Jumpers For Goalposts is a fascinating reflection on the history of British soccer, which examines why the charm, innocence, and good humor has disappeared from today's game, compared to the golden days of yesteryear. Smyth considers everything from the huge wage bills, to players' lack of loyalty to their clubs, and their escapades off the pitch. He concludes that the true beauty of football is when it's at its simplest. Including anecdotes from players, past and present, and other sporting insiders, Jumpers For Goalposts is an exhaustive study of whether football has lost its charm—and, perhaps more importantly, whether it can ever get it back.
A hilarious and heart-warming comedy about football, friendship and finding your way. Luke wants Danny, but Danny's got a secret. Joe's happy in goal but Geoff wants a headline gig. Viv just wants to beat the lesbians to the league title. Game on. "Jumpers for Goalposts"premiered at Watford Palace Theatre in April 2013, before touring the UK. 'The delicate balance between humour and pathos is seldom achieved with such deftness... a stunning piece of writing - fresh, funny, painful, engaging' "The Stage" 'Finds extraordinary beauty in the ordinary lives of its characters' "Financial Times"
And the Leader Is... Gareth Chick's second leadership coaching book, is a critical mentoring guide in business culture, management and organisational behaviour, showing us how to lead effectively with heightened Corporate Emotional Intelligence (CEQ). Drawing on his 40 year experience in every aspect of the Corporate World, from CEO to performance coaching; from manager to trainer, Gareth Chick covers the fundamentals of emotional intelligence coaching to create high performance teams through transformational leadership and authentic change management. In his first book Corporate Emotional Intelligence Gareth provided a compelling analysis of Corporate Psychology; giving us a profound new understanding of how working in the business environment can cause thoroughly decent human beings to behave in unnatural and inhuman ways. The book concluded by outlining the 4 Pillars of Corporate Emotional Intelligence (CEQ), equipping us with personal development strategies to raise our leadership effectiveness. And the Leader Is... completes Gareth's personal corporate life mission to give hard pressed modern managers the practical competencies to be more effective leaders, more fulfilled and more sustainable. While each of his two leadership books stands on its own merits, the combination of the two forms arguably the most important work on corporate leadership since Dr Edwards Demings' writings of the late 20th Century. It is fitting therefore that the Foreword is written by Tony Barnes, the last surviving member of the Deming team that revolutionised Japanese business and manufacturing practices in the 1950s and 1960s. "A bible of common sense; a book that cuts to the core of achieving great business results whilst caring for the people you lead." Fionnuala Meehan, VP EMEA Global Marketing Solutions and Head of Ireland, Google "It's like no other book I've ever experienced. It's intensely personal - the insights, the examples, the honesty. This is much more than a book. It's a deep journey." Alison Platt, Non Executive Director, Tesco Plc "I have read many great books on coaching, leadership and teams. However, this is even greater, with all of these areas more expertly placed in one book". Becky Ivers, People Director - Expansion, Heathrow Airport "I was transported into `And the Leader is....Tina'. Easy to read `brain food' providing simple strategies to unlock human potential. This book is becoming my own personal coach." Tina Jennings, HR Director, Global Consumer Brands, Walgreens Boots Alliance
*** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A heroic outsider - a pleasure to read.' - The Guardian 'A fulsome evocation of football before the Premier League.' - The i 'Such a good storyteller...joyous.' - Financial Times 'Honest, raw, revealing and very funny. How to live a life and career to the full. Insightful book about the most successful outsider inside football ever...' - Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer, The Times 'Pat is a wonderful one-off...and this is the story of why that is.' - John Murray, Chief Sports Correspondent, BBC Radio 5 Live 'Unusually vibrant and elegant with heroic doses of humour, insight and self-effacement, this is an absolute must-read for the football connoisseur.' - Omid Djalili 'The biggest influence of my professional career both on and off the pitch.' - Graeme Le Saux 'I grew up captivated by Pat Nevin the player. As a man he taught me even more about the beauty of the game. One of football's great mavericks, and Chelsea's greatest players. And he can spin a mean tune too.' - Sam Matterface 'I used to walk miles to see Pat Nevin play football and I'd do the same now to read his thoughts. Always challenging, always entertaining.' - Lord Sebastian Coe 'A refreshingly honest and thought-provoking autobiography. As deftly delivered as some of Pat's ball skills in his 1980's heyday.' - ToffeeWeb Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer. His future was clear, he'd become a teacher like his brothers. There was only one problem with this - Pat was far too good to avoid attention. Raised in Glasgow's East End, Pat loved the game, playing for hours and obsessively following Celtic. But as he grew up, he also loved Joy Division, wearing his Indie 'gloom boom' coat and going on marches - hardly typical footballer behaviour! Placed firmly in the 80s and 90s, before the advent of the Premier League, and often with racism and violence present, Pat Nevin writes with honesty, insight and wry humour. We are transported vividly to Chelsea and Everton, and colourfully diverted by John Peel, Morrissey and nights out at the Hacienda. The Accidental Footballer is a different kind of football memoir. Capturing all the joys of professional football as well as its contradictions and conflicts, it's about being defined by your actions, not your job, and is the perfect reminder of how life can throw you the most extraordinary surprises, when you least expect it.
Best selling author, award winning comedian and international keynote speaker Gavin Oattes challenges you to live life better than you have to, to never be afraid of your own style and to blow your own god damn mind for a change. Cast your mind back to that album that changed your life? The riffs, the hooks and the lyrics that blew your mind? That movie that moved your whole world and assured you that life was going to be special? Transporting you to a place you’d never been before, the opening chapter of that book that changed your life forever? The hairs on the back of your neck stood, adrenaline rushed through your entire body with the weight of the world gone from your young shoulders. Energised, inspired, alive, all in and ready to turn up to this wonderfully f*cked up thing we call life. Close your eyes and remember that feeling right there in that moment? Life Will See You Now is a rousing, uplifting anthem that will inspire you to put down your phone, rediscover what truly matters and completely rethink what ‘making it’ in life actually means. A personal development title with a difference – there’s no step-by-step guide and no map to change your life – instead, it provides you with hilarious, real life inspiration, motivation and energy to figure it out for yourself and rediscover that wee piece of magic you had when you were just five years old. Oattes makes the argument – backed by both positive psychology and an abundance of childlike wonder – that in an anxious world ruled by pressure, ego and other people's expectations, we are all incredibly lucky to be alive at a time where kindness, gratitude, play and ice-lollies really do matter. Remember, you don't have to do what everyone else is doing. . .
'Hilarious, heart-wrenching and packed with British music history.' - COLDPLAY A Virgin Radio Book of the Year It's a life-and-near-death story. But whose life? And whose near-death? As a one-time NME journalist, former Xfm radio presenter, toilet-circuit promoter and the founder of enduring homespun British record label Fierce Panda, Simon Williams has been at the cutting, cutting, cutting edge of all things 'indie' for over thirty years. During his tenure as managing director of Fierce Panda (a role he holds to this day), Simon was responsible for tripping over bands such as Coldplay, Keane, Placebo and countless other acts of independent hue - some of whom have gone on to achieve earth-shattering musical superstardom, while others have merely baffled the crowd at the Bull & Gate in north London on a wet Wednesday evening. Unfiltered and unflinching, Pandamonium! is the story of Simon's time at the indie coalface, filled with insider anecdotes to entertain music enthusiasts everywhere - from the origins of a bootlegged Oasis release to Chris Martin's delight at reaching number ninety-two in the charts. But it is also the story of how Simon tried to bring a premature end to proceedings, documenting in blunt, matter-of-fact detail his longstanding mental-health struggles. Yet, despite his raw and often poignant honesty, Simon writes with the warmth, wit, self-deprecation and wide-eyed good fortune of someone who has stared into the abyss and survived, bounding down a few indie rabbit holes along the way.
'Ferguson picks up the ball inside the Scottish half and he's off. He skips round England's Dawes. . . nutmegs Bryan. . . shoots. . . and SCORES! Goal for Scotland in the 89th minute of this World Cup quarter-final! England are on their knees. Ferguson sends the Scottish fans crazy. What a player!' Don't miss a minute of the non-stop action as 10-year-old Calum Ferguson goes from struggling to settle into a new town whilst fighting for his place on the school football team to impressing scouts, proving themselves and contending with arch rivals. Scotland Stars F.C. books are packed with excitement on and off the field, as well as loads of extras like character cards to collect and football tips, puzzles and games. Caleytown’s P6 boys have come so far, but they’ve still got to beat their old rivals Muckleton in the playoffs if they want a place in the National Soccer Sevens Tournament. There’s a longstanding tradition of pranking between these two teams, and Calum and Leo are feeling the pressure to make this year more hilarious than ever... Their headteacher has threatened to forfeit the tournament if they pull a prank on Muckleton. Will they risk it anyway -- and have they forgotten how important the tournament is to them?
Who would live in a country where no child is allowed to win a race on sports day and you can lose your job for forwarding an ‘Irish joke’ email? About 60 million Britons, that’s who! Completely Conkers is a laugh-out-loud collection of ludicrous laws, political correctness gone mad, and ridiculous red tape.
Get Your Head in the Game is the first book to tackle the issue of mental health and its relationship with the most popular sport in the world, football. Football is more than just a sport; the pitch reveals emotion in the extreme, from the glory of goals, the thrill of comradeship, the rollercoaster of club loyalty, through to the immense pressure of expectation, fear of injury, and crushing defeat. Fans, players, managers, coaches, and even those new to the sport can't help but be swept up by the drama at the heart of the beautiful game. But when players at the peak of their physical fitness commit suicide, or poor mental health derails careers, there can still be a stunned silence in the community, a lack of connection. In Get Your Head in the Game, Dominic Stevenson, a writer, player, coach, and lifelong football obsessive, interviews a diverse cross-section of characters in the football world, from fans to managers, from players at the start of their careers to retired veterans, women's football stars, international celebrities, refugee footballers and mental health professionals. Football is more than just a sport. The pitch reveals emotion in the extreme: from the glory of goals, the rollercoaster of club loyalty, through to the immense pressure of expectation, fear of injury, and crushing defeat. Fans, players, managers, coaches and even those new to the sport can't help but be swept up by the drama of the beautiful game. But when players at the peak of their physical fitness commit suicide, or poor mental health derails careers, there can still be a stunned silence in the community, a lack of connection. Dominic Stevenson, a writer, player, coach and lifelong football obsessive, interviews a diverse cross-section of characters in the football world to try to understand this lost connection between the sport and the mind. This book contains contributions from internationally renowned players such as Sam Hutchinson, Chris Kirkland, Ella Masar, John Harkes and Iffy Onoura. From voices at top clubs around the globe including Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and DC United, to the stories of smaller clubs and unsung heroes behind the scenes, Dominic reveals personal battles both on and off the pitch, touching on anxiety, depression, discrimination, trauma, identity and recovery.
