This ambitious and fascinating history considers why, in the space of sixty years between 1850 and 1910, football grew from a marginal and unorganised activity to become the dominant winter entertainment for millions of people around the world. The book explores how the world's football codes - soccer, rugby league, rugby union, American, Australian, Canadian and Gaelic - developed as part of the commercialised leisure industry in the nineteenth century. Football, however and wherever it was played, was a product of the second industrial revolution, the rise of the mass media, and the spirit of the age of the masses. Important reading for students of sports studies, history, sociology, development and management, this book is also a valuable resource for scholars and academics involved in the study of football in all its forms, as well as an engrossing read for anyone interested in the early history of football.

Twelve of Liverpool Football Club's biggest names reflect on their most memorable games during their careers with the club. Laurie Hughes, Ian St John, Ian Callaghan, Tommy Smith, Phil Neal, Alan Kennedy, Mark Lawrenson, Jan Molby, John Barnes, Mark Wright, Gary McAllister and Jamie Carragher recall contributions to memorable triumphs, including league championships, domestic cup success - such as the 1986 all-Merseyside FA Cup Final - and three of the five European Cup wins - with Carragher recalling that night in Istanbul, when Liverpool completed one of the most remarkable comebacks of all time to beat AC Milan. With a foreword by Ronnie Moran, Match of My Life is an evocative and absorbing look back at some of the great moments in the history of the most successful English club side of all time.

Analyzing individual and team play is essential to improving performance in soccer, but identifying the right information and putting it to good use can be tricky. This is the first book to focus entirely on match analysis in the game of soccer.
Representing an essential and unique resource, this handbook looks at the very latest in match analysis research, and at the innovative technologies being used by professional clubs. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, it documents the methods by which coaches, sport scientists and fitness coaches can improve individual and team performance in soccer. The following areas are covered:
- tactics, technical ability and physical fitness
- how to supply objective feedback to players
- how to develop specific training routines
- manual, video and computerized match analysis systems
- current research findings in soccer match analysis
By combining the latest scientific data and methods of analysis with the practical advice needed by those on the sideline, this book breaks new ground and offers a winning glimpse into the future of match analysis.

The Little Book of England Football is the latest volume in this highly successful series of sports-themed quotes books. It is dedicated to all things wide and wonderful about the Three Lions, focusing on the words of wit and wisdom from former players, such as Bobby Moore, Gazza and Gary Lineker, to the key men in today's set-up including manager Gareth Southgate and captain Harry Kane. Ingerlund! Ingerlund! Ingerlund!

A no-holds-barred expose on the financial transactions of the world's favourite sport The transfer fees clubs pay to sign top players now top 4 billion a year but much of the money has been flowing out of the game. A small group of wealthy investors including Russian oligarchs, English racehorse owners and a former billionaire gold miner have seized the opportunity to enter this booming market. Some have moved in on the territory of banks and lent money to clubs in exchange for a share in fees generated by Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and dozens more of today's stars. Others have acquired obscure teams to get a piece of the pie. Even as the global financial crisis sent fortunes tumbling this select group found a profitable place to park their money. The size of the transfer market has continued to rise - it increased seven-fold in value the last two decades, more than the FTSE share index. Between them, these wealthy investors have amassed hundreds of millions of euros in profits. At the same time, they have managed to stay out of the spotlight the world s most popular sport brings. Football s Secret Trade follows the money along a trail very few know about, from nondescript offices in the U.K. and ramshackle stadiums of South American clubs you have probably never heard of to offshore bank accounts in the Caribbean. Warning you won t see a major transfer deal in the same light again.

Here are the best of the best: the stars of the dominant U.S. national team - like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz, and Rose Lavelle - and their top competitors from around the world, like Sam Kerr of Australia, Lucy Bronze of England, Wendie Renard of France, and Marta of Brazil. This lively book features short biographies of 28 athletes in all, illustrated with colour photographs of the stars in action. Revised and updated from cover to cover, Stars of Women’s Soccer is sure to whet the appetite of young fans who are eager to see the titans of the women's game battle it out (finally) at the Tokyo Olympics.

Wags, Carlos Tevez, foreign owners, Sky pundits, the 39th game, Mario Balotelli's bathroom ...so much of the acres of news coverage of football these days has so little to do with what actually goes on on the pitch. Jonathan Wilson has made a name for himself focusing on tactics (with the award-winning Inverting the Pyramid) and how events on the pitch have shaped football history (The Anatomy of England). Here, Wilson borrows the formula from the latter title to produce a forensic analysis of ten key Liverpool games that have shaped the club's fortunes over the last century: from the long lost triumphs of Tom Watson (a nineteenth-century Bill Shankly) to 1970s European triumph over the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach, to the mind-blowing 2005 comeback against AC Milan.

By the summer of 1996, Newcastle were officially the second best club in England following a dramatic race for the Premier League title, with the ambition to become even bigger. They would break the transfer world record by signing the England captain Alan Shearer, ahead of rivals Manchester United, for GBP15 million from Blackburn Rovers and had the talismanic figure of Kevin Keegan as their manager. It was expected a golden period to match the start of the 1900s would follow, when Newcastle had been champions of England three times and had reached five FA Cup finals. Instead, by the start of 1997, Keegan had left following a boardroom row. Sir Bobby Robson had accepted and then turned down the chance to replace Keegan as manager and Newcastle had turned to Kenny Dalglish to maintain their assault as a genuine, emerging force in European football. Dalglish himself would be sacked within 18 months and Newcastle would embark on a breathless and reckless period in their history. Tunnel of Love reflects the dramatic highs and gut wrenching lows that covered the 13 year period which followed the failed agony of falling so close to becoming champions of England in 1996, when Keegan's Entertainers were in their pomp. It takes in unforgettable nights at St James' Park - the beating of Barcelona, the apparent taming of Manchester United and the breathtaking tribute to Shearer - for 10 years' service that saw him become the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Yet by its close Newcastle are fighting for their Premier League lives as they head to Villa Park on the final day of the 2008/09 season. Tunnel of Love takes you back on the rollercoaster that got them there.

Harry Kane: The Ultimate Fan Book takes you into the England superstar's world like no other book. Feared and respected as a goalscorer across England and Europe, Harry has been a prolific marksman where ever he has played. Born in London on 28 July 1993, he made his debut, for Tottenham on 25 August 2011, aged 18. He captained England to their first FIFA World Cup semi-final for 28 years in Russia and went onto winning the FIFA World CUp 2018 Golden Boot as top scorer with six goals. Written in a lively style and filled with fun features, fantastic photographs and enlightening quotes, Harry Kane: The Ultimate Fan Book celebrates his greatest moments and most famous goals, including the goals which have made him one of the world's most watchable superstars.

Little Wonder is the story of Brian Flynn, the stylish yet tenacious midfielder from Port Talbot who, in the 1970s and '80s, enjoyed a successful top flight playing career with Burnley and Leeds United - where is still held in great affection by fans of both clubs - before moving on to Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Bury, Limerick and finally to Wrexham as player manager. Flynn also won 66 caps for Wales and played a pivotal role when the rejuvenated national team reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships and were denied a place at the 1978 World Cup by Joe Jordan's infamous 'hand of god' at Anfield. Lovingly crafted by Leon Barton, Little Wonder is also the story of Flynn's 12 years as a club manager with Wrexham where, with solid team-building and cup heroics, he left a legacy that was subsequently squandered, and his two-year spell at Swansea City when he saved the club from relegation from the Football League and whose immense contribution was subsequently built upon to stunning effect. It is Brian Flynn's managerial legacy to Welsh international football, however, that has won him the plaudits of fellow managers, former teammates, the players themselves, and the Welsh nation when, as intermediate team manager under John Toshack, Flynn identified, nurtured and developed the 'golden generation', a group of talented teenagers and Welsh 'Anglos' who went on to become, at Euro 2016, most successful Welsh team in 140 years. Brian Flynn may only stand at 5 foot and 4 inches, but this small man from the town of steel has made a giant contribution to football and Little Wonder is his story.

Football fans love nothing more than to read about their favourite teams. Although this books is aimed at young teenagers they will delight all ages with their mixture of funny and enlightening stories and will give hours of pleasure discovering quirky facts about your favourite team. Each title is also augmented with a selection of sketches by the young sketch artist Becky Welton that depict some of the stories within.

In the early 1970s in Scotland, women's football existed in the margins. Unrecognised by the Scottish Football Association, banned from playing in stadiums and with no recognised national team. Arrival tells the fascinating, inspiring and uplifting story of how Scotland's women footballers fought for their right to play, battling hostility, prejudice and intolerance in order to create a national side that the country could be proud of. Drawing on illuminating interviews with Scotland players and managers past and present, including Anna Signeul and Shelley Kerr, it tells the inside story of the remarkable journey that the Scotland women's national team made from formation to eventual qualification for the European Championship and World Cup. It reveals the passion, commitment and determination that enabled Scotland to build a squad capable of competing with the best in the world and inspiring a generation. Arrival is the true story of a team battling against the odds to take their place on the world stage.

The remarkable story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies is brought to young readers for the very first time by award winning and CILIP Carnegie nominated Eve Ainsworth. It's 1917, and Britain is at war. Shy teenager Hettie wants to help the war effort, and signs up to work in the local Dick, Kerr & Co. munitions factory. She's nervous, but she has no idea quite how much her life is about to change ... For, inside this factory are young women who are about to make sporting history. Can Hettie find the courage to join them, and in doing so, find her own place in the world? Based on the thrilling true story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies team - football's forgotten legends.

This is the first in-depth global study of women's football across the world. This collection considers women's football, in fifteen countries worldwide, in a global context, and analyzes its progress, challenges and problems it has faced.

It shows how women's football has made a significant contribution to the emancipation of women's football in many countries. It also traces the evolution of women's football in face of resistance, rejection and prejudice and describes women footballer's struggle for equal rights in a male dominated football world.

The Scottish Cup: Celtic's Favourite Trophy is the story of Celtic's love affair with football's oldest prize. The club first won the cup in 1892, an achievement that meant so much to the young side and their struggling, oppressed community. In the years that followed this special trophy became entwined with the club's identity through many unforgettable moments. Jimmy Quinn scored the first hat-trick in a Scottish Cup final in 1904, there was Patsy Gallacher's extraordinary goal in 1925, a record attendance when Celtic lifted the cup in 1937, Willie Wallace's brace of goals en route to Lisbon in 1967, two remarkable comebacks in the 1980s, and Odsonne Edouard's heroic turnaround in 2019. The book goes beyond the cup finals, recalling the tough games in the early rounds, including the more spectacular encounters with Rangers and Aberdeen. Romance, drama and passion are all bound up in Celtic's annual quest for the cup, involving great players, from the Sandy McMahon era to the days of Scott Brown.

The Lost Shankly Boy is an enthralling tale of triumph over adversity and hope amid despair. It tells the story of George Scott, a poor boy from a fishing village in Aberdeen, who dreamed of a career in football and ended up rubbing shoulders with one of the game's managerial greats, Bill Shankly. He would assemble a team to rival the famous 'Busby Babes' - his very own 'Shankly Boys'. With Tommy Smith and Chris Lawler already at the club, he would add Gordon Wallace, Bobby Graham and a 15-year-old George Scott - 'the lost Shankly Boy'. Scott provides a fascinating insight into modern Liverpool's formative years and Shankly's Anfield. His is an untold story of a dream crushed and of a career rebuilt in Scottish football and taken to new heights in the South African Premier League. The Lost Shankly Boy speaks to every kid who dreams of football glory. It is a never-say-die tale of passion, commitment and hard work that will resonate with anyone who has ever tasted the pain of rejection - only to rise again and grow stronger.

When he was inducted into the Hibs’ Hall of Fame on Eater Road in 2012, Eric Stevenson declared “This means everything to me. My uncle founded the Bonnyrigg Hibs supporters’ club in 1949-50 and I started going to games when I was seven�. This book traces Stevenson’s fanatical interest in the club from a very young age , his time as a left-winger wearing the number eleven green and white jersey in the 60s, and the well-deserved recognition that he has gained today.

Human beings are the only creatures known to engage in sport. We are sporting animals, and our favourite pastime of football is the biggest sport spectacle on earth. The Philosophy of Football presents the first sustained, in-depth philosophical investigation of the phenomenon of football. In explaining the complex nature of football, the book draws on literature in sociology, history, psychology and beyond, offering real-life examples of footballing actions alongside illuminating thought experiments. The book is organized around four main themes considering the character, nature, analysis and aesthetics of football. It discusses football as an extra-ordinary, unnecessary, rule-based, competitive, skill-based physical activity, articulated as a social (as opposed to natural) kind that is fictional in character, and where fairness or fair play - contrary to much sport ethical discussion - is not centre stage. Football, it is argued, is a constructive- destructive contact sport and, in comparison to other sports, is lower scoring and more affected by chance. The latter presents to its spectators a more unpredictable game and a darker, more complex and denser drama to enjoy. The Philosophy of Football deepens our understanding of the familiar features of the game, offering novel interpretations on what football is, how and why we play it, and what the game offers its followers that makes us so eagerly await match day. This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the world's most popular game or in the philosophical or social study of sport.

An entertaining and effervescent history of the English Premier League told through the words and quotations of its players, managers, their contemporaries and the media. Relive the highs and lows, the drama and fun of 25 years of the Premier League through this exceptional compilation, which brings together the very best quotes, comments and soundbites to tell the story of each incident-packed season. Remember Kevin Keegan's on-air meltdown? Or Paolo Di Canio's shove? How about those jaw-on-the-floor goals like Tony Yeboah's volley or Sergio Aguero's last gasp title-winning goal for Manchester City? And what about some of those teams that set the competition alight - like swash-buckling Newcastle, all-conquering Manchester United and Arsenal's fabled 'Invincibles'? All the Premier League's sensational stories, extraordinary incidents and dazzling moments are told here through the voices, views and reflections of the managers and players involved. 'You Can't Win Anything With Kids' also provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy some of the funniest, most insightful and sometimes perplexing soundbites from the last 25 years, from the endlessly amusing spat between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger to Jurgen Klopp's off-the-wall reflections, Eric Cantona's deeply philosophical musings and, of course, Alan Hansen's profoundly misplaced pronouncements...

Unlike most professional football players, Alex Morgan did not start playing club football until she was 14. But her talent was so obvious that only three years later she was called up to the U.S. women's under-20 team. That was just the beginning of a history-making career that led her, most recently, to a second World Cup title as co-captain of the U.S. women's team. This new edition of Alex Morgan - revised and updated from cover to cover - follows every step of her journey, not only as a football player but also as a best-selling author, an actor, and so much more! Also available in the World Soccer Legends series: Megan Rapinoe ISBN 9780789213655

Rhapsody in Blue is a joyous celebration of growing up in the late 1960s and early 70s in the aftermath of England's 1966 World Cup victory. It was a time when football and pop culture merged - an era of smoke-filled pubs, when Fray Bentos pies and fry-ups were consumed without guilt and parents had no fear of letting their kids stay out after dark. It was also a time without live TV football, when being a fan meant traipsing through the turnstiles every week. The book vividly recalls how a boy fell in love with Chelsea Football Club, cheering the Blues on week after week, while at the same time becoming immersed in the culture of street football. Neil Fitzsimon skilfully transports us to the Stamford Bridge of his youth, when the likes of Ian Hutchinson and Peter Houseman lit up the pitch. Away from the terraces, he played in his own street team in bitterly contested games against rival street sides. Rhapsody in Blue is a moving and nostalgic tribute to a lost era and way of life.

The game of football has played a key role in shaping and cementing senses of national identity throughout the world. As any seasoned traveller can attest, the quickest entry into most cultures is by talking football or attending a match. The game is a prism for both witnessing and interacting with identities and cultures. Aware that the game may afford a space for expressing or organizing protest and dissent, powerful groups the world over may attempt to harness the forces of populist nationalism provided by football. This book examines football in 18 countries.

Ever wondered what it's REALLY like to be a Premier League footballer? My name is James Milner and I'm not a Ribena-holic. Let me share insights into what it's like being a professional footballer, across my different experiences with Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and now Liverpool (not forgetting a six-match loan spell at Swindon). Plus my highs - and a few too many lows - playing for England. There isn't a current player who's been playing Premier League football as long as I have, and that gives me a pretty rare perspective into how the top-flight game has changed over the past seventeen years. In this book, I explain how a footballer's working week unfolds - what we eat and how we prepare for matches technically, tactically, mentally and physically - and talk you through the ups and downs of a matchday. I reveal my penalty-taking techniques, half-time team talks and the differences between playing against Lionel Messi, Wilfried Zaha and Jimmy Bullard. I've played for managers ranging from Terry Venables, Peter Reid and Sir Bobby Robson to Martin O'Neill, Fabio Capello and Jurgen Klopp. I tell you what it's like sharing a training ground and a dressing-room with team-mates such as Lee Bowyer, Mario Balotelli and Mo Salah. I also reveal the behind-the-scenes work that went into Liverpool's Champions League success - and the celebrations that followed. So this isn't an autobiography. The whole point of Ask A Footballer is that you, the fans, asked me questions and I have used my own experiences to answer them. I hope you like it, and don't find it too boring.