First, I must declare a conflict of interest by reviewing this book. I am a member of the Melbourne Football Club and have barracked for Melbourne all my football life. Stan Alves was, and still is, one of my football heroes. Alves played 226 games for Melbourne, kicking 160 goals between 1965 and 1976, before being unceremoniously dumped, moving to North Melbourne where he played a further 40 games and kicked 14 goals between 1977 and 1979.

In front of a gathering of 3000 guests, Ron Barassi once said that Stan Alves did not have the success at Melbourne that he had enjoyed, simply by accident of birth. Barassi suggested that if Alves had been the same age as himself then they both would have won the same number of premierships at the Demons. It was no mistake that Barassi singled out Alves during his speech, rather than another champion Melbourne wingman, Robert Flower. It is indicative of the admiration and respect that Stan Alves enjoys within the football community.

In an interview with Stan Alves in the Football Record magazine in 1998, Greg Hobbs asked the question: Where will Stan Alves be in five years time? While Alves answered by saying he did not know where he would be the following day, his book gives you a better response. Sacked Coach is not just a book about your average Australian footballer, but rather, it is an account of how sport impacted upon the life of a champion. And unlike many similar sports books, this story contains the brutal truth. Stan Alves is known for his honesty and that is evident in this well-written book by Col Davies.

We will hear Alves commentating on the ABC each weekend during 2003 season and know that he is calling it as it is. The same can be said of his book. The reader is not left with any unanswered questions and, once finished, will know a lot more about Stan Alves, the man, not just the footballer.

Tags: stan alves and col davies