A Look At: Wark On

Book Review: Wark On by John Wark

It must be impossible for those who played top flight football in the era of pre-Premiership riches not to wonder how their lives would have panned out had they been born a couple of decades later. Take Glen Hysen: the Swedish central defender who played for Liverpool in the early nineties recently ended up on the dole after a Swedish broadcaster opted not to renew his contract.

John Wark might not have had similar problems, yet such thoughts will have surely crossed his mind. One of the most effective midfielders of his time, Wark combined the agression that was typical of English football with a technique that many assumed was missing. Best of all, he had a knack for scoring goals that often saw him finishing near the top in goal-scorer's tables.

Today, such a player would be able to command huge fees - just see what Paul Scholes or Steven Gerrard earn for an indication - yet during Wark's time all the power lay with the clubs. Therefore, whilst he earned enough money to live comfortably during his playing days, it certainly wasn't enough to set him up for the rest of his life.

That much is apparent when going through the final pages of his auto-biography Wark On where he goes through the contracts he signed, the signing-on fees, the wages and the bonuses he earned. It is eye-opening and easily the most entertaining part of the whole book. Well, that and the cover design that can alter between Wark during his Liverpool times or else from his time at Ipswich.

Which is not said to put the rest in a bad light. Wark chooses to adopt a calm tone, prefering not to enter needless controversies and instead opting to reminisce about how good the old times were. It is a style that sits comfortably with him and, frankly, is how it should be. Don't know whether it helps boost sales, though.

Despite the Liverpool evoking title to the book, there is little doubt that Wark's main love was Ipswich with whom he played on two seperate (and completely contrasting) occasions. He has nothing but positive things to say about Liverpool, even about the way that he left the club and, overall, portrays the club in a very good light.

All of which makes Wark On a nice, if not compulsive, read.

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