After his goalkeeping career was cut short, and before he became a spiritualist and conspiracy theorist, he wrote a book about the perils and pitfalls of football. What can young goalkeepers learn from the strange story of David Icke?

David Icke’s goalkeeping career was over long before he turned up on Wogan in a turquoise shell suit and declared himself to be the Son of God. Icke was a promising young goalkeeper for Coventry City and Hereford United in the 1970s, until arthritis forced him to quit the game. He subsequently became a local sports reporter, and then a popular TV presenter, fronting the BBC’s Grandstand and snooker coverage.

Then, in 1990, Icke visited a Brighton psychic healer named Betty Shine looking for relief from his arthritis. The meeting with Shine changed his life, and set in motion perhaps the most unusual post-retirement career a goalkeeper has ever had.

Since then, Icke has written almost 20 books, with titles like And The Truth Shall Set You Free and Human Race Get Off Your Knees. But his first book, a slim volume published by Piccolo in 1983, long before that meeting with Betty Shine, was about football. It’s A Tough Game, Son! is a guide for young players, and particularly goalkeepers, on how to avoid football’s many pitfalls and problems. Subtitled The Real World of Professional Football (and approved by the PFA), the book acts as a stark warning for anyone who might think that the path to football superstardom is an easy one…

Read the full story in issue 7 of Goalkeeper Magazine.

Paul Books, Football Goalkeeper Magazine