'Football is not just a matter of life and death: it's much more important than that' - Bill Shankly Bill Shankly was without doubt among the greatest football managers of the post-war era and his life story is an inspiring read for anyone interested in the sport. To football fans everywhere, Bill Shankly was far more than just a manager: he was a folk hero whose legend still dominates the game. Shankly took Liverpool FC from Second Division obscurity and helped create the legend that became the Anfield of Keegan, Hughes, Toshack and Heighway. With his impertinent questions, blunt observations and appreciation of life, Bill Shankly's wit, down-to-earth wisdom and sheer determination set a standard that holds good to this day. This full and frank biography tells his larger-than-life story and is an inspiring tribute to one of football's most enduring heroes.
A New York Times Editors' Choice "[T]he stuff of great literature." —The New York Times | "Red or Dead is a winner." —The Washington Post The place where the swinging sixties started – Liverpool, England, birthplace of the Beatles – wasn’t so swinging. Amid industrial blight and a bad economy, the port town’s shipping industry was going bust and there was widespread unemployment, with no assistance from a government tightening its belt. Even the Beatles moved to London. Into these hard times walked Bill Shankly, a former Scottish coal miner who took over the city’s perpetually last-place soccer team. He had a straightforward work ethic and a favorite song – a silly pop song done by a local band, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Soon he would have entire stadiums singing along, tens of thousands of people all dressed in the team color red . . . as Liverpool began to win . . . And soon, too, there was something else those thousands of people would chant as one: Shank-lee, Shank-lee . . . In Red or Dead, the acclaimed writer David Peace tells the stirring story of the real-life working-class hero who lifted the spirits of an entire city in turbulent times. But Red or Dead is more than a fictional biography of a real man, and more than a thrilling novel about sports. It is an epic novel that transcends those categories, until there’s nothing left to call it but – as many of the world’s leading newspapers already have – a masterpiece.
The full story of the man who brought unprecedented – and since unmatched – success to Liverpool FC Bob Paisley was the quiet man in the flat cap who swept all domestic and European opposition aside and produced arguably the greatest club team that Britain has ever known. The man whose Liverpool team won trophies at a rate-per-season that dwarfs Sir Alex Ferguson's achievements at Manchester United and who remains the only Briton to lead a team to three European Cups. From Wembley to Rome, Manchester to Madrid, Paisley's team was the one no one could touch. Working in a city which was on its knees, in deep post-industrial decline, still tainted by the 1981 Toxteth riots and in a state of open warfare with Margaret Thatcher, he delivered a golden era – never re-attained since – which made the city of Liverpool synonymous with success and won them supporters the world over. Yet, thirty years since Paisley died, the life and times of this shrewd, intelligent, visionary, modest football man have still never been fully explored and explained. Based on in-depth interviews with Paisley's family and many of the players whom he led to an extraordinary haul of honours between 1974 and 1983, Quiet Genius is the first biography to examine in depth the secrets of Paisley's success. It inspects his man-management strategies, his extraordinary eye for a good player, his uncanny ability to diagnose injuries in his own players and the opposition, and the wicked sense of humour which endeared him to so many. It explores the North-East mining community roots which he cherished, and considers his visionary outlook on the way the game would develop. Quiet Genius is the story of how one modest man accomplished more than any other football manager, found his attributes largely unrecorded and undervalued and, in keeping with the gentler ways of his generation, did not seem to mind. It reveals an individual who seemed out of keeping with the brash, celebrity sport football was becoming, and who succeeded on his own terms. Three decades on from his death, it is a football story that demands to be told.
The ultimate compendium of crisp one-liners, knockout jokes, droll asides and universal truths collected over the years by the creators of QI. 'You know 'that look' women get when they want sex? Me neither.' Steve Martin; 'You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.' Chinese proverb; 'The Beatles are dying in the wrong order.' Victor Lewis-Smith; 'Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.' Mark Twain; 'Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember: it didn't work for the rabbit.' R.E. Shay; 'If it were not for quotations, conversation between gentlemen would be an endless series of 'what-ho's!'' P. G.Wodehouse
The spread of COVID-19 and the consequent pandemic since early 2020 have brought about unprecedented changes in all spheres of global life, creating a new sense of (in)security with social distancing, physical isolation, quarantine and lockdown becoming buzzwords to combat the disease. As in all spheres of life, the first wave of the pandemic posed serious challenges to the world of soccer, with diverse and intriguing responses across the globe. This book documents the early impressions and initial responses of various stakeholders of the soccer world to the challenges of COVID-19 in 2020. It reveals how the process of confrontation, negotiation, adjustment and overcoming against such challenges necessitated and inspired novel responses and strong improvisations from soccer bodies to players, referees to spectators, and journalists to sponsors. This process has revealed abrupt as well as radical changes in the organization, rules, spectatorship and telecast of the game, thereby affecting the game’s cultural dimensions, commercial prospects and political implications. The volume points out that the way soccer has adjusted to the ‘new normal’ standard of the ‘COVID Regime’ has elicited newer meanings and nuanced representations of the game. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Soccer & Society.
Volume three of a bibliography documenting all that has been written in the English language on the history of sport and physical education in Britain. It lists all secondary source material including reference works, in a classified order to meet the needs of the sports historian.
John M. Legge shows the many ways in which the real world diverges from economics textbooks. He argues that mainstream economic theory took a disastrous turn 140 years ago, when it attempted to use calculus to explain human behaviour. A real economy involves people who are not variables in equations. This error led to a second, mainstream economics becoming obsessed with equilibrium. However, constant change is the reality and one cannot explain the present without understanding the path taken to get here. This book presents economics in historical context. It includes a short account of the contributions by some of the key figures in economic theory, starting with Adam Smith. Smith placed great weight on morality: he believed that economic activity took place in a society and could not be justified except insofar as it advanced the interests of that society. Too many economists have come to believe that the interests of society can be measured by a number: that if a policy change raises GDP it is justified, whatever its impact on people.Legge places the economy within society, and society within the environment, explaining that every significant decision has a social and environmental impact, as well as an economic dimension. Seeking to provide answers to students, professional business managers, and those interested in the political process, this work addresses the gap between theory and reality.
This book is suitable for students on sport and exercise science, sport psychology, sport studies and sports management courses who need to know what sport and exercise psychology is about.
This book is suitable for students on sport and exercise science, sport psychology, sport studies and sports management courses who need to know what sport and exercise psychology is about.
The new Rough Guide to Barcelona is the ultimate all-round guidebook to one of Europe's most vibrant, exciting and stylish cities. In full colour throughout, with dozens of colour photos, this guide not only gives you the finest coverage of Barcelona's historical sights and famous architecture, including the magnificent Gaudí creations like the Sagrada Familia, but also has a keen eye for offbeat attractions and in-the-know sights, from quirky museums to neighbourhood markets, city beaches to urban parks. There are up-to-date reviews of the best hotels, bars, restaurants and clubs for all budgets, so whether you're looking for a hideaway boutique hotel or the best gintonic in town, you'll find it in the Rough Guide. Make the most of your holiday with The Rough Guide to Barcelona. Now available in PDF format.
