Merlin
The Autobiography of Gordon Hill
Published on 19. July 2014
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-904091-85-1 (ISBN)
Description
Merlin is the story of Gordon Hill, one of the most exciting players in British football history. Schooled at Millwall, a chance loan move to Chicago Sting proved fateful as Hill was steered to Manchester United by the legendary Bill Foulkes and Jimmy Murphy. At Old Trafford, he was described as a 'revelation' by his manager Tommy Docherty and 'remarkable' by his team-mate Sammy McIlroy as he blasted his way to 51 goals in 134 appearances. He was top scorer for the club in the two full seasons he was there with a goal return similar to that of Cristiano Ronaldo until he was inexplicably sold by Dave Sexton. Hill suffered the tragedy of injury and marriage breakdown as the first few months of his move to Derby turned his life upside down. Merlin tells the tale of how he rebuilt his life and career to become a legend in the North American game.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Skipton
United Kingdom
Illustrations
30 photographs
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-904091-85-1 (9781904091851)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
With an association in the professional game since 1973, Gordon Hill shot to stardom when he was bought for a bargain fee of GBP70,000 by Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty. From the wing, Hill scored at a prolific rate - a great goalscorer and a scorer of great goals - which showed just why he had been given the nickname 'Merlin' by adoring Millwall fans. In 1978, he was shockingly sold to Derby County by then United manager Dave Sexton, and later that year he suffered a knee injury that had a devastating effect on his career. Hill recovered to enjoy a resurgence in the North American game where he became a legend and still resides today.