I think my collection of sports’ books is now just over 1,000. On that basis it is fair to guess that I have read “a few” but I must say I came across a most interesting book over the holidays. Look, how many autobiographies of “legends” can one read? How many ways can they regurgitate, “The Title Season?”
You know there are going to be a bucket full of cliches about taking each game as it came, “sometimes we had to win it ‘ugly’, long winters, disappointment with penalty decisions etc etc etc

Occasionally, just occasionally, a book comes across my desk that it is totally different. Excellent. Even more excellent (English?) is when it is about something I genuinely knew absolutely sweet nothing. Take a bow Ashley Ball and Chris Brook ….

A book charting the life and career of a footballing super scout who discovered 114 players including a World Cup winner and FA Cup Final heroes is now available to buy.

Feeding The Wolves tells the remarkable story of Mark Crook, a Yorkshire-based talent finder who ran a pioneering feeder team for Wolves.

Crook, a one-time Wolves player, unearthed the likes of England World Cup winning star Ron Flowers, England internationals Terry Cooper and Cyril Knowles and Wembley FA Cup winning heroes in George Robledo and Alan Sunderland.

From setting up the team in 1938 to his death in 1977, Crook sent player after player to Molineux.

The book, written by Barnsley Chronicle journalist Ashley Ball, aims to tell the whole story of what was a groundbreaking idea.

Ashley said: “Mark’s story was in danger of being forgotten but through a lot of research and interviews it’s now, thankfully, been preserved and told in full.

“What struck me through the course of interviewing many of the former players is that their lives were completely altered by Crook’s intervention.

“A small thing like a scout believing in your potential completely changed the lives of all these men.

“Alan Sunderland and Bob Hatton in particular admit that Crook’s faith in them propelled them into football and ultimately changed the course of their lives forever.”

The book contains more than 50 interviews and has a foreword written by Mick McCarthy.

Mick said: “Anybody can tell you who the best player is. That’s easy.

It is sometimes the player who you don’t notice that you need because he allows the other players to do their jobs.

Those clubs who are spending money now can rely on data but that was not always there.

Getting recruitment right can be the difference between a good season and a bad one.

To think Wolves could rely on somebody like Mark Crook for more than 30 years is incredible.”

Profits from the book are heading to the Wolves Foundation and Brampton United FC who play on the same pitches that Mark’s Wolves Juniors team did in South Yorkshire.

To order a book, visit: tinyurl.com/crookwwfc

As many of you know, I have decided that now is the time to sell up, so if you are interested in 1000 books and 20,000 programmes, please take a look here

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