Jake loves football and dreams of becoming a professional footballer. He's worried about his height though - what if he's too small for football? But on the day of his trial Jake is quick on the ball and scores - he's made it! Jake can't wait to pull on his shirt and join the team. But someone at the club wants to make his life difficult. Can Jake face up to the bullies and become man of the match again? Stay on the ball this season with the first four stories following the boys in United's under-twelves.
Yunis can't believe that he's United leading scorer. It should be the happiest time of his life, but his father wants him to give up football and work hard at school. Can Yunis convince his dad that he can do both, or will he have to hang up his boots forever? Stay on the ball this season with all the action from Football Academy.
An exciting football series, following the adventures of United's under-twelves side. Since Ryan Flynn got into trouble for bullying, he's been determined to pull his socks up and be the best captain United's ever had. So when team-mate Craig causes problems on - and off - the pitch, Ryan knows he must get to the bottom of it or he'll lose a talented player. But Craig's worries are much bigger than Ryan realized - can he help Craig and stop him from being shown the red card?
Ben is at his happiest playing for United and is getting top marks from the coach. But every day at school is a trial for Ben, as he struggles to hide a huge secret from his teachers and classmates. Ben�s secret is starting to affect his game � can he swallow his pride and ask for help before he sidelines himself � for good?
Shay and Frankie are best friends and football crazy! They eat, sleep and breathe football (even when they're at school!). They dream about playing football, love a kick-about in the park, watch all the big games on TV... all that's missing in their lives is the chance to play for a real football team. All Cultures United is the best club around for miles and all the footie fans want to on their team... including Shay and Frankie. Are they good enough to impress Coach Reece at the AC United trials? Can their friendship survive the competitiveness of football? Will they ultimately fulfil their goal to become Baller Boys?
The fifth book in the fast-paced Football Academy series. James has been a junior player at United for a long time. Everyone expects him to follow in his dad's footsteps and play for England one day. But James isn't so sure. He has something he wants to do even more than football. Something that means he would have to give up football. The problem is he doesn't want to disappoint his dad. At a tournament in London, where he is pitched against Arsenal and Chelsea players, James finally makes his mind up.
“An exhilarating, at times heartbreaking, and ultimately unforgettable journey that lays bare the true human stakes of the world’s most popular game.”—Warren St. John, best-selling author of Outcasts United Searching for soccer’s next superstars, an audacious program called Football Dreams held tryouts for millions of 13-year-old boys across Africa. In The Away Game, Sebastian Abbot follows several of the boys as they chase their dreams in a dizzying world of rich Arab sheikhs, money-hungry agents, and soccer-mad European fans.
Short listed for the Best Football Book in the 2010 British Sport Book Awards The way Britain develops its top football talent is a hot topic of debate. The failure of all four of the UK's national teams to reach the 2008 European Championships and the ever-increasing reliance of England's top clubs on foreign talent underlines an undisputable fact: that Britain now lags well behind the world's top countries in producing the best footballers, despite having the wealthiest league in the world and untold riches at the game's disposal. Every Boy's Dream: England's Football Future on the Line investigates why - despite unprecedented expenditure on a huge overhaul of youth development in the past decade - British football continues to fail to nurture top-class football talent. With some 10,000 boys in the system at any time - and less than one per cent of those boys likely to make it as professional footballers - there is a real need for a long, hard look at our domestic football development system. Who funds the system? How are the boys recruited? Who is responsible for their coaching and what qualifications do they have for the job? Who looks after their welfare, ensuring they are enjoying the sport and still keeping up with their schooling while under the clubs' stewardship? What happens when the boys don't make the cut and are released by the clubs? Every Boy's Dream does not pull any punches. It lays the blame at the doors of the authorities in charge of youth football. But, rather than just listing the faults of system - which are many, as the hard-hitting real-life examples demonstrate - it provides tales of inspiration and a blueprint for the future of the national game. It is the most thorough book ever written about football youth development, and cracks through the age-old veneer of perceived wisdom that has stifled debate on the subject.
United's under-twelves are in Poland for a tournament. Goal-keeper Tomasz is very excited to be playing in his home country, but team captain Ryan thinks Poland are rubbish - in fact, he thinks everything Polish is rubbish. Ryan's behaviour causes trouble both on and off the pitch. Can Ryan and Tomasz tackle their differences - or will Ryan's bullying foul United's chance of success?
Tom Palmer celebrates the unsung athletic heroes of the Armistice in a powerful tale of the fell-running messengers on the front-line of war, publishing for the centenary anniversary of the end of WWI.
