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All Crazee Now is the story of English football and its footballers
in the 1970s, a decade that saw the start of the move from the
'old-fashioned' game towards the modern Premier League era; a
transition that accelerated throughout the decade. Much of what we
recognise in today's game is rooted in the seventies - including
diverse ethnicity and multi-nationalism in club teams; the rise of
commercialism; the cult of the manager; the end of the
player-next-door; and the demand for victory ahead of
individualism. The beginning of the decade remains the period in
English football that supporters felt more connected than anytime
previous or since. By the time the Thatcherite 1980s were dawning,
the way had been paved for a rapid evolution towards 21st-century
football. More than just a chronicle of trophy winners, star
players and personalities, it offers a study of the tactical,
philosophical, social, cultural, economic and political landscape
that shaped football throughout a turbulent period for a nation and
its favourite sport.
Don Howe is one of English football's great coaches, with an
unrivalled record at international and club level. As right-hand
man to three England managers, he helped his country to the 1990
World Cup and Euro 96 semi-finals. He helped to steer them through
the 1982 World Cup unbeaten and to the quarter-finals four years
later. Howe masterminded the 1970/71 double at Arsenal, where two
spells as coach also brought European and further FA Cup glory. He
was also an integral part of one of the greatest Wembley upsets
when he helped Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' to victory over the mighty
Liverpool in 1988. As a player at West Bromwich Albion, Howe won 24
international caps, but as a manager he failed to achieve the
success he craved. Yet over a three-decade period, he won acclaim
from many of England's finest players as a genius of the coaching
profession. Through interviews with players, colleagues, friends
and family, this book examines the triumphs and challenges of Don
Howe's career and assesses his contribution to English football.
When England cricket captain Tony Greig announced that he intended
to make the West Indies 'grovel', he lit a fire that burned as
intensely as the sunshine that made 1976 one of the most memorable
summers in British history. Spurred on by what they saw as a deeply
offensive remark, especially from a white South African, Clive
Lloyd's touring team vowed to make Greig pay. In Viv Richards,
emerging as the world's most exciting batsman, and fast bowlers
Michael Holding and Andy Roberts they had the players to do it.
Featuring interviews with key figures from English and West Indian
cricket, Grovel!: The Story and Legacy of the Summer of 1976
provides a fascinating study of the events and social issues
surrounding one of the sport's most controversial and colourful
tours - as well as addressing the decline of West Indies cricket
and its loss of support in the new century.
""Nobody ever beats Wales at rugby. They just score more points."
--Graham Mourie, former New Zealand captain"
In the 1970s, an age long before World Cups, rugby union to the
British public meant Bill McLaren, rude songs, and, most of all,
Wales. Between 1969 and 1979, the men in red shirts won or shared
eight Five Nations Championships, including three Grand Slams and
six Triple Crowns. But the mere facts resonate less than the
enduring images of the precision of Gareth Edwards, the sublime
touch of Barry John, the sidesteps of Gerald Davies and Phil
Bennett, the courage and extravagant sideburns of J.P.R. Williams,
and the forward power of the Pontypool Front Row and "Merv the
Swerve" Davies. To the land of their fathers, these Welsh heroes
represented pride and conquest at a time when the decline of the
province's traditional coal and steel industries was sending
thousands to the dole queue and threatening the fabric of local
communities. Yet the achievements of those players transcended
their homeland and extended beyond mere rugby fans. With the help
of comedian Max Boyce, the culture of Welsh rugby and valley life
permeated Britain's living rooms at the height of prime time,
reinforcing the sporting brilliance that lit up winter Saturday
afternoons. In "Nobody Beats Us," David Tossell, who spent the
1970s as a schoolboy scrum-half trying to perfect the Gareth
Edwards reverse pass, interviews many of the key figures of a
golden age of Welsh rugby and vividly recreates an unforgettable
sporting era.
Jimmy Greaves remains the greatest goalscorer in English football
history, with a record of 357 top-flight goals that may never be
surpassed. Teenage sensation at Chelsea and England debutant at 19,
he became - after an unhappy spell at AC Milan - a legend at
Tottenham Hotspur. But despite 44 international goals in 57 games,
his England career was defined by the heartbreak of missing the
1966 World Cup Final. A shock move to West Ham brought an
acrimonious end to his Spurs days and, a year later, he retired
from the game, aged only 31. What followed was a desperate descent
into alcoholism, followed by a remarkable battle to win back his
family and self-esteem. Reinventing himself as a popular TV
personality, his instincts in front of camera proved as natural as
those in front of goal. Having taken his final drink in 1978,
Greaves has remained sober from that day. Drawing on interviews
with family, friends, colleagues and opponents, Natural: The Jimmy
Greaves Story is the definitive biography of one of England's most
loved footballers.
Tony Greig is remembered as the colourful captain who led cricket
into its biggest crisis of the last century. An all-rounder who
mixed boldness with belligerence, he was the first South African to
skipper England, restoring national pride with victory in India
after poundings at the hands of Australia and the West Indies. A
controversial and charismatic competitor whose "make them grovel"
comment about the West Indies signalled trouble, he later lost the
captaincy for recruiting players for Kerry Packer's World Series
Cricket. More than three decades later, now a leading television
commentator, Greig has never been fully absolved. Featuring many
new interviews, including with Greig himself, the book asks whether
cricket history judges the accomplished all-rounder fairly, or is
coloured by off-field controversies. Tony Greig offers a compelling
portrait of a fascinating cricketing era - and was shortlisted for
Best Cricket Book at the 2012 British Sports Book Awards.
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.
Derek Dougan was no ordinary footballer. A flamboyant Northern
Irish goalscorer, his unwillingness to accept injustice and
mismanagement won him as many enemies as friends. Shortly after
being asked to collaborate on a new autobiography, a project undone
by Dougan's sudden death, David Tossell set out to retrace his life
through a series of over 70 interviews. The result is a definitive
account of a contradictory icon with a unique place in the
evolution of modern British football. Dougan demanded a transfer on
the eve of an FA Cup final, quoted Voltaire and fell out with
various clubs. As chairman of the PFA, he fought for freedom of
contract; as a club executive, he introduced shirt sponsorship; and
'The Doog' saved Wolves from extinction. In Sunshine Or In Shadow
reveals the darkness and light of Derek Dougan, the drive and
demons that kept him fighting to the very end.
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