A tall, lean striker with the world at his feet, Ferguson seemed destined to develop into one of Scotland's most successful exports, but anger, and a number of injuries, hampered his progress. Ferguson has scored the most goals of any Scot in the Premiership but also shares the record for Premiership red cards. In 1995, he became the first professional footballer to be jailed for an offence committed on the pitch. It earned him a three-month sentence in Glasgow's infamous Barlinnie Prison and a twelve-match ban from the SFA. Bruised by the experience, he walked away from the Scotland team and blanked the media from then on. Featuring contributions from numerous top players, this explosive biography uncovers the real Duncan Ferguson. The author delves into Ferguson's personal and professional life and reveals that there is more to him than the media portrayal of a Scottish hard man.

    

    shares the secret principles used by world-class performers that will help you improve your productivity and achieve higher levels of success.High achievers are at the top of their game because of the discipline they have during the unseen hours. They have made a commitment to establish, tweak, and repeat positive habits in everything they do. Raise Your Game examines the top leaders in sports and business and proves that success is a result of the little things we do all the time.The basic principles provided in Raise Your Game are simple, but not easy. We live in an instantly downloadable world that encourages us to skip steps. We are taught to chase what's hot, flashy and sexy and ignore what's basic. But the basics work. They always have and they always will.Raise Your Game will inspire and empower you to commit to the fundamentals, create a winning mindset, and progress into new levels of success.

    He turned down countless offers from professional teams to stay with the job he loves. Now Nick Saban reveals the secrets that will help you lead and succeed at work and in life.Excellence doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from hard work, consistency, the drive to be the best, and a passion for what you do. Few understand this better than Nick Saban, the hottest college football coach in the game. Now, in How Good Do You Want to Be?, Saban shares his winning philosophy for creating and inspiring success.In more than three decades as a player and coach, Saban has learned much about life and leadership, both on the field and off. Working alongside some of the game’s legends, including Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick and coaching legend Jerry Glanville, he saw firsthand how great leaders encourage greatness in others. In this candid, insightful guide, he shares such acquired wisdom as• Organization, Organization, Organization Create an environment where everybody knows his or her responsibilities–and each is responsible to the entire group.• Motivate to DominateUnderstand the psychology of teams and individuals, and use that knowledge to breed success.• No Other Way than RightPractice ethics and values–and demand the same from your team.• Look in the MirrorMaintain an understanding of who you are by knowing your strengths and your weaknesses.How Good Do You Want to Be? is more than the story of how Nick Saban motivates his staff and players to excel–it is also the memoir of one of America’s most successful coaches. Filled with instructive anecdotes and illuminated by never-before-told stories of his life and career, this is a book that challenges and inspires us all to be our best.From the Hardcover edition.

    Leaders who understand what's going on around them see what they need to do to achieve the results they want. Bolman and Deal's influential four-frame model of leadership and organizations--developed in their bestselling book, Reframing Organizations: Artistry Choice and Leadership--offers leaders an accessible guide for understanding four major aspects of organizational life: structure, people, politics, and culture. Tapping into the complexity enables leaders to decode the messy world in which they live, see more options, tell better stories, and find strategies that are more effective. Case examples of leaders like Jeff Bezos at Amazon, Howard Schultz at Starbucks, Tony Hsieh at Zappos, Ursula Burns at Xerox, and the late Steve Jobs at Apple provide concrete lessons that readers can put to use in their own leadership. The book's lessons include:How to use structural tools to organize teams and organizations for better results How to build motivation and morale by aligning organizations and people How to map the terrain and build a power base to navigate the political dynamics in organizations How to develop a leadership story that shapes culture, provides direction, and inspires commitment to excellence

    Packing his collection of football programmes (1,134 of them -- football fans are sticklers for statistics), Dave is aghast to be informed that the programmes do not fall into that category. He must whittle down his treasured archive to only what will fit inside a Tupperware container the size of a Dan Brown hardback. 32 Programmes tells the story of how Dave made the selection of his most important programmes, and how the process brought back a flood of nostalgia for simpler times. As the sights, sounds and smells of those 1,134 football matches return, the choices Dave makes reflect the twists and turns that life takes. Finally, with just hours to go before the flight, the container is full to the brim. One more programme will be added to the collection - one that Dave never thought he would see and which means more to him than any other. 32 Programmes is the story of youthful football obsession, crushes on disinterested girls, rubbish jobs and trying to impress skinheads. But most of all, it is the story of a man's life and loves, of family, friends and football.

    Now meet Colt McCoy up-close and personal! Growing Up Colt—A Father, a Son, a Life in Football is a unique biography by both the Cleveland Browns quarterback and his father, Brad, a highly-respected football coach in his native Texas. Get a behind-the-scenes view of the formative events of Colt’s football experience and the foundational principles of his family and faith life. Growing Up Colt promises an inspiring read for football fans of all ages—and don’t miss the exciting full-color photo section!

     Through seven deployments commanding sailors in the complex and dangerous world of nuclear submarine warfare, Jon Rennie experienced a deep form of leadership. On a sub, there is no escape. No “after work.” No home to commute to. You live and lead side-by-side with the crew, every day. What Rennie didn’t realize was how much his time underwater prepared him to lead global industrial businesses and startups across multiple industries. Becoming a leader worth following begins—and ends—with people. “This book cuts to the heart of the matter of leadership: it’s all about people.” Says Joshua D. Cotton, PhD, Founder and CEO, VetStoreUSA With a special foreword by John Brubaker, Author of Seeds of Success, Rennie lays out a case for becoming a people-centered leader. Leaders have the watch. They are not only accountable for the results of the organization, but they are also responsible for the people who work for them. Leadership is a people business. The actions of a leader will have a deep impact on the lives and careers of the people they are responsible for. Natasha Goldstein, Founder and CEO, The Accountkeepers says, “As the founder of a fast-growing, people-based business, I could not put this book down. Unlike any other book on leadership I’ve read, Jon boils it down to what really matters: how you treat people.” Great leaders know that employees who are respected, appreciated, and are given the chance to grow will go the extra mile for your organization. This book provides real-world leadership wisdom written from a hands-on perspective. If you want to be a more effective leader, this is the one book you should read this year. “Start becoming a better leader today by reading this book.” Says Heather Eason, Founder and CEO, SELECT Power Systems

    Anson Dorrance may be the most successful coach ever - in any sport. He has won 18 National Championships, 95 percent of his games, and has coached and mentored some of soccer's greatest stars - Mia Hamm, Christine Lilly, and Cindy Parlow. The Man Watching takes a revealing look into the mind's eye of a motivational genius. How did he create a soccer factory at the University of North Carolina? How does he motivate his teams to achieve greatness? Why has he developed more national-level players than any other coach?

    A one-club player, he has served Manchester United for more than sixteen years, making over 600 appearances in that time -- the fourth highest number of appearances by any player for the club. He also represented the England national team for seven years, winning 66 caps including two World Cup and two European Cup campaigns. Throughout this time, Scholes has always played a decisive role in his teams' fortunes. As well as the technical brilliance that makes Paul Scholes such a breathtaking player to watch it is the determination and integrity which he demonstrates both on and off the pitch that means he is a fascination to fans of the sport. In an age of overpaid, workaday players, Scholes has become an icon of professionalism and club loyalty, admired by fans everywhere. Now in this book for the first time Paul Scholes shares his story: from his beginnings at United under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson as part of the 'golden' youth team, to the treble-winning season and twice capturing European Cup glory, the importance of family and friends in keeping his feet on the ground, as well as his many triumphs and tribulations with England. This is without question the sports book of 2011, from a player as popular and as revered as any in the game today.

    From personnel to practice to game-day decisions that win titles, Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football.Why do some NFL franchises dominate year after year while others can never crack the code of success? For 30 years Michael Lombardi had a front-row seat and full access as three titans--Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Bill Belichick--reinvented the game, turning it into a national obsession while piling up Super Bowl trophies. Now, in Gridiron Genius, Lombardi provides the blueprint that makes a successful organization click and win--and the mistakes unsuccessful organizations make that keep them on the losing side time and again. In reality, very few coaches understand the philosophies, attention to detail, and massive commitment that defined NFL juggernauts like the 49ers and the Patriots. The best organizations are not just employing players, they are building something bigger. Gridiron Genius will explain how the best leaders evaluate, acquire, and utilize personnel in ways other professional minds, football and otherwise, won't even contemplate. How do you know when to trade a player? How do you create a positive atmosphere when everyone is out to maximize his own paycheck? And why is the tight end like the knight on a chessboard? To some, game planning consists only of designing an attack for the next opponent. But Lombardi explains how the smartest leaders script everything: from an afternoon's special-teams practice to a season's playoff run to a decade-long organizational blueprint. Readers will delight in the Lombardi tour of an NFL weekend, including what really goes on during the game on and off the field and inside the headset. First stop: Belichick's Saturday night staff meeting, where he announces how the game will go the next day. Spoiler alert: He always nails it.Football dynasties are built through massive attention to detail and unwavering commitment. From how to build a team, to how to watch a game, to understanding the essential qualities of great leaders, Gridiron Genius gives football fans the knowledge to be the smartest person in the room every Sunday.

    With its pantheon of illustrious alumni like Bear Bryant, Herschel Walker, Peyton Manning, and Nick Saban, the SEC is the altar at which millions of Americans worship every Saturday, from Texas to Kentucky to Florida.If the SEC is a religion, its deity is radio talk-show host Paul Finebaum. In My Conference Can Beat Your Conference, Finebaum, chronicles the rise of the SEC and his own unlikely path to college football fame. Finebaum offers his blunt wisdom on everything from Joe Paterno and the Penn State scandal to the relevancy of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron’s girlfriend, and chronicles the best of his beloved callers, and the worst of his haters.My Conference Can Beat Your Conference is illustrated with 8 pages of color photos.

    In that first week in Italy, Michel Platini and Juventus won the Intercontinental Cup, whilst just days later the PLO killed 13 people in a random shooting at Rome's Fiumicino airport. Paddy covered both stories. The coming years saw the rise of TV tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, as he became owner of AC Milan and then Prime Minister of Italy, naming his political party 'Forza Italia' after a football chant. In that same period, Argentine Diego Maradona became the uncrowned King of Naples, leading Napoli to a first ever Scudetto title in 1987, notwithstanding a hectic, Hollywood-esque lifestyle that mixed footballing genius with off-the-field excess.Forza Italia is a fascinating tale of inspired players, skilled coaches, rich tycoons, glitzy media coverage, Mafia corruption, allegations of drug taking and fan power - culminating in the 2006 World Cup victory that delighted a nation and a match-fixing scandal that shocked the world. It is also a personalised reflection on the consistent and continuing excellence of Italian football throughout a period of huge social, political and economic upheaval, offering a unique insight into a society where football has always been much more than just a game.

    In this revised edition of "When the Game Stands Tall," author Neil Hayes, who had unrestricted access to the De La Salle team, writes from the inside about the games, the players, and their visionary coach, Bob Ladouceur, who managed to amass the highest winning percentage in football history (.995) through standing for something greater than winning. The book, which also features interviews with major sports figures like Bill Walsh and John Gruden, is a revealing portrait of the coach who believed above all in instilling basic life skills where winning is not the goal, but merely the byproduct of playing the game. The Streak had become a national story long before it ended in September 2004. In this revised paperback, Neil Hayes catches up on the lives of the main characters and takes readers through the final tumultuous year. What results is a timeless and inspirational story of struggle, tragedy, and triumph.

    Why did we have to shut our doors after only three years? I was at my breaking point. Then I got the news that our nine-year-old daughter had leukemia. I would have quit ministry forever, but I had no other employable skills. False accusations were made against me and my family, wrecking our reputation permanently and forcing us to leave not only the church, but move out of the area. I've served my church for the past 27 years and I've grown that church from 150 to 24 people. What do we do when we've failed? Some ministries are shipwrecked by moral failures like affairs or embezzlement. But for most of us, the sense of failure is more ordinary: disillusionment, inadequacy, declining budgets, poor decisions, opposition, depression, burnout. Many pastors are deeply broken and wounded, and we come to doubt that God has any use for us. J.R. Briggs, founder of the Epic Fail Pastors Conference, knows what failure feels like. He has listened to pastors who were busted in a prostitution sting or found themselves homeless when ejected from ministry. With candid vulnerability, Briggs explores the landscape of failure, how it devastates us and how it transforms us. Without offering pat answers or quick fixes, he challenges our cultural expectations of success and gives us permission to grieve our losses. Somehow, in the midst of our pain, we are better positioned to receive the grace of healing and restoration.