• The Magazine
  • Interviews
  • Current
  • Nostalgia
  • Legends
  • European
  • World
  • Log in
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • The Magazine
  • Interviews
  • Current
  • Nostalgia
  • Legends
  • European
  • World
  • Log in
  • Subscribe

Book review: The Bald Facts – the David Armstrong autobiography

Pink by Pink
August 1, 2016
in Review
Book review: The Bald Facts – the David Armstrong autobiography

REVIEW BY MARK GODFREY – EDITOR

Tell people of a certain age that Southampton were once yearly contenders for honours in English football and you’re likely to be laughed out of town. Cup semi-finals, First Division runners-up, European qualification, Lawrie McMenemy’s Saints were one the hottest tickets around in the early to mid-1980s. The silver-tongued Geordie somehow persuaded some of the game’s most glamorous names to mosey on down to the south coast to express themselves in front of that quirkiest and most intimidating of sporting arenas, The Dell; Kevin Keegan, Alan Ball, Frank Worthington and Peter Shilton to name but a few. They were augmented by a host of homegrown talent as Southampton, in their iconic Patrick kits, constantly threatened the established hierarchy.

Bald-Facts

One man who was just as important to that excellent team as any other signing was the easily recognisable but vastly underappreciated midfielder David Armstrong. His autobiography, The Bald Facts – written with the help of Pat Symes – tell his story, from County Durham schoolboy dreaming of life as a professional sportsmen, to realising his ambitions in the upper echelons of English league football.

Armstrong, a boyhood Sunderland fan, made his name at their North East rivals Middlesbrough in the 1970s, most notably under the management of Big Jack Charlton who made the Teesside club one of the most feared in the land during a spell which coincided with the emergence of a certain Graeme Souness at Ayresome Park. Even here, barely out of school, he became a vital cog in his team’s wheel, playing and scoring on a regular basis. He even holds the remarkable record of 358 consecutive league and cup appearances while playing for Boro between 1972 and 1980. It is this ability and willingness to play, regardless of physical condition and potential damage that comes to bite Armstrong hard in later life…

Eventually, bigger clubs come sniffing around him but he opts for the excitement of McMenemy’s Southampton project to continue his development in the game. There, just like at Middlesbrough, Armstrong became a firm terrace favourite and a manager’s dream; reliable, dependable and loyal.

His feats earned him fleeting interest from England but the late Bobby Robson seemed to have very little interest in Armstrong, perhaps not knowing exactly how to fit him into his preferred system and perhaps feeling safer picking the more headline names like Glenn Hoddle and Ray Wilkins.

By the time Armstrong reached his early 30s, his career was effectively finished, a culmination of injuries which rendered him virtually immobile and a regular under the surgeon’s care to this day.

Away from the insights into the footballing side of Armstrong’s life, he is remarkably candid about his private life and the breakdown of his first marriage and the estrangement from his daughter. Such lurid gossip would have made the tabloids and social media in a heartbeat in this day and age but was a well kept secret back when Armstrong was at his peak as a goalscoring midfielder.

Sadly, he has – like so many ex-pros – fallen on difficult times financially, something else he is unashamed to point out. Understandably, he is envious without too much bitterness, of the money even the most average of Premier League player can now squeeze out of their careers compared to 30 years ago.

You don’t have to be a Boro or Southampton fan to appreciate this book. You don’t even have to have remembered Armstrong in his heyday, although it would probably help especially when you remember just how good a player he was without ever getting the recognition he perhaps deserved.

This book offers a rarely seen view into both the public and private life of a sporting hero whose life was not all champagne and racehorses, but missing mortgage payments, custody hearings and medical mishaps.

YOU CAN BUY THE BALD FACTS – THE DAVID ARMSTRONG AUTOBIOGRAPHY FROM PITCH PUBLISHING HERE AND AMAZON HERE

 

Related Posts

‘71/’72: Football’s Greatest Season? By Daniel Abrahams – book review
Latest

‘71/’72: Football’s Greatest Season? By Daniel Abrahams – book review

When the Football Pink asked for someone to review ‘71/’72 by Daniel Abrahams – in which he argues that...

by Dave Proudlove
December 10, 2021
0
Book extract: Is it Just Me or is Modern Football S**t ?
Latest

Book extract: Is it Just Me or is Modern Football S**t ?

Written by Jim Keoghan, author of 'How to Run a Football Club: The Story of Our National Game', and...

by Graham Hollingsworth
July 31, 2021
0
Book review: Black Boots and Football Pinks by Daniel Gray
Review

Book review: Black Boots and Football Pinks by Daniel Gray

It seems only right that when we were approached to review a book with our name in its title...

by Pink
December 2, 2019
0
Book review: The Quiet Fan by Ian Plenderleith
Review

Book review: The Quiet Fan by Ian Plenderleith

REVIEW BY DAVE MARPLES - @DavidMarples Who and what is a Quiet Fan? In a memoir recounting the combined...

by Pink
December 2, 2019
0
Load More
Next Post
Fair games and gambles – Torquay’s latest fight for survival

Fair games and gambles – Torquay’s latest fight for survival

Latest

Bengals vs Chiefs Betting Odds, Spread, Predictions & Key Match Info: NFL Championship Game Summary (2023)

by Jamie Ingram
January 27, 2023
0
0

It’s time for the 2023 AFC Championship – and we have Bengals vs Chiefs for the third year in a...

Read more

WWE Royal Rumble Betting Odds, News, Predictions & Picks (Fans Believe In The Rock)

January 27, 2023
0
football odds UK

Best Football Betting Odds in the UK: Top UK Sites With the Best Football Odds in the UK

January 25, 2023
0
Open Sud de France 2023 Betting Odds: Latest Open Sud de France Betting Lines, Tips, Bonuses, and More

Open Sud de France 2023 Betting Odds: Latest Open Sud de France Betting Lines, Tips, Bonuses, and More

January 23, 2023
0
UFC 283: Deiveson Figueiredo vs Brandon Moreno Fight Preview, Odds, Predictions, and More

UFC 283: Deiveson Figueiredo vs Brandon Moreno Fight Preview, Odds, Predictions, and More

January 20, 2023
0
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Profile

© Copyright 2023 – Football Pink

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Profile

© Copyright 2022 - Ronnie Dog Media All Rights Reserved. Live Score

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Gmail
  • Print Friendly
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.