"Ah'm tellin' thee"
.. a story that just had to be told
Tommy Banks....This is a story that is different to the plethora of footballers' autobiographies that cram the bookshelves of the High Street retailers ?
“Ah’m tellin thee” is more than a biography of a very talented, very proud, dignified and extremely honourable man. Transporting the reader to a time when playing professional football was no more than a safer alternative to the industrial dangers of a life down the mines or on the factory floor. Early in Tommy's career as a part time professional he continued to work on the coal face. Every page brings Tommy Banks to life culminating in him feeling like a best friend.
A man who recognised the wrongs of the footballers' contracts in the post-war era and,in his own words and dialect,was determined to "purrit reet". The football players of the post Sky era would do well to take a trip down memory lane with this book to discover the respect the likes of Tommy Banks deserve from the footballing youth of today.
With a foreword by Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers Association and contibutions by Sir Bobby Charlton and Francis Lee this book is a must read for players, football fans and historians alike.
Tommy had a lot to say on and off the field but knew his football and was a master of his craft. If you had any soft spot in your make up he'd exploit it, few if any got the better of him. Every time I see him I always try to think of something fun to say but he always beats me to it, a lovely man.
Sir Bobby Charlton