Association football (Soccer) Books
Biteback Publishing Nearly Reach the Sky: A Farwell to Upton Park
Book SynopsisSuccess, failure, heroism, stupidity, talent, skulduggery - Upton Park has seen it all. If supporting his club for fifty years has taught Brian Williams one thing it's that football fans defi nitely need a sense of humour - how else would they cope with the trials and tribulations that are part and parcel of cheering on their team? In this frank and funny take on the travails of a die-hard football supporter, Williams takes a nostalgic look back at some of the great players, great triumphs and great calamities that have marked West Ham's time at Upton Park, exploring the club's influence on its fans, the East End and football as a whole over the course of a lifetime. A Fever Pitch for the Premier League generation, Nearly Reach the Sky is an anecdotal journey through the seminal goals, games, fouls and finals, told with all the comedy, tragedy and irrationality fans of any team will recognise. This is a witty, fond, passionate and poignant tribute to the end of an era at Upton Park, as well as a universal meditation on the perks and perils of football fandom.Trade ReviewWhichever team you support, Nearly Reach the Sky is a smashing read, beautifully written - even if it is about West Ham and I'm a Sheffield United fan. David Marsh Oh, the exquisite torture of being the fan of a so-nearly club - A poignant portrait of the unrequited football supporter, brilliantly illuminated by vivid snapshots of those rare but cherished glimpses of glory. Jeff Powell [I]t will strike a chord with any football follower. Brian Williams is a proper fan, and Nearly Reach the Sky is a proper fan's book. Nicholas Clee, The Guardian Brian Williams has got in ahead of the crowd ... lovingly pouring over every detail of his life as a fan, and the Upton Park match day experience. Blowing Bubbles Magazine Part nostalgia trip, part love letter to a soon-to-be departed old friend, it's an enjoyable account of modern fandom. Four Four Two Funny, honest and poignant, a romantic yet also realistic account that anyone who supports a club that doesn't happen to be a billionaire's plaything will instantly recognise and identify with. Paperback book of the month, Choice Magazine Simply brilliant ... Nearly Reach the Sky is a truly fitting send-off to a ground that will always be our spiritual home. Moore Than Just A Club
£12.34
Soccer Books Ltd Scottish F.A.Cup 1873-2019 - The Complete Results
Book SynopsisThe book contains a statistical record of this, the 2nd oldest football competition in the world. In addition to the results of every game from the first in 1873 to the 2019 Final, also has full line-ups for Finals and other statistics too.
£18.95
Griffin Publishing Basic Guide to Soccer
Book SynopsisThis outstanding family-oriented introduction to soccer untangles the mystery, answers your questions and explains the game in an informative, yet thoroughly readable style. Athletes and fans of any age wanting to get involved with youth soccer will find this book especially helpful. It explains refereeing and coaching options for teenagers and discusses the opportunities for parental involvement in coaching, officiating and other volunteer jobs.
£8.54
Empire Publications Ltd Chasing Glory: The Story of Association Football
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£7.95
Empire Publications Ltd Three Curries & a Shish Kebab: ...and Other Spicy
Book SynopsisFormer Sunday Express chief soccer writer Richard Bott''s wry and humorous look at his 40 years in sports writing.
£7.99
Empire Publications Ltd Glory Denied: The Story of Association Football
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£8.50
Empire Publications Ltd Blue Tomorrow?: The Football, Finance & Future of
Book SynopsisFrom its formation in 1905, Chelsea have been regarded as the most glamorous of clubs. Visitors to the Bridge have included Hollywood actresses, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and even an American Secretary of State complete with Secret Service entourage. But while famous names seem attracted to Chelsea''s proximity to London''s West End, the team has often disappointed. More recently Chelsea have become one of the most successful of the new breed of Premiership clubs. Under Bates, Stamford Bridge has become home to 39 businesses ranging from travel agencies to banks, restaurants and hotels to insurance companies, with the express aim of insuring his football club against the inconsistencies and dangerous internal feuding that have hamstrung previous chairmen. Over the past 6 years Chelsea has undergone a revolution, but along with progress'' has come rampant commercialism -- as one Chelsea fan noted, loyalty is measured by how much you can spend rather than how much you care. The life-long emotional bond that forms between a football club and its supporters is now almost a weakness, there to be exploited by the money-drunk millionaires that have taken over our sacred game''. Life-long Chelsea fan Mark Meehan discovers a club in a hurry: an ageing chairman frantic to win the championship before he retires, a club facing mounting debts, an expensively assembled playing staff and a new manager brought in because the old one could only deliver five trophies in three seasons. Clearly, nearly 20 years after assuming control, Ken Bates is still chasing his elusive "Blue Tomorrow" -- but, as Meehan discovers, he is in danger of losing control of his own club with potentially disastrous consequences.
£9.49
Empire Publications Ltd Atkinson For England: A Tale of Mistaken
Book SynopsisWith only 10 days to go before England''s crucial World Cup Qualifier against Germany, national manager Glenn Gould resigns, blaming Brendon Fendon, the FA''s Machiavellian chief executive, of taking an unhealthy interest in team affairs. A shortlist of temporary replacement managers is drawn up -- the instant favourite is Ron Atkinson. Brendan Fendon leaves for Brazil to attend a career-enhancing FIFA conference on the elasticity of corner flags. Meanwhile, Nottingham plumber and Sunday League manager Reg Atkinson is concerned that his tender for the undersoil heating contract at the new Wembley stadium will be lost in the latest crisis to hit the England team. But he is soon reassured by a call from the FA asking him to an interview. Reg quickly hones his knowledge of the Swedish undersoil heating system and heads for London. After a swift selection process, Brendan Fendon''s stand-in Sir Richard Scratcher appoints Atkinson and calls a press conference to announce the new England boss. But, as the mass media soon discover, the man taking the stage isn''t Ron but Reg who has signed a multi-million pound contract to take charge of the national team. The press have a field day, but Brendan Fendon is none the wiser as his delayed flight from Rio lands at Heathrow. When the truth dawns he realises the only way out is to force Reg to resign by preventing all England''s stars from playing against Germany. What does Reg do now? If he resigns he''ll lose his money, but if he continues, England will be forced to forfeit the match and Germany will surely qualify. The press are camped outside Reg''s humble semi in Nottingham, he''s suffered a mysterious break-in and his plumbing business and the future of English football look like going down the pan. . .
£6.81
Empire Publications Ltd Three in a Row: A Fan's Eye View of United's
Book SynopsisA season of triumph for United or one of frustrated ambition? The jury is still out on season 2000-01, if only because another championship was followed by a hasty Champions League exit and trouble between Alex Ferguson and the board. When Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three championships in a row, it set the seal on another successful season at Old Trafford. From August to the start of the New Year, United were as irresistible as usual. But by Spring, despite an imminent championship, there were rumours that United''s most successful manager of all time had fallen out with the board. Following United''s exit from the Champions League, the grumbling at boardroom and terrace level grew to fever pitch. So much so that by the final fixture of the season rumour and theory had replaced sanity on the terraces, with most fans convinced ''the Wizard'' was on his way out. As ever there''s rarely a dull moment at Old Trafford. From the debate over standing to the creeping (and not so creeping) commercialism within the club, to the threats made by Trafford Borough Council and the arrival of a new chairman, United supporters had more to worry about than mere football. Linda Harvey and Paul Windridge write passionately about the events that mattered to United fans last season. From the ecstasy of a 6-1 romp against championship rivals Arsenal to the agony of defeat in Munich via a brief return for hated rivals Manchester City. Experience the highs and lows of Sir Alex Ferguson''s penultimate season in charge.
£7.99
Empire Publications Ltd Forgotten Legends: Manchester United's Legends of
Book SynopsisLet us take a nostalgic trip back in time to the age of Harry Stafford, Charlie Roberts, Sandy Turnbull, Joe Spence, Johnny Carey and Jack Rowley. These were the greats who made Manchester United great; legends for their immense contribution both on and off the pitch but now consigned to history. There are no shrines or statues to these players at Old Trafford yet without them, other legends might never have emerged, indeed the club itself might not exist. The Forgotten Legends brings to vivid life the careers of an elite set of footballers. They had two things in common: all made their United debuts before the start of the Second World War and none of them have had their story told in print before. HARRY STAFFORD -- The mysterious figure who saved Manchester United and then disappeared. CHARLIE ROBERTS -- Manchester United''s first great captain and founder of the PFA. SANDY TURNBULL -- a figure who attracted controversy as easily as he did match winning goals. JOE SPENCE -- United''s only true great between the wars, a legend among the fans. JOHNNY CAREY -- United''s next great captain, leading the club back to glory. JACK ROWLEY -- A prolific striker with a fearsome reputation on and off the pitch.
£13.46
Empire Publications Ltd Sir Alex, United & Me: A Tale of Footballing
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£8.54
Empire Publications Ltd My Blue Heaven
Book SynopsisPacked with witty anecdotes, exclusive insights and glorious moments from City''s illustrious past, ''My Blue Heaven'' features the type of footballer that true blues have always identified with -- the terrace heroes who light up a dull Saturday afternoon with their style, passion and commitment to the cause. The concept of My Blue Heaven is simple -- interview the star names and ask them about their favourite games. So we hear from the striker who is still blamed for costing City a league title and the forward who helped City thrash United 5-0 at Old Trafford. Then there''s the goalkeeper who put in two FA Cup Final Man of the Match performances but still ended up on the losing side and the veteran defender whose first goal for the Blues remains his most treasured memory. Players featured and interviewed in ''My Blue Heaven'' are: Alan Oakes, Alex Williams, Clive Allen, Clive Wilson, David White, Ian Bishop, Joe Corrigan, Ken Barnes, Mark Lillis, Paddy Fagan, Paul Lake, Paul Power, Paul Walsh, Peter Barnes, Rodney Marsh, Roy Little, Tommy Booth and Uwe Rosler.
£10.44
Empire Publications Ltd Insider's Guide to Manchester United: Candid
Book SynopsisContaining John Doherty''s subjective views on each of the 339 men who have played for the club at senior level since 1945, The Insider''s Guide To Manchester United is the definitive Manchester United players'' guide. Doherty (an original Busby Babe and chairman of the United Old Boys committee) candidly reveals the strengths, weaknesses and his personal memories of United''s stars.
£18.00
Empire Publications Ltd Catch a Falling Star: The Autobiography of Neil
Book SynopsisOne of the most perceptive descriptions of Manchester City''s play during their glory years was made by Manchester Evening News reporter Peter Gardner who said that "When Youngy plays, City play". For all the talk in the intervening years of greats such as Summerbee, Bell and Lee, it was the local lad made good who made most impact when it mattered. A tall, leggy striker with a venomous left-foot shot, Young scored in every significant game for City in the late 60s. Scorer of two goals in the 1968 Championship win up at Newcastle, the scorer of the 1969 FA Cup Final winner and the first goal in the 1970 Cup Winners'' Cup final, Neil Young played as significant a role in the success and style of the Mercer-Allison partnership as anyone. Yet by 1972 he was allowed to leave the club as City began their now familiar relationship with underachievement and mismanagement. In ''Catch a Falling Star'', Neil Young explains what he has been up to in the years since his sizzling shots stung the hands of the country''s finest goalkeepers. Here he frankly discusses the problem that faced footballers of the pre-Premiership era: "When I left Rochdale for the last time one Friday afternoon I had a week''s wages... about 60. I drove home and sat in my lounge for about two hours, wondering what the hell I was going to do. I had a car on HP, a mortgage, a wife and three children to feed. I was the provider who could no longer provide. I had no savings whatsoever and my wife didn''t work. I didn''t see it coming. It was a calamity waiting to happen." Thus starts Neil''s decline into illness and depression. During the next painful decade Neil suffered numerous illnesses, lost his family, his mother and survived a suicide attempt. Thankfully, he has emerged with his spirit intact thanks largely to the love of his third wife, Carmen. ''Catch a Falling Star'' is the moving tale of a how a star on the wane managed to mount a personal comeback as impressive as any achieved on the pitch by City''s star-studded squad of the late 60s.
£16.16
Empire Publications Ltd This Simple Game: The Footballing Life of Ken
Book SynopsisKen Barnes was widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation never to have won an England cap. During a distinguished playing career with Manchester City, Ken appeared in the FA Cup finals of 1955 and 1956 and later captained the club before retiring in the early 60s. He spent nearly a decade away from Maine Road as a manager of Wrexham and Witton Albion before returning to Maine Road as a coach under Joe Mercer. Ken subsequently went on to serve under every City manager as either a coach or chief scout from Joe Mercer to Joe Royle. As someone who holds forthright views on the game, especially when it comes to the subject of coaching, Ken''s views could be dismissed as the ''in my day'' rantings of another embittered former pro. Yet one should bear in mind that his integrity and knowledge of the game saw him serve under every Manchester City manager from Joe Mercer to Joe Royle. In his time Ken has seen trends come and go -- from the ''deep lying centre-forward'' via ''wingless wonders'' to today''s ''holding midfielder'' and is uniquely placed to give his opinions on them all. Away from football, Ken is described as a ''character''. Make of that what you will. That may be a tale for another day. This is the story of Ken''s life in football. I''m honoured, and privileged, that he asked me to help him tell it.
£16.16
Empire Publications Ltd Complete Eric Cantona: Every Game -- Every Goal
Book SynopsisEric Cantona''s career at Old Trafford lasted only 5 years but its lasting impact is still being felt today. During that comparatively small span, Cantona''s dedication and self-confidence enabled a club to emerge from over a quarter of a century of failure and self-doubt. Cantona''s career before he arrived in England had been nomadic at best, self-destructive at worst. He blazed a trail through French football but the highest profile incidents centred on his spectacular misbehaviour and clashes with authority. By the time he was snapped up by Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson in early 1992, he seemed to have burned most of his bridges in France. A lucky phone call was the catalyst for Cantona''s 1m transfer to United following a brief Leeds career during which the Frenchman had added inspiration to a team founded on perspiration. Most Manchester United fans recognised Cantona''s class, his decisive role in Leeds 1992 title triumph and his instant hero status among Yorkshiremen. Yet few could have anticipated the quality that would shine through following his arrival at Old Trafford. For 26 years Manchester United fans had suffered under the jack boot of Liverpool''s domination of European and domestic trophies. Cowed into submission, their fans tended to hope for the best but feared the worst, even 6 seasons of relative success under Ferguson hadn''t changed that mindset. Cantona''s fearless attitude transformed the club, almost in an instant. Never has a football club been so altered from one day to the next by one signing. Never has a club gone from ''nearly men'' to ''champions'' at the stroke of a pen. All of a sudden, the boot was on the other foot and remains so to this day. over 10 years since Eric last kicked a ball in anger. This book details every game Eric played for Manchester United, Leeds United and the French national team as well as potted summaries of his career in France. Darren Phillips, author of "The Complete George Best", has painstakingly researched his remarkable career in France, England and in the French national team. This book can be read either as a work of reference or a detailed insight into a career that altered the dynamics within English football for good.
£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd Old Trafford: 100 Years of the Theatre of Dreams:
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£12.30
Empire Publications Ltd Villa Premier Years 1992-2010: A Fan's View from
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£8.50
Empire Publications Ltd Manchester United Premier Years: 1992-2010
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£9.45
Empire Publications Ltd 19: The Remarkable Story of United's League
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£17.06
Empire Publications Ltd Midlands Footy: 1980-2011
Book SynopsisThis book looks back at the teams, players, managers and rivalries between all the Midlands clubs since 1980.Over the last 30 years of great games there are many true icons who will never be forgotten and Midlands football fans have voted for the top 5 players from each of their clubs. Featuring every result of every Midlands derby ever played and in-depth profiles of 100 Midland club legends -- this is a celebration of one of the world''s football hotbeds. Features: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Burton Albion, Cheltenham Town, Coventry City, Derby County, Kettering Town, Kidderminster Harriers, Leicester City, Northampton Town, Notts County, Nottingham Forest, Port Vale, Shrewsbury Town, Stoke City, Tamworth, Telford United, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
£8.50
Empire Publications Ltd Mancini: Diary of a Champion
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£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd Roman Conquest: Chelsea -- Kings of Europe 2012
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£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd Centurions: England's 100 Club
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£18.00
Empire Publications Ltd Greenhoff!
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£13.46
Empire Publications Ltd Teenage Kicks: The Story of Manchester City's
Book SynopsisThere wasn''t much to cheer about for Manchester City fans during the mid-1980s. With the club''s coffers empty following a disastrous series of signings at the start of the decade, City seemed in decline as attendances dwindled and interest waned. The only relief from the gloom came in the form of a talented crop of youngsters that arrived at the club from 1983 onwards. Fourteen teenagers who would go on to accomplish something supporters had waited 33 years to achieve. Producing one''s own players has always been an emblem of pride for football supporters. Established in 1953, the FA Youth Cup has always been the litmus test of a club''s youth policy. Until 1986 Manchester City had reached the final twice but actually winning the trophy had proved to be a step too far. Teenage Kicks is the story of how ''The Class of 1986'' won the prestigious trophy for the first time in the club''s history and using both exclusive and archive interviews, it describes how the team came together and details what became of each of the fourteen teenagers from that point onwards.
£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd 20/13 -- A Tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson: The
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£9.45
Empire Publications Ltd Flyin' High
Book SynopsisWe accompany an awe-struck seven year-old Salford boy at his first game in 1966 watching Best, Law and Charlton in their pomp, through relegation, raucous away days and foreign adventures. There is bucket-loads of beer, banter... and Barcelona''s Nou Camp for the greatest night of all! The cast includes Sir Matt, Captain Marvel, Eric the King, The Baby-faced Assassin, Reliant Robin and The Ginger Prince. The writer revels in a Fergie Wonderland, yet there''s solemnity too, the passing of heroes and American impostors. Above the Theatre of Dreams though, the red flag was, as ever, flying high.
£7.95
Empire Publications Ltd In My Blood: I Was Born to Follow Liverpool
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£9.45
Empire Publications Ltd Brian Clough: The Fans Behind the Legend
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£8.50
Empire Publications Ltd Red, White & Blackmore
Book SynopsisAs a homegrown player with a taste for spectacular goals, Clayton Blackmore was a fan favourite for Manchester United long before he secured cult status with his tremendous form in the club''s famous 1990/91 season. His clearance off the line in the Cup Winners'' Cup Final against Barcelona being just as crucial as his long-range efforts which helped to get United there. After becoming one of the few remaining players from the entertaining sides of the 80s to get his hands on a League winner''s medal, Clayton''s career was interrupted at its peak by injury before he left with Bryan Robson to lead a revolution up at Middlesbrough, in a controversial spell at the Riverside which included Brazilian superstars and Premier League points deductions. A true legend of Welsh football, Clayton Blackmore''s is a unique story of one of the most famous rebuilding periods in football history, packed with anecdotes. Ghost writer Wayne Barton has worked with numerous Manchester United legends and was described by the Independent in 2015 as ''the leading writer'' on the club.
£18.00
Empire Publications Ltd We Never Win At Home We Never Win Away...: The
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£9.45
Empire Publications Ltd Harry Stafford: Manchester United's First Captain
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£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd Six Foot Two, Eyes OF Blue...: The Authorised
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£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd Don't Look Back in Anger: The Manchester City
Book SynopsisFrom being the butt of jokes to domestic treble winners, Manchester City fans have endured more ups and downs than most football supporters over the past 30 years as they journeyed down the divisions before bouncing back in spectacular style under a new owner with unlimited wealth. Yet throughout this long rollercoaster journey City fans stayed loyal to their club -- averaging over 25,000 most seasons when other large clubs have seen attendances slump well below that in bleak times. Don Price follows up his naval memoirs and last year''s ''We Never Win at Home...'' with a final collection of memories from is travels with City alongside fanzine editors Dave Wallace, Phill Gatenby and Sean Riley, a City fan who has missed just one game in 35 years and that through no fault of his own! What emerges is a support still in disbelief that after years of their team being the punchline for jokes by their neighbours and rivals they now hold the upper hand and rule the roost in English football.
£9.45
Empire Publications The Killing of Emiliano Sala 2021 Edition
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£10.40
Empire Publications Ltd Italia '90 Revisited: The Players' Stories
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£11.35
Empire Publications Ltd Champions At Last!: How Liverpool Finally Won The
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£12.30
Empire Publications Ltd The Wagatha Christie Trial
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£9.45
Empire Publications Ltd Ernest Mangnall: The Architect of Mancunian
Book SynopsisErnest Mangnall holds a unique place in the history of Mancunian football as the only man to manage both the city''s major clubs, but his legacy runs much deeper than that as he also played a key role in both clubs finding new homes and even oversaw the move of Bolton Wanderers to Burnden Park. He is perhaps best remembered as the man who brought Manchester United their first major honours following the takeover by John Henry Davies. There he won two League Championships, an FA Cup and two Charity Shields during a nine-year reign and the irony won''t be lost on City fans that those achievements were helped in part by the exodus of players from their club in the wake of an FA enquiry which found the club guilty for making ''under the counter'' payments. Yet it was Mangnall''s cunning as an administrator that allowed United to cherry-pick the cream of City''s players luring the likes of Billy Meredith, Sandy Turnbull and Herbert Burgess to the club. The result was United''s first great era but the club soon became mired in controversy as a number of FA enquiries that led to Davies being forced to relinquish control. Sensing the wind change, Mangnall felt no compunction in moving to City in 1914 where he stayed for a decade guiding the club through the devastation of the war before finding them a new home at Maine Road, a place still that remains in the hearts of City fans to this day. John Ernest Mangnall truly was the architect of Mancunian football.
£10.40
Pitch Publishing Ltd Punk Football: The Rise of Fan Ownership in
Book SynopsisPunk Football tells the story of how supporters have made the incredible journey from the terraces to the boardroom. Initially intrigued by the rise of AFC Wimbledon, the supporter-owned club set up after Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes, Jim Keoghan was drawn into a world in which ordinary fans have started new clubs, taken a stake in those they once followed and sometimes saved clubs from disappearing altogether. The fan-ownership movement has touched every echelon of the game, challenging the private model that has dominated football for over a century. There have been highs and lows, successes and failures, but through it all the dogged determination of fans to be more than paying customers has shone through. Regarded as a revolutionary force in modern sport, the story of Punk Football is one that will appeal to every fan who has ever thought, "I could run this club better myself."
£12.99
Twocan SAFC Black Cats Masterpieces
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£15.00
Twocan Sunderland Bragging Rights
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£11.25
Twocan SoL 20 - Twenty Years at the Stadium of Light
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£15.00
Danann Media Publishing Limited Rangers Scrapbook
Book SynopsisThis beautifully Illustrated Hardback Book provides an insight into theunique story of Rangers F.C. one the most famous football clubs in the world.
£18.90
Twocan Kit Cats: SAFC's Stadium of Light Kit Story
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£15.00
Twocan Sunderland AFC The Absolute Record: The Players
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£22.50
Twocan 73@FIFTY
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£15.00
