Return to The Lost World of Football through this Aladdin's cave of memories and memorabilia, guaranteed to whisk you back to the magical atmosphere of a more innocent era of football. If you were one of the army of obsessive soccer kids at any time from England's World Cup win to the dawn of the Premiership, you'll be relieved to hear that the cool kits and tabletop games, the mud, mavericks and Melchester Rovers are back and here to stay. Flankers with triangular sideboards, petrol freebies and gluey sticker albums will soon once again be flickering past your senses like your long-lost videos of the Sunday soccer highlights. But there's more to The Lost World of Football than a giant Kays catalogue of unforgettable football culture, clutter and wistful yearning. Here are countless tried-and-tested methods to leave the 21st century behind and revisit your own football Golden Age!

What Was Football Like in the 1990s? captures the spirit of a decade that witnessed so many changes in the game, especially off the field. This engaging and absorbing account of the era interweaves the author's memories and experiences with a wealth of research. The Taylor Report, the Bosman ruling, the advent of the Premier League, the increasing focus on the business of football, Sky television, the rising price of entry to top-flight football, hooliganism and racism are all covered along with the managers who defined the era - Ferguson, Dalglish, Wenger, Atkinson - and of course the players who lit up the decade, including Eric Cantona and other foreign stars who helped mould the Premier League. What Was Football Like in the 1990s? is an enthralling and illuminating account of a truly remarkable decade for the beautiful game, penned by a respected football author and journalist. It's a 'must' for any nostalgic fan.

Football stadiums are supposed to be packed with cheering fans. It was that way for more than 100 years until the coronavirus pandemic changed all our lives. Football managed to struggle on at some levels but without crowds - just cardboard cut-outs and fake noise instead. There was even a half measure for a while with a couple of thousand spectators allowed in. A banner at Old Trafford read, 'Football is nothing without fans', but what we discovered is that it isn't nothing, it's just better with fans there. Filled with fascinating stories, anecdotes, opinions and social media comments, Football is Better with Fans explores what it means to be a supporter. It's a light-hearted and highly dippable look at the lives of loyal fans, the fun and games they've enjoyed, their songs, banter, commitment, tattoos and traditions. The book doesn't shy away from tragedies, hooliganism or racism, but mainly it's a joyful celebration of football fandom and how we all survived when we couldn't go to games.

Cardiff City Miscellany collects together all the vital information you never knew you needed to know about the Bluebirds. In these pages you will find irresistible anecdotes and the most mindblowing stats and facts. Heard the one about the striker who bought a round of drinks for the City directors, and cheekily put it on the club's bill? How about the time the first team worked as labourers on a Ninian Park stand? Or the three brothers who appeared in the same City squad? Do you know which City keeper let in 32 goals in a month? When a fan walked to away matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle? Or how a Cup tie came against Bristol City lasted 202 minutes? All these stories and hundreds more appear in a brilliantly researched collection of trivia - essential for any fan who holds the riches of Bluebirds history close to their heart.

It's an embarrassing truth for many football fans that it was only when professional football was eventually forced to close down that we recognised Covid-19 as a genuine threat to our way of life. Maybe just as shameful was the fact that once lockdown became normalised, it didn't take long for chatter to start about when the game might begin again. This book begins by charting what happened in the weeks leading up to that point, placing football in the context of furloughs, some new-found community awareness and dithering politicians. At the heart of the book are seven case studies of teams. From Burnley in the Premier League, down through the divisions to grassroots football, Project Restart looks at the hopes and fears of supporters and the actions of those charged with keeping their beloved clubs afloat. It looks at how we almost adjusted to the eerie echo of games on TV with no crowds and finishes by trying to address the biggest question in town: what will football look like in a post-Covid future?

'EIGHT YEARS WITH RANGERS, MORE THAN 300 GAMES, INCREDIBLE HIGHS, PAINFUL LOWS - AND IT ALL CAME DOWN TO ONE NIGHT IN THE NOU CAMP' 24 May 1972. The biggest night in the history of Rangers. Having overcome the might of Italian giants Torino and Beckenbauer's Bayern Munich en route to the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, Dynamo Moscow stood between the Light Blues and the trophy. The stage was set in Barcelona for an unsung hero: Dave Smith. Creator of two of the goals on the night and arguably man of the match. In a rollercoaster career, Smith joined the Ibrox club from Aberdeen in 1966 for a record fee. He tasted defeat in the 1967 European Cup Winners' Cup final and had his career blighted by two horrific leg breaks during a period in which he also experienced the tragedy of the Ibrox disaster. But by 1972 Smith was a lynchpin of Willie Waddell's team. Playing as sweeper, he dicated the tempo of games with his vision and pinpoint passing. The star of the Nou Camp victory was voted Player of the Year in Scotland to cap the most memorable of seasons. He departed Rangers in 1974, making a shock switch to Arbroath after a fallout with new Ibrox manager Jock Wallace, before going on to star overseas in South Africa and then alongside George Best for the LA Aztecs in America. Rejecting the chance to join Paris Saint-Germain, Smith chose to end his career in Scotland's lower leagues as player-manager at Berwick Rangers where he would find success and happiness playing the game the way it was meant to be played.

European societies have long been tarnished by racial discrimination, and the game of football is no exception. With immigrants arriving from former colonies, European Union member-states, and third-world countries, integration in these two societies has been ascribed significance across the continent. Considering that the conduct of football fans in stadiums reflects_to a certain extent_society as a whole, this book examines the impact of racism upon the popular game. Anti-Racism in European Football provides a critical assessment of the campaigns and related policies of organizations that work to understand racism in football. It explores what has been achieved by the organizations' campaigns, the problems they encountered, and how these were overcome. In its focus on the work that anti-racism organizations carry out, this book's original contributions should appeal to professionals in football-related NGOs, and students and scholars working in social science fields related to racism and sport.

These all-inclusive skills resources provide the focused practice students need to apply, reinforce, and review skills in reading, math, and test-taking. Answer key included.

When Diego Simeone entered the gates of Atletico Madrid for the third time in his career, he was the club's 17th coach in 15 years. Once a key player with the Rojiblancos, he had helped them lift the title in 1995/96. That heady moment was now a distant memory, as the side had scarcely won any silverware in the last 15 years. A mid-table team at best, having faced relegation, the red side of Madrid had fallen from the top step of Spanish football, with their fans wondering when they might once more celebrate a long run of success at the foot of the Neptune Fountain - a centrepiece for Atleti celebrations. Made in Argentina, Mastered in Madrid: How Diego Simeone Awakened a Sleeping Giant explores the tactics of the charismatic 'El Cholo', who has turned heads with his side's gritty, dogged style of play and built a team that embodies its people and culture. Discover how Simeone has turned things around for Atletico Madrid and helped write a major chapter in the club's illustrious history.

The first of its kind for any sport in South Africa. A cricket love story of epic dimensions with details which will blow readers away. Cricket and Conquest goes back to the beginnings 221 years ago and fundamentally revises long-established foundational narratives of early South African cricket. It reaches beyond old whites-only mainstream histories to integrate at every stage and in every region the experiences of black and women cricketers. A purely British military game at first, cricket accompanied the process of colonial conquest every step of the way in the nineteenth century. This book and its companion volumes explains how racism came to be built into the very fabric of cricket's `culture' and `traditions', and how it was uncannily tied to the broader historical processes that shaped South Africa. The unique experiences of our different cricket communities are described in ways that have not been done before. The exhaustive research and inter-connections highlighted here makes this a completely new general history of South African cricket.

Philosophy and Football: The PFFC Story is the extraordinary account of how a team of friends kicking a ball about in Regent's Park was transformed by European travel in the shadow of Brexit. Playing in shirts adorned with the words of Camus, Shankly and Cantona among others, Philosophy Football FC created its own philosophy in opposition to modern football. Its occasional players travelled from London to take part in tournaments in unique venues such as a national football stadium in Rome, a Spanish bullring in Bilbao and Taksim Square in Istanbul. Practising its 'slow foot' philosophy, it exported the idea of a revolutionary and more complex three-sided football. Inspired by European culture, PFFC was transformed from a team that regularly lost heavily to winning three consecutive London league championships. Over 25 years PFFC attracted players from 24 countries and six continents. Its story illustrates the power of football to reach people from all walks of life: to travel, play, eat, drink, win and lose together.

In January 1939, just months after hanging up his boots and a few weeks into his new career as a talent scout, William Ralph 'Dixie' Dean, the former Everton and England legend, received a surprise request for assistance from the far west of Ireland. Could he find a goalscorer for Sligo Rovers - the beating heart of a small, provincial town - to drive their dreams of a lucrative cup run and help protect the club's very existence? Dean set about finding the right man, but unable to locate candidates willing to make the move across the Irish Sea, he had an idea. What if he were to answer Sligo's call? And so began the unlikely story of how one of the greatest centre-forwards ever to grace the game added an unexpected and ultimately uplifting chapter to his storied football career. In the Shadow of Benbulben is a romantic tale of divine intervention, uncanny timing and drama on and off the pitch. It's the tale of 'Dixie' Dean's four months with the Bit O'Red that was to leave an indelible mark on the player, the club and the town.

Often football coaches find that to keep their players motivated and engaged, they must create new practices every week. But when there are those particular practices that the players enjoy playing again and again which also provide the ideal environment for them to develop, why not use them more than once? Essential Practices for Player Development will provide the reader with 10 core football practice sessions that the players will find both enjoyable and challenging and that the coach will find develops key areas of the game. There are 9 adaptations provided with each core practice, making 100 practices in total. Every practice is linked to one key area of the game that is identified as being essential to player development. To support practice delivery, the book additionally covers key aspects of session planning so that the most effective learning environment can be produced for the players. Also included is information on long-term player development, recognizing and supporting individual player needs, interventions, and player challenges. This book is not only a resource for football coaches just starting out on their coaching journey, but it is also for more experienced coaches looking to adapt their practice sessions. All practices provided can be used exclusively to create training curriculum for a full season, meaning there is no need for a coach to create a new session every week. The sessions can also be used to form the foundations of the curriculum, leaving room for a coach to add in those favorite practices. Essential Practices for Player Development is a book coaches will refer back to time and again.

A CLUB ON THE RISE. A CITY IN FLUX. THIS IS UNION BERLIN. No football club in the world has fans like 1. FC Union Berlin. The underdogs from East Berlin have stuck it to the Stasi, built their own stadium and even given blood to save their club. But now they face a new and terrifying prospect: success. Scheisse! tells the human stories behind the unexpected rise of this unique football club. But it's about more than just football. It's about the city Union call home. As the club fight to maintain their rebel spirit among the modern football elite, their trajectory mirrors that of contemporary Berlin itself: from divided Cold War battleground to European capital of cool. Scheisse! will appeal to readers who are captivated by sports biographies such as Raphael Honigstein's Das Reboot and social history like John Kampfner's Why The Germans Do It Better.

Many of the top world-class professional football players played Futsal in their youth - Pele, Luis Figo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi and Fabregas - and have stated that playing the game made them the great players they are today. Futsal is an exciting, fast moving game of technique, skill, tactics and physical endeavour. Players take the ultimate challenge by testing their skills under the most intense pressure due to the lack of time and space. Coaches face huge tactical challenges as the game changes minute by minute. It is for these reasons that Futsal has taken a huge grip upon the football landscape and the development of players from grassroots upwards. This book is the ideal book to assist players and coaches in honing their futsal skills and techniques. If you want to be the new Messi, Ronaldo or Fabregas, can you afford not to read this book?

European societies have long been tarnished by racial discrimination, and the game of football is no exception. With immigrants arriving from former colonies, European Union member-states, and third-world countries, integration in these two societies has been ascribed significance across the continent. Considering that the conduct of football fans in stadiums reflects-to a certain extent-society as a whole, this book examines the impact of racism upon the popular game. Anti-Racism in European Football provides a critical assessment of the campaigns and related policies of organizations that work to understand racism in football. It explores what has been achieved by the organizations' campaigns, the problems they encountered, and how these were overcome. In its focus on the work that anti-racism organizations carry out, this book's original contributions should appeal to professionals in football-related NGOs, and students and scholars working in social science fields related to racism and sport.

The Beautiful Game and The Ugly Truth: Football's Tragic Link to Dementia is an emotive examination of the world's most popular sport and its ties to a devastating disease. In 2002, a coroner ruled Jeff Astle's death at the age of 59 was the result of heading footballs. His daughter, Dawn, says football does not believe it can be a killer - but that her father's death certificate proves it can be. Evidence of its impact continues to pile up, 20 years after Jeff's passing. In 2019, Dr Willie Stewart's groundbreaking FIELD study found former footballers are three-and-a-half times more likely than the general population to die of a neurodegenerative disease. In 2020, Sir Bobby Charlton became the fifth member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side to be diagnosed with dementia. Countless families have seen loved ones slip away from them. Modern professional players are fearing for their futures, too, as experts explain why it is wrong to lay the blame on those old heavy leather footballs.

Ten Big Ears is the story of one of the biggest football clubs in the world, told through an eyewitness account that spans four decades. The story begins and ends with Barcelona in disgrace and threatened with a ban from UEFA competition. In between is a fascinating account of some of the greatest football the world has ever seen, including all five of the club's European Cup Final triumphs. Find out what it was like to attend Barcelona games in European club competitions in six different countries. Drawing on wider historical and cultural references to provide an alternative and quirky take on the rollercoaster that is Barca, this is almost certainly the only football book to reference philosophy, classical antiquity, religion, popular music and reality television dance shows. Written by a fan of another football club, Ten Big Ears is a personal and occasionally satirical account that commemorates the 30th anniversary of the club's first European Cup win in 1992. It is also a unique record of how watching the game has changed.

How much do you really know about West Ham United? Put your Hammers knowledge to the test with this bumper book of brainteaser quizzes and fascinating facts, beautifully illustrated by one of the world's leading sports artists. It's packed with trivia on all the West Ham greats - from World Cup heroes Moore, Hurst and Peters to Hammers legends Bonds, Brooking and beyond - providing hours of highly dippable fun and entertainment. Which West Ham manager played in a rock band called Rawbau? Who was West Ham's first non-British manager? A statue erected near the Boleyn Ground, honouring the Hammers' 1966 World Cup heroes, also includes which Everton player? Fan favourite Clyde Best was born in which country? Trivquiz West Ham United holds the answers to all these questions and hundreds more.

A Times Sports Book of the Year The story of Jack and Bobby Charlton, and a family that characterised English football for decades 'Gripping' Daily Mail 'Wilson is a fine, nuanced writer' TLS 'A powerful chronicle' Irish Times 'Surprisingly moving' Guardian 'Razor-sharp tactical analysis' Irish Independent In later life Jack and Bobby didn't get on and barely spoke but the lives of these very different brothers from the coalfield tell the story of late twentieth-century English football: the tensions between flair and industry, between individuality and the collective, between right and left, between middle- and working-classes, between exile and home. Jack was open, charismatic, selfish and pig-headed; Bobby was guarded, shy, polite and reserved to the point of reclusiveness. They were very different footballers: Jack a gangling central defender who developed a profound tactical intelligence; Bobby an athletic attacking midfielder who disdained systems. They played for clubs who embodied two very different approaches, the familial closeness and tactical cohesion of Leeds on the one hand and the individualistic flair and clashing egos of Manchester United on the other. Both enjoyed great success as players: Jack won a league, a Cup and two Fairs Cups with Leeds; Bobby won a league title, survived the terrible disaster of the plane crash in Munich, and then at enormous emotional cost, won a Cup and two more league titles before capping it off with the European Cup. Together, for England, they won the World Cup. Their managerial careers followed predictably diverging paths, Bobby failing at Preston while Jack enjoyed success at Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday before leading Ireland to previously un-imagined heights. Both were financially very successful, but Jack remained staunchly left-wing while Bobby tended to conservatism. In the end, Jack returned to Northumberland; Bobby remained in the North-West. Two Brothers tells a story of social history as well as two of the most famous football players of their generation.

Derby County On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the club's rollercoaster past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable Rams diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's formation in 1884 through to the Premier League era, the black-and-white faithful have witnessed Football League and Cup triumphs, hard-fought derby matches, European adventures and heartbreak - all featured here. Timeless greats such as Dave Mackay, Jackie Stamps and Steve Bloomer, Kevin Hector, Stefanio Eranio and Charlie George all loom larger than life. Revisit 29 March 1975, when Roger Davies scored all five against Luton (and had two disallowed). 1 June 1967: the arrival of young boss Brian Clough from Hartlepools United. And 28 April 1996: when a Robin Van der Laan goal pipped visitors Palace to automatic promotion to the Premier League.