Michael Knighton is one of the most notable football entrepreneurs of his generation. Thirty years ago he arrived on the scene at Manchester United, bearing the revolutionary gift of ideas for the transformation of the club's fortunes. Visionary tells the inside story of his time at Old Trafford - a crucial, incendiary era in United's history. Knighton is popularly known as the man who very nearly bought Manchester United for the giveaway price of GBP10 million. Ultimately, he spurned the opportunity to complete the purchase, opting instead to join the board and watch as his radical ideas for a commercial revolution were put into action. Visionary argues the case for Knighton as the architect of the richest football club and greatest sporting brand on the planet - and that it was Knighton's unacknowledged axis with Alex Ferguson that enabled a paradigm shift in United's fortunes on the field of play, leading to unparalleled glories. Sam Wallace of the Daily Telegraph called Michael's tale 'one of the great football stories of our time'.
More than 50 jockeys tell all to the legendary trainer, Henrietta Knight. Discover how, where and why they started in this toughest of professions and how they became Champions in their sport.
Renowned in-depth trainer interviews, plus specialist selections for horses to follow in 2019-2020 plus dark horses unearthed and set to shine in the coming season and Topspeed and Racing Post Ratings.
100 horses expected to perform well in the 2019-2020 National Hunt season.
An illustrated history of football cards, an epic saga of brands and collections. The A-Z traces the earliest cards and stickers - British inventions, both - through a century of rare and beautiful football ephemera, and is sure to captivate football fans and collectors alike. Incorporating a guide to values, the A-Z is priceless.
In 2013, when legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement, Manchester United seemed the dream job for any football manager. Champions of England, the biggest and most profitable club in the world. What could possibly go wrong for his successor, who would be appointed with the clear intention of continuing the club's rich tradition? Redprint explores, in forensic detail, the six turbulent years at Old Trafford since Ferguson walked away. Despite record levels of expenditure, a succession of different managers with different philosophies and concerns about the changing identity of the club, United continued to compel throughout this period of underachievement. Wayne Barton examines each of the managerial reigns since 2013 and discusses their successes and failures in a historical and contemporary context to ask the question - are Manchester United closer to regaining their glory, or are they simply repeating mistakes of years gone by?
The story of two men who almost single-handedly saved their football club from extinction. In the 80s David Kilpatrick and Graham Morris spied architects' plans to turn Spotland, the home of their beloved, beleaguered Rochdale AFC, into a housing estate. They set about saving the club but first had to take on the alleged 'enemy within'.
From Triumph to Tragedy is the glorious, uplifting but ultimately tragic story of Chapecoense, the small-town Brazilian football club that made worldwide news following their meteoric rise from non-league to continental sensation. Yet the headlines that will be remembered centre on the air disaster en route to what should have been their greatest ever match. Less than ten years after the local mayor had intervened to save the club from liquidation, Associacao Chapecoense de Futebol had become champions of the Santa Catarina State Championship. At the summit of the Brazilian national league structure, they also qualified sensationally for the final of the Copa Sul Americana. The team of rejects and journeymen became heroes not just in their own city, but also to the whole nation. But the final was never to take place, as tragedy struck to render all those triumphant nights insignificant. Could the club now stage one more incredible recovery to allow Era Chape to continue, rather than to accept their fate as the tragic team beloved in fans' memories?
Bottled tells the story of English football's complicated relationship with booze through the experiences of the players who found themselves in crisis when they could no longer put it down - from George Best and Paul Gascoigne to Tony Adams and Paul Merson, as well as many others who escaped the headlines. Footballers play under intense pressure in the unforgiving glare of the media spotlight. But what do their stories tell us about ourselves? Are some challenges they face specific to a player's lifestyle? With insights from those at the sharp end, here is an examination of footballers in need and the help available from the industry. Untangling the complex web of links between alcohol and the beautiful game, Bottled explores the stories that characterised the origins of many of England's clubs, as churches and breweries vied for the souls of young men. From trashed hotel rooms to the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous via the China Jump club, Bottled navigates the journey from the stars to the gutter and, sometimes, back again.
The Celtic v Rangers clash in Glasgow is one of football's major events, attracting a huge TV audience worldwide. Author David Potter revels in the joy that a victory over the old rivals brings to the Celtic support, reliving some of the club's greatest ever derby-day triumphs from the 1890s right up to date. Here is an expert selection of 50 such legendary occasions, rich in detail and atmosphere, and all the topic of fervent discussion over the years. We hear of Jimmy Quinn's hat-trick in 1904, the astonishing Scottish Cup semi-final of 1925, the 7-1 Scottish League Cup Final of 1957, the 4-0 thrashing in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final, the 6-2 'Demolition Derby' of 2000, plus many landmark games of a more recent vintage. Celtic's greatest players - Henrik Larsson, Jimmy McGrory, Patsy Gallacher, Charlie Tully, Jimmy Johnstone, Billy McNeill and Scott Brown - appear frequently in these pages, as do many others who all played their part in what is traditionally the greatest party of them all, when Celtic beat Rangers!
Promotion-Winning Canaries gives fans the opportunity to relive all the good times as Norwich City progressed through the leagues. Detailing the post-war seasons when City went up as champions, runners-up, in third place or via play-off drama, every promotion-winning player is profiled, with insight from many at the heart of the action.
A Miscellany of Rugby's World Cup will transport you directly into the thrilling history of the greatest event in global rugby. A treasure trove of insider facts, fantastic feats, firsts and lasts, records and stats - covering every nation and star player to have made their mark in a tournament now watched by 120 million fans worldwide.
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.
Historic, wildly dangerous, nerve-wracking, heroic and uniquely thrilling, the Isle of Man TT is one of the greatest sporting events in the world. Featuring input from past and present riders, TT teams, manufacturers and fans alike, James Driver-Fisher reveals why the Isle of Man's greatest ever races mean so much to so many TT devotees. The entire history of the races, from the first battle in 1907 through to the summer of 2019, is covered, focusing on an expert selection of the most memorable events of all. Famous road racers relive the closest of victories and heart-breaking defeats. Unbelievable comebacks from legendary riders sit alongside race weeks when records have tumbled, and events when the biggest names have first burst on to the scene. As well as the inside view from those directly involved in the thrills and spills, Memorable Isle of Man TT Races also draws on the memories and expertise of diehard fans who have grown up with TT in their blood - vividly bringing to life the iconic races' atmosphere through the years.
Scotland: Club, Country, Collectables continues its authors' offbeat look at the issues and idiosyncrasies associated with Scottish international football. It's a celebration of the good, the bad and the mementoes treasured by fans irrespective of results - from match programmes and trading cards to beer labels, postage stamps and replica jerseys.
Snowboarding maverick Billy Morgan has dedicated his life to redefining what is possible. With two world firsts to his name, he is also the first British male to win an Olympic medal on snow. Emerging from working-class origins in Southampton, a long way off piste, Morgan came late to the traditionally bourgeois world of snowsports. Driven by a latent love for fun, he reaches far beyond the cliches of stoner kids and street slang to explore the courage required at his sport's highest levels. Morgan's specialist event, Big Air, involves flying off a 50-metre ramp at 70 miles per hour, spinning and twisting while airborne, then landing. Even within the death-defying world of adventure sports, it is one of the most dangerous disciplines imaginable. In this groundbreaking autobiography, Morgan outlines the culture, ethos and philosophy of his sport. A sport in which one wrong move can cause life-changing injury. A sport whose party-animal practitioners feel peculiarly attuned with nature. Drop In! is a testament to human potential.
While England's Lionesses headed to France for the 2019 Women's World Cup as superstars in search of silverware, FA upheavals back home were moving the goalposts for the newly all-pro elite teams, for part-timers and amateurs alike. Is women's football in England actually growing from top to bottom - or is it just another slick PR campaign?
A member of the USA's stellar 1984 Olympic boxing team, Paul Banke then scaled the heights as a professional to become world champion in 1990. Unfortunately, throughout his career, he was at the mercy of his secret mistress - drugs. As part of the celebrity slipstream, Banke often had free access to heroin, crystal meth and cocaine. Best remembered for his epic trilogy with Daniel Zaragoza, drugs overtook him and Banke soon became a forgotten champion. Shortly after retiring in 1993, he was homeless and destitute. Having not eaten for three days, Banke found himself lying in a dumpster in Vegas, ecstatic at finding a partially consumed cheeseburger. Arrested for grand theft auto in 1995 he was urged in jail to take an HIV test, due to sharing needles. He had contracted full-blown AIDS. Miraculously, after three decades of drug abuse, Banke turned his life around in September 2014 and became clean and sober. Now once again warmly embraced by the boxing fraternity, he shares his story to inspire and deter those on a similar path.
From late September 1973 until the winter of 1974, British football's most controversial figure penned a regular column in TV Times, the weekly television listings magazine. Wide-ranging, entertaining and remarkably prescient, 'Clough Sounds Off' dates back to a tumultuous time in his managerial career - when Old Big 'Ead went from Derby to the football wilderness via Brighton and Leeds. The columns covered a surprising range of subjects, not only reflecting the game as Brian Clough viewed it at the time but also signposting the direction in which he saw it heading. Sharp and funny, yet always delivered with the brutal honesty for which he was renowned, they highlight exactly what made Clough's voice so compelling. Me and My Big Mouth reproduces many of these opinion pieces for the first time since their original publication, together with the background stories against which they were written. It is a fresh and welcome addition to the library of Clough literature, offering a unique insight into the mind of a most remarkable manager.
A journey back to the golden age of motor racing, through the lens of a revived 60s photographer. Tim Hain's evocative pictures and stories span 56 years and offer a true 'fan's eye view'. He encounters many track legends, notably Sir Stirling Moss, who is photographed in 33 cars, with input on each and a colourful foreword by 'The Maestro'.
A Life Behind the Lens is a collection of the very best work of Richard `Dickie' Pelham, the multi award-winning chief sports photographer of The Sun for the past 30 years. He has covered six Olympic Games, six World Cups, any number of Test matches and many championship boxing bouts, capturing the moments of triumph and despair.
Magical Magyars tells the remarkable story of the legendary Hungarian football team of the 50s, a side whose breathtaking technical skills and passing-and-movement style of play changed the very way the sport was played. Author David Bailey traces the team's origins and details how communist Hungary, a tiny nation impoverished and subjugated by one of the most brutal Stalinist regimes in the Soviet empire, was able to produce a football team that was the envy of the sporting world, and so very nearly world champions. Captained by the genius that was Ferenc Puskas, the Magical Magyars walked a tightrope between being the regime's darlings and providing the beleaguered Hungarian people with a sense of national pride during their darkest days. The team enthralled, dominated and revolutionised world football - until its own demise was brought about by a revolution of a different kind. Weaving in threads of friendship and betrayal, tactics and politics, the quest for glory and upheaval, here is a football story quite unlike any other.
Few fans are aware of the long, vibrant history of soccer in the USA, which dates back as far as the American Civil War. Many wrongly believe that the introduction of the North American Soccer League in the 60s brought about American soccer's debut, while in fact its first golden age came during the Roaring 20s and the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. The NASL did have a huge impact on the popularity of the game, but the instability of the league and its reliance on ageing superstars meant its heyday was over by the mid-80s. This left the door wide open for a third golden age, starting with the introduction of the incredibly successful USWNT, World Cup 1994 and MLS. Having grown for more than 25 years, played and supported by both sexes, soccer is now seen as a viable sport in a country dominated by baseball, basketball and American football. Stateside Soccer shines new light on the rich history of a sport still too often mistaken as a relatively recent import to the United States.
A unique and hilarious journey through the hobby that has people across the world scrambling for their phone every matchday morning. Littered with insightful dos and don'ts from the nation's leading fantasy football podcast, this A-Z guide will have you in stitches, in disbelief and, more importantly, beating your friends in no time.
The Art of Tennis is a collection of creative tennis essays, musings and observations. The first volume of this new annual publication artfully gathers considered highlights and moments from the world of tennis over the period from Wimbledon 2017 to the grass court season pre-Wimbledon 2018 - a year encompassing a great deal of action, drama and surprises aplenty. While following actual matches and events on tour it also looks at lesser contemplated aspects of the sport both on and off the court. Balls are crunched, atmospheres captured. Characters emerge, passions surface, rivers of sweat drip and champions are crowned. A start-to-finish snapshot of a year of life on tour, The Art of Tennis is painted with words, giving birth to something fresh and unique - a brand new angle on an age-old sport. Punchy and poetic, here is a project that moves beyond the game to capture its essence. Artful prose brings emotions to life, documenting a year in a spellbinding range of highlights and a whirlwind of transglobal travel.
The inspirational story of respected football talent scout, Rui Marques. Instead of continuing on the rather dull career path of an economist, Rui transformed his destiny by winning major Fantasy Football competitions in two different countries, and carving his own unique path into the real world of football. From early childhood Rui developed a great passion for football, yet only years later came to recognise his gift of being able to spot raw sporting talent. After completing an economics degree, Rui entered a Daily Mirror Fantasy Football competition - and won the first prize of GBP75,000. This was followed with another Fantasy first place in Germany, scooping Bild's EURO100,000 prize. As a result he earned his first scouting job at a Portuguese club, but after only two seasons became European scout at Sporting Kansas City, helping his team to win trophies before taking on a challenging new role as European scout with Polish champions Legia Warsaw. The Unknown Champion is the ultimate proof that if we follow our dreams, they can come true.
Jimmy Greaves remains the greatest goalscorer in English football history, with a record of 357 top-flight goals that may never be surpassed. Teenage sensation at Chelsea and England debutant at 19, he became - after an unhappy spell at AC Milan - a legend at Tottenham Hotspur. But despite 44 international goals in 57 games, his England career was defined by the heartbreak of missing the 1966 World Cup Final. A shock move to West Ham brought an acrimonious end to his Spurs days and, a year later, he retired from the game, aged only 31. What followed was a desperate descent into alcoholism, followed by a remarkable battle to win back his family and self-esteem. Reinventing himself as a popular TV personality, his instincts in front of camera proved as natural as those in front of goal. Having taken his final drink in 1978, Greaves has remained sober from that day. Drawing on interviews with family, friends, colleagues and opponents, Natural: The Jimmy Greaves Story is the definitive biography of one of England's most loved footballers.
Sugar Ray Robinson was boxing royalty. King of the world. Personality with a punch. Over 25 years he ruled three divisions, from lightweight to middleweight. As a kid he had danced for pennies on the streets of Harlem, and he danced again in the ring from New York and Vegas to Paris and back again. The greatest pound-for-pound fighter in history.
Kent v Lancashire 1906 tells the story of a remarkable painting, commissioned at the height of cricket's golden age and at the apogee of Britain's colonial power. The man whose idea it was, the fourth Lord Harris, chairman of Kent County Cricket Club, was no aesthete; but in asking Albert Chevallier Tayler, a cricket-loving painter, to paint a scene from Kent's triumphant season, showing Colin Blythe bowling to Johnny Tyldesley, he helped create a masterpiece that changed the way we look at cricket. The painting now hangs at Lord's, having been sold by Kent in 2006 for GBP600,000, then a record amount for a cricket painting. A full-size copy still hangs at Canterbury. The book also follows the lives of the players and umpires portrayed in the painting, two of whom did not survive the Great War. The painting may be timeless, but changes in the way cricket is played, administered and financed in Britain mean that many aspects of the game today would be unrecognisable to those sun-blessed men on the Canterbury turf over a century ago.
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