‘A very funny book that tackles some serious football issues.’ Gary Lineker 'Witty and wise.' Clare Balding ‘Brilliant. Blows the lid off football. Hilarious, detailed and insightful.’ Alan Davies --- Ever dream of setting up your own football club? Join the team behind The Price of Football podcast as they set up a (fictional) football club and discover what’s really going on behind the scenes of the beautiful game. Buying a football club will set you back a few quid, but you’ve also got to pass the FA’s ‘fit and proper persons test’. That all seems like a bit of a faff to the team behind the award-winning podcast The Price of Football, so acclaimed comedy writer Kevin Day, football finance expert Kieran Maguire and producer Guy Kilty start an imaginary club instead. In Unfit and Improper Persons they take West Park Rovers* on a hilarious journey from the lowest level of the FA pyramid right up to the English Football League, the Premier League and, if fortune favours the fictional, into the heart of Europe. At least that’s the plan, but inevitably they face a few challenges along the way. Where to find a shirt sponsor? What should the mascot be – is a dog called Rover too obvious? Can they pay the women’s team the same as the men’s team? (Spoiler alert: no-one else does.) What’s the best way to avoid money laundering charges? And how can they get Messi to the Kleanwell Stadium next season, like they promised the fans? Roofing over the toilets, paying the electric on the floodlights, salary caps, parachute payments and avoiding bankruptcy, never mind relegation – owning a football club isn’t all about stuffing prawn sarnies and quaffing champagne in the directors’ box. With contributions from those in the know and celeb fans, including Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Ainsley Harriott and Jo Brand, Unfit and Improper Persons lays bare the labyrinthine world of football finance, and discover what’s really going on behind the scenes of the beautiful game. *Merch available

The first edition of The Price of Football quickly established itself as the go-to guide to understanding football club finance for the serious fan. Kieran Maguire, one of the UK's top football finance analysts, shows how professional clubs operate as businesses and explains, in non-technical language, how to read, understand and interrogate club accounts. As a clear-headed analysis and presentation of the financial imperatives and challenges facing football clubs across the English and Scottish Leagues, it has become a welcome resource not only for students of the industry, but by a wider constituency of supporters looking to understand their club's latest transfer deal, or season ticket price. This fully revised and updated edition includes analysis of the most recent club accounts, the latest legal rulings on club affairs, as well as the impact of Covid-19 on the game's finances.