Title: Fallen Idle
Author: Peter Marinello
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2007
It’s been several weeks since I’ve finished reading Fallen Idle by Peter Marinello but it has taken me a while to get round to writing this review. I was hoping that a bit of time and space may allow me to reflect more on the character I read about, but truth be told I am no further illuminated by the hours that I have allowed myself.
Marinello’s autobiography is a straight forward footballer’s biography, albeit about a rather complicated character. Marinello gained fame after becoming a £100,000 signing for Arsenal after just 45 appearances for Hibs. Dubbed the ‘new George Best’ on account of being a nippy winger with an eye for fashion, it became as Marinello reflects a millstone around his neck. Subsequent moves to Portsmouth, Motherwell, Hearts, Fulham and time in America and Australia saw Marinello live up to the hype, however, we never quite get the answer whether he could have been a top class player had he knocked his boozy lifestyle on the head or whether the move to Arsenal was an aberration is what would have been otherwise an unspectacular career.
The book does not get off to a great start - within five pages there is the first mention of the pc brigade. This did not auger well and this reader was expecting more of the same but thankfully the reader is spared this sort of populist nonsense.
Marinello’s book suffers from not having a great deal of analysis of his own behaviour - why he did do the things he did? Why did he drink as much as he did? Was it simply because he found it enjoyable? Did he ever think that it might have an impact on his game? None of this is discussed, but we hear lots of stories (and there were probably far more than couldn’t be printed): we discover that he lost his virginity to a prostitute on a close-season tour to Africa with Hibs cheered on by his team mates. Marinello had a girlfriend at this time but there is no reflection of what impact on her bedding another women would have.
On the footballing side, Marinello appears to recall almost every senior goal he scored, which demonstrated that he obviously cared a great deal for playing football but perhaps not enough to test his own ability?
In a career which did not fulfil his apparent talent, the life of Peter Marinello off the field is more interesting than the sporadic appearances on the grass. When his wife Joyce has a mental breakdown it is dealt with in a paragraph saying the condition was hereditary and there was “nothing we could do about it” - suggests to this reviewer a sense of coldness. When his career finishes, Marinello becomes involved in the pub trade and other business ventures - his lack of business acumen and extreme naivety leads him to bankruptcy. It’s an unpleasant read yet one that could have been avoided if Marinello wasn’t so trusting of others who were out to fleece him.
The book ends with Marinello seemingly happy with his lot in life following his son’s recovery from heroin addiction. There is no mention of what he does with himself day-to-day but he is involved in coaching a Sunday league team.
Fallen Idol was a refreshing honest footballing biography from somewhat who arguably had nothing to lose from being coy and dull. Fallen Idol serves as a warning to those professionals who start to believe their own hype and coast on their abilities, to those who see football as merely a distraction to the serious business of socialising and drinking. For Marinello, it is always going to be a case of ‘What if…’ but that’s one he appears to be entirely comfortable with.
Marinello’s autobiography is a straight forward footballer’s biography, albeit about a rather complicated character. Marinello gained fame after becoming a £100,000 signing for Arsenal after just 45 appearances for Hibs. Dubbed the ‘new George Best’ on account of being a nippy winger with an eye for fashion, it became as Marinello reflects a millstone around his neck. Subsequent moves to Portsmouth, Motherwell, Hearts, Fulham and time in America and Australia saw Marinello live up to the hype, however, we never quite get the answer whether he could have been a top class player had he knocked his boozy lifestyle on the head or whether the move to Arsenal was an aberration is what would have been otherwise an unspectacular career.
The book does not get off to a great start - within five pages there is the first mention of the pc brigade. This did not auger well and this reader was expecting more of the same but thankfully the reader is spared this sort of populist nonsense.
Marinello’s book suffers from not having a great deal of analysis of his own behaviour - why he did do the things he did? Why did he drink as much as he did? Was it simply because he found it enjoyable? Did he ever think that it might have an impact on his game? None of this is discussed, but we hear lots of stories (and there were probably far more than couldn’t be printed): we discover that he lost his virginity to a prostitute on a close-season tour to Africa with Hibs cheered on by his team mates. Marinello had a girlfriend at this time but there is no reflection of what impact on her bedding another women would have.
On the footballing side, Marinello appears to recall almost every senior goal he scored, which demonstrated that he obviously cared a great deal for playing football but perhaps not enough to test his own ability?
In a career which did not fulfil his apparent talent, the life of Peter Marinello off the field is more interesting than the sporadic appearances on the grass. When his wife Joyce has a mental breakdown it is dealt with in a paragraph saying the condition was hereditary and there was “nothing we could do about it” - suggests to this reviewer a sense of coldness. When his career finishes, Marinello becomes involved in the pub trade and other business ventures - his lack of business acumen and extreme naivety leads him to bankruptcy. It’s an unpleasant read yet one that could have been avoided if Marinello wasn’t so trusting of others who were out to fleece him.
The book ends with Marinello seemingly happy with his lot in life following his son’s recovery from heroin addiction. There is no mention of what he does with himself day-to-day but he is involved in coaching a Sunday league team.
Fallen Idol was a refreshing honest footballing biography from somewhat who arguably had nothing to lose from being coy and dull. Fallen Idol serves as a warning to those professionals who start to believe their own hype and coast on their abilities, to those who see football as merely a distraction to the serious business of socialising and drinking. For Marinello, it is always going to be a case of ‘What if…’ but that’s one he appears to be entirely comfortable with.
Buy Fallen Idle here.
