In the autobiography of a Manchester City and England Legend, the former soccer mid-fielder opens up about his childhood and his life in the glory years. He singles out his greatest opponents, and compares the modern game with the era he dominated.
The culmination of five years of research, this fascinating book reveals a side of football not explored before and explains why football coaches use astrology to gain a competitive edge. The result of 5 years of research, Football aims for the Stars shows how the constellations can affect planet football; find out why leading continental coaches believe they gain a competitive advantage by using astrology; explore the 12 paths to football success; understand what makes a telepathic partnership and, with examples including England 1966, Liverpool 1979, Manchester United 2007, and Barcelona 2009, see how a 'well balanced' team is built. This pioneering book will be essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in fulfilling their potential either as a player or coach. It will also provide fascinating insights for fans wishing to find out what they have in common with their heroes.
Richer Than God is an authoritative, emotional, provocative account of Manchester City's takeover by Sheikh Mansour, culminating in their remarkable last minute Premier League title victory in May 2012. By placing the club's extraordinary current rise in the wider context of its patchy modern history, this is also the story of English football's transformation--from the battlegrounds of the 1980s to today's moneyed, seated, global entertainment. Conn is led to question the very nature of football clubs and being a supporter, the underlying values and running of what used to be called "the people's game." A labor of love, this powerfully told account of Manchester City's fall and rise, based on meticulous research over many years, and exclusive access and interviews with key figures, is written in the gripping, revelatory style Conn has made his trademark.
THE 1970S - THE LAST DECADE WHEN EVERY FAN OF EVERY CLUB COULD WISH FOR THE STARS.For supporters of provincial lightweights like Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, their wishes came true in the seventies when they landed the Division One title. It was the decade of the underdog - when the FA Cup was still football's Holy Grail and teams like Sunderland, Ipswich and Southampton came in from the sticks to produce their own brand of Wembley magic. It is not like that today.It was the decade when every team had its characters: Stan Bowles, Charlie George, Duncan McKenzie, Frank Worthington, Tony Currie, Rodney Marsh. These personalities are gone now, replaced by an influx of anonymous foreign journeymen.This book harks back to a lost era when the game still belonged to the fans; they could identify with the players, recognise their heroes, and believe they all had a shot at glory.It remembers dramatic matches packed with action and controversy; recalls mercurial managers like Shankly, Clough, Revie and the Doc - and asks the question: who was the finest player from football's last great decade?
The ultimate book of Blues trivia, The Man City Miscellany is full of weird and wonderful facts. Including: * The only goalkeeper to have scored for City, * The name of Clive Allen's dog, * The identity of the City player who played with a toothpick in the corner of his mouth, * Who is the 'Invisible Man' the City fans sing about? "I rang my secretary and said 'what time do we kick off tonight?' and she said 'every 10 minutes.'" - Alan Ball during his troubled reign of City, 1996 "Apparently, decapitation is no longer a capital offence." - Joe Royle reacts to an unpunished tackle on Kevin Horlock, 1998 Packed with random Man City facts, stats, lists, tables, anecdotes and quotes, from the club's record scorer to the bizarre name of the club cat, this is the ultimate trivia book for every City fan's bookshelf.
If Manchester City legend Colin Bell were playing today, he'd be one of the most sought-after midfielders in the world and would command the wages of, and comparison to, the likes of Zidane, Pires and Rivaldo. While his remarkable success came before football heroes acquired celebrity status, he was every bit as talented as today's superstars and would have been a footballer of global stature. best player of all time. He graced the midfield during their greatest years, as they lifted the League Championship, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup-Winners Cup. The man they nicknamed Nijinski, due to his supreme athleticism, captained Bury at the age of 17 and represented England 48 times before a serious knee injury effectively ended his career at just 29. County Durham. He talks about never knowing his mother, who died while he was a baby, and of being brought up by his aunt and then his father and older sister. He explains why the love of his life, his wife Marie, was never allowed to watch him play and why his family means so much to him. The many highs and lows of his career are covered, including his views on the tackle in a Manchester derby that ended his footballing dreams and could even have cost him his life. His contemporaries remember his determination to return to the game and Colin explains why he'll never speak again to his former City teammate Francis Lee. Bobby Charlton, Colin the King is the life story of a footballer whose brilliance on the field demanded adulation but who was never comfortable in the spotlight; a player who truly preferred to let his feet do the talking.
'A superb book and a must-read for any City fan.' - DANIEL TAYLOR, senior writer, The Athletic 'A thorough and delicious retelling of perhaps not the most successful of European journeys, but definitely the most interesting ... Fantastic.' - DAVID MOONEY, BBC Radio 5 Live 'A book that brilliantly explodes the myth that City have no history or pedigree in Europe.' - SIMON MULLOCK, chief football writer, Sunday Mirror THE ESSENTIAL NEW HISTORY OF MANCHESTER CITY'S EUROPEAN TRIUMPHS AND TRAGEDIES FEATURING A FOREWORD BY CITY LEGEND FRANCIS LEE As one of the first English sides to taste glory in Europe, lifting the Cup Winners' Cup in 1970, City looked set for life among the continent's elite. But as their domestic fortunes went from bad to worse to absolute calamity, the wilderness returned. Avid City fan and respected journalist Simon Curtis dusts off the details of some truly intoxicating away days. Filled with tales of the club's travelling support and the evocative accounts of the journalists who saw the team of the Seventies, Curtis tells the story of a club steeped in history, defiantly refusing to bow to pomp and ceremony as it goes about lifting the ultimate prize. After a spectacular rebuild and having achieved all there is to achieve on the domestic stage, including a record-breaking 100-point season in 2017-18, City's deep-pocketed owners have their sights firmly set on European glory once more. Yet for all their recent success at home, they are anything but welcome guests at Europe's top table.
Vincent Kompany relives a spectacular and unique season for Manchester City, in which as club captain he led the Blues to a unique Treble success of Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup triumphs. Told from his unique viewpoint, this is the definitive account of a remarkable campaign. After Manchester City had won the Premier League title in 2018, collecting a record number of points along the way, the pressure was on for them to go one better in 2019 - but instead they went two better, winning every single major domestic trophy, starting with the Community Shield. In this frank and compelling book, Kompany tells the dramatic story of Manchester City's record-breaking season. In the league, they faced a formidable challenge from Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool that went all the way to the final game of the campaign. He takes the reader behind the scenes, to give them an insight into how manager Pep Guardiola inspired them and came up with the right decisions at the right time; he explains what made his team-mates, from Aguero up front to Ederson in goal, so special; and, having scored a spectacular thunderbolt of a goal to virtually secure the title, he explains how and why he decided that the time had come to move on from the club he had adorned for more than a decade. Vincent Kompany is a club legend, and now he has delivered an account of a special season that will be treasured by City fans everywhere.
Are you a loyal supporter of Manchester City Football Club? Never missed a match? Do you know all there is to know about your favourite football team? Then the time has come to test your memory of the events that have shaped City with this exciting new quiz book containing 250 thought-provoking questions. The Man City Quiz Book contains questions about all aspects of the club including the players, their nationalities and caps for their country, managers, top goalscorers, League ositions and club records as well as all those memorable moments that have gone to make up City's long and exciting history. So, whether you are City's number one fan or simply want to brush up on your knowledge of the team, you are certain to find out something new about Manchester City Football Club in this book. Packed with fascinating facts, this tribute to Man City is a must-have for all City fans and is certain to provide all round entertainment for football enthusiasts from five to 95.