Dave whelan autobiography examples

David had everything. No-one knew the London businessman was born into a world beyond poverty, the son of a rapist father and disturbed mother. Abandoned as a baby, he spent most of his childhood in care and suffered appalling sexual abuse. But no-one knew. But a call from the abuser's wife, 30 years on, proved he was living in a house of cards.

The youngest of five children, David was the son of a drunkard rapist father and a mentally unhinged mother. His father was jailed and his mother deserted the family, leaving five urchins to battle to survive in an inner city Glaswegian slum. Rescued, but separated, David grows up with vague memories of Ma, but no memory of his siblings.

For the next years of his young life David was shipped from pillar to post, until the authorities decided the best place for him and his youngest sister was Quarriers Children's village, where he was delivered into the hands of a paedophile.

Helpless, powerless and alone, it was beaten into David that no-one cared for him and no-one loved him.

Finally David escapes and goes on to build a life of success, determined to bury his secret and never tell anyone what happened to him. Then he receives a phone call from his abuser's wife, and all that he has built comes tumbling down. She asks David to be a character witness on behalf of the man who stole his childhood. Instead David chooses to tell the truth, turning the tide for detectives involved in a massive investigation and changing his own life forever. This is his remarkable story.

When the news broke back in August about Malky Mackay’s stream of sexist, racist and misogynistic text messages to his pal Iain Moody, my initial reaction was mixed. The messages and their tone were unbelievably appalling, and lifted the lid ever so slightly on a nasty undercurrent that, one suspects, is rife in football.

But, as is the duty of any fair man or woman (or journalist) I tried to look at it from both sides. “Let’s be honest,” I concluded, with an air of quiet regret “if you were to take the phones of the people around you – friends, acquaintances, work colleagues – how many wouldn’t have some kind of desperately nasty joke in there, whether they’re the sender or recipient?”

The Malky Mackay texts – the norm?

I still feel that way. At the time there were a stream of articles condemning Mackay, a man who ultimately got caught in a high-stakes game with a vindictive owner with a grudge and lost (or so we thought at the time, more on that later). But much of the condemnation felt forced. I was reluctant to buy it. How many of these writers were just writing what they think the public want to hear at any given moment?

How much of this supposed outrage was actually sincere? How many of these journalists bashing out pieces castigating Mackay really mean it? How do we know these talking heads furiously wagging fingers on air or on Twitter haven’t sent or received far worse in Whatsapp groups among friends in the last day, week or even month?

Rather than get too worked up about Mackay, I concluded there was no need. He’s been outed; the perception that this was a brave man fighting the nasty Mr Tan had been shattered and he’d lost out on a big job. The FA investigation will sort everything out. Trust the authorities. Move on.

Trust the authorities indeed.

“Passed the buck”

There is

Few figures in British business or sport have enjoyed Dave Whelan's success. As a football man he played in all four divisions. As a businessman he created one the country's leading high street brands. And as chairman of Wigan Athletic he's taken his club all the way from the Third Division to the Premiership. Dave's story is one of ambition, enterprise and tenacity - but also of a man fiercely loyal to his family, his friends and his roots. It begins in wartime Wigan with the Whelans' desperate struggle to survive. Dave describes the terrifying wasp-like hum of the Luftwaffe and the devastation wrought by their bombs; he remembers the deathly winter of 1942, peeing on his own hands to stop his fingers from freezing; admits how hunger drove ordinary families to lie, cheat and steal; and relives a remarkable reunion with the father he'd never known - a returning soldier. In peacetime a boyhood love affair with football leads him to sign with Blackburn Rovers and when national service calls he joins the Army football team, becoming close friends with 'Busby Babes' Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards. Then, a vicious tackle in the 1960 FA Cup final spells the twilight of his playing career - but a new dawn in business. Starting as a market trader, he breaks the mould from day one: taking on Boots single-handedly in the Appeal Court; negotiating the sale of his supermarket chain to Ken Morrison - whilst stood at a urinal; and transforming a single tackle shop in Wigan into JJB Sports, the UK's biggest sports retailer and a GBP1 billion PLC. In 1995 he used his personal fortune to buy struggling, hometown Wigan Athletic, vowing to take the Latics all the way to the Premier League. At the time he was ridiculed, but ten years later, on the final day of the Championship, Dave watched, ecstatic, as his club beat Reading 3-1 to finally secure their place in the top flight. Sometimes tragic, frequently controversial and always heartfelt, Playing to Win lifts the lid on a life