"It is indeed a remarkable story and is highly recommended."

North West Labour History Journal

I’m a huge football fan, born in the fine city of Lincoln in 1974, obviously the best year ever. But I want to know how have I never heard of Fred Spiksley? What a fantastic man, a man of many talents not all great. But I have honestly never heard of him which is disappointing because how many other fine young men have we not heard about. He managed to cram so much into life too, I must admit I really enjoyed reading about his football years the most. Reading about the old teams, styles of play and coaching methods that were put in play were great to read about. But not only has his football career come to its end, that he ends up in coaching, management and mixing with world media stars. This book and story was a really good read, and I would think it would be a great read for fellow fans just to be reminded of how things were done in yesteryear.

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UK Historian

'This book does justice to Fred Spiksley's abilities on the pitch and his amazing life off it.'

Roy Massey, former Arsenal Academy Director

'It is impossible to ignore the name Fred Spiksley!'

Chris Waddle

'A life with more twists and turns than a Lionel Messi dribble.'

Chris Bond, The Yorkshire Post

'A must-read for anyone who has a genuine love for football!'

Simon Mullock, The Mirror

The Remarkable Story of Fred Spiksley is the biography of one of the greatest footballers of the late nineteenth century. The book chronicles his early life in Lincolnshire, to his attempts to make it as a professional footballer in the days where it was virtually impossible for a working class man to do so.

The book is mainly focused on Spiksley's playing career, but does go into his experiences in coaching, and his later life. There is a fascinating chapter regarding his experience of the First World War.

I enjoyed this biography. I'm born and bred in Lincolnshire, so straight away it was nice to see lots of references to places and football clubs I'm very familiar with. Additionally, Sheffield Wednesday is a family team, so it was really interesting to read about the infancy of the club.

It is great how Metcalf talks about the wider picture of the fledgling game whilst discussing Spiksley personally. I was fascinated by the history of the creation of the football league and surprised by some of the rules that were in place at the time.

Fred Spiksley did have a remarkable life. It is testament to Metcalf's writing that we are able to experience that.

If you are a football fan who likes history, this is for you.

NetGalley, James Doyle