Love affairs & marriage : my life in football

Howard Kendall is one of the greats of English football management and among the defining figures in the history of Everton Football Club.

A schoolboy prodigy footballer, he first joined the club from Preston in 1967, forming - with Alan Ball and Colin Harvey - one of the most distinguished midfield partnerships ever witnessed in English football.

He won the League Championship in 1970 and later captained the club. He returned to Goodison as manager in 1981, reviving Everton as they embarked on the most successful period in their history.

Everton, Kendall said, was like a marriage, while other clubs he served - including Athletic Bilbao and Manchester City - were mere love affairs.

Now he lifts the lid on a 30-year career that established his reputation as a managerial and playing legend.

Forthright, revealing and often very funny, Kendall's long-awaited autobiography reveals his epic love affair with the game he served with such distinction, tracing the highs and lows, the characters, the laughter, the tears, and the many triumphs.