Soccer Book Reviews

I’m Not Really Here: A Life of Two Halves

IN the late 1980s Paul Lake was considered one of the most exciting young players in Britain. A boyhood Manchester City fan, Lake realised a dream in playing for and captaining the Blues. He was the classic local boy done good. Life was idyllic.

Then in September 1990, disaster struck: Lake ruptured his cruciate ligament. A month short of his 22nd birthday it was already the beginning of the end. Several attempted comebacks ended in disaster, Lake slipped into depression and was finally forced to retire in January 1996.