It was the summer of 1983. Walsall were preparing for another season in the Third Division when British Airways' advertising people got in touch. The airline were embarking on an innovative promotional campaign and needed the club's help. To show how quickly continental cities could be reached from regional airports, they wanted to feature the team beneath the banner, 'They're only 90minutes away from a place in Europe'. Walsall were the only league club in the West Midlands never to have taken part in a European competition, and even their most ardent supporters didn't expect that to change any time soon. As the new season started, Walsall looked set for relegation, but they soon embarked on a League Cup campaign that saw them defeat Arsenal, stun Liverpool and come closer to reaching Europe than anyone would have dared imagine. Based on interviews with the players and management team from that fondly remembered side, 90 Minutes from Europe is an underdog story to lift the spirits and inspire us all.

Set in the 1980s, Not All-Ticket: From Withernsea High to Boothferry Park Halt chronicles a dramatic period in the history of Hull City AFC through the eyes of a young fan from rural East Yorkshire. From relegation and receivership to the 'Robinson renaissance', Lusmore experiences a rollercoaster of emotions, culminating in dismay at perhaps the most contentious managerial dismissal in the club's history. In the process, he charts a course through his coming of age, capturing how it feels to follow an unfashionable team in an often unloved city. He flirts with rival sporting attractions, then tosses them aside in favour of the small-fry team in this tatty fish town. The football-fuelled adrenalin rush is soon replicated in his first forays into the local music and club scene. Discovering the delights of Hull after dark, he soon realises that Saturday is about much more than just the match. First-hand terrace tales and musical memories abound in this uplifting memoir.

Whether you want to impress friends and colleagues with new-found football wisdom, brush up on details you're unsure about (the offside rule, anyone?) or improve your practical skills, this is the book for you! Covering all the basics of the game, rules and tactics, as well as giving an in-depth history of the sport and how it has evolved to the present day, this indispensable guide will get you up to speed on the most popular game in the world in no time. With dream team formations, tips on football betting and supporting, essential coverage on the World Cup, and stats on current teams, players and managers both at home and abroad, football expert and Guardian journalist Scott Murray keeps it fun, fresh and knowledgeable to get you through the major tournaments and beyond. Football For Dummies includes: PART 1: KICK OFF Chapter 1: The bare essentials Chapter 2: A rich history Chapter 3: Get your boots on - the gear you need PART 2: PLAYING THE GAME Chapter 4: Laying down the laws Chapter 5: Positions and tactics Chapter 6: Honing your skills Chapter 7: Talented training Chapter 8: Coaching, managing and leadership Chapter 9: Putting it all into practice PART 3: THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL Chapter 11: The World Cup Chapter 12: The international scene Chapter 13: The British club scene Chapter 14: Taking on the world Chapter 15: Women's football PART 4: FANS ENCLOSURE Chapter 16: Going to the match Chapter 17: Read all about it...Chapter 18: Compulsive viewing: Football on TV (and film, and DVD...) Chapter 19: Joining in (sort of...) PART 5: THE PART OF TENS Chapter 20: Great players Chapter 21: Great managers Chapter 22: Great matches Chapter 23: Bad behaviour PART 6: APPENDICES Appendix 1: Appendix A: Honour Boards Appendix 2: Glossary Appendix 3: Key Football Organisations

Sixteen Stoke City legends tell the stories behind their favourite ever games for the club - enabling Potters fans of all ages to relive these magic moments through the eyes and emotions of the men who were there, playing their hearts out for the red-and-white stripes...Terry Conroy recounts scoring in the 1972 League Cup Final, and Mark Stein remembers another Wembley win in the 1992 Autoglass Trophy. Denis Smith recalls when Stoke took on the best that Europe had to offer, and came so close to defeating mighty Ajax, while Peter Fox takes the unusual step of selecting a game in which he only played for half an hour - the 4-4 draw with Luton in 1982. Victoria Ground legends Dennis Herod, Tony Allen and Mark Chamberlain also turn in characteristic star performances, winding back the clock to relive treasured memories of the Match of Their Lives for the Potters.

In 2019, an app called OWNAFC hit the market promising football fans the chance to buy and run their own club. Just a few months later it collapsed, leaving customers hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket. Fit and Proper People tells the story of the business that was supposed to revolutionise the game, the people who lost out and the violent consequences suffered by those who tried to hold OWNAFC to account. The book uncovers how poor regulation and the financial structure of English football make clubs easy prey for unsuitable owners and how, time and again, the fans are left to pick up the pieces. With the aborted launch of the European Super League, there is finally widespread recognition that billionaires, venture capitalists, broadcasters and tech businesses must no longer be allowed to dictate the future of the game. Fit and Proper People is a powerful expose of the state of football and a call to properly protect clubs and to involve the people who really love them - the fans - in how they are run.

THE BRILLIANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER. 'A searingly honest account of the Arsenal legend's quest to recover from alcoholism. Unflinchingly brave.' Sunday Mirror Being Addicted was only half the story, now comes the stunning new autobiography from Tony Adams, now appearing on Strictly Come Dancing. Tony Adams was a charismatic figure on the football field, a true leader for Arsenal and England. He won league titles in three separate decades, and after the Gunners moved to their new stadium at the Emirates, it was fitting that a statue of him was erected outside to celebrate his extraordinary career. But, for much of that time, he was also drinking heavily and eventually admitted in his book Addicted that he was an alcoholic. Now, in that book's stunning successor Sober, Adams reveals what happened next. He discusses the impact that Arsene Wenger had when he arrived at Arsenal in 1996, and how the manager's new methods helped extend his career and brought new success to the club. Always a great thinker on the game, Adams moved into coaching and management on retirement, playing a key role in Portsmouth's famous FA Cup triumph in 2008, and taking on new challenges in the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, China and now Spain to broaden his perspective. He movingly explains the struggles he's faced to stay sober for twenty years and why he set up Sporting Chance, the charity which provides treatment and support for sports stars suffering from addictions. He assesses why Arsenal have struggled to repeat the title-winning formula of his own time there. Sober is a truly inspirational memoir from someone who has battled with his demons, but has continued to take things on, one day at a time.

'Essential reading for players, fans and coaches' - Steven Gerrard 'A cracking read' - Chris Evans 'I couldn't put it down' - Joey Barton What are the greatest games ever played? From Jurgen Klopp to Gary Neville, Xavi to David Beckham, Jamie Carragher speaks with teammates, rivals, managers and legends of the sport to identify and analyse football's greatest encounters. As Carra and his contributors take you into the dressing rooms and out onto the pitches of the world's most celebrated stadiums, they relive some of the defining moments of their playing careers as well as many more from the greatest football matches ever played - from title deciders and cup finals to against-all-odds comebacks, tactical masterclasses and old school classics. Packed full of hilarious stories, exclusive anecdotes and refreshing appraisals, in The Greatest Games Jamie Carragher takes you into the heart of these matches, revealing new insights into the teams, players and coaches that have shaped football.

For the first time ever, an incredible visual archive of Ultras worldwide is curated in this book. Beneath the surface of modern life, the ancient urge for fanatacism and tribal warfare lives on. Their exploits are legendary, their tales are tall, hated and feared by millions, yet idolised by a hardcore minority. In a world in which we are told place no longer means anything - loyalty to a team, loyalty to an area, loyalty to a social class, are all out of time. And yet here they are, continuing to exist in this highly structured and obsessive world. From its roots in the UK the worldwide scene is explored from Turkey to Russia, Asia, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, France and all of Europe. Whether you are disgusted or fascinated - this is human behaviour. For some, this has always been and will always be, a way of life.

Rangers Minute By Minute takes you on a fantastic journey through the Gers' matchday history. Relive all the breathtaking goals, heroic penalty saves, sending offs and other memorable moments in this unique by-the-clock guide. From Rangers' early years and successes to the days of domestic dominance and a European triumph, the book covers everything from the Jock Wallace and John Greig eras through to the days of Ally McCoist and Steven Gerrard. Revisit Rangers' most spectacular modern feats and learn things you didn't know about the club's proud history. From goals scored in the opening seconds to those last-gasp extra-time winners and Old Firm deciders that have thrilled generations of fans at Ibrox and around the world, Rangers Minute By Minute is packed with memorable moments. Read about the goals that secured many of the 54 SPL titles. From McCoist to Baxter and from Gascoigne to Cooper - all the club legends are here, with thrilling memories from kick-off to the final whistle.

The rapid global growth of the sport industry has prompted the need for a more commercial approach to the management of sport clubs. This book is the first study of its kind to focus on the management of professional football clubs, providing a real-world insight into management principles and their practical application. The international commercialisation of football has led to a fundamental transformation of the industry's management practices, given the financial rewards of success and the high price of failure. This book presents a critical examination of this transformation, questioning why clubs are increasingly adopting management strategies from other industries. Each chapter analyses the role played by a key leadership figure within a club, such as the owner, chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), director of football (DoF), and head coach. Full of exclusive interviews, case studies and examples of best practice, this book sheds new light on the challenges of working in this extraordinarily high-pressure environment. Football Club Management: Insights from the Field is fascinating reading for all those working in or studying the management, marketing or administration of football.

An excellent recap, with wonderful access and forensic detail on the Premier League's rise to global alpha status... All told with an arch sense of humour The Guardian How did English football - once known for its stale pies, bad book-keeping and hooligans - become a commercial powerhouse and the world's premium popular entertainment? This was a business empire built in only twenty-five years on ambition, experimentation and gambler's luck. Lead by a motley cast of executives, Russian oligarchs, Arab Sheikhs, Asian Titans, American Tycoons, battle-hardened managers, ruthless agents and the Murdoch media - the Premier League has been carved up, rebranded and exported to phenomenal 185 countries. The United Nations only recognizes 193. But the extraordinary profit of bringing England's ageing industrial towns to a compulsive global attention has come at a cost. Today, as players are sold for hundreds of millions and clubs are valued in the billions, local fans are being priced out - and the clubs' local identities are fading. The Premier League has become the classic business fable for our globalised world. Drawing on dozens of exclusive and revelatory interviews from the Boardrooms - including Liverpool's John W. Henry, Tottenham's Daniel Levy, Martin Edwards and David Gill at Manchester United, Arsene Wenger and Stan Kroenke at Arsenal, Manchester City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain, and executives at Chelsea, West Ham, Leicester City and Aston Villa - this is the definitive bustand boom account of how the Premier League product took over the world.

One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the sporting calendar, the 16th edition of the UEFA European Championship will take place between 12 June and 12 July 2020, at 12 venues in 12 cities and countries, with 24 teams competing for the most prestigious international prize in the European game. UEFA EURO 2020: The Official Book covers every aspect of the tournament, from how the venues were chosen and tourist guides to the 12 host cities to assessments of how the teams qualified, a comprehensive analysis of their chances of success, a full breakdown of players expected to grab the headlines and a thorough examination of the event's fascinating history (including biographies of the leading players of the tournament). Packed full of facts and statistics and beautifully illustrated with a superb collection of photographs, UEFA EURO 2020: The Official Book is suitable for fans of all ages and is the perfect accompaniment to the year's biggest football event.

This is the first full-length biography of Ron Greenwood, West Ham United's most successful trophy-winning manager - a man who was instrumental in the development of 1966 World Cup-winning heroes Moore, Hurst and Peters. Ron lacked the ruthlessness of his more feted contemporaries, Bill Shankly and Don Revie, with whom his trophy success did not compare. But his West Ham team of the mid-1960s had its own moments of heady triumph - an FA Cup win in 1964 (the club's first), a European Cup Winners' Cup victory in 1965 (only the second European win by an English club) - and crucially they were always easy on the eye, even in defeat. Then there was the little matter of supplying three team members to England's World Cup victory in 1966, at a tournament in which their perfection of Greenwood's near-post cross ploy proved devastating. After 16 years at West Ham, Greenwood became England manager in 1977 and led them to the 1982 World Cup. An impeccable sportsman, deep thinker and skilled communicator, he was a noble servant to football.

Made in Europe is a glorious celebration of Europe's greatest and most remarkable football talent. From the first European Championship in 1960 through to the modern day, it features a smorgasbord of unforgettable players - each one commemorated in stunning photographs and expertly profiled by a skilled team of writers. The book includes 250 favourites - not just the best footballers, but also the craziest and most colourful, the most stylish and the coolest. Each player is honoured with a mini-biography, interspersed with little-known anecdotes that are sure to come in handy at any football quiz night. The selection features players from all the top European football nations, and six greats (Van Basten, Gascoigne, Beckenbauer, Zidane, Iniesta and De Bruyne) are given full-length profiles. You'll learn things you didn't know about your heroes, and perhaps discover some new ones who until now have slipped under the radar, in this beautifully illustrated book.

From Tashkent With Love is a tale of courage, heartbreak and glory spanning four decades. It tells the remarkable story of Cardiff City's football adventures across Europe in the European Cup Winners' Cup. From the thrilling 1.0 victory against the mighty Real Madrid at Ninian Park in 1971, to the heartbreak of a last minute 3.2 home defeat in the semi-final against FC Hamburg in 1968, Cardiff's 24 Cup Winner's Cup games are all recalled by the best-selling author Mario Risoli who interviewed over 70 former players in the writing of this comprehensive book. Their 29-year European odyssey saw the Bluebirds face some of the biggest names in continental football - Sporting Lisbon, Zaragoza, FC Porto and Dynamo Berlin - and included their epic and pulsating 1968 quarter-final tie against the crack Soviet side Torpedo Moscow. With the game switched from icy Moscow to Tashkent, in what is now Uzbekistan, City were forced to make a remarkable 8,000-mile round trip to the borderlands of China and Afghanistan, a journey which still survives as one of the furthest distances travelled by any British club in a European cup competition.

Manchester United:The Biography will do for the football team what Peter Ackroyd did for London in his huge biog of the same name. The book follows the club's extraordinary journey from its birth in the railway works of Newton Heath to its current status as Premier League and European champions. The key stages in United's history will, of course, be covered: the Munich Air Crash of 1958, which saw the best part of an entire team (the Busby Babes) being killed; becoming the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968 (with Bobby Charlton and George Best); the dominance of the club in the Premiership; the controversial sale to American tycoon Malcolm Glazer, right up to Moscow 2008. But by drawing on the recollections of everyone from players and managers to fans and backroom staff, Jim has unearthed enough new material to interest die-hard fans and casual supporters alike. A fascinating history of a remarkable football club, by one of Britain's best-known and most popular sports writers.

Now in paperback! Heaven Is a Playground was the first book on the uniquely American phenomenon of urban basketball. Rick Telander, a photojournalist and former high school basketball player, spent part of the summer of 1973 and all of the summer of 1974 in Brooklyn living the playground life with his subjects at Foster Park in Flatbush. He slept on the floor of a park regular’s apartment, observing, questioning, traveling, playing with, and eventually coaching a ragtag group of local teenagers whose hopes of better lives were often fanatically attached to the transcendent game itself. Telander introduces us to Fly Williams, a playground legend with incredible leaping ability and self-destructive tendencies that threatened to keep him earthbound. Another standout was Albert King, a fifteen-year-old phenom whose shy, quiet demeanor masked an otherworldly talent that eventually took him to the NBA. This edition also includes Telander’s perspectives on the arrival of an NBA team in Brooklyn. Heaven Is a Playground is one of a kind—a funny, sad, ultimately inspiring book about Americans and the roots of the sport that they love.

Ever wondered how a transfer deal is done? What a manager says during his pre-match team-talk? What he screams from the techincal area? What goes on in training sesions, and on those long away trips? How a manager carefully builds a team, and what he does when the planning is disrupted by injuries? How he lifts a team after a crushing defeat, and keeps their feet on the ground after a resounding victory? How the man in charge handles the ever-present danger of getting sacked in the ultimate results business? In short, how one of today's top professional footballer managers somehow copes with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, with having to live, breathe and sleep football 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? Then read The Gaffer.

This is the ultimate guide for any football fan who wants to know everything about the "beautiful game" - from World Cup winners to football skills and techniques. Whether you are a keen player, a lifelong supporter, or an armchair football manager, this book illustrates every aspect of the most popular sport in the world. The Football Book reveals the story behind the game - from the history of the sport to the results of the Qatar 2022 Men's World Cup, and the build-up to the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Bold step-by-step artworks and jargon-free text profile the roles of players, equipment, team formations, strategies, and individual skills, while maps, quotes, and statistics give you all of the key facts on national teams, famous club sides, and iconic players, as well as the greatest competitions around the world.

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.

For three extraordinary seasons at Bayern Munich, Martin Perarnau was given total access around the German super club - to its players, its backroom staff, its board members and, above all, to its manager, Pep Guardiola. In the follow-up to his critically acclaimed account of Guardiola's first full season at Bayern, Pep Confidential, Perarnau now lifts the lid on the Catalan's whole tenure in Bavaria. Pep Guardiola: The Evolution takes the reader on a journey through three action packed seasons as Bayern smashed domestic records yet struggled to emulate that dominance in Europe, analysing Guardiola's management style through key moments on and off the field. Perarnau reveals how Guardiola improved as a manager at Bayern despite failing to land the ultimate prize in European football, examines his decision to leave Germany to take up the challenge at Manchester City and how his managerial style will continue to evolve in the Premier League. This is more than the story of three seasons with one of the biggest clubs in the game. It is a portrait and analysis of a manager and the footballing philosophies that have beguiled the world.

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to Old Trafford as caretaker manager midway through the 2018-19 season, he breathed new life into a team that was drifting. In this new and definitive biography, Jamie Jackson investigates why he was the perfect man for the job to bring back the glory days. After the confusion under David Moyes, the stagnation of Louis van Gaal and the growing trauma under Jose Mourinho, Manchester United were a club increasingly struggling to challenge for major honours, something the fans had been accustomed to during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. So when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a match-winning hero of the Reds' great Treble-winning side returned to Old Trafford on 19 December 2018 as caretaker manager, he was welcomed with open arms. Here was a man who understood what it was that the fans demanded, and he had a plan to give it to them. They went on a record-breaking run of victories that secured him the position on a permanent basis, before old frailties re-emerged, showing the scale of the job he had always dreamed of taking on. During the summer transfer window, he began a dramatic reshaping of the team's personnel to set them up for the 2019-20 season. The Red Apprentice, Jamie Jackson's fascinating biography of Solskjaer, takes the reader back to the Norwegian's early days to discover the making of the man, relives the highlights of a stunning playing career - and that Champions League-clinching goal in 1999 - and explains why he is the natural choice for United in the future.

It is a special footballer who wins the World Cup as a 21-year-old and ends a two-decade career as one of the most revered players in the history of four clubs. Former England captain Alan Ball was such a man: prodigy at Blackpool, youngest hero of 1966, Championship winner at Everton, British-record signing for the second time at Arsenal and veteran schemer for Southampton - not to mention footwear trend-setter. And all after being told he was too small to succeed in the game. Yet his years as a flat-cap wearing manager consisted mostly of relegation and promotion battles, some successful and some not, and plenty of frustration as he fought to produce winners in his own image and emulate the feats of his playing days. His life already touched tragically by the car crash that killed his father and the loss of his beloved wife Lesley to cancer, Ball died, aged only 61, after suffering a heart attack during a garden blaze. A decade on from his death, and drawing on interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Jimmy Armfield, Sir Geoff Hurst, George Cohen, Gordon Banks, Joe Royle, Mick Channon, Lawrie McMenemy, Francis Lee, George Graham, Frank McLintock, Matthew Le Tissier and many more, Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots is the definitive study of one of English football's most enduring figures.