Book picks similar to
Off Season by R.W. Clinger
mm
sports
comtemporary
football
The Secret Footballer: What the Physio Saw...
The Secret Footballer - 2018
The Secret Footballer has teamed up with one of the most highly respected physios in the game to bring you the stories of a football season through the eyes of someone who has covered over 1000 games in his career and who knows the most intimate details about every player he treats.From the pre-season pressures of a new manager and players who have overindulged on their summer breaks, to witnessing some truly horrific (and sometimes career-ending) injuries; from star players who think nothing of using him as their personal family doctor to revealing some of the more unconventional treatments players choose to experiment with, the physio has truly seen it all.Alongside this privileged glimpse into the physio's world, The Secret Footballer will be telling his own tales of injury, pain and perseverance with his trademark insight and wit.
Feed The Beast: Jon Parkin
Jon Parkin - 2018
Overpaid. Ungrateful. Removed from reality. These words are often used to describe modern day footballers. None of them apply to Jon Parkin. The South Yorkshire boy has seen and done it all in a footballing life that peaked with promotion to the Premier League and plummeted to the National League North, taking in spells with no fewer than 14 different clubs. His story is one of a natural goalscorer whose talent is always in demand. His unconventional frame and liking for a lager or ten meant pre-season was always a struggle. His straight-talking style and knack of finding himself in trouble resulted in countless bust-ups with managers. But when patience, cash or contracts ran out, there was always another club ready to take a chance on him. Along the way there have been battles with booze, betting and depression. Marital breakdown and brushes with the law didn’t help, while thousands of motorway miles were covered in a bid to stay in touch with his Barnsley roots and his beloved son. There’s also been plenty of mischief. One holidaymaker in Magaluf won’t easily forget what she found in Parkin’s bath while there’s a golf towel in a hospital car park that nobody would want to find. FEED THE BEAST will feed your curiosity about the real life of a footballer.
It's Been Emotional
Vinnie Jones - 2013
Bold and frank, this is Vinnie laid bare. Born and bred in Watford, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team after qualifying through a Welsh grandparent. He won the 1988 FA Cup final against Liverpool before moving to Wimbledon and then Leeds United. He has also played for Chelsea. His celebrity status has grown over the years after appearing in the 2010 series of Big Brother and coming third, as well as the hugely successful British Heart Foundation CPR campaign. Vinnie's bad boy tag has followed him into the world of film where he has used his hard man status to secure roles in hugely successful Brit Flicks, such as Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Tight End
M.D. Saperstein - 2019
Oh, and he’s still in the closet. Unwilling to sacrifice his career or livelihood - not to mention the fact that not even his family knows - his personal life remains on the back burner. Dr. Wyatt Carrington lives his best life out and proud. With the love and support of his friends, families, and coworkers, he has never questioned his decision to come out. He dates often but has been unable to find his true love. Or at least a man that understands his crazy work schedule. When Wyatt is tasked with the unfortunate and unenviable responsibility of telling Brick that some of his players may have genital warts, the meeting has both men feeling...well, uncomfortable. After a series of coincidental run-ins, Ben decides to bite the bullet and ask Wyatt out. Though very discreet, secrets - and gay men - come out of the closet sooner or later. It’s always best when it’s done of your own volition. But that’s not always how the cookie crumbles. Or in their case, the pizza.
Sir Alex Ferguson: The Official Manchester United Celebration of his Career at Old Trafford
David Meek - 2011
But re-establishing the Reds as the most successful club in the land was an enormous task. Famously, he knew he had to knock Liverpool of their perch. At the dawn of the Premier League era, in 1992-93, United had gone twenty-six years without being champions, but that season Ferguson finally led the club to title success and in 2010-11 he finally achieved the record-breaking nineteenth title. On top of that, Sir Alex has led Manchester United to two Champions League victories and many other trophies. This fascinating book not only celebrates what Sir Alex has achieved at United, but also seeks to explain just how he has gone about creating this remarkable dynasty, constantly rebuilding the team and driving them forward to yet more glory. In an era when most managers are lucky if they last two years, Sir Alex's achievement of lasting twenty-five years at the very top is truly astonishing. This book is the club's fitting tribute to his career.
Bound in Blue
Spencer Spears - 2016
After years of falling for men who break his heart, Liam would rather go to bed alone than risk getting hurt again. But when a handsome policeman saves Liam’s life, it’s harder than usual to just walk away.
“Is there anything I can do?”“Could you stay with me tonight?”
Detective Mike Jeffries is a damaged man, reeling from the death of his partner and lover 8 months ago. After growing up in the projects, he joined the NYPD to make the world a better place; these days, all he can see is what’s wrong with it. But meeting Liam reminds him that some things are worth fighting for.
“Part of me wonders if I’m broken, for wanting what I want. But I don’t feel broken when I’m with you.”
Something about Liam makes Mike want to protect him, but Mike has secrets he needs to share if he’s going to keep Liam in his life. Liam yearns to surrender to Mike’s strength, but his painful past has taught him to guard his heart. Can they learn to trust the undeniable force between them, or will their fear of falling tear them apart?Bound in Blue is a 45k steamy romance with hurt/comfort themes and light BDSM elements (no sadomasochism). A no cheating, no cliffhanger stand-alone with an HEA ending.
Alpha and Omega Boxed Set
Lisa Oliver - 2015
Please don't buy if you already own these three titles. 3 full books, over 500 pages, 170,000 words. All books are standaloneBook one - The Biker's OmegaMarly Miles has been happy in his life as a lone Omega wolf, living and working among the humans of Orlando, Florida. When an attack on him and his friend brings Marly to the notice of the Sergeant of Arms of the Epitaph's Motorcycle Club, he realizes immediately that the man carries the same scent as his attackers. Not a very good start when the same man is also his mate.Alpha wolf, Trent Beaumont has spent a lot of years living as a human when he walked away from his home pack. Forced to live as a straight man, because of the Epitaph's club culture, he walks away from Marly after checking the man is safe. But no wolf, not even an Alpha, can refuse the mating call from the Fates. But with his President looking over his shoulder, and a woman panting after him to share his bed, Trent isn't sure it will ever be the right time to claim his own Omega. Fights, misunderstandings and a lack of communication aren't the only problems Trent and Marly face. Trent has a history that has clouded his judgment and when Marly gets attacked again, Trent realizes he could lose his mate permanently, if he doesn't get his head out of the sand. Book 2 - Dancing Around The CopTerry Martin has an awesome life – good friends, loving parents and a job he loves designing all of the bright and wonderful costumes for the drag queens at Club Blue. Sure, no one but his parents know he’s an Omega wolf, but he’s okay with that. Unfortunately being a twink often means getting picked on and after a night out with friends, Terry has the misfortune to meet an Alpha wolf, Detective Zander Samuels – his true mate.Zander can’t have a mate, especially a pretty, sweet little man like Terry. His friend of more than ten years, and partner on the force hates gay men with a passion and Zander won’t risk the only true friend he has, not even for a mate. So even though he’s scented Terry, Zander is determined to stay away from the Omega. Unfortunately the Fates are just as determined that the two men should be together and when Zander finds himself hit with the mating curse in more ways than one, he comes up with a plan to have Terry without upsetting his friend.A nasty boss, a homophobic partner, some really jerky behaviour by Zander and another Alpha wolf keen on claiming Terry for his own, all conspire to stop any chance these two have of finding true love. But did I mention that the Fates are really persistent?Book 3 - The Artist and His AlphaCaden Wolfe lives his life hiding from the world. As an Omega with a brute of an Alpha looking for him, he can’t afford to take any chances. He is happy enough with his art, his one good friend Felix and his agent who adores his paintings. It’s a far cry from life on the streets and Caden is determined to keep working hard, and stay out of the spotlight. Staying away from all things wolf is easy enough in the city, until he meets the one man with the potential to blow his cover and his way of life, out of the water. Sean Black has it all – a brother for pack, a home pack that is still supportive but far enough away not to interfere with his daily life, a good business, and men who clamor for his attention every night of the week. The last thing he wants or needs is a mate, but after a brief meeting with a gorgeous artist, he realizes his life will change, and not necessarily in a good way.A misunderstanding leads to danger for Caden and Sean has to make a choice.
Klopp: My Liverpool Romance
Anthony Quinn - 2020
In early March 2020 Liverpool were two wins away from an extraordinary achievement, on course for their first league title win in 30 years - since the heads days of Kenny Dalglish - and likely to seal it in the Merseyside derby against their great rivals Everton. And all this an incredible two months before the season was due to end. Then, as we all know, the season was postponed.The architect of the club's great resurgence - including their 2019 UEFA Champions League win - has been J�rgen Klopp. In his personal love-letter to the man, Anthony Quinn, journalist, novelist and life-long Liverpool fan, has written an inspiring and affectionate portrait of the incredible German manager, who came to Liverpool in late 2015, with a growing reputation from his successes at Borussia Dortmund.Closely following the three month break, as well as the club's title-clinching return, Quinn offers a uniquely revealing and personal take on this long-awaited triumph.
A Man Walks On To a Pitch: Stories from a Life in Football
Harry Redknapp - 2014
Harry started in an age where players were ordinary blokes who might live on the same street as you and earn a similar wage. Now he manages in an era of player power, multi-million pound wages and teams assembled from around the globe.As he shares stories of some of the legends and journeymen he played, coached, argued and drank with, Harry picks a team for each decade from the 1950s to the present. He gets to the heart of what was right and wrong with each era and explores the changes in the game from lifestyle to tactics. He weaves his choices together with unforgettable tales from the training pitches, boot rooms and card schools.There are tales of the untutored genius of Duncan Edwards and Tom Finney, legendary tough Scots like Bobby Collins, Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner, the world-beaters of 1966, unpredictable one-off wizards from Sir Stanley Matthews to Matt Le Tissier, natural-born goalscorers from Greaves to Dalglish and the greatest foreign players to grace our game from Trautmann to Bergkamp. It is one of the best informal histories of the British game you’ll ever read.
Moonstruck
Gabrielle Evans - 2014
Beyond those responsibilities, however, no one has ever depended on him until Moon came along. Captivated by the pint-size werewolf with the tragic past, he finds being someone’s hero isn’t quite the burden he expected it to be.No one ever cared about Moon, not his parents and certainly not the staff at the lab who held him captive for years. Spending the majority of his life just trying to survive, he has never really learned how to live, but all of that changes when Rion sweeps into his life.Moon knows the path to forever won’t be easy. When an unknown danger comes knocking at their door, however, threatening to end his happily-ever-after, he’s prepared to fight tooth and nail to protect his mate—and a future he didn’t even realize he wanted.
Graeme Souness – Football: My Life, My Passion
Graeme Souness - 2017
The game has been his life, and his enduring passion.Souness has written a perceptive and opinionated autobiography. It chronicles one of the most successful and colourful careers in the history of British football. But it also provides an intriguing assessment of the game which has dominated his existence, drawing extensively on his incredibly rich and varied experiences as a player, manager and pundit.The result is a shrewd, incisive and hard-hitting memoir, at times tinged with hindsight and regret, which also grapples with many of the major talking points affecting the game today. It is shot through with Souness' trademark tenacity and wisdom, and with fantastic anecdotes from his glittering career.In many ways, Football: My Life, My Passion is the story of the last half-century of British football writ large.
Death Comes to Happy Valley: Penn State and the Tragic Legacy of Joe Paterno
Jonathan Mahler - 2012
The winningest coach ever in college football, crafter of The Grand Experiment that put honor and academics above all else, finished his days under the dark cloud of shame and unspeakable child abuse. How? Why? What mix of fandom, ego, and unfettered power brought Penn State and its beloved coach to this? Just days after Paterno’s death comes this insightful look at the rise of Penn State under the 46-year reign of the man affectionately known as Joe Pa. Acclaimed writer Jonathan Mahler, author of the bestseller "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning", has been immersed in reporting the Paterno saga since the scandal broke last fall. His penetrating narrative traces the arc of Paterno’s career from dogged Ivy League quarterback to visionary coach to unassailable icon. Over the years, as his fame and reputation grew, Happy Valley (as State College, Pennsylvania, was often called) morphed into the realm of Paterno; the chant “We Are Penn State” could just as easily have been “We Are Coach Paterno.” It was perhaps inevitable that what Mahler calls “a slow rot” began to pervade Joe Pa’s football program, culminating with the horrific scandal that rocked Penn State and forever altered the Paterno story. "As it all unraveled," Mahler writes, "he seemed to resemble less his hero Aeneas, building a new nation—Penn State Nation—in Happy Valley, than King Lear, clinging stubbornly to the throne when he no longer had the judgment required to remain in it, then succumbing to the grief and anguish that accompanied the collapse of everything he had so painstakingly built."Mahler’s admiring yet honest assessment shows what can happen when a school, and an entire community, falls under a cult of personality. Part eulogy, part post-mortem, part wise appraisal, "Death Comes to Happy Valley" is a thoughtful farewell to the larger-than-life man who was, in fact, merely mortal.***"An elegant book with a perfect ratio of reportage, biography and criticism. It gently pulls Joe Pa off the pedestal upon which he has long stood." — Dwight Garner, The New York Times***Jonathan Mahler is a contributing writer to the "New York Times Magazine" and the author of the bestselling "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City" (the basis for the ESPN mini-series “The Bronx Is Burning”) and "The Challenge: How a Maverick Navy Officer and a Young Law Professor Risked Their Careers to Defend the Constitution—and Won."
Suddenly A Footballer: My Story
Juan Mata - 2019
This thoughtful footballer gives his views on the experiences and personalities that have helped to shape his career.