Neil White

Iain Macintosh

Kenny Millar

Football Manager stole my life reveals the cult behind a computer game that, since its debut in 1992, has sold 20m copies and become a part of football culture.

20 Years of Beautiful Obsession

Football Manager Stole My Life

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Rugby but Were Too Afraid to Ask

Harton Town are in trouble. With three games left before the end of the season, they’re six points adrift at the bottom of the table. They need a hero. They got a delivery driver. And not a particularly good one at that. Johnny Cook is out of shape, out of luck and very nearly out of hair. But it wasn’t always like this. Back in 1986, he was Harton’s hottest young striker for almost twenty minutes before a heavy challenge ended his career on the same night it began. Due to a ridiculous, and yet somehow plausible, series of events, Cook is given the chance to save his old club from the drop. His players hate him, his chairman hates him, and his girlfriend is struggling to recall exactly what it was she ever liked about him. It’s that old-fashioned rags-to-rags, boy-has-girl, girl-doesn’t-like-boy, boy-wants-to-keep-girl, girl-wants-a-boy-who-doesn’t-use-farts-as-punctuation story, juxtaposed against the top level of English football and set to the music of Supertramp.

Johnny Cook: The Impossible Job, By Iain Macintosh

While most Football Manager players feel they possess innate tactical awareness, on point man-management skills and a gift for dealing with the media; even the most hardened fan would have to admit there s much to be learned from those who ply their trade in the real world. If you want to make an immediate impact on your struggling hometown club, you need to refer back to Sir Bobby Robson. If you want to lay down the law with your young players, you need to take tips from Sir Alex Ferguson. Want to avoid a financial catastrophe? Then learn from Leeds United! So if, at any point in your life, you have imagined yourself in a tracksuit, waving your arms in the air on the touchline, with your perfect XI scribbled on the back of a beer mat and thinking ahead to the press conference, then this book is for you. After all, you re already a football manager . . . you just haven t been appointed yet."

The Football Manager's Guide to Football Management

A witty, off-the-wall guide to the rules and appreciation of cricket.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cricket But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rugby But Were too Afraid to Ask explains the often-baffling laws of modern sport in a light-hearted and easy-to-understand way to the new fan/spectator or the 'sport widow'. This is a witty, off-the-wall guide to the rules of the modern game, as if written by a very patient but understanding friend. Writer Iain Macintosh explains how rugby works and why is it so popular, and reveals the history of the sport. He guides the novice through the basic rules of the game in a bouncy, easy-to-fathom style, but also explains the fast-changing pace of the modern game that has made it even more compelling. If you've ever been terrified by phrases like 'ruck and maul', or never quite understood the legalised 'bundle' that is a scrum, this book will remove the mystery and explain all you ever needed to know about rugby, but were too afraid to ask.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rugby But Were too Afraid to Ask

The Football Manager Guide to Football Management is for anyone who has ever believed that they could do a better job than their clubâe(tm)s manager. Itâe(tm)s for anyone who has ever tried to prove that point by taking the hot seat in the management simulation Football Manager. Whilst most Football Manager players feel they possess innate tactical awareness, on point man-management skills and a gift for dealing with the media; even the most hardened fan would have to admit thereâe(tm)s much to be learned from those who ply their trade in the real world. If you want to make an immediate impact on your struggling hometown club, you need to refer back to Sir Bobby Robson. If you want to lay down the law with your young players, you need to take tips from Sir Alex Ferguson. Want to avoid a financial catastrophe? Then learn from Leeds United! So if, at any point in your life, you have imagined yourself in a tracksuit, waving your arms in the air on the touchline, with your perfect XI scribbled on the back of a beer mat and thinking ahead to the press conference, then this book is for you. After all, youâe(tm)re already a football managerâe¦ you just havenâe(tm)t been appointed yet.

Roy G. Perkins

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Border Counties Railway has changed and developed over the last century.

Border Counties Railway Through Time

Philippe Auclair

Jonathan Wilson

Rob Smyth

Gabriele Marcotti

Uli Hesse

Rory Smith

James Horncastle

Jacob Steinberg

Matt Spiro

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Issue Two Contents ---------------- Le Blues ---------------- * Font of all Knowledge?, by Matt Spiro—The Clairefontaine academy was once the envy of the world, but has it gone stale? * What Makes a Nation?, by Philippe Auclair—The recent French race furore ignores the diversity of France's footballing culture ---------------- Interview ---------------- * Dragan Stojković—Andrew McKirdy talks to Dragan Stojković about his philosophical similarities to Arsène Wenger, his lost years and Japan's development -------------------- In Argentina -------------------- * Óscar Bravo, by Jonathan Wilson—How Óscar Washington Tabárez led Uruguay to Copa América glory as Argentina and Brazil misfired * La Historia de los Piñeyros, by Rupert Fryer—A fictional account of one family's experience of the 1978 World Cup ------------------ The Media ------------------ * The Man who Said it was Magnificent, by Rob Smyth—Barry Davies relives some old memories and discusses the state of modern commentary * The Man who Made Calcio, by James Horncastle—How Gianni Brera shaped the language and style of Italian football * The Man who Ate his Hat, by Scott Murray—The story of Lieutenant Commander Tommy Woodrooffe, the BBC's first football commentator --------------------------------- Back From The Brink --------------------------------- * Football to Remember, by Uli Hesse—How Borussia Dortmund returned from the verge of extinction to win the Bundesliga title ------------- Theory ------------- * Wenger, l'Auteur, by Miguel Delaney—What Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Cimino and the Hollywood of the seventies tell us about Arsenal * Brazil, and the Rise of the Back Four, by Rob Sweeney—How foreign influences led to the evolution of the back four in Brazil -------------- Italia 90 -------------- * A Sentimental Journey, by Gabriele Marcotti—The 1990 World Cup as experienced by a teenage Italian ---------------- Polemics ---------------- * Is Football Still Sport?, by Rory Smith—It unfolds like a soap opera for the entertainment of millions and the profit of a few. What has football become? * Too Fast, Too Furious?, by James Grossi—Why have so many creative players suffered such dreadful injuries in the MLS this season? ----------------------------- Football Manager ----------------------------- * The Ballad of Bobby Manager: My Autobiography, by Iain Macintosh—When somebody takes their game of Football Manager just a little too seriously... -------------------------- Greatest Games -------------------------- * St Étienne 3 Dynamo Kiev 0 (aet), by James Horncastle—European Cup quarter-final second-leg, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Étienne, 17 March 1976 ------------------- Eight Bells ------------------- * Finals Before the Final, by Jacob Steinberg—A selection of eight games that really shouldn't have been wasted on the earlier rounds

The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Two

A witty, off-the-wall guide to the rules and appreciation of rugby union.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rugby But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Football Fables is a hilarious and fascinating anthology of stories from some of the most exciting names to have played the game. Some are outrageous, some sad, some downright bizarre - all are true, and straight from the mouths of the men who were there when it mattered. What was it like to play for Brian Clough in his European Cup-winning prime? How did it feel to be in Graham Taylor's England side when Ronald Koeman stopped them qualifying for the 1994 World Cup? What happened in the summer of 1992 to turn Manchester United from perennial also-rans to English champions? What special gift did Gazza leave in Erik Thorstvedt's goalkeeping gloves as an unforgettable welcome to Spurs? You'll find out the answers to these questions and much, much more in the pages of Football Fables. Featuring in-depth interviews with the likes of Ron Atkinson, Bryan Robson, Barry Fry and Peter Shilton, Football Fables is an intriguing and insightful journey down some of the more mysterious avenues of the footballing world.

Football Fables

Nick Miller

Igor Rabiner

Jarrod Kimber

First published in March 2016, Issue Twenty contains 20 articles in 10 sections, including: Robin Bairner explaining why Hampden Park's old goalposts have pride of place in St-Étienne's club museum; the playwright Patrick Marber discusses football, drama, and his football drama; and Nick Miller with the unusual story of how a united Ireland side took on Brazil at the height of the Troubles and almost won.

The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Twenty

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cricket But Were too Afraid to Ask explains the often-baffling laws of modern sport in a light-hearted and easy-to-understand way to the new fan/spectator or the 'sport widow'. This is a witty, off-the-wall guide to the rules of modern cricket, as if written by a very patient but understanding friend. Writer Iain Macintosh explains how cricket works and why is it so popular, and reveals the history of the game. He guides the novice through the basic rules of the sport in a bouncy, easy-to-fathom style, but also explains the fast-changing pace of the modern game that has made it even more compelling. If you've ever wondered what a Barmy Army is and how you sign up, or even if you've just wanted someone to sit you down and explain that whole LBW thing, this book is all you ever needed to know about cricket, but were too afraid to ask.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cricket But Were too Afraid to Ask

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Football But Were too Afraid to Ask explains the often-baffling laws of modern sport in a light-hearted and easy-to-understand way to the new fan/spectator or the 'sport widow'. This is a witty, whimsical guide to the rules, tactics, competitions and etiquette of modern football, as if written by a very patient but understanding friend. Football writer Iain Macintosh explains how football works, why is it so popular and what the hell that offside rule is all about. He guides the novice through the basic rules of the game in a bouncy, easy-to-fathom style, but also explains the basic tactical ideas that make the sport so compelling. Including a starter's history of the game, advice on choosing a team and crucial safety tips on how not to behave while watching football in a public place, it's all you ever needed to know about football, but were too afraid of being kicked senseless or utterly humiliated to ask.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Football But Were too Afraid to Ask

A witty, off-the-wall guide to the rules and appreciation of golf.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Golf But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Michael Cox

James Corbett

Scott Murray

Rupert Fryer

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Contents of Issue Thirteen ---------------- History ---------------- * Uli Hesse, Never the Twain - The story of the meeting between West Germany and East Germany at the 1974 World Cup * Greg Johnson, Hearts and Minds - Spain threaten, like Lennox Lewis, to be a great but unloved champion * Richard Jolly, The Clubs behind the Countries - Which clubs have produced the most World Cup winners? * Martín Mazur, The Moral Pendulum - Argentina’s eternal vacillation between fútbol and anti-fútbol ---------------- Brazil ---------------- * James Corbett, Fifa, Go Home! - What does hosting the World Cup mean for Brazil? * James Young, Futebol Nation? - How much do Brazilians really care about football? * Marius Lien, A Troubled History - The ambiguous past of José Maria Marin, the head of the Brazilian World Cup -------------------------- Protagonists -------------------------- * Rupert Fryer, Sideshow takes Centre Stage - The Brazil defender on handling the pressure of being hosts * Mike Phillips, The Multi-Kulti Question - How the Switzerland national team became part of the debate on immigration * Vladimir Novak, Better Late than Never - Algeria’s Vahid Halilhodžić on finally making it to the World Cup as a manager * Leo Verheul, The Artist’s Boy - The Netherlands striker was shaped by the Rotterdam in which he grew up ----------------- Minnows ----------------- * Sean Carroll, The Secret Team - An Yeong-hag and Chong Tese on playing for North Korea at the 2010 World Cup * Michael Yokhin, The Indomitability of Lions - In 1990 Cameroon overcame shambolic preparations to shock the world * Oliver Pickup, Milla’s Time - Oliver Pickup speaks to Roger Milla about becoming his nation’s saviour at 38 * Martín Mazur, Two Men Down - In 1982 El Salvador came from war, chaos and corruption, lost 10-1 and retained their dignity ----------------- Fiction ----------------- * Iain Macintosh, Quantum of Bobby - Spinning through time and space, Bobby Manager finds himself in Italy in 1990 -------------------------- Greatest Games -------------------------- * Jonathan Wilson, Hungary 4 Uruguay 2 (aet) - World Cup semi-final, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, 20 June 1954 * Rob Smyth & Scott Murray, Italy 3 Brazil 2 - World Cup second phase, Group C, Estadi de Sarrià, Barcelona, Spain, 5 July 1982 ---------------- Eight Bells ---------------- * Michael Yokhin, World Cup Cameos - A selection of players who played only a few minutes at the World Cup

The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Thirteen

Amy Lawrence

James Montague

First published in June 2016, Issue Twenty One contains 15 articles in 8 sections, including: James Montague visiting Albania to get the lowdown on Ismail Morina and the drone controversy; Igor Rabiner on how a fall from a tree set Leonid Slutsky on his way to the top; and Amy Lawrence curates a people's history of the 1966 World Cup.

The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Twenty One

Simon Kuper

Ben Lyttleton

Tim Vickery

Dion Fanning

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Contents of Issue Fourteen ------------------------- World Cup Review ------------------------- * Cassiano Gobbet, The End of the Affair - Brazil’s 7-1 semi-final defeat will reverberate through history: what went wrong? * Ben Lyttleton, The Inevitable Conclusion - Another World Cup exit on penalties: why can’t the Dutch win shoot-outs? * Various, Notes from a Tournament - It wasn’t all about the football. Memories of the 2014 World Cup. * Ryu Voelkel, A selection of the best images from the 2014 World Cup --------------------- Past Glories --------------------- * Elko Born, The Velvet Revolution - Johan Cruyff, Ajax and the struggle for the soul of Dutch football * Dan Nolan, Orbán Planning - The Hungarian prime minister’s attempts to restore the national team to glory * Rob Smyth, Lars Eriksen, Mike Gibbons, The End of the Affair - How Spain and a misplaced backpass halted Denmark’s glorious 1986 World Cup campaign --------------------- The Misfits --------------------- * Richard Jolly, Bye-bye Bebé - The strange Manchester United career of the Portuguese striker * Luke Alfred, Best in Show - While most fans were focused on the 1974 World Cup, George Best was playing in South Africa * Joachim Barbier, The Still Point - Can a player like Javier Pastore make it at a club like PSG? ------------------------------ The Revolutionaries ------------------------------ * Alex Footman, $10 Per Day - Aid poverty and political turmoil, football goes on in Afghanistan * John Harding, Football’s First Millionaire - How Bolton’s Jack Slater smashed class barriers to make his fortune * Pedar Foss, The Rise and Fall of Castel Rigone - The entrepreneur, the village team and the experiment in humanistic capitalism * Gunnar Persson, A Passage to Indiana - The Swedish great Murren Carlsson’s doomed attempt to make it in the USA * Philippe Auclair, The Second Birth of French Football - Michel Hidalgo survived kidnapping to lead France to the 1978 World Cup ----------------- Fiction ----------------- * Iain Macintosh, Quantum of Bobby - Spinning through time and space, Bobby Manager finds himself in Escape to Victory ------------------------ Greatest Games ------------------------ * Michael Yokhin, Russia 1 Ukraine 1 - Euro 2000 qualifier, Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, 9 October 1999 ------------------- Eight Bells ------------------- * Jack Lang, Brazilian Courtroom Dramas - A selection of controversies in the Brazilian game that were settled off the pitch

The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Fourteen

Sid Lowe

Graham Hunter

Miguel Delaney

Sergio Levinsky

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Contents of Issue Twelve ---------------- The Rivals ---------------- * Sid Lowe, Power Play - Carles Rexach and Jorge Valdano discuss the changing nature of the Real Madrid-Barcelona rivalry * Miguel Delaney, Gamechanger - Johan Cruyff on his role in creating the style of Barcelona and modern football * Graham Hunter, An Honourable Man - How Vicente del Bosque overcame rejection by Real Madrid to lead Spain to glory --------------------------- A Game of Chess --------------------------- * Philippe Auclair, Beyond the System - Could the lessons of chess show football the way to an exciting new future? * Scott Oliver, Play Jazz, not Chess - Reflections on football, order and the imagination, and the need for improvisation ------------ Theory ------------ * Steve Menary, Maximum Opportunity - Was Charles Hughes a long-ball zealot, or pragmatist reacting to necessity? * Sergio Levinsky, The Cult of the Pibe - Argentina’s love affair with scruffy urchins with feet of gold --------------------------------- Defenders of the Faith --------------------------------- * Paul Brown, The Birth of the Fan - Why Victorians flocked to watch 22 men kicking a pig’s bladder about * James Montague, Jerusalem Syndrome - The mysterious disappearance of Guma Aguiar, the saviour of Beitar Jerusalem * Brian Homewood, Identity Crisis - Unpicking the convoluted threads of Mexico’s franchise system * Bartosz Nowicki, Dream Fulfilled - Relief and glee as Cardiff City finally found their way into the Premier League -------------------------- Against the Odds -------------------------- * Robin Bairner, Sleeping Giant - In 1982, Jean-Pierre Adams was given anaesthetic before knee surgery. He hasn’t woken up. * Richard Jolly, And Not to Yield - Only one sportsman can match Ryan Giggs for longevity: the New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter * Javier Sauras and Felix Lill, The Street Dogs of Manila - The Philippines are rising through the rankings, but are they Filipino enough * Matthew Campelli, Second City Syndrome - Why has Birmingham struggled for football success for 30 years? --------------- Polemics --------------- * Alex Keble, Artist or Machine? - An investigation into the paradoxical relationship between sport and creativity * Tim Vickery, Alternate Title - The lessons sports journalists can draw from the Monkees --------------- Fiction --------------- * Iain Macintosh, The Quantum of Bobby - After his exile in Qatar, Bobby Manager returns to English football. Or does he…? ------------------------- Greatest Games ------------------------- * Rob Smyth, England 1 West Germany 1* - World Cup semi-final, 4 July 1990, Stadio delle Alpi, Turin ----------------- Eight Bells ----------------- * Michael Yokhin, Non-identical twins - A selection of twins who looked the same but played very differently

The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Twelve

Harry Pearson

Dominic Bliss

George Caulkin

Luke Alfred

The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them. Contents of Issue Fifteen ----------------------- The North-East ----------------------- * Jonathan Wilson, A Sentimental Journey - In a world of superclubs, what’s the point of the ordinary teams? * George Caulkin, The Great Betrayal - Mike Ashley and the cheapening of the Newcastle dream * Harry Pearson, The Van Basten of Hartlepool - Adam Boyd and the glory of a flickering talent * Michael Walker, Bob Paisley and the Red Kennedys - The north-eastern influence that underlay Liverpool’s period of domination ------------------ Strikers ------------------ * Dominic Bliss, A Season in Turin - Denis Law remembers his year playing in Serie A * Jim Davies and Juan Felipe Rubio, The Lost Weekend - Spending two days on Faustino Asprilla’s Colombian ranch * Thierry Marchand and Philippe Auclair, A Game for Individuals - Thierry Henry reflects on how football has changed in his 20 years at the top ------------------------------- Davids and Goliaths ------------------------------- * Luke Alfred, The Boys who never Grew Up - South Africa are African football’s greatest underachievers. What’s gone wrong? * Robin Bairner, When FFP Goes Wrong - Luzenac’s promotion to the French second flight should have been a joyous fair-story but it killed the club * Will Unwin, Defying the Odds - How tiny Eibar have taken their place in the Spanish top flight * Paul Watson, Fifa’s Exiles - For Pacific islands, football development can be a haphazard and fragile process ------------- Theory ------------- * Nicholas Blincoe, The Roundhead’s Paradox - Tony Pulis and the conflicted character of British Puritanism * Amy Lawrence, Wengerball - Arsène Wenger, the Invincibles and the transformation of Arsenal’s philosophy * Jonny Singer, The Archduke and the Offside Law - Did the First World War lead to the most significant ever change to the Laws of the Game? * Marti Pararnu, Pep Talk - How Guardiola inspired Bayern Munich before the Super Cup shoot-out against Chelsea ----------------------------------- The Sense of an Ending ----------------------------------- * Ewan MacKenna, Fallen Eagle - The death of the former Nigeria striker Rashidi Yekini remains shrouded in mystery. * Alessandro Mastrolucca, Bergamini - 25 years ago the Cosenza midfielder Denis Bergamini was run over by a truck. Was it murder? --------------- Fiction --------------- * Iain Macintosh, Quantum of Bobby - Spinning through time and space, Bobby Manager finds himself at Roy Keane’s Sunderland ------------------------ Greatest Games ------------------------ * Scott Murray, Liverpool 3 Newcastle United 0 - FA Cup final, Wembley Stadium, London, 4 May 1974 ------------------ Eight Bells ------------------ * Rob Smyth, Dethronings - A selection of champions who surrendered their titles in decisive fashion

Iain Macintosh

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