‘Scholes – My Biography – (MUFC)’ follows Paul Scholes from his quiet childhood to the earliest days of his professionalism, his success with United and his time with the national team. The rhythm is usual: from the seemingly ordinary to the climax. In between though, we are treated to rare glimpses of the man himself and his family. In My Story, Scholes tells and shows us, his journey to the peak, and although this journey is very tedious and challenging, the book does not scream it in our faces with the writer preferring that readers read and peruse to understand the vast stories behind each photograph and footnote. Or what would you think of an asthmatic kid going on to become one of the best football players of his time?
The use of a few words in My Story makes each word essential and priceless. The book contains goals and games, critical moments in Scholesy’s career (from his first day at United to his last), great photographs to give you a visual knowledge, short quotes from coaches, teammates,
Scholes – My Story works for all ages, whether young or old. If you watched Scholes play, you might be nauseous due to the nostalgic overload when you are transported to the years gone. The photographs make it better too. If you’re young and didn’t see Scholes play, you are privileged to go through his defining words and pictures. What more can you ask for? Reading through My Story (MUFC), readers are reminded just why Paul Scholes was revered as the best in the game both internationally and locally. My Story is all Red, Manchester United, Paul Scholes, Sir Alex Ferguson, family and, less prominent, England.
A unique feature of My Story is that it boasts of a foreword and afterword written by two of the greatest men in the history of Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton respectively. These parts of the book enable us to know what other greats think of this talented player. This is a plus given that the book provides access to two fantastic minds who lived successful lives.
Some sects of readers and critics has harshly criticised my Story (MUFC) as a picture album and not a book at all. Many online reviews fail to see beyond the periphery and are quite discouraging for a reader yet to read the book. This is very unfair, although understandable. The book begins with pictures and ends with pictures, quite alright, but many critics tend to forget that each picture is merely a graphical imprint of the words that follow. Scholes has a reputation for being quiet and direct, and this is aptly reflected in My Story.
The problems remain the same: first, many forget that a biography is meant to be an honest self-portrait of its author and in a quest to just write anything and get heard, they follow the popular opinion; second, the majority of these reviewers are only interested in the literary prowess or features of My Story, neglecting that it fulfils all conditions of a sporting biography. Scholes is not John Grisham or Dean Kootz. And in a few words, My Biography (MUFC) leaves no doubt about its purpose: the message is clear: Red flows in Scholesy.
About Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is an England footballer who spent his entire playing career with Manchester United, making him a legend for the club. Scholes was born in England, Salford to be precise, on November 16th 1974. As it stands, he holds the record for the fourth-highest appearances for the Manchester club. He also played for the England national team for seven years, making 66 appearances, including two World Cups and two European Cups. Scholes has never played second-fiddle during his playing days.
Scholes is one of the most decorated footballers of all time, having an incredible cabinet of 22 trophies, including eight league trophies, 2 UEFA Champions League trophies, one super cup and many more as a midfield maestro. At the England national team too, Scholes was outstanding, quietly but significantly pulling strings from the middle of the park. He retired permanently from football in 2013.
Scholes is a shy personality off the field, and little is known of his personal life. In 2014, he signed a four-year-deal with BT sports to serve as a pundit and has been praised for his passionate and brutal assessments of the game. He also has a deal with ITV to cover Champions league matches and England international matches. He also has his column in The Independent, a UK magazine. He has ventured into managing too, starting with Oldham Athletic in February 2019 before resigning in March the same year due to interference from the owner in the decisions and runnings of the first team.
At present, Scholes co-owns Salford City FC. He is married to his longtime sweetheart, Claire (née Froggatt) and the couple has had three children; a daughter and two sons, the younger suffering from Autism. They live in the village of Grasscroft in Greater Manchester.
Paul Scholes Story
I never planned my football career; it just happened. Even as a lad barely out of short trousers, I was an associate schoolboy with Manchester United…”
The plot, theme and character in My Story (MUFC) are close to perfection. All in 18 chapters, the plot begins from Schole’s life, progressing and treating us to image after image of defining moments of his career with Manchester United and England. The plot also reveals the reasons behind certain controversial decisions taken by him, such as the resolution to quit the England national team at his prime. Scholesy’s childhood is vaguely covered though, but that only adds more credit to the masterpiece that is churned out from the first to the last page, with the book going on to expertly blend his time at the Theater of Dreams until his closing days. With each page, there is a photograph with a touch of humour in its caption (with Scholes admitting that some of the pictures aren’t that great but serve their purpose), followed by the praise accorded to him by teammates and opponents. The plot also tells us what Scholes thinks of certain players as well as his perspective on some teams, such as the Barcelona team of 2009.
As mentioned earlier, My Story does not offer much insight into the personal life of Scholes, preferring to dwell more on his playing career. However, there are notable mentions of his childhood: on page 7, we see a 4-year-old Scholes attempting to stop a bouncing ball at his relative Uncle Patrick’s house in Middleton, Manchester. With great use of words, Scholes links this narrative with his Beatles’ haircut, a style almost every kid had at the barbershop in the 1970s. The book proceeds to inform us of how frequently he visited his uncle then in Manchester. Subsequently, we find out that Patrick, Scholesy’s maternal uncle, played a significant role in his passionate love for Manchester United.
Zinedine Zidane when asked who his toughest opponent was.…..My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. Scholes is undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation… There is no doubt for me that he [Paul Scholes] is still in a class of his own. He’s almost untouchable in what he does. I never tire of watching him play. You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career.
Scholes reminds us of his first match, a league cup appearance against Port Vale on 21 September 1994, scoring both goals in a 2 – 1 win.
In between, there are pictures of Scholes in action with Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, with the book describing the two as “two of the most gifted football artists on the planet”. The book also tells us of Scholesy’s view on the losses to Barcelona in the Champions League finals of 2009 and 2011.
“Facing Barcelona is the ultimate test because they are the best team in the world. Afterwards, you need a week to recover because your concentration has to be all-consuming.”
My Story offers pictures and comments of some of the 106 goals of Scholes in the Premier League as well as his 26 in the Champions League. For a man who’s scored so many goals, Scholes subtly stirs the Manchester feud, declaring his injury-time winner against Manchester City in the Etihad Stadium, a powerful, well-guided header, in April 2010 as “my most satisfying goal”.
The book also lets us in on Scholesy’s assessment and view on specific teammates and rivals. He commends Christiano Ronaldo on how he has managed his God-given talent, calling him ” a happy-go-lucky workmate and a congenital joker”. He further says that the playboy and showboating attributed to Ronaldo are exaggerated and sometimes unfair, impressing that the Portuguese had an almost, if not, extreme workload, was always practising and had a top class attitude. On Zinedine Zidane, he says: to see Zidane in action was to see poetry in motion. The skills, the vision, the goals…
Love For Family And International Career
… But for all the benefits that professional football has brought me, none of them would mean a thing to me without my family, my wife Claire, my sons Arron and Aiden, and my daughter Alicia. We are happy where we live — on the edge of Saddleworth Moor to the northeast of Manchester.
I like to echo the words used by Sir Bobby Charlton in a recent television documentary about his remarkable life. He said, “I’ve been lucky, lucky lad.” That says it all for me, too.
My new generation of Red Devils are our three kids who keep Claire and me extremely busy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. I know I’m bound to say this about my children, but we think they’re brilliant and love them to bits…
If there is any aspect of Scholes’s life that he values as much as Manchester United, if not more than, it is his little family of his wife; Claire, and kids; Aaron, Alicia,
Reading through My Story, it is impossible to think of Scholesy’s family without referring to his stint with the national team. Red reveals that his family is the main reason he quit the England team when he did, admitting that he hated to play far from his family and disliking that he had to spend his holidays away from them while on duty for England. He tells us:
“whenever we were knocked out I was always more than ready to go home…..given my mindset I never enjoyed the football (international) and therefore had no chance of being anywhere near my best.”
This only serves to add significance to Scholes’s stand with his family, but this is, however, not the only reason behind his international retirement. He spoke of selfish behaviours displayed by individual vain players “who appeared to be there for personal glory.”
The book also contains appreciative comments on Scholes’s style of play from mates and opponents.
“He had guile, amazing touch and that priceless knack of making instant decisions that catch so many opponents on the hop.” Sir Bobby Charlton, in his two-page afterwards to My Story (MUFC)
“He was very clever with outstanding technique. He could pass the ball over five yards or fifty.” Former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson
“You’ve got outstanding players, and then there are top players. In my time in the England setup, Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and [Wayne] Rooney just had that little bit more than all the others. And we are talking high‑level people there, players like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and David Beckham.” Gareth Southgate
“Paul is one in a million.” Sir Alex Ferguson
Conclusion on Scholes – My Biography
Scholes – My Story (MUFC) tells a heroic tale with the use of exact words and purposeful pictures. This approach is unusual but absolutely compelling. As a direct man of very few words, My Story aptly reflects Scholes and his state of mind, giving us short, lucid and crucial peeks into his way of thinking. Although not vividly expressed, readers can know Scholesy’s struggles and difficulties.
What’s more, his views on other players and teams are available too. Through visuals and writings, My Story takes us upon the motivating journey of an indiapised kid. No one who knew Scholes in his early days would have seen him as an excellent player in the future, not even him.
In Scholes – My Story, we find the reflections, inner thoughts and alone time of a successful man. Through this book, we find ourselves full of admiration for Scholesy’s bravery and rise to stardom.
Frankly, as Scholes has written, My Story is a book that should be read by everyone. I’d personally say that your club of choice does not matter, but the book would be enjoyed most by Red fans. However, if you are a sucker for literary works and tend to neglect contents for style, this book may not be for you. But that’s about the only exception. All other football fans, Reds or not, should read this. I urge you not to shed tears as your heart wobbles while you read and look through the archives of goosebump-inducing memories.
Similar Books To Read
If you enjoyed Scholes – My Story (MUFC), then here are other books you might appreciate too:
- Sir Matt Busby: The Father of Manchester United.
- Growing Up With the Trinity: An Englishman, a Scotsman
and an Irishman Walked Onto a Football Pitch…by Brendon Mcguire (Out Sept 2019). - My Manchester United Years by Bobby Charlton.
- Gentleman John: The biography of Johnny Carey. Manchester United and Ireland Legend by Cavanagh MBE,
Mr Roy andMr Carl Abbott. - Denis Law: My Life in Football (MUFC) by Denis Law and Ivan Ponting.
- From the Goal line to Touchline Kindle Edition by Jack Crompton.
- Harry Stafford: Manchester United’s First Captain Marvel by
Ean Gardiner and Mark Wylie - The Man Who Kept The Red Flag Flying: Jimmy Murphy – The Family Authorised Life Story by Wayne Barton.
- Class of 92 (MUFC) by Ian Marshall.
- Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King Philippe Auclair.
- Giggs: The Autobiography Joe Lovejoy.
- Duncan Edwards: The Greatest (MUFC) by James Leighton.
- Robbo – My Autobiography: An extraordinary career by Bryan Robson.
- Red, White & Blackmore by Clayton Blackmore, Wayne Barton, et al.
