Shortlisted for the 2022 Sports Book Awards 'brave ... visceral ... a brilliant, brilliant read ... I would recommend this book to everyone.' Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 Live 'so honest ... everybody should read Hooked to understand what anybody in this situation has been through.' Susanna Reid, Good Morning Britain 'a fantastic book ... a remarkable read.' Richard Madeley, Good Morning Britain 'Brave, poignant and very moving. This book will change lives.' Jamie Redknapp 'A courageous, emotional and vitally important book.' Jeff Stelling Paul Merson's wonderfully moving and brutally honest memoir of battling addiction for three decades. For twenty-one years Paul Merson played professional football. He won two First Division titles with Arsenal and was one of the finest players of his generation. But for thirty years Paul Merson has also been an addict. Alcohol, drugs, gambling: a desperately unenviable cocktail of addictions and depression which has plagued his entire adult life and driven him to the verge of suicide. 'I've come to realise that I'm powerless over alcohol ... I'm an alcoholic. My drinking and gambling have left a lot of wreckage.' Until recently the drinking and gambling were still raging. 'I wanted to kill myself. I couldn't go on anymore. I just couldn't see a way out.' Then something clicked. 'One day, I was walking home from the pub late on a Sunday evening, and I thought to myself: I've had enough of feeling like this, every day of my life. I rang up Alcoholics Anonymous the next day, and since then I haven't had a drink.' Hooked is Merson's wonderfully moving and brutally honest memoir of battling addiction, searingly charting his journey over three decades. It is absolutely unflinching in detailing his emotional and psychological troughs and in raking over the painful embers of an adult life blighted by such debilitating issues. Hooked will kick-start a crucial national conversation about addiction, depression and the damage they wreak. 'Addiction is the loneliest of places. You're a slave to insecurity and ego. But it has to be you that wants things to change. Never be afraid to talk: the more you talk about the addictions the more it takes the power out of them. You're never alone.'

It is not easy. Having a dream, having talent and being faced with a world that wants you to have neither – it is not easy.

This is not an easy story. This is a book about difficult odds, about cruelty, about broken families and addiction. This is also a story about hope. This is a tale of bravery and the undefeatability of the spirit of South African women. This is a story about football, but it is a story about so much more. This is a tale about the fearless women who carry the sport on their back, told through the eyes of the best player on the African continent.

This is the story of a little girl who rose out of the tough streets of Mohlakeng and went on to become a champion of the world.

Few people have made such an impact on so many areas of football, in so many parts of the world, as Gordon Jago. Jago - a tall, thoughtful centre-half with Charlton Athletic - made his biggest impression as a manager. In England, he created the foundation for the greatest Queens Park Rangers side in history - leading to speculation linking him with the national job - before transforming the identity of one of the country's most notorious clubs, Millwall. Jago resigned from the Den out of principle after a controversial episode of BBC TV's Panorama and moved to the US. He spent time in Florida before settling in Texas. From there, he was engaged in the political side of the North American game and was involved in discussions for America's hosting of the 1994 World Cup and the creation of the MLS. After retiring from coaching, Jago remained heavily involved with the Dallas Cup - a key part of the cultural heritage of the North American game - and was rewarded for his services to youth football with an MBE in 2006.

From the makers of the UK's best football magazine! MATCH is the UK's bestselling football annual and is top of Christmas wish lists for footy fans everywhere. Inside the Match Annual 2022 you can find the ultimate guide to the postponed Euro 2021, epic interviews with the stars, plus the UK and Ireland dream team and also discover everything you need to know about Messi, Ronaldo, Kane, Salah, Mbappe, Maguire, Hazard, Pogba and all the other top footballers. Plus, it's packed with legendary Prem No.7s, craziest stories from lockdown, brain-busting quizzes, the greatest Premiership team ever, bonkers pics, footy stars emojis, cool cartoons and loads more! Don't miss it!

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. When is the "beautiful game" at its most beautiful? How does football function as a lens through which so many view their daily lives? What's right in front of fans that they never see? Football celebrates and scrutinizes the world's most popular sport-from top-tier professionals to children just learning the game. As an American who began playing football in the 1970s as it gained a foothold in the States, Mark Yakich reflects on his own experiences alongside the sport's social and political implications, its narrative and documentary depictions, and its linguistic idiosyncrasies. Illustrating how football can be at once absolutely vital and "only a game," this book will be surprising and insightful for the casual and diehard fan alike. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Test your football knowledge with over 300 funny and fascinating questions about the beautiful game. How much do you know about football - and the world? Test yourself and your friends with over 300 brain-busting questions from Football School. Discover questions on star strikers, crafty coaches, momentous matches and much, much more. Packed with hilarious cartoons and fascinating trivia, this spin-off from the bestselling series is the perfect way for fans to learn more about the beautiful game.

'The perfect Christmas gift' - Alan Brazil A brilliantly entertaining and hilarious quiz book from the country's favourite sports broadcaster Know your bull calf from your bullseye? Your Hawksbee from your Hawk-Eye? Your Saints from your Seagulls? Then join the talkSPORT team as they test you and your mates or family on some of the greatest sporting moments of the past 50-odd years. With over 2,500 questions - split into family-friendly Easy, Medium and Hard sections for each sport - this awesome quiz book is the ultimate test of sporting knowledge and the perfect gift for anyone who loves the ups, downs and hilarity of the world of sport. Don't be a numpty - pick up your copy of The talkSPORT Quiz Book ... NOW

Whether it was helping Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win three consecutive NBA titles in the 1990s, or showing up to a book signing in a dress and full makeup, Dennis Rodman has always distinguished himself as one of the great and most polarizing personalities in the sports world. The controversial and flamboyant former basketball star is back in the national spotlight once again with I Should Be Dead By Now. This riveting book from the two-time best-selling author details Rodman's struggles in life since he stopped playing in the NBA, including the breakup of his marriage to movie and TV star Carmen Electra, and his problems with alcohol. I Should Be Dead By Now is a look at the life of one of America's most recognizable sports stars as he journeys beyond the court and into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Show Me The Way To Plough Lane is the ultimate story of football fan power. It is the story of how Wimbledon reclaimed its football club and brought it back to the heart of its community after years of nomadic existence. It retraces the club's history from its genesis on Wimbledon Common to Plough Lane, the place Wimbledon FC called home for the best part of a century. After rumours of mergers and relocations, the club ground-shared after the Taylor Report. A decade passed with the fans sold lie after lie until the club was ripped from its community and re-sited many miles away. Not only was the club homeless, it was now dead. A group of fans who were at the heart of protests against the move decided to start again - from the very bottom if necessary. And they vowed to bring football back to Wimbledon, to where it all started. After an absence of almost 30 years, the side finally returned home - just a long ball away from where the original ground sat, in Plough Lane.

For legions of soccer fans, the players on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team are the game's standard-bearers. Together their accomplishments include four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals. Within five years of their inaugural match in 1985, the team was the best women's soccer team on the planet. But its rise was neither easy nor harmonious. The national team came onto the scene when team sports for women were in their infancy. The players were paid little and played to sparse crowds on marginal pitches and carried their own equipment and luggage. They faced discrimination and unequal treatment, most notably from their governing bodies, FIFA and U.S. Soccer. The Sisterhood is the story of the first and second generations of national team players, known as the 99ers, who were the driving force behind the rise of U.S. women's soccer and who built the foundation for the team's enduring success. Rob Goldman takes the reader onto the pitch and into the minds of the players and coaches for the team's greatest victories and most heartbreaking defeats. Among those featured are players Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, and Brandi Chastain, as well as coaches Anson Dorrance and Tony DiCicco. When the team won the '99 World Cup in front of more than ninety thousand fans at the Rose Bowl, it was the largest crowd to ever attend a women's sporting event. After Brandi Chastain's winning penalty kick beat China, everything changed. These women's soccer players were no longer outcasts; they were hard-nosed players and leaders who not only transformed women's sports but led a cultural revolution. They were trailblazers, role models, and selfless best friends. Their story, told here largely in the voices of the players and coaches who were there, is epic and inspiring.

Just Champion: The Stories Behind Rangers' 2020/21 Title Triumph tells the tale of a league title win against all odds. Rangers were ridiculed in 2018 when they appointed rookie manager Steven Gerrard. But slowly, and methodically, he transformed the side into a machine, and one that would completely dismantle Celtic's hopes of landing an unprecedented tenth successive title. Now, 25 members of the Rangers family - from ex-players to loyal supporters - tell the story of how the title came home to Ibrox. Mark Walters, Marco Negri, Ally Dawson and Lisa Swanson are among the players featured, as is former director John Gilligan. The impressive cast list also includes comedian and broadcaster Andy Cameron MBE, former MP Sir Brian Donohoe and even one of Her Majesty's Ambassadors. TV stars, restaurateurs, coaches and entertainers all share their stories, and what connects them is an unequivocal love of Glasgow Rangers. You will laugh, cry and marvel at each of the unique tales in this book.

Following on from the fabulously well-received 'Big Brentford Book of the Seventies' and 'Big Brentford Book of the Eighties' the third monster-sized (556 pages) instalment chronicles arguably the club's most eventful decade - two promotions, two relegations, play-off roller-coaster rides, dramatic boardroom take-overs, supporter demonstrations, as well as a European cup run... and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The large-format, hi-spec full colour book offers supporters the most comprehensive and thorough retrospective look at the decade imaginable. The Big Brentford Book of the Nineties' contains match reports, player profiles, in-depth statistical information and a month by month diary (detailing all the comings and goings at Griffin Park), plus we have unearthed even more rarely seen or long-forgotten photos and press cuttings, as well as special interviews, which add a whole new dimension to the book. When combined, and at 600 pages, this really is the biggest and best Brentford book ever!

Premier league footballer turned pastor Gavin Peacock tells the story of his career and his faith in this fascinating, thought-provoking and personal read. 'There is more to life than football, fame and fortune. There is a greater joy and a greater glory to be had.' What makes a man walk away from his life as a professional footballer turned BBC pundit to become a church minister? They say it is every schoolboy's dream to play in the F.A. Cup Final and it's a dream that came true for Gavin Peacock. In his riveting autobiography follow Gavin's journey from a child growing up in a footballing family to Chelsea captain; from a son following in his father's footsteps to a husband and father supporting his own family; from pundit to preacher. Experience his highs and lows as he tells his story and explains the driving force behind it all - his love for football, his love for his family, and most importantly his love for God.

From Gazza and Cantona to Fergie and Wenger, the early years of the Premier League showcased some of English football's greatest personalities. Shoot: Celebrating the Best of the Premier League Years brings back fond memories of that beloved era - the days of seriously oversized shirts, extravagant goal celebrations, continental entertainers and managerial mind games. This captivating compilation lifts the best articles and funniest features from the 1990s and early 2000s, as Shoot followed English football's transformation into the global powerhouse we know today. An unashamed wallow in football nostalgia, it features all the favourites you'd expect, including the Roy of the Rovers comic strip, the irreverent Over The Top, the always-controversial Greavsie column and more.

Two Posts and a Field is a unique look at Liverpool FC through the eyes of Neville Gabie (artist and lifelong fan) and Stephen Done (writer and curator at the LFC Museum). Richly illustrated, it is part travelogue, part exploration of the LFC Museum's hidden treasures and part personal story, as Neville takes us from his childhood listening to games on the radio in South Africa to watching his first match at Anfield in 1973. The book tells the story of Neville and Stephen's roadtrip to find the home and birthplace of Mo Salah in Egypt's Nile Delta and of Avi Cohen, a player who broke the cultural mould when he signed from Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1980s. It shines a spotlight on the struggles of Liverpool's home-grown talent for racial equality, contrasting Trent Alexander Arnold with Howard Gayle, the first black player to be signed by Liverpool, with the backdrop of the Toxteth riots. The stories are brought to life by Gabie's beautiful goalpost photos, which stretch back 20 years.

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.

Little Bit More Silverware is the much-anticipated follow-up to last year's masterful @wengerknowsbest Twitter parody of the Arsenal manager's season.This comedy sequel is a top top hard-back souvenir of Arsenal's 2014-15 FA Cup-winning campaign, where the Gunners retained the famous [email protected]'s 125,000-plus Twitter followers have become captivated by its tongue-in-cheek comic interpretations of the Arsenal boss, which capture his character and mannerisms with an uncanny irreverence.Whether you support the Gunners or not, there's so much to enjoy in this hard-back book, but just bear in mind...you will never see the real Arsene Wenger in the same light again!"Is this book a top top souvenir, reliving Arsenal's outstanding FA Cup-retaining season 2014-15, from the super award-winning Arsene Wenger Twitter parody artist @wenger- knowsbest? Is it the follow-up to his debut book Little Bit Silverware that they have all been waiting for? Overall, basically yes."

Bristol Rovers programme editor Keith Brookman has collaborated with former club photographer Alan Marshall to look back at a decade in the life of Bristol's oldest professional football club. So much happened during those 10 years and the photos contained within these pages offer only a tantalising glimpse of some of the players and events that are now consigned to the club's illustrious past. Keith has researched and added detailed descriptions of all the images to produce a document that charts the highs and lows of life at Bristol Rovers from 1991-2001. A decade that began with the departure of Gerry Francis as manager saw so many changes, not least the move back from Bath to Bristol and, eventually a home they could call their own. Managers and players came and went, there were two relegations and another trip to Wembley and some memorable football along the way.

Rangers FC is one of the most successful football clubs in the world. Since their formation in 1872 The Gers have won 55 League Titles (a world record), 33 Scottish Cups and 27 League Cups. On the European stage they famously won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1972. Since their earliest days Rangers' home shirt has been Royal Blue and their instantly recognisable kit has become synonymous with their success. It is recognised all over the world. In this beautiful coffee-table book David Graham and John Smith, shirt collectors and Rangers historians, use stunning pictures of match worn shirts to take readers through the history of the club kit and in doing so also tell the story of the club, the famous matches and of course the iconic players who wore the shirt with pride and distinction. The book brings together some of the rarest and most iconic shirts ever seen and includes practically every home and away shirt variation worn over the last 60 years as well as some early examples from the 1930s, 1940's and 1950's and there is an extensive section of Goalkeeper shirts. Features written by the authors also explain the importance of the shirt to the club over its 150 year history. It includes shirts worn by the club's most famous players, including; Derek Johnstone, Alan Morton, George Young, Paul Gascoigne, Davie Cooper, Ally McCoist, Andy Goram, Richard Gough, Barry Ferguson and Brian Laudrup. The Rangers Shirt is a stunning and fitting record of the greatest collection of Rangers match worn shirts that has ever been brought together, and through it the history of this great club is retold as never before.

He is the goal-scoring legend of the Treble Triumph, a local hero in Manchester and back home in Norway. But when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was announced in December 2018 as interim Manchester United manager, his only Premier League experience was overseeing Cardiff City's relegation. After a dismal time following Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, could he really be the one to see the club challenge again for major honours? It all started so well - a record-breaking run of victories, Solskjaer seemingly the antidote to the confusion of Moyes, the stagnation of Van Gaal, the trauma of Mourinho, and the permanent job was secured. His first full season in charge was a bumpy ride, but Solskjaer steered the club to three semi-finals and a creditable third-place finish. He has reinvigorated players like Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, given opportunities to newcomers such as Mason Greenwood, and brought in fresh talent in the shape of Bruno Fernandes, Edinson Cavani and Harry Maguire. In this updated edition, Jackson reveals how Solskjaer inspired United back into title contention once again during 2020-21, also taking them to a European final. In The Red Apprentice, Jamie Jackson takes the reader back to Solskjaer's early days in Norway to discover the making of the man. He relives his extraordinary playing career and that goal in the Champions League final of 1999, exploring his move into coaching and seeks an answer to the vital question: can he do it? Can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer draw on his experience and knowledge of the United way and bring the club its 21st league title?