Love Affairs and Marriage

Howard Kendall is one of the greats of English football management and among the defining figures in the history of Everton Football Club. A schoolboy prodigy footballer, he first joined the club from Preston in 1967, forming - with Alan Ball and Colin Harvey -one of the most distinguished midfield partnerships ever witnessed in the English game.He won the League Championship in 1970 and later captained the club. He returned to Goodison as manager in 1981, reviving Everton as they embarked on the most successful period in their history.



Everton, Kendall said, was like a marriage, while other clubs he served - including Athletic Bilbao and Manchester City -were mere love affairs.



Now he lifts the lid on a 30-year career that established his reputation as a managerial and playing legend.



Forthright, revealing and often very funny, Kendall's long-awaited autobiography reveals his epic love affair with the game he served with such distinction, tracing the highs and lows, the characters, the laughter, the tears, and the many triumphs.



Born in Ryton-on-Tyne in 1946, Howard Kendall started his illustrious football career with Preston North End as a 15-year-old wing half and in 1964 became the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup Final. He signed for Everton in 1967 and became one of the club's greatest players, winning the League Championship and serving as captain. He later played for Birmingham City and Stoke City, before turning to management with Blackburn Rovers. In 1981 he embarked on the first of three managerial spells at Everton, twice winning the League Championship, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup. Kendall was also twice crowned Manager of the Year. He left to join Athletic Bilbao in 1987, interspersing spells back at Goodison with interludes at Manchester City, Notts County and Sheffield United. Named Everton's Manager of the Millennium, he remains a popular face at Goodison Park and writes a weekly column for the Liverpool Echo.