Book Review: 250 Days

250 Days by Daniel Storey

I’ve been a Premier League fan since it’s inception and for me Eric Cantona has been the best foreign player to play in England’s top flight. I think he was the catalyst that lead to better tactics and to an influx of better players.

The moment he kung-fu kicked a supporter in the stands at Selhurst Park became iconic and that’s why this book stood out for me.

As a bookseller, I often have people asking about recommendations and in particular by people who want to get into reading. I’ll always suggest that they look at what interests them; History? Romantic films? Crime dramas? Sri-Fi? I am always hoping it’s football. A lot of these people are adults. When these enquiries pop up, I will often suggest smaller books as they aren’t intimidating. The amount of young men and women asking about recommendations was growing as 2020 was coming to an end, I truly think one positive of these lockdowns is that there’s an appetite to read more and learn more about the things in which people love.

For me, if you are football fan and aren’t a huge reader then this is an ideal book to try and get you into reading. It’s only 140 pages long and football writer Daniel Storey tackles the extremely interesting topic with an enthusiasm that creates excitement within the reader to keep turning the pages.

It covers a 250 day period that happened over twenty five years ago but it’s a great resource in learning about a turbulent period that would come to define the main protagonists (Eric Cantona, Sir Alex Ferguson & Manchester United).

For me, it’s in a format reminiscent of former TV show ’24’. It captures the dramatic key moments in the appropriate timeline, although it is packed with detail instead of action.

It’s a accurate account of the goings on that happened during that period, using plenty of sources to give you an unbiased explanation. Daniel has obviously worked hard to go back to that iconic time within the Premier League and retell a story that hit both the front and back pages of the world’s newspapers.

250 Days doesn’t paint any goodies or baddies, real life is often grey rather than being black and white. It allows you the reader to come up with your own conclusions.

I really love the way Storey explores Eric’s impact on the Man United team, even when he wasn’t able to play, especially with the young crop that were coming through.

Essential reading for fans of 90s football or Manchester United. Also a great read for anyone who likes fine, well crafted sports writing and wants to understand more about an epic time within the Premier League’s history.

250 Days is currently available online.

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