Just One More Goal

The Autobiography of David Pleat

David Pleat

$27.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Biteback Publishing
23 September 2025

Autobiography: sport; Football (Soccer, Association football)

David Pleat has lived a life at the heart of football. From his debut as an England Schoolboy international in 1960 to his time as a scout for Tottenham Hotspur up to 2024, his is a story that touches every facet of the professional game. At Luton Town, he is perhaps best remembered for dancing on the pitch after a win over Manchester City secured the club's top-flight survival in 1983. However, his fifteen years at Kenilworth Road were about much more than that.

In 1986, Pleat was given his shot at the big-time at Tottenham. But for a fabricated tabloid scandal, his sole season as manager

which featured a third-placed finish, an FA Cup final and a League Cup semi-final

might have been the start of a transformation at White Hart Lane. After spells at Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday, Pleat twice returned to Tottenham.

Here, he gives his frank assessment of his chairmen, Alan Sugar and Daniel Levy, and an insider's account of the rise and fall of managers from Glenn Hoddle to Jose Mourinho.

However, Just One More Goal is not just an account of one man's lifelong obsession with football. It is the story of an evolving game, one that moved away from instinct and spontaneity towards something colder and more technical. David Pleat's memoir is the perfect answer to the question of how modern football became what it is today.

'A panoramic account of a seventy-year obsession with the game, rich in de tail and reminiscence. All of post-war British football is here.'

Paul Hayward, author of England Football: The Biography

By: David Pleat
Imprint: Biteback Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781785909917
ISBN 10: 1785909916
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 23 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

David Pleat has been manager of Tottenham (four times),Luton (twice), Leicester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Nuneaton Borough. As a footballer he played for Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, Shrewsbury, Exeter and Peterborough.