by Neil Young
First published 2004
Neil Young stands on the pitch after scoring the winning goal in the 1969 FA Cup Final, another crucial moment in Manchester City's golden era under Mercer and Allison. The tall striker with the deadly left foot has just delivered again when it matters most. But by 1972, Young walks away from his boyhood club for good, leaving behind the glory years that saw him score in every major match. His retirement comes early, just four years after City's greatest triumphs. The decades that follow bring tragedy in equal measure to his former success. Young sinks to depths that match the heights he once reached at Maine Road. His story becomes one of personal struggle, far removed from the cheering crowds and match-winning goals. Yet like the comeback victories he once orchestrated on the field, Young begins to rebuild his life with the same determination that made him City's most reliable performer when the stakes were highest.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, sports, biography-memoir
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate
Tropes: comeback, personal-growth
Setting: Manchester, Maine Road
Period: 1969, 1972
220 pages · Hardcover · Empire Publications