The Sports Bookshelf

WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016 On the Shortlist Mister: The Men Who Taught the World How to Beat England at Their Own Game By Rory Smith (Simon & Schuster), £18.99 Review by Jon Culley Alan Rogers during his days as coach of the Iranian team Persepolis Big-name interviews sell newspapers, we are always told.  But how often does a star player tell you anything you did not already know? Football is a micro-managed business these days, with minders and media advisers never far away. It is why Times journalist Rory Smith admits the stories he most enjoys writing are often the less obvious ones, with interview subjects who may seem obscure on the face of it but frequently come with a fascinating back story waiting to be told. So when a friend drew his attention to a story in Southport's local paper about a belated honour for a war hero his curiosity was instantly piqued. The war hero was Alan Rogers, who had as a teenager served as a gunner on a Roy