Noddy

Adrian Alston, commonly known as 'Noddy', was a key member of the semi-professional team that defied all the odds to become the first Australian team to reach the 1974 World Cup finals.

Noddy: the Untold Story of Adrian Alston is a tell-all account by Philip Micallef of the flamboyant striker who lit up the local football scene after moving from England to Australia in the late 1960s.

Alston looks back on a career that took him from the little ground of Woonona on the NSW south coast to the imperial Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Noddy's was a colourful and extraordinary career but when it came to an abrupt end after he suffered a serious injury, he was able to draw on the altruistic side of his temperament when he devoted his life after football to the special needs of intellectually disadvantaged people. It is a job that gives him as much satisfaction as when he used to bang in the goals for club and country.

As a 1974 Socceroo, Adrian Alston is a true legend of the game and Philip Micallef's book will ensure that Noddy's exploits for Australia are not forgotten.