For more than sixteen years Southall kept goal for Everton and Wales, becoming his club and country's greatest servant, as well as Everton's most decorated player. Uncompromising, unorthodox and often unkempt, Southall's career followed an incredible trajectory: from football-mad binman, to the greatest goalkeeper in the world in the space of a few years. It is also a story of a time before the game was all about money; when a young player's love of the game and ceaseless commitment to excellence could see him rise to the very summit of world football.
In this unique book, one of football’s greatest cult players reflects on the travails of the sport and draws upon his own experience to offer an honest assessment on one of its final remaining taboos: mental health.
Steven Gerrard is a hero to millions, not only as the inspirational captain of Liverpool FC, but as a key member of the England team. Here, for the first time, he tells the story of his lifelong obsession with football, in an honest and revealing book which captures the extraordinary camaraderie, the soul-destroying tensions and the high-octane thrills of the modern game as never before. Born in the Liverpool suburb of Huyton in 1980, Steven first joined Liverpool as a YTS trainee and played his first game for the first team aged just 18. His career has gone from strength to strength ever since and he is now the team's captain and its lynchpin. Liverpool's incredible comeback in the Champions' League final in Istanbul in May 2005, recovering from a 3-goal deficit against AC Milan to win on penalties, is testament to the amazing power Gerrard has over his team. His presence on the pitch is a force to be reckoned with and places him amongst the very first rank of players in the world. A relatively private figure, Steven has rarely spoken out in public. Now, his legions of fans will be allowed an intimate glimpse of what makes their hero tick. He speaks for the first time about the torturous will-he-won't-he Chelsea rumours and his undying passion for Liverpool. We experience first-hand the highs of winning in Istanbul and elsewhere, as well as the occasional lows of being parted from his much-loved family and friends. And of course, the book contains a full blow-by-blow account of England's world cup campaign in Germany 2006. Steven Gerrard's book is the definitive football autobiography. Like its subject, it's honest, passionate and exhilarating. If Steven Gerrard isn't your hero yet, by the time you've read this he will be...
Are you a fan of Everton FC? If so, you won't want to be without this new book profiling the Everton story from 1870 right up to the present date. Detailing all the high and low points that have made Everton into the successful club it is today, this book charts the progress of the Blues from St. Domingo to the golden era and everything in between. The Illustrated Everton Story is packed with facts, quotes and anecdotes all about The People's Club including the 1900’s FA Cup jinx, the 1930s’ championships, relegation, the glorious 1980s and beyond. This fascinating new book includes over 100 profiles of all the great Blues players such as Alfred Milward, Jack Taylor and Dixie Dean along with more recent footballing heroes; Kevin Ratcliffe, Paul Rideout and Tim Cahill. This detailed tribute to the Blues will take you on a pictorial journey, revisiting all of Everton’s memorable moments. Beautifully illustrated with nearly 300 drawings, this book is a must-have for Everton supporters and football fans of all ages.
While the COVID-19 pandemic overshadowed all else and would quickly have a lasting impact on our daily lives, other events related to the radical right in 2020 soon surfaced. From terrorist attacks in Germany and India to anti-mask protests across the U.S. and Europe, radical right violence escalated in the midst of circulating conspiracy theories and disinformation. The yearbook draws upon insightful analyses from an international network of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners who explore the dynamics and impact of the radical right. It explores a wide range of topics including reflections on authoritarianism and fascism, the role of ideology and (counter-)intellectuals, and radical-right responses to the pandemic and calls for police reform in the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. It ends with important assessments on best approaches towards countering the radical right, both online and offline. This timely overview provides a broad examination of the global radical right in 2020, which will be useful for scholars, students, policymakers, journalists, and the public.
Steven Gerrard is a hero to millions as the inspirational captain of Liverpool FC and a key member of the England team. His bestselling autobiography, Gerrard, published in September 2006, is an honest and fascinating account of his life-long obsession with football and the tensions and thrills of playing at the top level. Now the book is available in this abridged version that is perfect for all young football fans.
'A brilliant take on the modern game - Robbie tells it like it is' Rio Ferdinand Robbie Savage is one of Britain's most recognisable football pundits. Incisive, forthright and bold, Savage never holds back where the beautiful game is concerned. No Premier League footballer has ever divided opinion quite like Robbie Savage. Mr Marmite, as he was often known (among other things), rampaged his way through almost 350 games in the Premier League and along the way picked up more yellow cards than Gary Lineker has crisps and more enemies than Joey Barton and Neil Warnock put together. In his explosive new book, I'll Tell You What..., Savage lifts the lid on all aspects of the modern game. Managers, players, the Premiership, the European game, the FA Cup, kids' football, and pushy football parents are just a few of the topics that Savage takes on in his inimitable provocative style. Robbie tells us why: * Brian Clough, not Sir Alex Ferguson, is the best Manager the world has ever known · * As a player, he would have complimented any one of Jose Mourinho's teams · · * Vanity should not be confused with 'Good Grooming' · * You simply can't knock on Mark Hughes' door and invite him for a game of golf - even if he invites you · * Drinking wine does not win you football matches · Coaching badges are ridiculous · * He could never become a manager. Or could he? · * Football is easy · * Good manners should come before diamond earrings · * The League Cup has the edge over the FA Cup Robbie Savage's straight-talking common sense is only the start of it. I'll Tell You What is a modern-day guide to life, and should be read by anyone who has an interest in anything at all, especially football. Few may actually agree with him, but everyone listens.
For Everton FC, the 1980s were the most successful decade in the club’s history. It was a time when Wembley became a second home for Howard Kendall’s band of brothers as they stepped out from Liverpool’s long shadow to take their neighbours’ mantle as the country’s best team, winning two league titles, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup. In Here We Go, Simon Hart interviews some of the Blues’ best-loved players from that era – along with the most controversial and the unsung heroes too – to provide a vivid, colourful portrait of a period when a group of unheralded young footballers came together to achieve something special with a rare, intoxicating mix of raw talent and team spirit. The players featured include Kevin Ratcliffe, Adrian Heath, Gary Lineker, Pat van den Hauwe, Mark Higgins, Kevin Richardson, Paul Power and Pat Nevin, along with Colin Harvey, Kendall’s No2 during the glory days and subsequently manager himself by the decade’s end. Thirty years on from Everton’s last championship-winning campaign of 1986/87, they remember the Wembley highs and heartbreaks, and the epic derby duels in an age when Merseyside, for all its troubles, stood at the very forefront of English football. They also recall the boozy nights, the bold pranks and the bad haircuts, and their recollections capture just what it meant to be a footballer in a dramatic decade for the English game. Together they explain not only the Blues’ rise to greatness but the decline that gradually set in after their European exile; they also offer a nostalgia-laden celebration of the team- building skills of the man who made it possible: the late, great Howard Kendall.
'Essential' Adam Rutherford, bestselling author of How to Argue With a Racist 'In an area where factual accuracy is often rejected in favour of moralising or panicking this book is a vitally useful and frequently fascinating' Robin Ince __________ Drugs. We've all done them. Whether it's a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, a cigarette or a sleeping pill. But how well do we understand the effects of the drugs we take - legal or illegal? Say Why to Drugs investigates the science behind recreational drugs- debunking common myths and misconceptions, as well as containing the most recent scientific research. Looking at a range of drugs, this book provides a clear understanding of how drugs work and what they're really doing to your mind and body. Along the way you will find out why ketamine is on the WHO's list of essential medicines, why some researchers hope MDMA could treat PTSD, and much more. Enlightening, entertaining, and thought-provoking, Say Why to Drugs is a compelling read that will surprise and educate proponents on both sides of the drugs debate. __________ A definitive and authoritative guide to drugs and why we get high from the creator of the top-rated podcast, Say Why to Drugs.
*** 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.
