Have you ever wanted to visit the most scenic, historic or important football grounds in Britain, but weren't sure where to start or what to include? In British Football's Greatest Grounds, Mike Bayly offers a bucket list of places to watch football in England, Wales and Scotland as chosen by fans across the world.This first-of-its-kind book introduces the reader to a diverse and often breathtaking range of Britain's football venues. In addition to the oldest, biggest and highest our nation has to offer, it covers lesser-known grounds nestling next to castles, beaches, churches and mountain ranges, as well as modern Premier League stadiums in major cities. Featuring beautiful images taken by acclaimed sports photographers, along with written contributions from respected industry figures, British Football's Greatest Grounds is part guide, part love letter to the history, people and places that showcase the best of our unique football landscape. It's sure to leave you planning a future football trip.

Who is the richest, the first, the best, the most beautiful, the most influential, the most important, the poorest, the best-dressed WAG? --- As the influx of money into English football grew stratospheric, so did the wealth of the footballers and their WAGS. Once housewives, today WAGgery guarantees instant celebrity. Their own WAG 'league' draws as much media attention as the beautiful game. Here is the first-ever history of WAGs and how they came to dominate the front pages as much as the footballers do the sports pages. There are epic rivalries, catfights and gossip between and about the women and their husbands; from the first stirrings of the phenomenon 1960s to the WAGs' roaring entry on to the front pages, to today where they are an institution with winners and losers. What makes WAGs tick? Do they want to get to know the man behind their footballer? Or is it something else? Come and find out! --- Victoria Beckham, Coleen Rooney, Rebekah Vardy, Cheryl Cole, Joy Beverley, Angie Best, Tina Moore, Danielle Souness, Karen Souness, Sheryl Gascoigne, Ulrika Johnson, Nancy Dell'Olio, Stacey Giggs, Natasha Giggs, Vanessa Perroncel and many others.

The System is the story of Scotland's mission to re-establish itself as a footballing nation that can produce world-class players again. Such was the quality of the footballer once produced in Scotland that by the time the 22 players from the 1982 World Cup Scotland squad retired, they could boast 32 European club competition winners' medals between them. Although Scotland went on to compete in the 1998 World Cup finals, they have yet to qualify for the competition in the 21st century. This book looks at the science of talent development and how players are brought on under Scotland's current system. It explores everything from the influence of Scots on the game worldwide, to the demise of street football, the potential flaws in the way children are selected for elite academies, how they are coached and much more. After examining every aspect of the process, Graeme McDowall has concluded that we need to turn the system on its head to produce the type of player Scotland was once famous for.

This book presents a cross-disciplinary examination of the lived experiences of girls and women football players using theoretical insights from sports studies, psychology, sociology and gender studies. It examines the concept of 'the football self' - your own, personal football identity that encapsulates the importance of football to our everyday lives - and what that can tell us about the complex relationships between sport, family, gender and identity. The book draws on in-depth ethnographic research involving players and family members, and offers important new insights into the everyday experiences of those girls and women who play. It breaks new ground in focusing on the significant relationships between player and family with a particular focus on parenting through football. The book brings to the fore key debates around gender identity, barriers to participation, cultural gaps and discrimination. The author also brings a personal perspective to bear, drawing on experience gained over 20 years as a player, adding an extra critical layer to her important empirical research. This is essential reading for all researchers and students with an interest in football, sport studies or issues around gender, inclusion or the family in sport, and fascinating reading for anybody generally curious about football.

What is talent? How do you get the best out of yourself? What are the secrets of leadership? In Edge, Ben Lyttleton gets unprecedented access to some of the world's top football clubs to discover their innovative methods for developing talent - and reveals how we can use them in our everyday lives. Elite teams now look for an edge by improving the intangible skills of their players 'above the shoulder'. Liverpool's approach to talent will make you more creative. Chelsea's culture will improve your resilience. Didier Deschamps will improve your leadership skills. Xavi Hernandez will help you make better decisions. But how? Football is the most hot-housed, intense, financially profitable talent factory on the planet. It's time we woke up to the lessons it can provide. We all want to have an edge. This is your chance to find one...

Anatomy of a Genius is a tactical breakdown of Lionel Messi's playing career at FC Barcelona. Despite spending his whole career with the club, the Argentine genius had to adapt and improve his game to become the foundation of Barca's modern success. This book explores his journey - from emerging as a talented prodigy to becoming the best player on the planet - through an enthralling narrative, in-depth tactics and key statistics. A great deal has been written already about the famous boy from Rosario, as his story has been told time and again by journalists and renowned authors. Anatomy of a Genius digs deeper to uncover things we don't already know, delving into stats and tactics to reveal the how and why behind one of the world's greatest athletes and his phenomenal career.

England On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the national side's rollercoaster past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable Lions diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the first ever international match in 1872 to the Premier League era, England's faithful fans have witnessed decades of world domination and tragicomic failures, grudge matches, World Cup heroics, bizarre goals, fouls and metatarsals - all featured here. Timeless greats such as Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Paul Gascoigne, Steve Bloomer, David Beckham and Stanley Matthews all loom larger than life. Revisit 12 May 1971, when England beat Malta 5-0 and Gordon Banks only got four touches - all backpasses! 1 September 2001: Germany 1-5 England! Or 12 July 1966, when the England team took a morale-boosting trip to the set of You Only Live Twice...

'Football matters, as poetry does to some people and alcohol does to others...Football is inherent in the people...There is more eccentricity in deliberately disregarding it than in devoting a life to it. The way we play the game, organize it and reward it reflects the kind of community we are' Written just two years after England's '66 triumph when the national game was at its zenith, Arthur Hopcraft's The Football Man is repeatedly quoted as the best book ever written about the sport. This definitive, magisterial study of football and society profiles includes interviews with all-time greats like Bobby Charlton, George Best, Alf Ramsay, Stanley Matthews, Matt Busby and Nat Lofthouse. It is a snapshot of a pivotal era in sporting history; changes and decisions were made in the sixties that would create the game we know today. For many who are disenchanted with the modern game - the grip of businesses and corporations, the dominance of advertising, the extortionate ticket prices and inaccessible matches, the fickleness of teenage millionaires - The Football Man takes the reader back to the heart and soul of the national game when pitches were muddy and the players were footballers not brands. Voted in May 2005 as one of Observer's top sports books of all time, this is a long-awaited reissue of the classic football 'bible'. 'Masterpiece among sports books' Guardian 'It remains one of my favourite football reads' Graham Taylor

Jimmy Greaves: The One and Only is the sensational and official biography of arguably the greatest British goalscorer of all time, authorised by Jimmy's widow, Irene, and told by his friend of 64 years, Norman Giller. This brutally honest 'warts 'n' all' account covers the many highs and lows of Jimmy's extraordinary triple career as great footballer, master TV raconteur and then stage comedian, interrupted by six years of alcoholism. Jimmy and Irene lost their four-month-old son to pneumonia when they were barely out of their teens, and Norman examines how this tragedy set the tone for Jimmy's life. A parade of legends - Sir Geoff Hurst, Sir Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Harry Redknapp among them - give personal glimpses of Greaves, and Norman, who delivered the eulogy at Jimmy's funeral, reveals stories of him that will surprise and shock his army of admirers. How did missing the 1966 World Cup Final really affect him? Was he ever drunk on the pitch? Who were his favourite players, and what did he consider his greatest goal?

It's a tally that beggars belief - 340 goals in a single season. Even more surprising is the fact few people can name the player behind that record-breaking feat. Paul Moulden was a schoolboy phenomenon. As star striker of the renowned Bolton Lads' Club, a 14-year-old Moulden smashed every goalscoring record as he netted 340 times in one incredible season - including 289 league goals in 39 matches. In doing so, he secured a place in The Guinness Book of Records. Coveted by Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough and other top bosses and chased by every leading club in the land, Moulden chose his boyhood heroes, Manchester City, and looked to have the world at his feet. What happened next is hard to believe, as the grounded and hugely talented goalscorer suffered almost every major injury possible over the next decade. This is a story of extraordinary talent and broken dreams, told bluntly but without bitterness. Paul Moulden should have been a household name. This book might still make that happen.

Zurich, 2 December 2010. Sepp Blatter pulls the name of Qatar from the envelope. The accusations fly and the recriminations start. And once it s all sunk in, we start looking at maps and temperature charts and try to scrape together any fragments of knowledge about kingdoms in the Arabian desert. The Armchair Guide looks underneath some of the myths and preconceptions and tries to provide the average fan if there s any such thing with some sound information about what a World Cup in the desert might look like. Was the bidding process corrupt? How many people actually did die building stadiums? How hot will it really be? Can I go there with my mates and have a drink anywhere? What will the legacy be both in the region and for the global game? A light-hearted, sideways glance, Armchair Guide uses stories from within and beyond the game to cover everything about the 2022 Winter World Cup. It can t boast that it will pick a winner, but it ll go some way to shedding light on football s place in a changing world.

Almost half of professional footballers face the threat of bankruptcy within five years of their retirement. A third will be divorced less than a year after hanging up their boots. With little or no support from the game to which they gave their lives, many end up addicted, depressed, living with debilitating illnesses, behind bars or even worse. While an elite few may be financially secure, or others may land plum managerial jobs or punditry roles, it transpires that for the majority retirement is something they're not prepared for and lives can spiral into a rapid and depressing decline. Retired is the ultimate 'where are they now?' and asks what actually happens to most footballers once they hang up their boots? How do players cope with going from heroes to zeroes in such a short space of time? And what can be done to help with their transition to normal life?

In 2020, Liverpool Football Club reclaimed its position as the number one football team in England. But it was a journey that had taken the world-famous club 30 years; a journey that was filled with drama, intrigue, and numerous false dawns. Written by a lifelong Liverpool fan, this is a dramatic story of highs and lows, and how the club overcame their extended wait to become Champions Again! Featuring analysis of the managers, the players (good and bad), and the owners who have come and gone, this is a rollercoaster ride from the success of 1990 through the disappointments that were endured during a three-decade hiatus. Covering the triumphs and travesties - and the incidents and tragedy - along the way, this book celebrates the reappearance of Liverpool FC at the pinnacle of English football. Ian Carroll is a published writer of fiction and non-fiction, and was the Script Editor for the play 'Waiting for Hillsborough', which won the Liverpool Echo Best Writing award. He was born in 1966, and named after Ian St John, who scored the winning goal in the 1965 FA Cup final - the first time in the club's history that they had won the cup - and has been a Liverpool football fan since the day he was born.

This fascinating collection brings together leading football historians and sociologists from the UK, Germany, the USA and Australia to offer fresh perspectives on the early development of football (soccer), not only illuminating our understanding of the early history of the world's most popular sport, but also the importance of sport in our broader social and cultural history. The book presents new evidence and fresh perspectives which will inform the robust debate that has been raging about the origins and early development of football. It addresses key issues at the centre of this debate, including the influence of former English public schoolboys, the development of football subcultures outside of prestige educational institutions, and the intersection and divergence of the various football codes around the world. The Early Development of Football is an important resource for anyone working in the history of football or sports in general, football studies or the sociology of sport. It is also a useful read for those interested in sport management and the development of sports organisations and rules.

In our world of global superstar footballers, it's easy to forget the grassroots of a sport where loyalty to a hometown club is often rock solid - and counts for everything. Even as local communities come under threat, football fandom still pulls us together. But why is this? What is the special magic that connects towns and teams? For many of us, the local club offers it all: passion, hope, heartache, drama. And a sense of belonging. The town where we grew up and all the places we've lived are the bedrock of our lives, and memories of seeing the local team play are inextricably intertwined with our sense of place and identity. Steve Leach spends a year visiting the twenty towns and clubs that are special to him. He celebrates the distinctiveness of these places, the fascinating differences between Lincoln and Leyton, Barrow and Birmingham, Macclesfield and Morecambe - towns and teams that may not be glamorous, but they are unique and, more importantly, they are home.

Paul Parker's England manager, Sir Bobby Robson, once described him as a player who "leaps like a salmon and tackles like a ferret". Paul's positional sense saw him snuff out the threat of the world's top strikers as he wrote his name into football's history books with his dazzling displays in the Italia 90 World Cup. The night England lost the semi-final to Germany on penalties saw Paul intrinsically involved in both goals, in a game which has gone down in football history. At the time he was captain and one of the most high-profile players of a buoyant QPR team. He later won a host of medals with Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson built a dynasty on the defence, marshalled by Paul. In his autobiography, Paul relives the years of struggle against racism which brought him to the top level of English football, reveals how he saved Fulham Football Club from extinction, why he left QPR and refused to sign for Arsenal and Spurs and how he struggled to cope with the debilitating injury which cost him his career. Never one to shirk an opinion, Paul reveals his thoughts on everything from bungs to racism, from the proliferation of England caps in the modern era to having a winning mentality. He also tells bundles of stories about the many personalities within the game with whom he has worked including Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Robson, David Beckham, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Gould, Trevor Francis and Malcolm MacDonald. With a foreword by Sir Alex Ferguson, "Paul Parker: Tackles Like a Ferret" will entrance fans of all three clubs, plus a much wider audience who still hark back to that night in Turin when England so nearly reached the World Cup Final.

In February 2012, Rangers faced an uncertain future and fans feared for their club as a Scottish institution was plunged into crisis. Just months later, Rangers would start out on what those supporters christened 'The Journey' as they attempted to make their way back to the top of the game from the Third Division. The years that followed were amongst the most tumultuous and controversial in the club's illustrious history as financial results became as important and noteworthy as football ones. Through it all, Rangers supporters followed near and far. In May 2021, Rangers completed their journey as Steven Gerrard's side were crowned Premiership champions. Going for 55 tells the story of the campaign, giving insight and offering analysis into how Gerrard revolutionised the club and restored Rangers to their place at the top of Scottish football. With interviews from the money men who funded the rebuilding job, the staff and players that made the dream a reality and those in the press that saw history being made, this is a sporting tale like no other.

This book takes a close look at discrimination in football in order to illuminate our understanding of the interaction between sport and wider society, politics and culture, particularly in terms of the (re)production of identity. It presents insightful and diverse international case studies, including the shadow of fascism in Italian football; fan activism against racism, sexism, and homophobia in US soccer; migrant football clubs in Germany, and the use of football club history in the teaching of antisemitism. Together they demonstrate the damaging societal consequences of unchecked resentment and discrimination in football fan cultures but also the potential for fan activism as a socio-positive force. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in football or fandom, the sociology of sport, cultural studies, or political science.

Swansea City Miscellany collects together all the vital information you never knew you needed to know about the Swans. In these pages you will find irresistible anecdotes and the most mindblowing stats and facts. Heard the one about the Swans striker who was sent off after zero seconds? How about the keeper who played a full game up front? Or why Swansea City have a strange link with a bustling New York neighbourhood? Did you know that the Swans broke the record for the longest Premier League match ever? Which legendary manager penned his own book of sports-influenced poetry? And what a great fantasy team you can make up from all the Joneses that have played for the club? All these stories and hundreds more appear in a brilliantly researched collection of trivia - essential for any Swans fan who holds the riches of the club's history close to their heart.

Football brings joy to people across the world, and it evokes memories and nostalgia about past glories and events. When a football club folds, these memories and nostalgic moments are often all that is left. Forgotten Football Clubs uncovers the stories of clubs that have vanished, revealing their history, their successes and their ultimate failures. Some of the clubs were founded in the 19th century and lived for more than 100 years, while others only lasted a few years, but each one has an interesting backstory. Author Philip O'Rourke interviewed fans and experts from the teams' respective countries to find out why they disappeared and how it happened. Along the way, he analyses their results, what honours they won and casts a spotlight on their key players, managers and any controversies. The book unearths a diverse range of tales, transporting us from Asia to South America and from Europe to Africa. With such an eclectic mix, these are stories for football fans young and old.

For 150 years the FA Cup has been at the heart of English sport. From Stanley Matthews to Bob Stokoe, Bert Trautmann to Arsene Wenger and Ronnie Radford to Billy the white horse - its heroes, myths and legends form the fabric of our national game. The Cup celebrates the story of the world's greatest football competition with more than 100 stunning and evocative photos. Here is an epic tale of glorious sporting heritage and extraordinary longevity. From its Victorian beginnings as a competition for teams of former public schoolboys, to the vast Edwardian crowds flocking to the Crystal Palace, to the human dramas at Wembley in the 1950s and the heyday of the 1970s. Each photo is accompanied by the stories behind the people, places and occasions, going well beyond the familiar FA Cup tales. From the early rounds through to the pomp and pageantry of the final - this book brings you the full FA Cup story.