The hugely entertaining autobiography of one of the most popular and highly respected managers in the English Football League. Mention West Ham United FC and the name Harry Redknapp immediately springs to mind. The Hammers' boss is an institution in the game; his experience of English football in the Nineties from the perspective of one club is unsurpassed. His was a controversial appointment, as he took over as manager at West Ham in 1994 to succeed former favourite Billy Bonds. But Redknapp broke the mould: he was one of the first Premiership managers to recruit heavily from abroad, and he gives a refreshing insight into how such players as Raducioiu, Dani, Boogers and other foreign buys adjusted - or in many cases, failed - to adapt to the frenetic pace and unique culture of English football. More recently he has proved a shrewd investor in British talent. The likes of Trevor Sinclair, Neil Ruddock and Ian Wright have ensured that the Hammers have been a force to be reckoned with throughout this season's Premiership campaign. Away from football, Redknapp recalls his narrow escape from a near-fatal car accident in 1990 and the unique relationship with son Jamie, a quality player for Liverpool and England who is now married to pop star Louise. In an extra chapter to the original hardback edition, Harry comments on the Hammers' performance during the 1998-99 season, and reveals the truth behind the many colourful and often controversial incidents that have beset the East End club in recent months.

George Best is widely regarded as the finest footballer ever produced by the British Isles. His death last November prompted lengthy analysis of his career and his standing in the game, a debate 'The Complete George Best' will help settle. Known primarily for his rock nroll lifestyle after his football career had finished, this book attempts to shed more light on his football career which was, after all, the source of his fame. Taking in every first class match George played for Manchester United, Northern Ireland and Fulham and a lengthy analysis of his later career in America, 'The Complete George Best' traces a career that caught light in the mid-sixties and burned brightly for the next 7 seasons. Many claimed that Best was the pre-eminent player in the world during this period, his performance against Benfica in Lisbon, when he inspired United to a 5-1 win widely regarded as the turning point for the Ulsterman, after which life was never quite the same as first the birds and then the booze followed fame into Bests life. Best's career was inextricably linked with the fortunes of Manchester United in the 60s and Matt Busby's quest for the European Cup following the tragedy of the Munich Air disaster. United's run to the European Cup Final of 1968 saw Best a marked man. By this stage his talent was well known and George came to life in the semi-final against Real Madrid, scoring in the first leg and setting up an unlikely winner for Bill Foulkes in the second. The final will always be remembered for Best's brilliant goal just minutes into extra time when he found space on the left and skinned the last man before rounding the 'keeper. Most people regard the European triumph as the beginning of the end. In hindsight, and with medals the sole measure of a career's worth, then it probably was, yet Best was good enough to thrill crowds well into the next decade with famous performances such as his double hat-trick against Northampton on a muddy pitch in 1970 and a famous hat-trick against Southampton wearing a yellow away kit. Sadly, alcoholism robbed us of the best of George but most players would kill for a career record that read 639 appearances, 229 goals. This book is ideal both as a work of reference and a detailed insight into the great man's career. Darren Phillips has painstakingly pieced together every game and goal scored by Best from his first team debut against West Bromwich Albion in September 1963.

When Seth Burkett travelled to Brazil for a youth tournament with his local team Stamford, he was stunned by what happened next. Spotted by a scout, he accepted an offer to join Sorriso Esporte Clube in the central state of Mato Grosso and became a media celebrity as well as the only English professional in the football-crazy country. THE BOY IN BRAZIL is a charming and insightful account of his magical season in the sun as an 18-year-old in Sorriso - Portuguese for smile - and takes a bittersweet look at the beautiful game and cultural concerns of the vibrant nation which would host the 2014 World Cup finals. On his journey from boy to man, he would discover an uncanny and unexpected family link to the foundation of the sport in Brazil. He would also come to see, through a tragedy in Sorriso and the sad fate of its football club, that a childhood dream joyously fulfilled also had a dark side. SHORTLISTED: Best football book, Cross Pens British Sports Book Awards 2015.

Even the Defeats is the story of how painful moments in Sir Alex Ferguson's early reign inspired him to lead Manchester United to some of their greatest successes. A heavy 5-1 loss at Manchester City in Ferguson's early tenure led pundits and supporters to question the Scot's position, but by the season's end he was holding aloft his first trophy at the club -- the FA Cup. This trend continued when an end-of-season collapse handed Leeds United the league title in the spring of 1992, only to galvanise United to their first championship in 26 years the very next year. From struggles in Europe to winning the treble, from losing the title on goal difference to their city rivals to winning the Premier League in Ferguson's final season in charge - rising from the depths of despair to achieve glory, and using failure to fuel success, was arguably Sir Alex's greatest strength. John Silk brings you the inside story of what made Ferguson tick, with views from players, coaches and other members of staff from the great Scot's reign.

In The Turning Season, Michael Wagg goes in search of hidden histories and footballing ghosts from before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He revisits the 14 clubs that made up the 1989 DDR-Oberliga, East Germany's top flight. From Aue in the Erzgebirge mountains to Rostock on the Baltic Sea, this quirky account of his whistle-stop tour is for fans who know that football clubs are the beating hearts of the places they play for. There are portraits of the lower levels as well as the big league, stories of then and now that celebrate the characters he met pitch-side. There's Mr Schmidt, who's found a magical fix for the scoreboard at Stahl Brandenburg; Karl Drossler, who captained Lokomotive Leipzig against Eusebio's Benfica; and the heroes of Magdeburg's European triumph, last seen dancing in white bath robes, now pulling in to a dusty car park by the River Elbe. The Turning Season turns its gaze on East German football's magnificent peculiarity, with 14 enchanting stories from a lost league in a country that disappeared.

Fine Margins is the definitive story of how two mainstays of English football took their feuding on to the game's biggest stages. The Manchester City and Liverpool rivalry is synonymous with the Premier League, but its roots go back much further. For over half a century, these two clubs from opposite ends of the M62 have been perennial thorns in each other's side. Bill Shankly laid the groundwork in the late 1960s before a series of clashes a decade later further stoked the fires, culminating in an attack on City's team bus in 1981 after they beat Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield. The feud was reignited in the mid-1990s when Liverpool relegated City on the final day of the 1995/96 Premier League season. When they returned to the top flight, Manchester's blue half became the scourge of Merseyside's Redmen, snatching players and points away from them. Countless managers, players and directors have continued what started in the Bill Shankly era, with the rivalry ramped up a notch through the reigns of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

When the Leeds United players celebrated winning the championship in April 1992, they had no idea how momentous the occasion was. Manchester United, losers at Liverpool that Sunday afternoon, had now gone 25 years without winning the league. Howard Wilkinson's side, promoted just two seasons ago, could bring back the glory days to Leeds. But Wilkinson would prove to be the last English manager to win the league. In 1992, football changed beyond all recognition. The Last Champions explores the roots of that success and the amazing cast of characters who came together to fashion the triumph. As in his acclaimed book The Fallen, Dave Simpson's quest to catch up with the protagonists of the era, from the visionary Sergeant Wilko, top scorer Lee Chapman and unsung heroes like Mike Whitlow and Carl Shutt (not forgetting Eric Cantona), sees him unearth some extraordinary untold stories. And he finds that The Last Champions were also the last ordinary people to win the league, before the Premier League saw skyrocketing wages, billionaire foreign owners and the dictates of television taking the game away from the fans. It is the brilliantly told story of the end of an era.

The study explores the underlying motives and processes why and how corporate sponsors and professional football clubs in Germany enter into an additional share deal given the contradictory nature of corporations (monetary driven) and football clubs (maximising sporting success while operating in economic equilibrium). This work aims to generate theory within the specific field of professional football and to provide recommendations for action.

West Ham United has always been a blue-collar club, set in a strong working-class area. The fans are proud of their club, its history and achievements. This book remembers the great players before Bobby Moore, those who took the club to the point where it was able to produce one of the greatest footballers of all time.

This is the inside story of Manchester City's first title in 44 years and perhaps the most remarkable football season of all-time written from the point of view of the man in the eye of the storm - City manager Roberto Mancini. A season that ended so dramatically, with two injury-time goals at the Etihad to secure the club's first Premier League title, had begun serenely for the Sky Blues as they romped to the top of the league scoring goals almost at will, culminating in a 6-1 romp at Old Trafford. Holding the lead at the top from September until March, their title juggernaut was halted by Manchester United's incredible run of performances and the loss of form of key players. It took a remarkable collapse from United to hand back the initiative, a second chance Mancini's men gratefully accepted with a run of six wins to secure the title - yet there was so much more to this incredible season. Controversy was never far away: Carlos Tevez on-off transfer, his shocking refusal to come off the bench in Munich and his subsequent 'strike' became an unwanted distraction. Yet his return just in time to add much needed impetus to City's waning title challenge, made him a hero once more for supporters who wanted him 'rot in the reserves'. Then there were the antics of Mario Balotelli; the fireworks on and off the pitch including several red cards and a disastrous performance against Arsenal that appeared to undermine his manager and team-mates. So often a club regarded as the punch-line of British football, Harry Harris looks at City's rise from the ashes following the influx of Mansour's millions. The FA Cup triumph that ended the club's 35-year wait for a major trophy and October's stunning 6-1 derby victory at Old Trafford appeared to signal a shift in power in Manchester. City's title win has confirmed that an exciting new era in British football is about to dawn and this book follows every kick, tantrum and controversy throughout their remarkable season.

11th edition of this popular, bright and quirky annual soccer records book. Crammed with records, facts, stats and amazing feats from the world's greatest game, The Vision Book of Football Records 2020 is the perfect Christmas present for football fans of all ages. It includes an entry on every English Premier League and Football League team and all the Scottish SPL clubs plus the major European and world clubs from AC Milan to Real Madrid and an all-star squad of current and former soccer legends. On top of that there are a whole wealth of fun and quirky entries which celebrate the more bizarre soccer facts and records, like the team relegated four times in succession, the FA Cup tie that required six replays and the goalkeeper who refused to be substituted!

AN EPIC SWINDLE is the inside story of how Liverpool FC came within hours of being re-possessed by the banks after the shambolic 44-month reign of American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. It is the tale of a civil war that dragged Britain's most successful football club to its knees, through the High Court and almost into administration. Players Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher tell of their anger at the broken promises, as well as their pain at watching loyal fans in open revolt. Manager, chief executive, board members, leading fans and journalists reveal the turmoil at a revered sporting institution run by two men at war with each other, who trampled Liverpool's cherished traditions into the gutter. No story sums up the naked greed at the heart of modern football quite like Hicks' and Gillett's attempt to turn a buck at Liverpool. No-one has had as much access to the truth, or tells it with as much passion, wit and insight as Brian Reade. AN EPIC SWINDLE is the riveting story of how close one of the great football clubs came to financial implosion.

This is the book every loyal Oxford United fan should possess. Featuring club history, player profiles, match summaries and statistics, it is written by club expert, fan website editor and programme columnist Martin Brodetsky. "Oxford United: The Complete Record" is the official record of the Us since their formation in 1893. Written by Martin Brodetsky, this book is the definitive guide to Oxford United and will be on the wish list of every Us fan. The story of Oxford United FC, from their beginnings as Headington FC in the 19th century right up to the present day, is covered in fascinating detail. Also included are profiles of the club's great players, all the managers, matches to remember, and a history of the grounds the club have played on and the planning problems encountered during the search for a new ground. In addition, the full season-by-season record of every first-team League and Cup game Oxford United have contested since turning professional in 1949 is documented. Summaries, records and statistics complete the picture. Building on the excellent history written by Andy and Roger Howland, and published by Breedon Books in 1989, the result is a volume that is an essential addition to the bookshelves of any Us fan. Put simply, this is a book that provides everything any United fan, and indeed any football fan, would want to know about Oxford United Football Club.

"Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record" provides the most comprehensive history of one of the country's most famous and respected football clubs. Acclaimed football historian Tony Matthews, a specialist in West Midlands football, has carefully researched all aspects of the club's fascinating history to write this, the full story of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Alongside profiles of the club's great players and managers, fans can relive the games that secured trophies and take an imaginative tour of the club's grounds. In addition to accounts of League and Cup encounters are reports of friendly and tour matches. This compendium of fascinating information is a must-buy for all Wolves devotees. Every game, every scorer, every player and every attendance, this is the Complete Record.

Founded in 1879, Sunderland AFC quickly became one of the greatest clubs in English football. This history of the club takes the reader step by step through the club's development, beginning with the club's foundation, the early triumphs and subsequent tragedies, through conflicts with Sunderland Albion to league and cup domination, from Raich Carter and Bobby Gurney to Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn. Along the way great players, matches and successes are highlighted, in an accessible style suitable for football fans of all ages.

One of the most famous footballers of all time, George Best is an icon to football fans all over the world. He lived a tumultuous life, and died in 2005 after battling with alcoholism. He is someone who has crossed over into legend status, with his personal life sometimes overshadowing his footballing prowess. There have been many books written about George, but here, Michael Parkinson combines his professional and personal knowledge of George with his classic and much loved writing style to produce a new, and interesting biography of a football and cultural icon.

Two Brothers tells the story of a great sporting family, uncovering new details, exposing myths and placing Jack and Bobby Charlton in their historical context. It's a book about two English footballers but also about English football and England itself. 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. Praise for Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics 'If Jonathan Wilson's first book Behind the Curtain, marked him as the rising star of Sports literature, Inverting the Pyramid confirms his place among our very best sports writers' 'Simply one of the best books ever written about the world's game' Dominic Sandbrook Praise for Nobody Ever Says Thank You: The Biography of Brian Clough 'In separating the man from the myth, Jonathan Wilson's biography of Brian Clough is the first to do him justice' Barney Ronay The Observer 'Jonathan Wilson's mighty new biography' Harry Pearson When Saturday Comes

The first inside account of the international soccer scandal that rocked the world and the American at its center-the incredible story of how a stay-at-home New York soccer dad illegally made millions off the world's most powerful and corrupt sports organization and became an unlikely FBI whistleblower. He was the middle-class Jewish kid from Queens who rose from local youth soccer leagues to the heights of FIFA, becoming a larger-than-life, jet-setting buccaneer-and the most notorious FBI informant in sports history. For years, Chuck Blazer skimmed over $20 million from FIFA, stashing his money in offshore accounts and real estate holdings that included a luxury apartment in Trump Tower, a South Beach condo, and a hideaway in the Bahamas. Instantly recognizable with his unruly mass of salt-and-pepper hair and matching beard-and a rotating crop of arm candy-Blazer was one of the most flamboyant figures in the glitzy social and political circles of international soccer. Over the course of thirty years, Blazer leveraged his friendships with the likes of Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton and Nelson Mandela, to increase his influence with the mandarins of global soccer-most notably Sepp Blatter, FIFA's long-time godfather. Once Blatter tapped Blazer to be the first American in almost fifty years to sit on FIFA's executive committee, the erstwhile accountant steadily accumulated money and power-until 2013 when the FBI and IRS nabbed Blazer and charged him with fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. In exchange for immunity, Blazer agreed to let the Feds install a microphone in his keychain to entrap his larcenous band of brothers-leading to the shocking arrest and indictment of eighteen FIFA officials for racketeering and bribery. In this taut and suspenseful tale of white-collar crime and betrayal at the highest levels of international business, investigative reporters Mary Papenfuss and Teri Thompson draw on sources in U.S. law enforcement as well as in Blazer's inner circle to tell the surreal tale of this astonishing character and the scandal that rocked the world.

It's 40 years since Ipswich Town's UEFA Cup triumph, a cup run that saw them having to beat no less than three champions-elect to lift the trophy in Amsterdam's Olympic stadium. In this, the definitive account (to date!) of Town's European games, the authors take you through the seasons: From Alf Ramsey's Champions playing in the European Cup, through the Bobby Robson era and the UEFA Cup triumph in Amsterdam, to the George Burley Premiership team, and the 'bonus' season in Europe ending under Joe Royle. Every tie is summarised and most are well illustrated, with photos of action on the pitch, memorabilia, and the fans on location. As the club's appointed travel agents, the Houseley brothers were handed a huge responsibility for smooth organisation, and seeing off any trouble at a time of widespread football hooliganism. The Ipswich fans, however, were a credit to club and country and took their good behaviour and good humour as a badge of honour, something greatly appreciated by the club's directors and owners, manager Sir Bobby Robson and the players. The memories these trips produced are priceless: ships, planes, trains and coaches were chartered as thousands of fans made the journeys to some of the finest cities in Europe, to see their team come up against some of Europe's most famous names. Coach and manager Bobby Ferguson wrote the Foreword and then gives his assessment of the players of 1980-81 team. There are accounts from fans, stewards and club officials, journalists, and the brothers themselves. The Travel Card scheme for fans devised by David and Philip was ahead of its time: it was taken up by other clubs, Dennis Howell's working party appointed by the prime minister, and finally by the FA as the England Travel Club.

Mohamed Salah: The Ultimate Fan Book takes you into the Egyptian football superstar's world like no other book. Learn about his amazing journey from growing up in a suburb of Cairo, to Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, AS Roma and Liverpool, where he has become a superstar of the Premier League. Written in a lively style and filled with fun features, thrilling action photographs and enlightening quotes, Mohamed Salah: 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.

Shortlisted for the British Sports Book Awards 2018 "What's your dream, son?" A six year-old boy, head bowed, mumbles the eternal answer: "Be a footballer...." Steadman Scott, football's most unlikely talent scout, smiles indulgently, and takes him in from the street. He knows the odds. Only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play organised youth football in England will become a Premier League pro. That's a success rate of 0.012 per cent. How and why do the favoured few make it? What separates the good from the great? Who should they trust - the coach, the agent or their parents? Michael Calvin provides the answers on a journey from non-league grounds to hermetically sealed Premier League palaces, via gang-controlled sink estates and the England team's inner sanctum. He interviews decision makers, behavioural specialists, football agents and leading coaches. He shares the hopes and fears of players and their parents. He exposes bullying and a black economy in which children are commodities, but remains true to the dream.