Tony Book: The late-blooming bricklayer who became a Manchester City great | OneFootball

Tony Book’s story at Manchester City began at the age of 32, with the full-back affectionately known as Skip going on to captain the club to success in the late 1960s and early 1970s before also becoming a trophy-winning manager during a golden era at Maine Road.

A late-blooming defender who also played for Bath City and Plymouth, Book remained a familiar face at Maine Road and the Etihad Stadium long after retirement, serving City in numerous capacities despite having been sacked as manager following Malcolm Allison’s return in the late 1970s.

Anthony Keith Book, whose death was announced on Tuesday at the age of 90, followed an unusual path to the top of the game and did not play top-flight football until his move to City at the age of 32.

In fact, most of his early career prior to joining City in 1966 was spent in non-League football for hometown Bath as he combined playing the game with work for a building firm.

Book was born in Bath on September 4, 1934, the third of seven boys. His father, Charlie Book, was a captain quartermaster in the British Army who was posted to India for a period that covered the entirety of the Second World War. With his family travelling with him, Book and elder brothers Rheece and Mervyn spent a large portion of their childhood living on various military bases in India.

Book learned his football either playing barefoot with local children or on Army camps. Bobby Langton, of Bolton, served during the same period as his father and became an early inspiration.

The family returned to Bath in 1945, with Book going on to attend West Twerton Secondary Modern.

He took a job in a shop after leaving school but that interfered too much with his footballing ambitions and he moved on to become a bricklayer and manual labourer for a firm called Mortimers.

One legacy of his work at the shop remained with him for many years, however, as pinching the odd packet of cigarettes from the shelves led to a long-time habit he only gave up in later life, long after his playing career ended.

After completing national service, Book worked throughout the week and then played at weekends for amateur side Peasedown Miners.

He left them to sign a £2-per-week semi-professional deal with Frome Town but, when that club hit financial difficulties, his boss at Mortimers, who was also the chairman of Southern League Bath City, offered him terms to join his hometown team in 1956.

Book established himself as a consistent and hard-working player at that level with potential to go higher but, as trials at Chelsea and Nottingham Forest yielded nothing, it seemed destined to be his limit.

The key to his rise came after Bath’s appointment of the ambitious and flamboyant Allison as manager in 1963. Allison took Book with him to his next job at Toronto and then, in 1964, to Second Division Plymouth.

Book was 30 by the time this chance to play league football finally came, but Allison, keen to avoid awkward questions from the board, advised him to amend his birth certificate to take two years off his age.

Allison moved on again to take up a coaching role alongside Joe Mercer at Manchester City and it was not long before he returned for Book.

“Out of all the players I coached in my career, Tony was my favourite – and I mean favourite. He had everything a good footballer needs,” Allison later said.

Book signed for City in 1966 and soon proved doubters wrong by establishing himself as a permanent fixture in the side and winning the player-of-the-year award in his first season.

He was named captain for the following season and helped City to the League title.

Injury prevented him playing a full part in 1968-69, but he returned in time to lift the FA Cup after victory over Leicester at Wembley and further glory followed with League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup successes in 1970. City also went close to winning the title in 1972 but finished fourth, just a point behind winners Derby.

On one occasion early in his City career he was living in a Manchester hotel and was about to be introduced to two business associates of a friend, when police suddenly swooped on the lobby. The acquaintances turned out to be the Kray twins.

As Book’s playing career was winding down, he was offered the chance to take over as caretaker manager after the departure of Johnny Hart due to ill health in 1973. He continued as assistant to Ron Saunders and took the job himself permanently in 1974.

He had to make some unpopular decisions to clear out players like Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee and Rodney Marsh but oversaw League Cup success in 1976 and a runners-up league finish in 1977.

They also finished fourth in 1978 but indifferent form after that led to the beginning of the end, as City brought back Allison, ostensibly to work alongside him, although in effect he took charge. The arrangement failed and both were sacked in 1980.

Book later admitted he should have resigned when he was forced to sack his coach Bill Taylor prior to Allison’s arrival.

He also admitted to a bit of skulduggery during his management career, successfully getting a game at Maine Road called off due to a frozen pitch after over-watering it the night before.

Book briefly did some work for Cardiff but soon returned to City as youth development officer. This role developed into coaching with youngsters, reserves and then the first team as time went on and there were also further brief stints in caretaker charge as City went through several managers.

He left in 1996 after a clear-out by new manager Frank Clark but remained an honorary president. He later did some scouting for Huddersfield, Sunderland and Tottenham and served as an ambassador for City in later years.