'COMPREHENSIVE' The Sunday Times 'BEAUTIFULLY DETAILED' The Guardian 'UTTERLY COMPELLING' Nottingham Forest News 'WONDERFUL' Forbes 'INTIMATE' FourFourTwo 20th Anniversary Edition - Fully revised and updated. In this authoritative, critical biography, Jonathan Wilson draws an intimate and powerful portrait of one of England's greatest football managers, Brian Clough. It was in the unforgiving world of post-war football where his identity and reputation was made - a world where, as Clough's mentor Harry Storer once said, 'Nobody ever says thank you.' Nonetheless, Clough brought the gleam of silverware to the depressed East Midlands of the 1970s. Initial triumph at Derby was followed by a sudden departure and a traumatic 44 days at Leeds. By the end of a frazzled 1974, Clough was set up for life financially, but also hardened to the realities of football. By the time he was at Forest, Clough's mask was almost permanently donned: a persona based on brashness and conflict. Drink fuelled the controversies and the colourful character; it heightened the razor-sharp wit and was a salve for the highs of football that never lasted long enough, and for the lows that inevitably followed. Wilson's account is the definitive portrait of this complex and enduring man, whose legacy in football remains untouched to the present day.

Alchemy reveals the bittersweet reality of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor's first management job together. The lower-league Hartlepools United are penniless, with a meddling chairman, a ramshackle ground and want-away players. Yet the management pair tackle every challenge head-on, forging a winning blueprint that later transforms unfashionable Derby County and Nottingham Forest into League and European Cup champions. Exploiting a wealth of archive newspapers, plus interviews with those present at the creation, Alchemy exposes the humble origins of Clough & Taylor's meteoric rise to the top of the football tree.

Soccer has long been known as 'the beautiful game'. This multi-disciplinary volume explores soccer, soccer culture, and the representation of soccer in art, film, and literature, using the critical tools of aesthetics, poetics, and rhetoric. Including international contributions from scholars of philosophy, literary and cultural studies, linguistics, art history, and the creative arts, this book begins by investigating the relationship between beauty and soccer and asks what criteria should be used to judge the sport’s aesthetic value. Covering topics as diverse as humor, national identity, style, celebrity, and social media, its chapters examine the nature of fandom, the role of language, and the significance of soccer in contemporary popular culture. It also discusses what one might call the ‘stylistics’ of soccer, analyzing how players, fans, and commentators communicate on and off the pitch, in the press, on social media, and in wider public discourse. The Aesthetics, Poetics, and Rhetoric of Soccer makes for fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport, culture, literature, philosophy, linguistics, and society.

In 1960, the wealthy owner of the Merseyside-based Littlewoods corporation, John Moores, took control of Everton Football Club, setting in motion a chain of events that still affect the game in this country today. Everton had enjoyed success before Moores's takeover but things would never be the same again from the moment he walked through Goodison's doors. Although big clubs had spent money before, none had done so with such naked short-term ambition and a ruthlessness to succeed that sent shockwaves through the previously stagnant world of English football. The new owner's ruthless streak was personified by his first major move, sacking the popular Johnny Carey in the back of a London taxi in April 1961. Everton would finish that 1960/61 season in fifth place, their highest position since World War Two, but the Irishman's affable nature cost him his job. In his place Moores wanted a man in his own image to lead the club forward and he soon found him: Harry Catterick. Catterick was little over 40 years old, and had been an Everton player himself only ten years before. But as a boss he exuded an aura that demanded respect and obedience from his players. It was a characteristic that won him few fans but plenty of trophies, and across the decade Everton reasserted themselves as one of English football's powerhouses, winning two league titles and an FA Cup. Catterick's ability to nurture young products of the club's youth set-up such as Colin Harvey and Joe Royle was trumped only by his mastery of the transfer market, allowing him to sign the great Howard Kendall from Preston North End and World Cup winner Alan Ball from under his rivals' noses. Harvey, Kendall and Ball would soon form the club's greatest midfield trio, and their brilliance would underpin the 1969/70 title win, a victory for free-flowing football in an era of cynicism. That trophy would be Everton's last major honour for 14 years. In Money Can't Buy Us Love, Everton's official statistician Gavin Buckland tells the tale of how Moores and manager Harry Catterick took the so-called 'Mersey Millionaires' to the summit of English football, in the context of the major cultural changes of the time. The book provides a forensic character study of both Catterick and Moores, and also delves into the archives to provide a definitive account of the incidents that rocked the club in a fruitful but turbulent decade, including allegations of doping in the 1962/63 campaign, the 1964 match-fixing scandal which signalled the end of Tony Kay's career and the shock sale of Alan Ball. Money Can't Buy Us Love offers fascinating insight into how strong personalities can take a team to the very top, but can also cause in its ultimate downfall.

Jonathan Wilson and Scott Murray provide a forensic analysis of ten key Liverpool games that have shaped the club's fortunes over the last century: from the long-lost triumphs of Tom Watson (a 19th-century Bill Shankly) to 1970s European triumphs over the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach and the mind-blowing 2005 comeback against AC Milan. Aston Villa v. Liverpool April 1899 Wolves v. Liverpool May 1947 Liverpool v. Leeds FA Cup final, May 1965 Liverpool v. Crvena Zvezda November 1973 Liverpool v. Borussia Mönchengladbach European Cup final, May 1977 Liverpool v. Roma European Cup final, May 1984 Liverpool v. Nottingham Forest April 1988 Everton v. Liverpool February 1991 Roma v. Liverpool February 2001 AC Milan v. Liverpool Champions League final, May 2005

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 Five ---------------------------- World Cup Bidding ---------------------------- * The Fall-Out, by James Corbett—Significant questions remain unanswered about the World Cup bid process * Russia's Victory, by Igor Rabiner—Russia's success in the 2018 bid was a triumph over internal as well as external opponents * Qatar Hero, by Philippe Auclair- Michel Platini is often seen as the ex-pro coming to save Fifa. But why did he vote for Qatar? ---------------- Interview ---------------- * Sócrates — The former Brazil captain talks to David Tryhorn about why footballers have a political responsibility -------------- Theory -------------- * Roy of the Rover, by Philippe Auclair—Roy Hodgson explains how his travels have shaped his coaching philosophy * Like a Shooting Star, by Luca Ferrato—How Ternana soared and then crashed with Corrado Viciani's high-tempo style * The Skilling Fields, by Steve Bartram—Manchester United are just one of the clubs influenced by the coaching model of Wiel Coerver ----------------------------- The Asian Market ----------------------------- * The 'Gaijin' of Gamba, by Ben Mabley—Fan culture has begun to challenge Japanese hierarchies. The only European Gamba ultra explains how * Sing when you're Winning, by Ian Griffiths—How the need to appear successful turns fans in Singapore from the S.League to the Premier League --------------------- Photo Essay --------------------- * The Hard Core, by Misha Domozhilov—Images of the fans who followed Zenit St Petersburg as they won the Russian championship in 2010 -------- Fall -------- * The Centre-Back and the Kitchen Knife, by Lars Sivertsen—Claus Lundekvam opens up on his battle against the addiction that overwhelmed him after retirement * My Name is Ally MacLeod and I am a Winner, by Dominic Sandbrook—How Scotland's humiliation at the 1978 World Cup knocked nationalism off course * The Lions Sleep Tonight, by Jonathan Wilson- Ten years after retaining the Cup of Nations, Cameroon failed to qualify. What went wrong? ---------------- Polemics ---------------- * The Real Problem, by Brian Phillips—Is the 'real fan' being marginalised or is he just a rhetorical tool? * Where's Darth Vader Gone?, by Simon Kuper—Is the age of football as a substitute for war coming to an end? * The Culture of Violence, by Sergio Levinsky—The absence of leadership means there is little hope of Argentina's hooligan problem being solved ------------- Fiction ------------- * The Glasses, by David Ashton—A gift from a mysterious visitor changes life for a man on a Scottish estate... --------------------------- Greatest Games --------------------------- * Romania 4-6 Yugoslavia, by Vladimir Novak—World Cup qualifier, Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, 13 November 1977 ---------------- Five Rings ---------------- * Olympic Stories, by Marcus Christenson, Steve Menary, Jonathan Wilson, Colin Udoh and Joel Richards—Five tales from the rich history of Olympic football

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 Four Contents ------------------ Barcelona ------------------ * The Inverted Sheepdog, by Graham Hunter—The inside story of how Xavi emerged as the central hub of the world's greatest team * Corrida of Uncertainty, by David Winner—How the cruelty of tiki-taka resembles bull-fighting * The Other Rival, Another Way, by Scott Oliver—When the nastiest rivalry in Spain was between Barcelona and Athletic ---------------- Interview ---------------- * Alex Ferguson—The Manchester United manager tells Philippe Auclair about his early start, the importance of continuity and his need to be alone --------------- London --------------- * Capital Failings, by Ian Hawkey—Football clubs in democratic capitals tend to underperform and London is no exception * A Very English Visionary, by Martin Cloake—How the understated radicalism of Arthur Rowe defined Tottenham's style * South of the River, by Nick Szczepanik—For a spell in the eighties, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Wimbledon challenged the elite * The Bald Eagle and the Modern Way, by Bob Yule—How Jim Smith brough the 3-5-2 to Queens Park Rangers --------------- Theory --------------- * Deschamps-Suaudeau, by Patrick Dessault—Didier Deschamps and Jean-Claude Suaudeau debate the modern vogue for attacking football * The New Enganche, by Sam Kelly—Javier Pastore talks about his move to Paris Saint-Germain and living up to the playmaking ideal ------------- Africa ------------- * Unlikely Hosts, Unlikelier Winners, by Pablo Manriquez and Backpagepix—Images from the 2012 African Cup of Nations * Victory Song, by Jonathan Wilson—How Zambia's emotional triumph restored the zest to the Cup of Nations * The Barefoot Pioneers, by Gary Al-Smith—CK Gyamfi explains how a bootless tour to Britain helped shape the game in Ghana * Ultra Violence, by David Lynch—After the horrors of Port Said, the exact role of ultras in the downfall of Hosny Mubarak remains unclear ------------------------------- In Appreciation Of ------------------------------- * Ronaldo in Moscow, by Sheridan Bird—A slalom through the Luzhniki mud confirmed the genius of "O Fenomeno" * Toussaint on Zidane, by Juliet Jacques—What the World Cup final headbutt meant to the Belgian writer ----------------- Polemics ----------------- * Pelé v Beckham, by Pete Grathoff—Which of the icons had the greater impact on football in the USA? * The Other Cup, by Brian Phillips—How do you solve a problem like the Europa League? * Continental Drift, by Rob Langham—Kazakhstan has slipped behind Uzbekistan since it abandoned Asia ----------------------------- 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 -------------------------- * Racing 1 Celtic 0, by Dan Edwards—Intercontinental Cup final play off, Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, 4 November 1967 ------------------- Eight Bells ------------------- * Shirt Tales, by Scott Murray—The history behind a selection of iconic kits

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DON REVIE – ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX AND CONTROVERSIAL MEN EVER TO GRACE THE GAME OF FOOTBALL 'Engrossing' - Sunday Times 'Impeccably researched... As a life and times, Evans's account is immaculate.' – Jonathan Liew, New Statesman 'A poignant and engrossing read... a well-crafted biography.' – FourFourTwo 'Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, this superb biography sheds new light on one of the most controversial, enigmatic figures in football history' – Leo McKinstry, journalist, historian and award-winning author 'Excellent' – Johnny Giles, Leeds United legend 'Essential reading' Ryan Sabey, the Sun Whenever the greatest managers the game has ever produced are mentioned, names like Busby, Shankly, Paisley and Ferguson trip off the tongue. Despite dominating the game in the late 1960s and '70s there is one name missing: Don Revie, the former Leeds United and England manager. Revie was one of the most complex and controversial men ever to grace the game of football. As a player, he was crowned Footballer of the Year and credited with creating the modern centre-forward. As a manager, he took a Leeds United side languishing in the lower half of the second division and turned them into not only league champions, but one of the most dominant sides in the country. As England manager, Revie lost the magic touch and became increasingly indecisive. After three years in the role and fearing the sack, Revie became the first man to walk out on England. Then came the backlash. Revie was branded a traitor and banned from the game for 10 years, and the press declared open season on the manager. Accused of offering bribes to throw matches, his reputation was destroyed. Shunned by the football establishment, he died just 12 years after walking out on England. Revie's death, at the age of 61, robbed him of the opportunity ever to rebuild his reputation as one of the most important figures ever seen in English football. The life and times of this multifaceted, enigmatic, pioneering football man have still never been fully explored and explained in detail before. Featuring new interviews with Johnny Giles, Kevin Keegan, Norman Hunter, Eddie Gray, Allan Clarke, Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Malcolm Macdonald and members of the Revie family, this long-overdue biography reveals how today's football owes so much to Don Revie. --- Shortlisted for THE SUNDAY TIMES Sports Book Awards 2022 'A no-holds-barred insight that convinces the reader that Don Revie stands amongst the giants of English football.' -Lord Mann 'Meticulously researched and expertly crafted exploration' - Jeff Powell, Daily Mail 'A superb read'. - Alex Montgomery, Chief football writer and former Chairman of the Football Writers Association

'MASTERFUL' TimeOut 'GREAT' Financial Times 'ABSORBING' FourFourTwo 'THOUGHT-PROVOKING' Independent on Sunday 'ENTERTAINING' When Saturday Comes Having invented the game, everything that has followed for England and its national football team has been something of an anti-climax. There was, of course, the golden summer of 1966, and the great period of English dominance on the world stage, which fell roughly between 1886 and 1900, when England won 35 of their 40 international fixtures. But before long foreign teams, with their insistence on progressive 'tactics', began to pose a few questions. And much of what followed for England constituted a series of false dawns... In THE ANATOMY OF ENGLAND, Jonathan Wilson seeks to place the bright spots in context. Taking ten key England fixtures, Wilson explores how what actually happened on the pitch shaped the future of the English game. Bursting with insight and critical detail, yet imbued with a wry affection, this is a history of England like none before.