Search results for ""Pitch Publishing""

The Scottish League Cup is often wrongly described as the 'Cinderella' of Scottish football, as distinct from its two ugly sisters, the Scottish League and the Scottish Cup. Dating from the Second World War, it is certainly the youngest. The trophy is unusual, if not unique, in having three handles. It is a major part of the Scottish season, and has been keenly contested for 75 years. Sixteen teams have won the cup. Unsurprisingly, the big Glasgow clubs have won it the most, but Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and Dundee have also tasted glory. The trophy has also given the likes of Raith Rovers and Livingston their moments in the sun - and who could ignore the mighty deeds of East Fife, who won the cup three times in its first decade? Rangers hold the record for Scottish League Cup wins, but Celtic's victories have been more spectacular, not least their astonishing 7-1 triumph in the 1957 final. This book pays homage to each one of the 75 seasons, with a detailed account of every final.

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Made in Europe is a glorious celebration of Europe's greatest and most remarkable football talent. From the first European Championship in 1960 through to the modern day, it features a smorgasbord of unforgettable players - each one commemorated in stunning photographs and expertly profiled by a skilled team of writers. The book includes 250 favourites - not just the best footballers, but also the craziest and most colourful, the most stylish and the coolest. Each player is honoured with a mini-biography, interspersed with little-known anecdotes that are sure to come in handy at any football quiz night. The selection features players from all the top European football nations, and six greats (Van Basten, Gascoigne, Beckenbauer, Zidane, Iniesta and De Bruyne) are given full-length profiles. You'll learn things you didn't know about your heroes, and perhaps discover some new ones who until now have slipped under the radar, in this beautifully illustrated book.

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How much do you really know about world soccer? Put your knowledge to the test with this bumper book of brainteaser quizzes and fascinating facts, beautifully illustrated by one of the world's leading sports artists. From Ardiles to Zidane, from Aguero to Zlatan, this book provides hours of highly dippable fun and entertainment. The major milestones, legendary players and unforgettable moments are all here. Which Brazil winger overcame childhood polio to win two World Cups? What is the name of the annual award given to the best young player in European football? Which USMNT star almost had his feet bitten off by an alligator while playing golf in Florida? Who was the first Australian-born player to win the Champions League? Who made his international debut at the 1990 World Cup and finished the tournament as top scorer? Trivquiz World Soccer On This Day holds the answers to all these questions and hundreds more.

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How much do you really know about Spurs? Put your knowledge to the test with this bumper book of brainteaser quizzes and fascinating facts, beautifully illustrated by one of the world's leading sports artists. It's packed with trivia on all the great Lilywhites sides and players - from goal-getter Greaves to goal-king Kane, from the pioneering double winners of the 1960s to the Champions League finalists of 2019 - providing hours of highly dippable fun and entertainment. Who scored five goals in one game for England, three of them in just over three minutes, a record that stood for 62 years as the fastest hat-trick in international history? In which 1981 movie did Ossie Ardiles appear alongside Sylvester Stallone? Whose gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games earned him exemption from military service? What was the title of the 1987 single by Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle that reached number 12 in the UK charts? Which striker is nicknamed 'Coco'? Trivquiz Tottenham Hotspur holds the answers to all these questions and hundreds more.

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Football stadiums are supposed to be packed with cheering fans. It was that way for more than 100 years until the coronavirus pandemic changed all our lives. Football managed to struggle on at some levels but without crowds - just cardboard cut-outs and fake noise instead. There was even a half measure for a while with a couple of thousand spectators allowed in. A banner at Old Trafford read, 'Football is nothing without fans', but what we discovered is that it isn't nothing, it's just better with fans there. Filled with fascinating stories, anecdotes, opinions and social media comments, Football is Better with Fans explores what it means to be a supporter. It's a light-hearted and highly dippable look at the lives of loyal fans, the fun and games they've enjoyed, their songs, banter, commitment, tattoos and traditions. The book doesn't shy away from tragedies, hooliganism or racism, but mainly it's a joyful celebration of football fandom and how we all survived when we couldn't go to games.

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Fed up with being stuck at home? Are you missing the excitement and fulfilment of an overseas jaunt for an away football match? The Away Leg: XI Football Stories on the Road takes your imagination on a trip around the world navigated by a skilled team of 11 football writers. From derbies in Brazil, Georgia and Israel to the momentous rise of the Iceland men's national team, from Palestine and North Korea to a UEFA Cup final overshadowed by murder, a controversial Women's World Cup meeting between England and Cameroon, the story of South America's most remarkable Copa Libertadores final and a historic triumph by Arsenal in the UEFA Women's Cup Final, The Away Leg's team takes you to the heart of the action with remarkable tales from across the globe. Until we can all hit the road again, The Away Leg fills the void with incredible football stories, with all author royalties going to the national social care charity Community Integrated Care.

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Record Breakers: The Tactics Behind Liverpool and Manchester City's Title Triumphs and Record Points Totals lifts the lid on Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola's tactical systems and strategies. Written by a Premier League analyst, the book focuses on the seasons when these two footballing giants registered the highest points totals in Premier League history. It compares their styles and principles of play both with and without the ball, analyses the differences in the positioning of their players and outlines their specific movement patterns, all in the context of how opposition teams attempted to defend against them. Learn how Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling were used very differently from Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, how City's system got the best out of Kevin De Bruyne, and how Trent Alexander-Arnold became a unique playmaker from full-back. From 'inverted full-backs' to 'false 9s' via 'free 8s', discover how City and Liverpool's tactics reflect modern football's evolution.

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The Secret Cricketer first picked up a cricket bat as a toddler and became a county junior. He secured a professional contract and has been at the coalface of the English county game ever since. This fast-paced, insider's account lifts the lid on modern cricket to reveal what life is really like for an English professional in the 21st century. How do players cope when they can't take a wicket or score a run and their livelihood is on the line? What makes a good coach and how many are there (hint - not many)? Is there still an old-school hierarchy in dressing rooms or a bullying culture? What's the secret to a winning dressing room, and what's it like to be in one when morale hits rock bottom? How much do county players earn? And what's it like to walk out at Lord's to play in a major final? With unique first-hand insight into the fast-evolving modern game, the book answers all these questions and more. It's brimming with untold stories - some that will make you laugh and others that will shock you.

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Accidental Olympian is the uplifting story of a judo athlete who wasn't afraid to dream big. Colin Oates trained in the wilds of Norfolk, at a village hall club run by his father. Entering the Olympics seemed an impossible dream, but Oates defied the odds to qualify for and compete at two Olympic Games. The boy born in Harold Wood, Essex, battled not only local prejudices within the judo fraternity but took on and beat many of the world's top players. Under the coaching and guidance of his father, Oates travelled the globe to fight in places he'd never heard of. Discover how Oates, supported by a judo-crazy family, smashed his way to being the British number-one under-66kg player for nearly a decade before qualifying for the Olympics. At London 2012, Oates defeated an ex-world champion and was only stopped by the eventual gold medallist. At Rio 2016, he faced the heartbreak of an early exit but was soon appointed a Great Britain elite coach. This is a genuine David and Goliath story where the underdog comes out on top.

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My Seventy Years of Spurs is veteran sportswriter Norman Giller's unique story of Tottenham Hotspur over the seven decades he has followed the Lilywhites. Norman saw the legendary 'push and run' side lift the league title in 1950/51, then as a press-box reporter he chronicled Tottenham's historic league and FA Cup double in 1960/61. He has been an eyewitness to all their triumphs and tribulations right up to the surreal 2020/21 season. Join him on a trip down White Hart memory lane in the company of each of the 21 managers who have been in charge during his 70 years as a supporter and reporter - from Arthur Rowe in the 1950s to the current master of the new Lane, Jose Mourinho. The book is introduced by Steve Perryman, captain of back-to-back FA Cup-winning Tottenham teams, who holds the club appearances record. My Seventy Years of Spurs provides an intimate and informative insight into the club from a renowned sportswriter who truly knows his Spurs.

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What is it like to support a small team in a city where a footballing giant lurks? Leandro Vignoli spent 50 days on the road, getting up close and personal with the fans of 13 football clubs from ten of Europe's big cities to bring you the inside story. This book isn't about glitz and glamour - it's a celebration of each club's identity peppered with a sprinkling of history. From St Pauli's social activism to Millwall's struggle with hooliganism, from Rayo Vallecano's working-class roots to Torino's glory and tragedy, from the Catalan identity to East Germany's socialist past, no stone is left unturned as Vignoli visits teams in Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Lisbon, Paris, Turin, Glasgow and London. Each chapter has a game as a backdrop alongside interviews with fans. A football fanatic himself, Vignoli weaves a narrative filled with passion and understanding that gets to the root of what it's really like to support an underdog side dwarfed by a footballing giant.

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Brimming with Blues trivia, facts and stats, The Top Ten of Everything Chelsea covers every aspect of the club's long and colourful history in dozens of ranked lists. A star cast features the best of the British, European and South American players who have worn the blue shirt with pride, the great managers who have led the club to silverware and the inspirational skippers, from Ron 'Chopper' Harris to John Terry. The book revisits the club's greatest triumphs, its most cherished London derby wins, the biggest thrashings handed out by the Blues, the finest goals scored by the likes of Drogba, Lampard and Zola, and the most gratefully received own goals gifted by the opposition. There's also a host of miscellaneous categories to rank the club's best (and worst!) kits, the most popular terrace chants, the most striking Chelsea player tattoos and the most bizarre moments on and off the pitch. Fun, informative, witty and thought-provoking, The Top Ten of Everything Chelsea is guaranteed to spark lively debate among Blues fans everywhere.

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The Life and Death of Andy Ducat is the fascinating and captivating biography of one of England's earliest sporting heroes. The story starts in the reign of Queen Victoria and ends, tragically, on the hallowed turf of Lord's Cricket Ground during the Second World War. History has not been kind to Andy Ducat, and his untimely death in 1942, while playing at Lord's, is the only fact known by many about this sporting idol. Andy is one of a select band of men to represent England at football and cricket. In football, he captained Aston Villa to FA Cup glory in 1920 and made Arsenal's 'Greatest 50 players'. In cricket, Andy scored more than 23,000 first-class runs and played for Surrey in a team of greats such as Hobbs, Sandham and Fender. Andy was a gifted sportsman with a core philosophy of fair play, which made him universally liked. However, his contribution to English sport in the early years of the 20th century has been forgotten. It is time for a new generation of sports fans to discover Andy's story.

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All Together Now is one of the great sports stories. It's about a group of football fans who were determined to right a wrong. The authorities said they shouldn't try. People in football said it couldn't be done. Robbed of their beloved club, Wimbledon FC, they started again. They had absolutely nothing - no experience of running a club, no players, no manager, nowhere to play. But within nine years they re-formed their team as AFC Wimbledon, rebuilt its community work, won six promotions and fought their way back into the top tiers of the game. En route, they broke records, changed the rules of football and were the subject of Prime Minister's Questions. And now they're back in their spiritual home, Wimbledon, in a brand new stadium. For most of this time Erik Samuelson was finance director and then CEO of the club. He tells the extraordinary inside story of how the most undervalued people in football - the fans - defied the odds to take their club back to the Football League and return home.

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Enable is a modern day racing heroine, a Queen of the Turf, and she has stirred the emotions of racing fans like few before her. She has won 11 Group Ones to date including the Epsom Oaks, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes three times, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe twice and the Breeders' Cup Turf. She is partnered by Frankie Dettori, the world's most famous jockey and she is his 'big girl' and his favourite racehorse. His trademark flying dismounts seem to now be accompanied by tears and by the time of publication, she will have attempted a historic third 'Arc' which Frankie wants to win 'for her' and not himself. As well as looking at her close bond with 'Frankie' the book looks at how Enable's masterful trainer, John Gosden, managed her from the beginning and how her connections cherish her. Her full story is told through the lens of the Racing Post - its best writers, most astute analysts and unrivalled photographers.

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The Hibs are Here is the follow up to Ian Colquhoun's previous book on Hibernian Football Club: From Oblivion to Hampden. That culminated in the club's successful League Cup winning season in 1991/92. This next volume is subtitled Miller to Millennium and charts the period from 1992 through to 1999. With fresh insight via exclusive interviews with a number of the club's players, coaches and managers, Colquhoun threads these together with a fan narrative and analysis of that iconic decade. He relives the joy of a UEFA Cup run, reaching another cup final and an historic third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership; the highs and lows of an instant promotion following relegation; and the heartbreak of losing that final and two semi-final defeats. From the pen of a passionate Hibs fan who was there for it all, The Hibs are Here is a wonderful trip down memory lane for any Hibernian supporter.

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In the early 1970s in Scotland, women's football existed in the margins. Unrecognised by the Scottish Football Association, banned from playing in stadiums and with no recognised national team. Arrival tells the fascinating, inspiring and uplifting story of how Scotland's women footballers fought for their right to play, battling hostility, prejudice and intolerance in order to create a national side that the country could be proud of. Drawing on illuminating interviews with Scotland players and managers past and present, including Anna Signeul and Shelley Kerr, it tells the inside story of the remarkable journey that the Scotland women's national team made from formation to eventual qualification for the European Championship and World Cup. It reveals the passion, commitment and determination that enabled Scotland to build a squad capable of competing with the best in the world and inspiring a generation. Arrival is the true story of a team battling against the odds to take their place on the world stage.

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Inglory, Inglory Man United chronicles the travails of United in the 1980s from the perspective of a diehard schoolboy Red Devil. Warrington-born (equidistant from Manchester and Liverpool for those who might not know), young Jamie Magill could legitimately have opted for the multiple-title winners from Anfield... but where was the fun in that? Who wanted the suet puddings of league championships and European Cups when you had the souffle of Ron Atkinson that might rise in the FA Cup every now and then? And who really cared about Europe before the Champions League? This is not just a story of pills, thrills and bellyaches; tears before crispy pancakes, fizz bombs and Juliet Bravo. It also provides an insight into who you are: a glory boy or a loyal supporter? Sticker or twister? Dumb, complacent roundhead or romantic cavalier? The fluffy dice you want to roll is better than the championship medal you don't have. The 1980s were a disaster, in terms of silverware; but they were fabulous entertainment for those who were there: soap opera storylines all the way. Not convinced? These five words should entice any United fan: Michael Knighton and Ralph Milne.

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The period leading up to 1999 had been grim for Stoke City fans - relegation, stagnation, embarrassment and board conflicts were commonplace at the club. As the new millennium approached, fans demanded change, but no one could have predicted what would come next. An Icelandic consortium, brought together by Gudjon Thordarson, set sail for the Potteries with the promise of exciting foreign imports and Premier League football. What followed was a mixture of flashy arrivals, cup successes, broken curses, flop signings and plenty of fallouts, with extraordinary on-field moments along the way. Cult heroes and villains were made as Stoke became a living soap opera for seven remarkable years. Twinned with Reykjavik lifts the lid on that rollercoaster ride with the views of the people who experienced the wild journey. Integral players and fans look back on the key moments that defined the era as the book ponders that vital question: was the Icelandic takeover actually a success for Stoke City?

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The Fix: How the First Champions League Was Won and Why We All Lost is an engrossing examination of the 1992/93 UEFA Champions League season. In 1980s Europe, revolution was in the air and the corridors of footballing power were not immune from the forces sweeping the continent. The breakup of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the USSR gave UEFA a problem. There were more national teams and league champions than their post-war competitions were designed to handle. Rather than the collapse of communism, the bigger headache for administrators was the success of capitalism. Gordon Gekko-styled businessmen like Silvio Berlusconi (AC Milan) and Bernard Tapie (Marseille) were beginning to involve themselves in football with less than benign motives. Against the backdrop of constant threats from the continent's most powerful clubs to form a breakaway super league, the UEFA Champions League was born. The Fix looks at that infamous first season, from its humble beginning on a Faroese hillside to its ultimate conclusion in a French courtroom.

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No Breaks: A Lost Season in British Speedway is a story of survival. Once the country's second most popular sport, filling Wembley Stadium for meetings, speedway now gets by on crowds numbered in the hundreds. It's been banished to industrial estates in towns like Redcar and Scunthorpe and generally forgotten by the mainstream media. And yet, going into 2020, things were looking up: several star riders were returning to race in Britain for the first time in years and a new, long-term TV contract was in place. Then the coronavirus lockdown happened, cancelling the league season and threatening the sport's very existence. Starting in September 2019, No Breaks hears from those who earn a living from speedway - the riders - and those who continue to keep it alive against the odds: the promoters and fans. Month by month, the book explores British speedway's current health - itself a reflection of wider society - while shining a much-needed light on many compelling and positive stories.

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Wimbledon has long stood at the pinnacle of British and world tennis. But, as Kevin Jefferys shows in this ground-breaking new study, Britain has a rich history of international standard play beyond SW19, in top-level tournaments and Davis Cup competitions at iconic venues such as Queen's Club, Eastbourne and Edgbaston. The book traces the fluctuating fortunes of a dozen or so tournaments that have brought the world's finest players to English shores during the 140-year history of lawn tennis. Taking a tour around different regions of the country, the author sheds fresh light on the best-known events and on largely forgotten but once high-profile tournaments held in Bristol, Torquay and Scarborough. Both a record and a celebration of England's tennis heritage, the book is packed with stories about memorable players and matches, full results for singles finals and anecdotes about quirky or controversial incidents, ranging from the courtside fire that halted a tournament final to the anti-apartheid protests that disrupted a Davis Cup tie.

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Jimmy Greaves was England's most prodigious goalscorer of the 1950s and 1960s. In his autobiography, Greavsie, he writes that the 1959/60 English football season was the final year of football's age of innocence. He saw the open, attacking football of the 1950s give way to a much more defensively minded game. It was an era which also saw the advent of the tracksuit manager and specialist coaches. An End of Innocence examines English football in the 1950s and a transition through the 1960s; looking at the international and domestic landscape, through the lens of a selection of teams. It considers different managerial styles, team formations, coaching and training methods, and the developments in tactics, diet and health care; as well as a significant change in footballers' lifestyles, that came after the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961. Set against a backdrop of social and political change, An End of Innocence reflects a changing nation and a game that was evolving, and the lasting impact that has had upon English football, its players and supporters.

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From Father to Son is Paul Bishop's semi-autobiographical account of his love of football, and most of all his local team Watford. It touches on the innocence of childhood and the influence of parents, family, friends, and in Paul's case Jimmy Hill, Johnny Haynes and many others. Part history, part travelogue, the book takes the reader on a nostalgic trip from the early 1960s, when football was a game and not a business. It explains why a five-minute segment in Kes makes it a better football film than Escape to Victory. It was an era when all English grounds were dominated by terraces, you could meet your mates and have a chat on the 'cinder curve' at Vicarage Road, as you marvelled at the skill of Ray Lugg and the heading ability of Barry Endean. The author also acknowledges the original 'boss' in his young eyes... Watford's legendary manager Ken Furphy, who went from Workington to New York Cosmos, via Watford, and ended up coaching both Pele and Johan Cruyff.

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In The Turning Season, Michael Wagg goes in search of hidden histories and footballing ghosts from before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He revisits the 14 clubs that made up the 1989 DDR-Oberliga, East Germany's top flight. From Aue in the Erzgebirge mountains to Rostock on the Baltic Sea, this quirky account of his whistle-stop tour is for fans who know that football clubs are the beating hearts of the places they play for. There are portraits of the lower levels as well as the big league, stories of then and now that celebrate the characters he met pitch-side. There's Mr Schmidt, who's found a magical fix for the scoreboard at Stahl Brandenburg; Karl Drossler, who captained Lokomotive Leipzig against Eusebio's Benfica; and the heroes of Magdeburg's European triumph, last seen dancing in white bath robes, now pulling in to a dusty car park by the River Elbe. The Turning Season turns its gaze on East German football's magnificent peculiarity, with 14 enchanting stories from a lost league in a country that disappeared.

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Tortured: The Sam English Story is the fascinating yet tragic tale of a footballer destined to become one of the greatest goalscorers in Scottish football history, but who by his own admission became 'an embarrassing, grizzly peep show'. English was a veritable goal machine at Yoker Athletic in the late 1920s, netting nearly 300 in three seasons, and was soon being chased by a posse of big-name clubs. Legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman offered him a blank cheque, but 22-year-old English chose Rangers. He hit 44 league goals in his debut season - still a record today - but tragedy struck early in the campaign. In the first Old Firm match of the season, Celtic keeper John Thomson lost his life after bravely diving at the feet of the entirely blameless English. In an instant, English became one half of a tragic accident and his life changed forever. He moved to Liverpool, but was haunted by the fatality and its accompanying demons. He was cast as a villain and made a pariah. His life would be defined by that one tragic incident.

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Late December Back in '63 tells the story of an unforgettable day in top-flight English football - when 66 goals were netted in just ten fixtures on Boxing Day 1963. The author brings each match to life through archive reports and images, exploring how such a staggering tally of goals was scored. This was the age of attacking formations, just before the era of more defensive disciplines, but what other factors were at play? The book examines and tests the veracity of various myths that surround that extraordinary day. Along with club line-ups, match reports, programmes and images from the fixtures, Late December Back in '63 takes an in-depth look at the careers of the various characters who played their part. It also offers a snapshot of where the national sport stood less than 20 years after World War 2 and the socio-economic changes taking place in the 'Swinging Sixties'. You'll get a picture of the state of the game less than three years before the summer of 1966 and how our future World Cup heroes were doing in their careers.

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Fine Margins is the definitive story of how two mainstays of English football took their feuding on to the game's biggest stages. The Manchester City and Liverpool rivalry is synonymous with the Premier League, but its roots go back much further. For over half a century, these two clubs from opposite ends of the M62 have been perennial thorns in each other's side. Bill Shankly laid the groundwork in the late 1960s before a series of clashes a decade later further stoked the fires, culminating in an attack on City's team bus in 1981 after they beat Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield. The feud was reignited in the mid-1990s when Liverpool relegated City on the final day of the 1995/96 Premier League season. When they returned to the top flight, Manchester's blue half became the scourge of Merseyside's Redmen, snatching players and points away from them. Countless managers, players and directors have continued what started in the Bill Shankly era, with the rivalry ramped up a notch through the reigns of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

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Sixteen Walsall legends tell the stories behind their most memorable games for the club, enabling fans of all ages to relive these magic moments through the eyes and emotions of the men who were there. Stretching from Allan Clarke's memories of FA Cup glory to Adam Chambers's account of how Walsall finally reached Wembley after almost a century of trying, this unique collection covers some of the most enthralling encounters in the club's history. Along the way, Alan Buckley tells of how the mighty Saddlers conquered Manchester United, Peter Hart and Craig Shakespeare recall how Arsenal and Liverpool trembled as Walsall came within a hair's breadth of reaching the Milk Cup Final, David Kelly returns to the afternoon when his hat-trick won a play-off final, while Chris Marsh and Adi Viveash look back on the day Walsall pipped Manchester City to promotion. Spanning half a century of Saddlers history, Walsall Match of My Life captures the precious memories of the heroes who mean so much to the fans.

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Firsts, Lasts & Onlys is a tennis fan's delight, chock-full of astonishing events, time-honoured anecdotes and extraordinary facts. The book takes a light-hearted but authoritative look at every major tennis tournament in the world, including the Wimbledon Championships. Discover how the first championships - held in 1877, the same year as the first cricket Test match - were almost an afterthought. Did you know that no women were allowed in the first tournament? Or that the All England Club was actually founded to promote croquet? The book is packed with fascinating trivia that will tantalise and enthral. When did strawberries and cream become a Wimbledon staple? Who was the first man to win all four major titles in the same year? Who is or was Roland Garros? Filled with bizarre curiosities from the sport's past - from the heir to the throne whose death was caused by tennis, to the vicar who won Wimbledon, to the murderer who reached a final - this is a book every tennis fan should own.

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In March 1977, England cricket captain Tony Greig was arguably the most famous and popular sportsman in the country, and the best all-rounder in world cricket. He had recently led England to a famous series victory in India, her first successful campaign on the subcontinent since the Second World War. Then he had conjured a doughty performance from his travel-weary troops in the dramatic, one-off Centenary Test in Melbourne, narrowly losing by 45 runs. Within weeks, though, his reputation was in tatters. He was branded a traitor and mercenary, stripped of the England captaincy and excluded from the national side. He was also relieved of the Sussex captaincy and banned from first-class cricket for eight weeks. His involvement in the controversial 'Packer Revolution' had caused his fall from grace. Soon afterwards, he left England for good for a commentary career in Australia. At 6ft 7in, Greig was a giant of the game both figuratively and literally. His life story is every bit as fascinating as the controversy that engulfed him.

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Gunner: My Life in Cricket is the revealing and absorbing autobiography of Ian Gould, the former England cricketer who became one of the best umpires in the world. During a 13-year career as an elite umpire, 'Gunner' was centre stage for some of the biggest controversies in world cricket, including the infamous 'sandpaper' Test in 2018. As a former international, he appreciated the pressures players were under and formed a rapport with some of cricket's biggest stars, although he always had the integrity of the game at heart. In this candid story of his life in cricket, he is refreshingly honest about the characters and controversies, and he opens up about his battle with depression, after the introduction of DRS technology made the pressure on him intolerable. There are colourful tales too from his days as a player and coach with England, Middlesex and Sussex, and about how he nearly became a professional footballer instead of a cricketer. This included a stint at Arsenal which earned him the nickname 'Gunner'.

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In the 1980s Manchester United was the footballing byword for underachievement. The club had struggled to rediscover its identity after the shock dismissal of Tommy Docherty in 1977 and a four-year spell under Dave Sexton, a highly respected coach but the polar opposite of his predecessor. Ron Atkinson brought the thrills back to Old Trafford and won two FA Cups before being dismissed in November 1986. 'Big Ron' was the latest in a long line of managers who tried but failed to win the prize United wanted most - the First Division championship. Yet contrary to his reputation for glorious failure, Que Sera, Sera reveals how Atkinson's footballing ideals made him the perfect man to lead the biggest club in the country. Drawing on meticulous research and exclusive interviews, Wayne Barton shines a guiding light on a greatly neglected period of Manchester United history that was filled with big characters and big controversy. Here, for the first time, are the unbridled views of the players, chairman Martin Edwards and 'Big Ron' himself.

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A Miscellany of Rugby's World Cup (Facts, History, Statistics and Trivia 1987-2019) will transport you directly into the thrilling history of the greatest event in global rugby union. Here's a treasure trove of insider facts, fantastic feats, firsts and lasts, records and stats - covering every nation and every star player to have made their mark in a tournament now watched by 120 million fans worldwide. John White leads you through all the highs and lows and unforgettable moments from Rugby World Cup's 1995 inception, ushering in the sport's professional era, right through to Japan 2019 and the competition's ninth edition. Relive the greatest games and the finest individual performances. Compile your own Rugby World Cup Fantasy XV. Recall the captains, the record try scorers, the youngest and oldest, the longest drop goals and the strangest conversions. And every time you discover an elusive nugget and say to yourself, 'I never knew that,' rest assured John will soon enlighten you with a follow-up to leave you even more amazed. To the victor go the spoils!

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An illustrated history of football trade cards, an epic saga of 1,000 brands and myriad collections. The A-Z traces the earliest cards and stickers - British inventions, both - through a century of sports cards from tobacco cards to Panini stickers, via everything that came in between: footballers issued with chewing gum and sweet cigarettes, lucky bag mementoes, football teams cut from packets of tea, and many more. It chronicles the epoch of our forefathers and the very first football cards, dating back to the 1880s, followed by the era of their children and the earliest stickers - and so the rise of cigarette cards and paper soccer star adhesives. These days, along with our Panini stickers and trading cards, we appreciate these vintage treasures not only for their beauty but also for their value. Fond recollections of childhood passions past and present will warm hearts, while enchanting galleries of rarely seen cards will captivate football fans and collectors alike. Incorporating a guide to values, the A-Z is priceless.

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Fighting Back is the story of a different kind of boxing superstar - a hero for winning his battles outside as well as inside the ring. When he outpointed Wladimir Klitschko, on one of the greatest nights in British boxing history, Tyson Fury sat on top of the world. But 'The Gypsy King' soon discovered that being heavyweight champion wasn't all he had imagined. His own demons would prove harder to conquer than Klitschko. In the following months, Tyson drank and ate to excess, took drugs and contemplated suicide. He seemed destined for an early grave. But, with the help of his family, Fury dealt with his issues and launched a boxing comeback - after shedding an incredible ten stones in weight! Fury eased back with a couple of straightforward wins. Then, in what appeared a foolhardy, if very brave, move, he challenged unbeaten KO specialist Deontay Wilder for the WBC heavyweight championship in Los Angeles. Having followed Fury's career from his first amateur bout, author Matt Bozeat has spent time with Fury and his family trying to get to know and fathom out this most remarkable of fighters and people. The result is the humour-laden, heart-wrenching, inspirational story of a boxer who conquered the world, lost everything - and then got it back.

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The unconventional and surprisingly uplifting real-life account of football fan Michael Heinicke's experience with cancer. Interspersed with 25 years of exhilarating and heartening memories of life as a Burnley FC supporter, the book takes you back to his first match, as seen through the eyes of a six-year-old boy. The depth of detail woven into Michael's accounts of Burnley matches through the decades - from the old, decaying terraces of Division Four to the euphoria of a Wembley promotion to the Premier League - will strike a chord with football fans everywhere. Back in the present day, his descriptions of medical appointments and chemotherapy treatment will unexpectedly have you laughing out loud. Michael was 32 and the father of three young children when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2014. His story breaks down conventional cancer myths and shows us that sometimes, for a lucky few, life's curveballs can be more positive than negative, bringing a tale of hope to that unfathomable and unbearable cancer diagnosis.

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Five Trophies and a Funeral: The Building and Rebuilding of Durham County Cricket Club is the story of how English cricket's youngest first-class county quickly became the country's top team, before overstretching themselves financially to the brink of extinction. When Durham joined the professional game in 1992 they aspired to be a major on-field force and a home to top international cricket. The high demands put on them as a condition of entry, together with their own lofty ambitions, pushed the club to five major trophies in seven seasons while providing England with top-quality players reared in the North East. But striving for ever more at a time of economic downturn led them to live beyond their means, and they were heavily punished for overspending that the authorities partly encouraged. Now they are looking to restore past glories under the chairmanship of Sir Ian Botham. Part fairy tale, part cautionary story, Five Trophies explains how Durham arrived where they are, and where they aim to go next.

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How Not To Run: A Journey to the Roof of the World is the story of a weekend runner who only ever wanted to keep fit to ride her horses with a little more finesse. Shauney always said she would never race. 'I just don't see the point. I don't think it would be for me,' she used to say. However, four and a half years later she found herself standing in the midst of the towering Himalayas, on the start line of the Everest Marathon, one of the toughest races anywhere in the world. With numerous 10Ks, half-marathons, full marathons, trail races and ultra-marathons already under her belt, the road from adamant non-racer to extreme long-distance runner had not been a smooth one - and was about to reach new heights of risk, danger and near disaster. Follow Shauney's journey over thousands of painful yet joyous miles, from some of the most beautiful, hidden parts of Scotland, via unforgettable, eye-watering races, all the way to the heights of the Himalayas - for the pinnacle of her racing and fundraising career so far.

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For years, transfer gossip columns have been Alan Gernon's (author of Retired: What Happens to Footballers When the Game's Up) guilty pleasure. Fed up with the time wasted reading them, he explores how many of these rumours are accurate, planted by agents or simply made up - and how easy is it to plant a transfer story in the UK media. Along the way, he discovers how the market works and how a transfer happens; what a move actually means for a typical player in a world where you could buy more than 315,000 League Two players for the price of Neymar; and that almost 30 per cent of transferred players worldwide are moved between clubs against their wishes. He also uncovers how to become a football agent overnight, and why British players are reluctant to move abroad. He speaks to players about the pressures and real-life effects of a move, and tries to figure out how much the stars of yesteryear would be worth in today's crazy transfer market - where Premier League clubs spent a record GBP1.4 billion in the summer of 2017 alone.

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In 1905, Vic Cartwright's England rugby team lined up against Dave Gallaher's touring All Blacks at Crystal Palace - the first ever meeting of two national teams. Ensuing matches, in both the amateur and professional eras, have been dramatic and controversial, steeped in the historical rivalry of the traditional home of the game for the nation that has claimed rugby as its own. Men in white (such as Wakefield, Beaumont, Carling, Leonard and Johnson) versus men in black (Meads, Lochore, Fitzpatrick, Lomu, McCaw). Hakas drowned out by rousing renditions of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'. Grinding forward tussles on cold, murky afternoons and sweeping back-line movements on sun-lit grounds. Thorny Encounters chronicles the first 40 Test matches between England and New Zealand, in which giants of the sport have measured themselves against each other. In the professional era, the match has become the clash of the hemispheres.

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Stanley Park Story: Life, Love and the Merseyside Derby charts the recent history of the longest continuous running derby game in English football. Liverpool and Everton have now contested the fixture every season since 1962. Using a mixture of fact, fiction and personal experience, Jeff Goulding has crafted a compelling tale spanning three generations of two families, Red and Blue. Their lives become intricately woven together through 50 years of this unique sporting rivalry. The story explores the changing fortunes of each team and the relationship between the two sets of supporters, which evolves over the years. The life and times of Jimmy, a Blue, and Tommy, a Red, form the basis of the drama which unfolds against a backdrop of thrilling sporting encounters, social and political upheaval and catastrophe. Ultimately, the story is one of a love so strong it reaches across the park to forge a timeless bond between the two families.

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Harry Redknapp spent 15 years at AFC Bournemouth as a player, coach and manager, longer than at any other club in his colourful career in football. Despite this lengthy association, Redknapp's days at Dean Court have featured only fleetingly in his biographies to date. Now, with the co-operation of Harry himself, the tale of his rise from barely remembered player to the country's brightest young manager is told for the first time. Harry shot to fame when lowly Bournemouth dumped Manchester United out of the FA Cup, overcoming a backdrop of financial turmoil to guide the Cherries out of English football's third tier for the first time. He then bounced back from relegation and from almost losing his life to nurture his son, Jamie, from schoolboy sensation into one of Britain's most expensive teenage players. Featuring painstakingly researched archive material and interviews with team-mates, colleagues and friends, this is an inside account of Redknapp's years at Dean Court, as well as a history of two decades in the life of the Cherries.

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When Jurgen Klopp was appointed Liverpool manager in October 2015, the world took notice, and Reds fans were united in optimism for the first time in years. The charismatic German eventually took the club to European and world success, but the foundations were laid in his first two years at Anfield, and Kloppite (first published in 2017 and updated in 2020) explores how the bespectacled coach set about reigniting the LFC flame in that period - not only trying to change the fortunes of the once-dominant club, but also making the people believe again. After his successes at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, Klopp left Germany to take on his greatest challenge as he sought to return the Merseysiders to the summit of English and European football. The hot-seat at Anfield has often been described as one of the toughest jobs in football, and Klopp was tasked with overcoming the adversity of fan expectations, competing against some of the game's best managers and biggest spenders, and turning doubters into believers.

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Few cities in the world have as many professional football clubs as London and none have the history explored in this book by journalist and broadcaster Steve Tongue. It was in the English capital that the Football Association - the first of its kind anywhere - was founded in 1863 and that the FA Cup, the world's most famous domestic cup competition, was born. After the North and Midlands dominated the first forty-odd years of league football, three clubs in particular - Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea - began to challenge them and eventually succeeded, joining West Ham United as trophy winners not only at home but in Europe. Between those four clubs, and more than a dozen other professional clubs past and present, grew the turf wars that are the bedrock of the great rivalries and derbies across England's most vibrant football city. Turf Wars tells the story of football in the capital.

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From near-extinction to cup-final triumph, this is the story of the team which is remembered by Hibs fans as 'the team that would not die'. From Oblivion to Hampden is the tale of one of the most remarkable cup runs in Scottish football history, as Hibernian Football Club, having survived a hostile takeover by city rivals Hearts in 1990, a dreadful season in 1990/91 and summer spent in administration in 1991, bounced back from the brink of death to fight their way to Hampden glory a few months later. It was a courageous and memorable cup run that nobody, not even Hibs' most optimistic fan, could have envisaged a few months prior to the final. The story begins with the club's attempt to emulate the glory days of previous decades via an ill-fated experiment on the stock exchange in the late 1980s and culminates in the unexpected triumph which followed. With a foreword by Hibs statistician Bobby Sinnet and exclusive interviews with cup heroes Keith Wright, Tommy McIntyre and Mickey Weir, as well as an interview with Sir Tom Farmer and input from current board members, this book examines a crucial period in history at Easter Road.

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In 1914 one of Britain's most famous sportsmen went off to play his part in the First World War. Like millions of others, he would die. Unlike millions of others, nobody knew how or where. Until now. Lost in France is the true story of Leigh Roose: playboy, scholar, soldier and the finest goalkeeper of his generation. It's also the tale of how one man became caught up in a global catastrophe - one that would cost him his life, his identity and his rightful place as one of football's all-time legends. Lost In France is the biography of goalkeeper Leigh Roose, football's first genuine superstar, a man so good at his position on the field of play that the Football Association made one of the most significant rule changes in the game's history just to keep him in check. Small wonder that when the Daily Mail put together a World XI to take on another planet, Leigh's was the first name on its team sheet.

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Marvelous Marvin Hagler is a sporting legend. Often called the greatest middleweight boxer of all time, he held the world title for 12 defences, including bouts with Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran which entered fistic folklore. From his wild early fights in the boxing wilderness of Brockton, Massachusetts, Brian and Damian Hughes trace the blazing trail of Hagler's career: the controversial defeats subsequently avenged, a riot-scarred title win in London, and his unification of the middleweight crown. Hagler became a huge favourite, taking on all comers while never taking a step back. And so to The Ring magazine's "greatest round of all time" against Hearns, his ferocious battle with Duran, and the still-controversial loss to his nemesis Leonard. Marvelous tells the story of Hagler's extraordinary life for the first time, separating truth from myth to get right to the heart of a complex and charismatic man.

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