Two good feet. Stamina. Decent in the air. He could run, shoot, pass, dribble, read the game, track back, tackle and score goals, brilliant goals, and one – a bicycle kick at Grimsby Town in 2002 – still rated as Leicester City’s greatest-ever goal. A half-English/half-Turkish kid from London’s East End, Izzet learned his trade the hard way; in kids’ leagues, playing against youngsters two or three years older, then as a young pro at Chelsea, kicked all over the Southern Counties League. When it looked like he couldn’t get a break, he contemplated jacking in the only thing he could do – the only thing he wanted to do – to go roofing with his old man. Enter Martin O’Neill and Leicester City… Inspired by the Northern Irishman’s unique motivational methods, Muzzy flourished in a side littered with big characters who worked hard and played hard, established names like Steve Walsh and Garry Parker who helped new faces like Neil Lennon, Robbie Savage and Emile Heskey. This is more than just a football book. It’s about what happened in the changing room, in the bar, being banned from La Manga – not once, but twice – and what happened when O’Neill’s side was dismantled, the club was relegated and, later, fell into administration. Muzzy was there for it all – the good times, the bad, the bits in between. Then there was Turkey. The dressing room rite of passage that spared no blushes and the secret drama behind the World Cup semi-final… Funny, unflinching and occasionally heartbreaking, Muzzy: My Story lifts the lid on 1990s football and a Leicester City legend, remembered fondly by all those who saw him.

    They fought scores of pitched battles with rival 'firms' until they were arrested by the police in the most successful undercover operation of its kind.

    In researching the first book to cover the complete history of Liverpool FC using a linear narrative, the author was given access to the club's original minute books John Williams explores the origins and divisive politics of soccer in the city of Liverpool and profiles the key men behind the emergence of the club and its early successes in this unique and exhaustively researched history of Liverpool Football Club. This is the definitive history of a remarkable club from its formation in 1892 to the present day, told in the wider context of the social and cultural development of the city of Liverpool and its people.

    Here, featuring gloriously pseudo-scientific diagrams and the inimitable writing style that made footballcliches.com a smash hit, they are covered in all their glory.

    It's one of the things that drove him to write the definitive biography of college basketball's greatest coach, John Wooden, Wooden: A Coach's Life. But John Wooden coached a long time ago. The world has changed, and coaching has too, tremendously. Seth Davis decided to embark on a proper investigation to get to the root of the matter.In Getting to Us, Davis probes and prods the best of the best from the landscape of active coaches of football and basketball, college and pro--from Urban Meyer, Dabo Swinney, and Jim Harbaugh to Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim, Brad Stevens, Geno Auriemma, and Doc Rivers--to get at the fundamental ingredients of greatness in the coaching sphere. There's no single right way, of course--part of the great value of this book is Davis's distillation of what he has learned about different types of greatness in coaching, and what sort of leadership thrives in one kind of environment but not in others. Some coaches have thrived at the college level but not in the pros. Why? What's the difference? Some coaches are stern taskmasters, others are warm and cuddly; some are brilliant strategists but less emotionally involved with their players, and with others it's vice versa. In Getting to Us, we come to feel a deep connection with the most successful and iconic coaches in all of sports--big winners and big characters, whose stories offer much of enduring interest and value.

    But occasionally over the years he’s found it impossible to turn down a particularly enticing assignment or, in the case of the 2012-13 Premier League, just unable to resist writing about that most spectacular of seasons. Fortunately for those who love great writing about soccer, all these fugitive pieces are collected in Fan Mail. You can follow the fortunes, as Hornby did, of a hopelessly out-of-their-depth Cambridge United in the old Second Division, discover why Perry Groves was an unlikely hero among Arsenal fans, enjoy Hornby trying to explain the World Cup to Americans, and share with him the pain of watching his national team.

    However, in spite of a myriad of tools and techniques, success and contentment continue to be as elusive as ever, until now. Garret Kramer’s Stillpower offers a revolutionary explanation for this predicament and provides a basic, yet dynamic, approach for the future. In an accessible style, Kramer reveals the innate principles behind consistent achievement and highlights the misalignment between the experiences of all performers and the strategies of the coaches, psychologists, and experts who are hoping to help them.Stillpower uses real-life examples to explore such questions as: What is “the zone” and what must we do (or not do) to get there? Why do we need to understand the difference between insight and intellect? Is goal setting really useful? Why doesn’t willpower work? And why do the best mentors focus on a person’s state of mind and not behavior? Virtually all of us—athletes and non-athletes alike—are looking outside of ourselves, trying to unlock the keys to happiness, freedom, and excellence with ease. Stillpower encourages us to look within to finally find the answers.

    He travels to the sidelines and into the locker rooms to interview hundreds of players and coaches on their expertise. Breaking the game down to its essential elements -- coaching, offense, and defense -- Freeman profiles in depth three of today's football elite: Jon Gruden, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Michael Strahan, defensive end for the New York Giants; and Emmitt Smith, the legendary running back.Bloody Sundays goes behind the scenes of the "secret society" of gay players who play in fear of their lives and careers, studies how the violence of the game ravages the bodies of players, and takes us into the owners' offices to look at the darker side of the sport.Part tribute, part exposé, Bloody Sundays is a vivid portrait of professional football that "gives you so much to think about that you might find yourself switching off a game to read" (New York Times Book Review).

    Perhaps second only to parents, coaches can impact young people as no one else can. But most coaches fail to do the teaching, mentoring, even life-saving intervention that their platform provides. Too many are transactional coaches; they focus solely on winning and meeting their personal needs. Some coaches, however, use their platform. They teach the Xs and Os, but also teach the Ys of life. They help young people grow into responsible adults; they leave a lasting legacy. These are the transformational coaches. These coaches change lives, and they also change society by helping to develop healthy men and women. InSideOut Coaching explains how to become a transformational coach. Coaches first have to “go inside” and articulate their reasons for coaching. Only those who have taken the InSideOut journey can become transformational. Joe Ehrmann provides examples of coaches in his life who took this journey and taught him how to find something bigger than himself in sports.He describes his own InSideOut experience, starting with the death of his beloved brother, which helped him understand how sports could transcend the playing field. He gives coaches the information and the tools they need to become transformational. Joe Ehrmann has taken his message about the extraordinary power of sports all over the country. It has been warmly endorsed by NFL head coaches, athletic directors at major universities, high school head coaches, even business groups and community organizations. Now any parent-coach or school or community coach can read Ehrmann’s message and learn how to make sports a life-changing experience.

    Adored by the fans, he was recently voted the most popular player in the entire Liverpool squad. Yet the young Carra came to Liverpool as an Everton fan, from an Everton family, and with Everton friends. Packed with great anecdotes, controversial opinions and large helpings of his trademark humor, this is his story. Born in January 1978 in Bootle, Merseyside, Carragher signed professional terms with Liverpool in 1996, having served a successful apprenticeship, won the FA Youth Cup and played for England Under-21s. He scored a goal in his first full game for the senior team—pretty good for a defender and very unusual for him—and his versatility was to ensure a permanent place in the starting line up before long and he is now vice Captain. In fact he is so integral to the Liverpool squad, the Kop now chants "we all dream of a team of Carraghers" to the tune of "Yellow Submarine." Raw, funny, and down-to-earth, his book is an antidote to the anodyne sports autobiography. It takes you behind the scenes of all of Liverpool and England's greatest triumphs and disasters in the company of a player who never fails to be intelligent, controversial, or just downright hilarious.

    Since then, Argentina's World Cup victory has become the stuff of legend, particularly their infamous victory over England--only four years after the country's defeat in the Falklands War--which featured arguably the best goal in history (Maradona's "Goal of the Century") and the worst (the notorious "Hand of God"). But Argentina's victory came after months of struggle and discord within the team, including the Argentine government's attempt to remove the team's management, a lack of equipment that forced the players to buy their own uniforms, and an argument that caused the team's captain to quit on the eve of the tournament. Now, thirty years after Argentina's magical victory, Maradona tells his side of the story, vividly recounting how he led the team to win one of the greatest World Cup triumphs of all time.

    In Champions Way, New York Times investigative reporter Mike McIntire chronicles the rise of this growing scandal through the experience of the Florida State Seminoles, one of the most successful teams in NCAA history.A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his Times investigation of college sports, McIntire breaks new ground here, uncovering the workings of a system that enables athletes to violate academic standards and avoid criminal prosecution for actions ranging from shoplifting to drunk driving. At the heart of Champions Way is the untold story of a whistle-blower, Christie Suggs, and her wrenching struggle to hold a corrupt system to account. Together with shocking new details about prominent sports figures, including NFL quarterback Jameis Winston and former FSU coach Bobby Bowden, Champions Way shines a light on the ethical, moral, and legal compromises inherent in the making of a championship sports program.Beyond the story of Florida State, McIntire takes readers on a journey through the history of college football, from its origins as a roughneck pastime coached by nineteenth-century professors to its current incarnation as a gold-plated behemoth that long ago outgrew its scholastic environs. Illuminated in rich and disturbing detail is the hidden financial ecosystem that nourishes hundred-million-dollar teams, from the hustlers who recruit players for schools and the athletic departments controlled by rich boosters to the universities whose academic mission and moral authority have been undermined. More than pointing out flaws, McIntire examines their causes and offers hope to those who would reform college sports.

    They said Mick had a sixth sense for great accuracy in his playing days - he could find a party from any range. Quinn says he only put £50 on each horse race - but liked to stay in the bookies for twenty races a day!Sentenced in 1987 to three weeks in prison for twice driving whilst banned, Mick's been accused of punching Peter Schmeichel on the football pitch and John Fashanu off it. On retirement, though, Quinn switched to horse racing, the Sport of Kings, but controversy led the blue bloods of racing to hang the scouse oik out to dry and he was suspended from training for two and a half years.Who Ate All The Pies? is the funniest and most honest football book you'll read for a long, long time.

    Sounds simple, doesn't it? But the reality can be quite different. Whether you're just starting out or simply ready to head in a new direction, you're going to need some help turning your natural skills into success-seeking missiles of radness.On hand is Gavin Strange, a creative working by night under the name of JamFactory and, by day, at Aardman Animations – the Academy Award-winning studio behind Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.With advice, encouragement and a reminder that life's too short to not pursue your passion, whatever your age or position – from school leaver or graduate just starting out to CEO ready to head in a new direction, Do Fly will inspire you to:Change your perspective and revamp your mindsetDevelop creative side projectsStay optimistic and resilientDiscover skills and passions you never knew you had!Do Fly is your all-in-one guide, ticket and passport to a new destination. Are you ready for take off?

     Great coaches realize something that others do not: every moment matters! You must be intentional about everything you do. Whether you are coaching your local youth soccer team, leading your high school football program, or competing for an NCAA championship, Every Moment Matters will give you the tools and strategies to become the coach you always wished you had, and the coach today's athletes are craving. Get ready to have your best season ever!