to read between the lines.
There are also some great pics from the Daily Express's archive, and the only disappointment is that they couldn't have been larger and more spaced out; instead having a crowded appearance with some barely over thumbnail size.
All in all, Scottish Football: It's Not All About The Old Firm is a worthwhile volume and had clearly required a fair deal of research to piece together. Plus, being authored by an Aberdeen-based Steelman, the desire to write the book was perhaps provoked by passion. That said, it is not the most coherent read, but makes up for that with its comprehensiveness.
It is a real shame, though, that some of that passion isn't present in the writing. Even the section on Motherwell's stirring Scottish Cup victory is written in an entirely detached style, as if the unbiased reporter's emotional shackles were ever-present during the gestation of the book, and the fitba-supporter/author forgot to take them off.
Frankly, however, it is a good thing that books like this are being written and published. Despite the actual lies from the governing bodies and media trolls like James Traynor, there is life in Scottish Football outwith the Old Firm - and this is 27 chapters of proof. Not a single Scottish fitba fan should be disappointed if they find this in their Christmas stocking.
Scottish Football: It's Not All About The Old Firm, written by Scott Burns and published by Pitch Publishing, is out now in paperback priced £12.99.