Given that I have never read a book by Ashley Cole, David Beckham or Frank Lampard, I can safely say that I have never read a soccer book that I didn't like. With the holidays approaching and the possibility of some free time being available here is a list of the books that I've acquired over last twelve months.

Any of you have other books that you might want to recommend?

“Foul”, By Andrew Jennings, published by HarperCollins.

“The Italian Job”, by Gianluca Vialli and Gabriele Marcotti, published by Random House.

“Behind the Curtain:Football in Eastern Europe”, by Jonathan Wilson, published by McArthur & Co.

“The Bonnie Prince-My Football Life”, by Charlie Cooke and Mark Knight, published by Mainstream Publishing Company.

"Best and Edwards,” by Gordon Burns, published by Faber and Faber Ltd.

"The Best of Charlie Buchan's Football Monthly,” edited by Simon Inglis, published by English Heritage.

"Forza Italia", by Paddy Agnew, published by Random House.

"’78 How a nation lost the World Cup," by Graham McColl, published by Headline Book Publishing.

"Morbo-the story of Spanish football," by Phil Ball, published by W.S.C. Books Ltd.

"The Leaguers -the making of professional football in England, 1900 – 1939," by Matthew Taylor, published by Liverpool University Press.

"Once in a Lifetime-the extraordinary story of the New York Cosmos," by Gavin Newsham, published by Atlantic books.

"tor!-the story of German football," by Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger, published by W. S.C. Books Ltd.

"The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup," edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, published by HarperCollins books.

"The Lost Babes-Manchester United and the forgotten victims of Munich," by Jeff Connor, published by HarperSport.

"Sir Alf," by Leo McKinstry, published by HarperSport.

"Football and Fascism-the national game under Mussolini," by Simon Martin, published by Berg Publishers.

"Jackie Milburn-a man of two halves," by Jack Milburn, published by Mainstream Sport.

"Colin Bell-reluctant hero," by Colin Bell with Ian Cheeseman, published by Mainstream Publishing.

"My Father and other Working-Class Football Heroes," by Gary Imlach, published by Yellow Jersey Press.

"Garrincha,” by Ruy Castro, published by Yellow Jersey Press.

"Highbury - The Story of Arsenal in N. 5", by Jon Spurling, published by Orion Books.

Of the half a dozen magazines I receive regularly, none is devoured as quickly as “WSC – When Saturday Comes.” It was no different this month. The magazine arrived on Thursday and I finished it by Saturday morning.

WSC has been published in the UK for over twenty years and it continues to provide balanced comment while challenging the conventional wisdom. The website sums it up better than I can. “The aim of WSC has always been to provide a voice for intelligent football fans. We try to offer both a serious and humorous view of football, covering football in the UK and abroad.”

The August issue reviews Germany 2006. Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger looks at Germany’s hosting of the tournament and visiting fans reactions. The TV diary of the tournament reminds us that it was not only ABC and ESPN coverage that left a lot to be desired.

Mike Ticher applies some common sense to the ridiculous practice of kicking the ball out of play when a player is down while offering up some suggestions on some simple rule changes that encourage play to flow.

Ben Lyttleton’s piece on penalty kicks and England is enlightening while Robert Shaw puts Brazil’s failure down to putting commercial concerns ahead of the game.

Ian Plenderleith, who usually writes an informative monthly piece on websites, has a look at reaction in the USA to the American performances.

If you are looking for jingoism normally associated with English football magazines and tabloid newspapers, look elsewhere as you will not find it in “When Saturday Comes”.