Hero in the Shadows

The Life of Don Howe, English Football's Greatest Coach

David Tossell

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801502504
• Year: 2022

Don Howe is one of English football's great coaches, with an unrivalled record at international and club level. As right-hand man to three England managers, he helped his country to the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96 semi-finals. He helped to steer them through the 1982 World Cup unbeaten and to the quarter-finals four years later. Howe masterminded the 1970/71 double at Arsenal, where two spells as coach also brought European and further FA Cup glory. He was also an integral part of one of the greatest Wembley upsets when he helped Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' to victory over the mighty Liverpool in 1988. As a player at West Bromwich Albion, Howe won 24 international caps, but as a manager he failed to achieve the success he craved. Yet over a three-decade period, he won acclaim from many of England's finest players as a genius of the coaching profession. Through interviews with players, colleagues, friends and family, this book examines the triumphs and challenges of Don Howe's career and assesses his contribution to English football.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction: The Case for the Defence
• 1. Gunner at the Albion
• 2. The Way Ahead and the Way Out
• 3. Lucky Break
• 4. Laying the Foundations
• 5. Double Dealer
• 6. Man at the Top
• 7. Losing His Stripes
• 8. Back in the High Life
• 9. Your Country Needs You
• 10. Highbury’s Number One
• 11. The Road to Mexico
• 12. Crazy After All These Years
• 13. Sweeping Ahead
• 14. Back in the Hot Seat
• 15. Coming Home
• 16. Don’t Look Back in Anger
• Acknowledgements
• Bibliography
• Photos