Stunned at what they felt was the normalisation of toxic behaviour in grassroots football, Simon Compton and Mark Jones have written a book about their experiences
We don’t have the stats to hand but we reckon âyou could write a book on this’ is probably one of the most-uttered phrases by adults involved in grassroots football.
Whilst it’s usually just a turn of phrase, two long-serving coaches from Essex decided to go a step further and actually put pen to paper on their experiences in the grassroots game.
The Accidental Manager details both Simon Compton’s and Mark Jones’ experiences after falling into coaching at a grassroots level.
Neither had any intention of taking charge of a team when they started bringing their sons to play football but, as happens with so many parents up and down the country, they soon found themselves sucked into volunteering.