This is a typical football biography made in response to the image he’s had about him in the media – kinda ironic seeing as though he uses the help of a Sun journalist. It’s written in a manner that’s meant to reflect ‘his voice’ which is fairly successful. It also reflects the fact that he’s a 28 year old and so has spent the majority of his life being a child even when he was a professional footballer.
The book is interesting from the point of view of getting insight on what’s happened in his life. It promotes the ‘living it large’ lifestyle even when he attempts to show he doesn’t live that way. There’s plenty in there about going out clubbing – and loving that scene. He expresses his values clearly and wants to be taken seriously as someone who’s not a bozo kind of hombre as his fellow professionals maybe perceived. This isn’t helped though by his regaling of incidents that show him typifying the kind of bozo exploits used to stereotype footballers, i.e. out with his mates getting hammered doing crazy stuff.
As I read it I realised that people would sympathise and maybe empathise with these exploits, saying things along the lines of ‘it’s what you expect from young people’, ‘they’re just being young people’ and ‘we were all like that when we were young’. My issue with that from a Christian perspective is that this is not how we’re meant to be. Regardless of if it’s the norm or not we’re encouraged to stay away from that kind of life. I would hope that if people did read this book they’d be aware of some of these values that emerge and are just meant to reflect the way Rio is, without preaching or anything.
His relationship with Rebecca is a live-in one and promotes that kind of being committed without being committed way of doing things. While he also promotes the benefits of family life which is positive.
Of course in giving his side of the story on the incidents that have put him in the news headlines he comes out as the injured party, hard done by and to an extent you can understand the unfair treatment he believes he’s received.
It’s a safe autobiography in that no one is really dissed, even the run-in with Robbie Savage is portrayed in a fairly tame way. Paints the boss – Sir Alex Ferguson – in a positive and almost uncritical light
He has typical views on faith that you expect from someone engrained in a liberal pluralistic culture which is avoiding affiliation to one group, castigating them for the evils of the world but being attracted to some of the tenets available in the plethora available. Interestingly though, his mother is a ‘born again’ Christian married to a deacon in the church.
Rio comes across as a guy very much still in touch with his roots and wants to do stuff to help those needy in the world – the nice-guy kinda stuff. In fact the book deserves the rating because as the term mediocre suggests it’s a middle-of-the-road read – nothing sensational, but not boring. Fairly interesting but nothing engrossing and engaging.
If you’re a Man Utd fan you maybe interested in finding about one of your players and his feelings in the ups and downs he’s experienced at your club. If you’re interested in football in a tabloid level kind of way you may enjoy this book as well. If you’ve read Tony Adams’ Addicted and you’re expecting something of that nature don’t bother with this book it’s nowhere near it in terms of depth and being engaging in describing life as a top-class professional footballer. It’s not because of Adams’ problems it’s just the way Adams has gone about putting it in print. Ferdinand isn’t going to scandalise the world or cause that many thought-provoking moments. Indeed it is what it is and it’s not that much. 5/10
The book is interesting from the point of view of getting insight on what’s happened in his life. It promotes the ‘living it large’ lifestyle even when he attempts to show he doesn’t live that way. There’s plenty in there about going out clubbing – and loving that scene. He expresses his values clearly and wants to be taken seriously as someone who’s not a bozo kind of hombre as his fellow professionals maybe perceived. This isn’t helped though by his regaling of incidents that show him typifying the kind of bozo exploits used to stereotype footballers, i.e. out with his mates getting hammered doing crazy stuff.As I read it I realised that people would sympathise and maybe empathise with these exploits, saying things along the lines of ‘it’s what you expect from young people’, ‘they’re just being young people’ and ‘we were all like that when we were young’. My issue with that from a Christian perspective is that this is not how we’re meant to be. Regardless of if it’s the norm or not we’re encouraged to stay away from that kind of life. I would hope that if people did read this book they’d be aware of some of these values that emerge and are just meant to reflect the way Rio is, without preaching or anything.
His relationship with Rebecca is a live-in one and promotes that kind of being committed without being committed way of doing things. While he also promotes the benefits of family life which is positive.
Of course in giving his side of the story on the incidents that have put him in the news headlines he comes out as the injured party, hard done by and to an extent you can understand the unfair treatment he believes he’s received.
It’s a safe autobiography in that no one is really dissed, even the run-in with Robbie Savage is portrayed in a fairly tame way. Paints the boss – Sir Alex Ferguson – in a positive and almost uncritical light
He has typical views on faith that you expect from someone engrained in a liberal pluralistic culture which is avoiding affiliation to one group, castigating them for the evils of the world but being attracted to some of the tenets available in the plethora available. Interestingly though, his mother is a ‘born again’ Christian married to a deacon in the church.
Rio comes across as a guy very much still in touch with his roots and wants to do stuff to help those needy in the world – the nice-guy kinda stuff. In fact the book deserves the rating because as the term mediocre suggests it’s a middle-of-the-road read – nothing sensational, but not boring. Fairly interesting but nothing engrossing and engaging.
If you’re a Man Utd fan you maybe interested in finding about one of your players and his feelings in the ups and downs he’s experienced at your club. If you’re interested in football in a tabloid level kind of way you may enjoy this book as well. If you’ve read Tony Adams’ Addicted and you’re expecting something of that nature don’t bother with this book it’s nowhere near it in terms of depth and being engaging in describing life as a top-class professional footballer. It’s not because of Adams’ problems it’s just the way Adams has gone about putting it in print. Ferdinand isn’t going to scandalise the world or cause that many thought-provoking moments. Indeed it is what it is and it’s not that much. 5/10Shalom
da man cd
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