Imperfect 10 is a searingly honest account of the life of a footballing genius, whose character and personality are worlds apart from the on-field extrovert who thrilled the crowds. Tony Currie, the former Watford, Sheffield United, Leeds United and QPR player with outrageous skills and the confidence to sit on the ball during a game or blow kisses to his adoring fans, was so shy that the avoidance of any kind of conflict or facing up to challenging decisions became his natural modus operandi. Sometimes it is almost impossible to believe that the two sides of the man lovingly known as TC belong to the same person.
His private life fell apart, there was a damning relationship at international level and the team trophies he craved eluded him. But he had the crowd on his side throughout. In his autobiography, Currie remembers the magic moments but also the crippling self-doubt and dwindling self-esteem that brought him to his knees as he drifted towards an inevitable retirement and life after football.
If there is a happy ending, it is in the acclaim he still commands from fans at Sheffield United, the club he spent most time with. They initially rescued him, and attracted him back up north for an eventual re-connection with the Blades. Tony Currie is a living legend who almost didn’t have the will to hang around to see it.
 
About the authors
 
An instantly recognisable figure on the pitches of the best clubs in the land, largely during the 1970s, Tony Currie often led from centre-stage for Watford, Sheffield United, Leeds United and QPR.
He also won 17 England caps, although to many his swaggering midfield play was criminally underused by the national team - despite being praised by no less an expert than the manager of Brazil.
Currie’s route into the game was equally mystifying as he was rejected on numerous occasions as a youth, but he more than made up for it when he finally got his chance.
A Londoner, he swiftly moved north to become the star turn at Bramall Lane and Elland Road before divorce and injury began a decline only partly checked by a move back to the capital. His battle with depression and self-confidence was eventually aided by a chance return to Sheffield, where he found new direction and a new wife.
Lauded by Sheffield United fans as their club’s greatest ever player, Currie briefly became a director and is now club ambassador.
 
Born a Sheffield United fan, Andy Pack taught secondary school PE in the city for over 20 years before becoming media manager at the Blades, along with a part-time stint at BBC Radio Sheffield covering United.
Working with the likes of Dave Bassett, Howard Kendall, Bryan Robson and Neil Warnock across almost two decades, he produced the match programme and various club publications, content for the website and interviewed countless players and football staff. His involvement during the ‘Carlos Tevez Affair’ affair was a testing challenge; meeting and interviewing Pele for a live audience over 90 minutes a more enjoyable one.
He worked with former United goalscoring favourite Keith Edwards on the Golden Boot winner’s autobiography Edwards … One Nil! which was published in 2014. Tony Currie’s invitation to do the same for him was a result of the pair having known each as colleagues and friends for around 30 years.