England Football: The Biography
England Football: The Biography

Author: Paul Hayward

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-10-27

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 1471184366

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LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE ‘The greatest story in English sport told beautifully by one of its greatest writers’ Gary Lineker 'A spellbinding piece of work' Oliver Holt; 'Absolute tour de force' Henry Winter Award-winning writer Paul Hayward delivers a compelling and unmissable account of the story of the England men's football team, published as they prepare for the World Cup in Qatar. On 30 November 1872, England took on Scotland at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow, a match that is regarded as the first international fixture. More than 5,000 fans watched the two sides play out a 0-0 draw. It was the first of more than a thousand games played by the side, and the beginning of a national love affair that unites the country in a way that few other events can match. In Hayward's brilliant new biography of the team, based on interviews with dozens of past and present players and coaches, including Viv Anderson, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and current coach Gareth Southgate, we get a vivid portrait of all aspects of the team's story, reliving highlights such as the World Cup victory in 1966 and the time when football came home in Euro 96, as well as the low points when the players were obliged to give the Nazi salute in 1938 and the era when England's hooligan fans brought shame on the nation. From Stanley Matthews and Bobby Moore through to more modern heroes such as Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane, Hayward brings a large cast of characters to life. For anyone who wants to understand England football, and why it means so much to so many, England Football: The Biography is an essential and vital read.

Money Can't Buy Us Love
Money Can't Buy Us Love

Author: Gavin Buckland

Publisher: deCoubertin Books

Published: 2019-08-08

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1909245593

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In 1960, the wealthy owner of the Merseyside-based Littlewoods corporation, John Moores, took control of Everton Football Club, setting in motion a chain of events that still affect the game in this country today. Everton had enjoyed success before Moores's takeover but things would never be the same again from the moment he walked through Goodison's doors. Although big clubs had spent money before, none had done so with such naked short-term ambition and a ruthlessness to succeed that sent shockwaves through the previously stagnant world of English football. The new owner's ruthless streak was personified by his first major move, sacking the popular Johnny Carey in the back of a London taxi in April 1961. Everton would finish that 1960/61 season in fifth place, their highest position since World War Two, but the Irishman's affable nature cost him his job. In his place Moores wanted a man in his own image to lead the club forward and he soon found him: Harry Catterick. Catterick was little over 40 years old, and had been an Everton player himself only ten years before. But as a boss he exuded an aura that demanded respect and obedience from his players. It was a characteristic that won him few fans but plenty of trophies, and across the decade Everton reasserted themselves as one of English football's powerhouses, winning two league titles and an FA Cup. Catterick's ability to nurture young products of the club's youth set-up such as Colin Harvey and Joe Royle was trumped only by his mastery of the transfer market, allowing him to sign the great Howard Kendall from Preston North End and World Cup winner Alan Ball from under his rivals' noses. Harvey, Kendall and Ball would soon form the club's greatest midfield trio, and their brilliance would underpin the 1969/70 title win, a victory for free-flowing football in an era of cynicism. That trophy would be Everton's last major honour for 14 years. In Money Can't Buy Us Love, Everton's official statistician Gavin Buckland tells the tale of how Moores and manager Harry Catterick took the so-called 'Mersey Millionaires' to the summit of English football, in the context of the major cultural changes of the time. The book provides a forensic character study of both Catterick and Moores, and also delves into the archives to provide a definitive account of the incidents that rocked the club in a fruitful but turbulent decade, including allegations of doping in the 1962/63 campaign, the 1964 match-fixing scandal which signalled the end of Tony Kay's career and the shock sale of Alan Ball. Money Can't Buy Us Love offers fascinating insight into how strong personalities can take a team to the very top, but can also cause in its ultimate downfall.

Last Boy of ’66
Last Boy of ’66

Author: Sir Geoff Hurst

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2024-10-24

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1529938503

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FOUR FOR ENGLAND. THREE FOR HURST. 'Images of us celebrating have taken their place in the nation’s photo album. Trophy aloft, smiling into our future. Banksy, George, Jack, Mooro, Ray, Nobby, Bally, Bobby, Martin, Roger. My ten teammates. My old friends. They’ve now all gone. Heroes from an era that is slipping into sepia.' But it isn't all over. Not yet. One of them is still here, and before he goes, Geoff wanted to get down his final thoughts about 1966. He talks about Alf Ramsay - his vision, his drive, his loyalty. Also his shyness, even awkwardness. About his teammates, about Jimmy Greaves - hard workers, cool heads, dedicated pros. Geoff tells their collective story, digging below the surface, reflecting on their victory, its impact on their lives. It was a bittersweet onward journey for the Boys of '66. Their legacy was squandered and their team uncelebrated. But the eleven of them shared something that no other Englishman has ever experienced. Here Geoff brings them all together, one last time, to see them make history.

Don Revie: The Biography
Don Revie: The Biography

Author: Christopher Evans

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-10-28

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 1472973372

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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DON REVIE – ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX AND CONTROVERSIAL MEN EVER TO GRACE THE GAME OF FOOTBALL 'Engrossing' - Sunday Times 'Impeccably researched... As a life and times, Evans's account is immaculate.' – Jonathan Liew, New Statesman 'A poignant and engrossing read... a well-crafted biography.' – FourFourTwo 'Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, this superb biography sheds new light on one of the most controversial, enigmatic figures in football history' – Leo McKinstry, journalist, historian and award-winning author 'Excellent' – Johnny Giles, Leeds United legend 'Essential reading' Ryan Sabey, the Sun Whenever the greatest managers the game has ever produced are mentioned, names like Busby, Shankly, Paisley and Ferguson trip off the tongue. Despite dominating the game in the late 1960s and '70s there is one name missing: Don Revie, the former Leeds United and England manager. Revie was one of the most complex and controversial men ever to grace the game of football. As a player, he was crowned Footballer of the Year and credited with creating the modern centre-forward. As a manager, he took a Leeds United side languishing in the lower half of the second division and turned them into not only league champions, but one of the most dominant sides in the country. As England manager, Revie lost the magic touch and became increasingly indecisive. After three years in the role and fearing the sack, Revie became the first man to walk out on England. Then came the backlash. Revie was branded a traitor and banned from the game for 10 years, and the press declared open season on the manager. Accused of offering bribes to throw matches, his reputation was destroyed. Shunned by the football establishment, he died just 12 years after walking out on England. Revie's death, at the age of 61, robbed him of the opportunity ever to rebuild his reputation as one of the most important figures ever seen in English football. The life and times of this multifaceted, enigmatic, pioneering football man have still never been fully explored and explained in detail before. Featuring new interviews with Johnny Giles, Kevin Keegan, Norman Hunter, Eddie Gray, Allan Clarke, Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Malcolm Macdonald and members of the Revie family, this long-overdue biography reveals how today's football owes so much to Don Revie. --- Shortlisted for THE SUNDAY TIMES Sports Book Awards 2022 'A no-holds-barred insight that convinces the reader that Don Revie stands amongst the giants of English football.' -Lord Mann 'Meticulously researched and expertly crafted exploration' - Jeff Powell, Daily Mail 'A superb read'. - Alex Montgomery, Chief football writer and former Chairman of the Football Writers Association

Hero in the Shadows
Hero in the Shadows

Author: David Tossell

Publisher: eBook Partnership

Published: 2021-11-15

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1801502501

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Don Howe is one of English football's great coaches, with an unrivalled record at international and club level. As right-hand man to three England managers, he helped his country to the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96 semi-finals. He helped to steer them through the 1982 World Cup unbeaten and to the quarter-finals four years later. Howe masterminded the 1970/71 double at Arsenal, where two spells as coach also brought European and further FA Cup glory. He was also an integral part of one of the greatest Wembley upsets when he helped Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' to victory over the mighty Liverpool in 1988. As a player at West Bromwich Albion, Howe won 24 international caps, but as a manager he failed to achieve the success he craved. Yet over a three-decade period, he won acclaim from many of England's finest players as a genius of the coaching profession. Through interviews with players, colleagues, friends and family, this book examines the triumphs and challenges of Don Howe's career and assesses his contribution to English football.

Caught Beneath the Landslide
Caught Beneath the Landslide

Author: Tim Rich

Publisher: deCoubertin Books

Published: 2018-11-01

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 1909245801

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In the year when Manchester City, managed by Pep Guardiola, swept its way to the Premier League title, Caught Beneath the Landslide examines another, very different club, also called Manchester City. In the words of Uwe Rosler: “It was a different club, a working-class club supported by the people of Manchester”. Run, not by a faceless sheikh, but by men like Peter Swales and Francis Lee who ran the gauntlet of supporters’ anger as season after season ran out of control.

Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan

Author: Leo Moynihan

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-07-31

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1448133173

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Gordon Strachan has probably become best known among football fans for his realistic and often witty assessments of his teams' performances and football matters in general. It is easy to forget that Strachan forged a career as a player where his abilities made him the only player ever to win the Football Writers' Player of the Year Award both north and south of the border. Now managing Celtic, this fully updated biography of one of Scotland's most charismatic exports is published 40 years after the club became the first British team to win the European Cup. In this comprehensive and fascinating biography, Leo Moynihan looks at the tenacity of Strachan as a player, determined to prove his old mentor wrong when Ferguson sold him to Leeds Utd, on the basis of him being past his best, and the true relationship that exists between them, as well as the honesty of a man who has often left followers of the beautiful game scratching their heads, but always full of admiration.

Who Invented the Stepover?
Who Invented the Stepover?

Author: Paul Simpson

Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2013-11-07

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1847658423

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Have you ever wondered who invented the 4-4-2 formation? Why footballers used to celebrate success by releasing a platitudinous pop single? And who has really scored the most goals in the history of the game? You can find the answers to all these questions and more in a book which takes the time to consider the debt the stepover may owe to Dutch speed skaters, explores the most surprising world transfer record and celebrates the most dysfunctional World Cup campaign ever. Through a series of answers to puzzling and perennial questions, the book sheds unexpected light on the beautiful game, challenging conventional wisdom, discovering neglected heroes and destroying a few urban myths along the way.

Chelsea FC in the Swinging '60s
Chelsea FC in the Swinging '60s

Author: Greg Tesser

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-08-05

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 075249418X

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They say if you remember the Swinging '60s, you weren't there. And surely no other football club encapsulated that momentus era of change more than Chelsea. As Britain’s youngest football agent, Greg Tesser lived the 1960's dream. As an eighteen-year-old publicist he helped launch the careers of the likes of Eric Clapton and Georgie Fame, before promoting the King of Stamford Bridge himself, the legendary Peter Osgood. It was all showbiz glamour down the Fulham Road in those halcyon, hedonistic years, with Hollywood stars Steve McQueen and Raquel Welch choosing to worship at the shrine of Ossie and co. Football become fashionable with all the Beautiful People - Greg and Charlie Cooke even wrote for Vogue! - QPR legend Rodney Marsh modelled for upmarket glossies, and Ossie morphed into a true '60s icon. A first FA Cup, a first European trophy, all Chelsea fans, indeed all fans of football, will enjoy this journey down memory lane when soccer swung and it was hip to kick a ball.

Lovejoy on Football
Lovejoy on Football

Author: Tim Lovejoy

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2009-05-27

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1409060411

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Tim Lovejoy loves football. Along with Helen Chamberlain he presented Soccer AM for more than a decade to become as much a part of a football fan's weekend as phone-ins, back-page EXCLUSIVES and the vidiprinter. But why does Tim love football? Is it actually the most important subject in the world? And did he really once support Watford as a kid? Lovejoy on Football gets down to the nitty gritty of the really important stuff in football, such as: Why he, Tim, is technically a rubbish football fan; Women's true place in football; How 'Save Chip' became the biggest football cause in the country; Why it's a bad idea to hammer Razor Ruddock; And why footballers are in fact underpaid. Packed with amusing anecdotes, bustling with great football stories and full of strong opinions, Lovejoy on Football is the must-have football book of 2007.