Name of book?
“What’s It All About, Alfie” by Eric Skeels.
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Isn’t that a song by Cilla Black?!
Don’t get me started!
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Ok, we’ll talk about that later. So, what’s it about?
It’s about 218 pages long!! (I’ve been waiting to do that joke for 15 years!!)
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Really? REALLY??
Ok, it’s the autobiography of Mr Versatile and Mr Dependable Eric Skeels, Stoke City’s record appearance holder, who made over 600 appearances in an 18 year career at the Victoria Ground.
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Is it true Spurs were after him?
Yes, it’s true, but manager Tony Waddington pulled out all the stops to keep him “tied down at Stoke”.
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Were ropes and manacles involved?
Nope, Waddington got him…a mortgage! (So, pretty much like ropes & manacles!) The lengths that naughty Waddo would go to.
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Well, I’ve never heard that of Waddington!
You wait! What is particularly good is that this book is co-written with Stoke-author-for-the-stars Simon Lowe, and what he doesn’t know about The Potters isn’t worth knowing.
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Does he know about Cilla Black?
Don’t get me started!
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Ok, we’ll talk about that later. So, does it have all the great Stokie tales of the classic 1970s era, with all that crazy Greenhoff and Hudson stuff?!
Absolutely! But as Simon knows this is a well-worn path, he has dug deep to give us new stories and a fresh experience from Eric, making this book a fascinating read.
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Tell me more!
What’s particularly interesting is that Eric joined Stoke before Waddington was manager, and is able to contrast Stoke in the 1950s doldrums with the roller-coaster excitement of Stoke in the swinging 60s and 70s.
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Doldrums?! So, how humble were Eric’s upbringing?
He was from Eccles, home of the cake. You can’t get humblier than that. He was offered a trial at Stockport, but even though it was only a few miles away, he didn’t know where it was! He’d never travelled that far before. As far as he was concerned, it was somewhere near London.
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Did he know where London was?
Somewhere near Stockport, apparently.
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Tell me even more, grandad!
Eric relates the start of the new signings in the early 1960s (including Stan Matthews), promotion to the top flight, cup finals (1964 League Cup Final), more new players (Gordon Banks, George Eastham), playing against the greatest players in the world (Best, Moore,…Harry Burrows…), more cup finals (1972), more new players (Hurst, Hudson,…Harry Burrows…), Europe… Anyway, you get the idea of that!
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But does he outlast Tony Waddington?
Almost, he fell a year short of Waddo’s 17 years in charge. The wheels were falling off, so he left and joined a nearby club.
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Was it Stockport?
Close, it was the Seattle Sounders.
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That’s not technically “nearby”? Or “close”.
Would Eric have known?!
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Naughty! So, should we buy this book?
Definitely!!!
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You always say that!!
Look, this is a wonderfully enjoyable book. It covers more about Stoke than Denis Smith’s & Terry Conroy’s tomes (also co-written by Lowe). It is also arguably the most readable. His childhood stories are particularly revealing and moving without being mawkish.
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But does HE know who Cilla Black is?
Don’t get me started!
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I AM getting you started!
Ok. The title of the book refers to the song Alfie. Eric had a dog called Alfie that he used to bring to training sessions. So, Eric’s Stoke teammates used to call him Alfie too.
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So?
Well, in this book it says the song was best known for being sung by…Dionne Warwick. However, it was originally written for & sung by Cilla Black. In the Alfie movie, the song is actually sung by Cher or Millicent Martin, but it is BEST KNOWN FOR BEING A CILLA BLACK SONG!
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And Dionne Warwick?
Warwick released a cover of it the following year & it was only a minor hit in the States (a former colony that’s to the west of Stockport).
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So, does Eric Skeels’ nickname come from the song Alfie?
Nope!
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Does Eric know Dionne Warwick?
Nope!
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Well, I’m glad we’ve sorted that out!
So, don’t waste money on socks or aftershave for Christmas gifts. GET THIS BOOK!
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I bet Dionne Warwick has a copy!
Don’t get me started!!!
