*Middlesbrough Memories - Scores of candid interviews illuminate Boro's proud history * Boro legends - From Lindy Delapenha and Graeme Souness to Juninho and Gareth Southgate, heroes reflect on their Boro days. * Bossing the game - Illustrious managers speak out on life in dugout * Captain Marvels - Inspirational skippers on leading from the front * The Road to Glory - The inside story of Boro's Carling Cup success * Small Town in Europe - the unforgettable march to Uefa Cup final * Heroic failure - detailed account of heartbreaking 1996-97 season * Back from the brink - the battle for survival in the mid-80s * Life behind the scenes - as told by unsung heroes. * Young guns - A celebration of the Academy's astonishing success * A club in transition - From Ayresome Park to the Riverside * Match for anyone - the stories behind Boro's biggest ever games * Unseen photographs from players, club and local media archives * Political and social landscape - Teesside's former mayor Ray Mallon on wider context as club prospers in face of economic recession.

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.

Leeds United 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 Whites diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's formation from the ruins of Leeds City in 1919 through to the Premier League era, the Elland Road faithful have witnessed League and Cup triumphs, hard-fought grudge matches, European adventures and heartbreak - all featured here. Timeless greats such as Billy Bremner, John Charles and Lucas Radebe, Tony Yeboah, Peter Lorimer and Gordon Strachan all loom larger than life. Revisit 25th April 1963, when Jack Charlton debuted against Doncaster, the first of a record 773 appearances. 28th May 1975: when Leeds took on Bayern Munich and were robbed of European Cup victory. Or 26th April 1992: the first League title in 18 years!

Football fans love nothing more than to read about their favourite teams. Although this books is aimed at young teenagers they will delight all ages with their mixture of funny and enlightening stories and will give hours of pleasure discovering quirky facts about your favourite team. Each title is also augmented with a selection of sketches by the young sketch artist Becky Welton that depict some of the stories within.

Packed with facts and figures as well as interviews with many of the heroes who starred in the games, this book will provide glorious memories for every Potters fan and entertain and amuse in equal measure Throughout its 150 years of history Stoke City has often been the home of the strange and bizarre as much as the sublime and glorious. This selection of the club's 50 greatest games revisits magnificent victories at Wembley, promotion celebrations, and famous triumphs over the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Leeds United, Arsenal, and Chelsea, as voted for by fans in an official poll. Also featured are fantastic feats of individual goalscoring, great comebacks, last ditch survival efforts, and the occasional crushing disappointment. Also in the mix are the strange tales of the game with no shots, a broken down train, the goalscoring backside, and the man who saved Stoke from relegation a couple of hours after getting married. Incredible victories over Bury, Stockport, Cardiff, Reading, and Luton also provide a wealth of fantastic and fantastical stories.

Oxford United 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 U's diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's formation as Headington in 1893 through to more recent flirtations with the First Division and the Conference, the United faithful have witnessed promotions and relegations, breathtaking Cup runs and Wembley triumph - all featured here. Timeless greats such as Ron and Graham Atkinson, John Aldridge, Maurice Kyle and Dean Saunders all loom larger than life. Revisit 20th April 1986, when Oxford won the Milk Cup final. 2nd June 1962, when the Yellows were elected into the Football League. Or 8th February 1975, when the U's beat Man U in front of 16,000 fans, plus thousands more on that evening's Match of the Day.

Ipswich Town Miscellany collects together all the vital information you never knew you needed to know about the Tractor Boys. In these pages you will find irresistible anecdotes and the most mindblowing stats and facts. Heard the one about the Town striker whose shot cleared the stand and hit a horse ploughing a field, creating the fastest furrow on record? How about the Cubs pack who made tea in the Portman Road centre circle? Or the World Cup where six Town players starred? Do you know which legendary Town manager is statistically the club's most successful? Who only comes third on the list? Or when the club's first ever programme was produced, for a game that only drew 2,000 fans? All these stories and hundreds more appear in a brilliantly researched collection of trivia - essential for any fan who holds the riches of blue-and-white history close to their heart.

Sport, and in particular the sporting environment, has undergone significant changes in recent decades. The social significance and commercialization of sport; the use of new technologies and organizational structures; and the involvement of various stakeholders matter more today than ever before. This book addresses the key influence of stakeholders in particular on the activities of sports organizations, taking into account certain territorial differences around the world, but also within Europe. The authors explain the key characteristics of the management of sports organizations as opposed to other organizations. These include the strategic management and setting of long-term goals such as sporting success, sustainable funding, youth training, and community building. The authors present a strategic model for these goals and stakeholders in the context of sport, together with research-based case studies in which the critical factors in the strategic management of successful and unsuccessful sports organizations are identified.

This book looks back at the teams, players, managers and rivalries between all the Midlands clubs since 1980. Over the last 30 years of great games there are many true icons who will never be forgotten and Midlands football fans have voted for the top 5 players from each of their clubs. Featuring every result of every Midlands derby ever played and in-depth profiles of 100 Midland club legends - this is a celebration of one of the world's football hotbeds. This title features: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Burton Albion, Cheltenham Town, Coventry City, Derby County, Kettering Town, Kidderminster Harriers, Leicester City, Northampton Town, Notts County, Nottingham Forest, Port Vale, Shrewsbury Town, Stoke City, Tamworth, Telford United, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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.

From 1890 to 1958, Sunderland were part of football's elite with a 68-year unbroken run in the top flight. The shock of a first relegation in 1958 was matched by the elation of a first promotion in 1963/64. Starting with that season, the book celebrates every occasion Sunderland went up. What was the secret to each Black Cats promotion? And who did the fans have to thank? Rob Mason gets the inside story through exclusive interviews with players and managers who were at the heart of the action. Moments of magic and mystery are revealed as the story of each season unfolds. From Charlie Hurley's much-loved 1963/64 side, through to the second Bob Stokoe side to win a trophy at Sunderland in 1976, Ken Knighton winning promotion in his first season as a manager and the teams of Denis Smith and Peter Reid - who each won promotion twice - then on to the 'Sund-Ireland' era when promotion was won under Mick McCarthy and then Roy Keane, all the great days and great games are here to cherish and enjoy.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James's incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul. With eight straight trips to the NBA Finals, LeBron James has proven himself one of the greatest basketball players of all time. And like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan before him, LeBron has also become a global brand and businessman who has altered the way professional athletes think about their value, maximize their leverage, and use their voice. LeBron, Inc. tells the story of James's journey down the path to becoming a billionaire sports icon - his successes, his failures, and the lessons both have taught him along the way. With plenty of newsmaking tidbits about his rollercoaster last season in Cleveland and high-profile move to the Lakers, LeBron, Inc. shows how James has changed the way most elite athletes manage their careers, and how he launched a movement among his peers that may last decades beyond his playing days.

This book takes a closer look at the societal functions of sports clubs by using the broad range of empirical data of a comparative study. There is a limited amount of up-to-date knowledge on the functions of sports clubs and their potential to promote public health, social cohesion and democratic participation through volunteering and thus contribute to public welfare in European societies. Most of the existing studies are country-specific and therefore do not allow for making comparisons from a cross-national perspective. In light of this, the project 'Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe' (SIVSCE) collected, analysed and discussed comparable data and knowledge across ten European countries and disseminated this knowledge to politicians, sports professionals and sports volunteers in Europe. The SIVSCE project contains comparative data of clubs as well as of members in selected sports clubs. In each country chapter, the comparative data from the SIVSCE project is put together in a coherent way. Particularly, the data of the member survey give in-depth information about the fulfillment of the different functions of sports clubs (e.g. extension of democratic participation, social integration). Providing in-depth data related to policy issues, structure and management of clubs and individual member surveys, this book will be useful for students particularly those in sports management programmes as well as researchers and practitioners in social science and economics.

Got, Not Got: The Lost World of Leicester City is an Aladdin's cave of memories and memorabilia, guaranteed to whisk you back to Filbert Street's fondly remembered 'Golden Age' of mud and magic - as well as a City-mad childhood of miniature tabletop games and imaginary, comic-fuelled worlds. The book recalls a more innocent era of football, lingering longingly over relics from the good old days - Foxes stickers and petrol freebies, league ladders, big-match programmes and much more - revisiting lost football culture, treasures and pleasures that are 100 per cent Leicester City. If you were a Junior Fox, one of the army of obsessive soccer kids at any time from Gordon Banks lifting the World Cup to the early days of the Premier League, then this is the book to recall the mavericks - Worthington, Weller and Walsh, Lineker, McAllister and Shilton - and the marvels of the Lost World of Football.

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.

"Derby County: The Complete Record" is the next title to be published in the ground-breaking "Complete Record Series" by Breedon Publishing (now DB Publishing). Written by Gerald Mortimer with official backing from the club, this title contains details of over 100 years of Derby's history. The history of the club is covered in fascinating detail, highlighting particular seasons of interest such as winning promotion or a trophy. Biographies of 100 of Derby's top players of all time are included with a brief summary of the player's career and their impact on the team. Also included are biographies of every manager to take the reins at Derby, with particular emphasis placed on their impact on the team and their legacy in the fans' memories. Also included is the all important season-by-season history section, containing information on every game and every player, the final League table and a 'Did you know?' section containing intriguing facts for that season. "Derby County: The Complete Record" is a real treasure trove of memories which is sure to delight all Rams supporters, as well as everyone with an interest in football.

The definitive account of Leicester City's astonishing rise from relegation certainties to Premier League title winners: the greatest achievement in the modern football era. King Power Stadium, countdown to kick off. Out on the pitch a lone brass player sounds the haunting Post Horn Gallop, for 80 years the home players' entrance tune. Spines tingle. Air is gulped into opposition lungs. Game time, time to begin the chase. Burning fox eyes peer down from between the decks of one of the stands. On the stadium's outside wall a royal blue LCD display says #Fearless. Welcome to Leicester City. They were always a club with a difference but in 2015-16 they created a story that in modern football stands unique. Who could believe it: from relegation certainties to champions of England? It was when, on behalf of every small club, dreams were hunted at the King Power, a season where the impossible became merely quarry. 5,000-1 shots when the campaign started, Leicester's transformation has been remarkable. This is the most incredible cast of written-offs, grafters, misfits and journeymen, coming together in a special time and place to simultaneously have the season of their lives. Fearless will document Leicester's hunt of their impossible dream. It will tell the greatest football tale of the Premier League era, in loving detail, with the inside track. Now Leicester have gone all the way and won the title, it's the best story in world sports - for years. Champions of the Premier League. The side who'd been adrift at the bottom 12 months previously, who's started the season as relegation favourites, whose manager was favourite to be the first one sacked once the campaign got underway. A League One side only seven seasons previously. A squad of GBP500,000 and GBP1m men. Leicester. Ridiculous. Miraculous. Fearless.

The sequel to The Roar of the Lionesses - named one of The Guardian's best sports books of 2016. England's Lionesses headed to France for the 2019 Women's World Cup endeavouring to improve on their third-place finish in Canada four years previously. But they didn't have the easiest of preparations, with dramas and headlines emerging for all the wrong reasons. Back home, FA upheavals brought yet another restructure of competition in women's football. The top flights switched back to a winter season, and now all the elite teams had to employ players on a full-time professional basis. While the superstars went in search of spectacular silverware, the goalposts were being moved for pros, part-timers and amateurs alike. Even women playing football for fun were forced to consider their place in the system. Carrie Dunn's Pride of the Lionesses offers a timely inside analysis of one of the UK's fastest-growing sports. Is women's football in England actually growing from top to bottom - or is it just another slick PR campaign?

WINNER OF THE TELEGRAPH FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 Towards the beginning of the twenty-first century, Borussia Dortmund were on the verge of going out of business. Now they are an international phenomenon - one of the most popular clubs and fastest-growing football brands in the world. Every fortnight, an incredible number of foreigners eschew their own clubs and domestic leagues and travel to Dortmund to watch football, while people from all corners of the world dream of doing the same - of standing on the largest terrace in the world, the Yellow Wall. How did this happen? How could a club that hasn't won a European trophy in twenty years so thoroughly capture people's imaginations? Building the Yellow Wall tells the story of Dortmund's roller-coaster ride from humble beginnings and lean decades to the revolution under Jurgen Klopp and subsequent amazing success and popularity. But it also tells the story of those people who have done as much for the club's profile as any player, coach or chairman - Dortmund's unique supporters.

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.

Got, Not Got: The Lost World of Tottenham Hotspur is an Aladdin's cave of memories and memorabilia, guaranteed to whisk you back to White Hart Lane's fondly remembered 'Golden Age' of mud and magic - as well as a Spurs-mad childhood of miniature tabletop games and imaginary, comic-fuelled worlds. The book recalls a more innocent era of football, lingering longingly over relics from the good old days - Spurs stickers and petrol freebies, league ladders, big-match programmes and much more - revisiting lost football culture, treasures and pleasures that are 100 per cent Tottenham Hotspur. If you're a lifelong Spurs fan, one of the army of obsessive soccer kids at any time from the Bill Nicholson era to the early days of the Premier League, then this is the book to recall the mavericks - Gascoigne, Greaves and Archibald; Hoddle, Mullery and Ardiles - and the marvels of the lost world of football.

Chelsea FC, as someone once observed, has always done what other clubs have done, but not necessary in the same order. A stone's throw from the King's Road, draped with showbiz connections, and not even based in the borough from which it takes its name, Chelsea is an enigma. Run by the entrepreneurial Mears dynasty, Ken 'electric fence' Bates and now the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the club has enough entertaining quirks and anecdotes to keep you entertained for ages. It is also a club whose history is filled with glorious games, unique facts, bizarre statistics, larger-than-life players and a special brand of supporter. And, as this book proves, far from being the imposters Kipling suggested, triumph and disaster make for a fantastically entertaining read.

The Birmingham Black Barons was a nationally known team in baseball's Negro leagues from 1920-1962. Among its storied players were Baseball Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, and Mule Suttles. The Black Barons played in the final Negro Leagues World Series in 1948 and were a major drawing card when barnstorming throughout the United States and parts of Canada. This book chronicles the team's history and presents the only comprehensive roster of the hundreds of men who wore the Black Barons uniform.