Season › 2012-13 › News The perfect late Christmas present Michael Kenrick , 24 December, 1comment | Jump to most recent Stan Osborne, realised this dream to play for his beloved Everton at youth level. This prompted Stan to write a book, Making the Grade, about the time he spent at the club he loved and the highs and lows that an apprentice faced at one of the top clubs in Europe in the late sixties and early seventies. The book recounts Stan's journey from Kirkby Boys striker to Everton apprentice at a time when Everton were able to field some of their truly legendary players. Fans of Everton will be interested to hear Stan's memories of some legendary names like Harry Catterick, Howard Kendall, Alan Ball and Gordon West, as well as his day-to day-work with youth coaches like Stewart Imlach. What sets this book apart from most other football biographies and autobiographies is that this is the untold story of the majority of footballers who are taken on by professional football clubs. The most refreshing aspect of the book is the openness with which Stan recounts his time and doesn't gloss over the less flattering moments during his time at Everton and several incidents in the book will make you laugh out loud whilst other moments will have you sympathising with Stan. This is the story of a young player who almost made the grade and in this day and age of players being multi millionaires before they reach twenty, it's a nice contrast to be reminded that the game, and players, were different back then. Younger fans will find it hard to believe that as well as playing football young apprentices were also extra ground staff and were often put to work painting goalposts, cleaning boots and cleaning dressing rooms. Making The Grade by Stan Osborne is out now published by Legends Publishing and can be bought here, price £9.99 plus p&p. Quotes or other material sourced from Sabotage Times Reader Comments (1) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Andy Meighan 1 Posted 28/12/2012 at 16:38:30 I've read articles or such about this fella before and they're absolutely hilarious. This is a must for me — a time when football really was a game and not full of the greedy bastards that there are today. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads