Considering the celebrity-like status of the professional football manager, surprisingly little is known about their role. This book provides an unprecedented insight into the chronically insecure and vulnerable world of the contemporary professional football manager. Drawing on original research, it explores the complex challenges and skills of the football manager in an increasingly cut-throat, ruthless and results-based industry. Written by a former professional footballer, the book examines how personal contact networks and the social mobility of different actors within the industry influence various elements of the manager's role. Beginning with an overview of literature on football management, its subsequent chapters each examine a key aspect of a manager’s work, such as: managerial recruitment and appointment; the role of previous playing experience and formal education; the assessment and recruitment of players; maintaining discipline and control; maintaining successful working relationships with players, coaches, agents, club directors and owners. Shedding light on the inner workings of the football industry, this book is fascinating reading for any serious football fan and an essential resource for any student or scholar researching football, sport management or sport business.

A long-term study providing rare insights into the precarious career and ordinary working culture of professional footballers. Away from the celebrity-obsessed media gaze, the work of a professional footballer is rarely glamorous and for most players a career in football is insecure and short-lived. A former professional, Martin Roderick’s familiarity with the world of football is the foundation for this privileged research into a world that is typically closed to the public gaze and ignored by media reportage and academic research which prefers to focus on a small, unrepresentative group of elite players. Key themes explored within the text include: the culture of work in professional football the changing identity, orientation and expectations of players during their careers the fragile and uncertain nature of professional sport careers the performance and dramatic aspects of a career under public scrutiny the role of relationships with managers, owners, support staff and partners players' responses to the insecurities inherent in professional football such as injury, ageing, performance and transfer. The text deals with a wide range of issues of interest to sports students and academics, particularly those with a focus on the sociology of sport but also including sport development, sport management and coaching studies. The text will also be of interest to researchers in the fields of careers, industrial relations and the sociology of work.

Football is the world’s most popular sport and is entrepreneurial by nature. There is a constant need for entities and individuals involved with football to act or behave in an entrepreneurial way. Competition is part of the football industry and emphasises the need to compete but also collaborate through entrepreneurial endeavours. This book is amongst the first to focus specifically on football entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial nature of football. The book looks at entrepreneurship and how it can occur through direct and indirect engagement with football in a variety of contexts. It examines different types of football including gridiron, rugby and soccer and offers insights on the international aspects of football and how cultural aspects influence entrepreneurship. This book provides a holistic understanding of how football can include innovation, risk-taking and proactive activity and will be useful for those interested to learn more of the football industry and entrepreneurship in the global context.

Sport governance no longer stirs public opinion only when scandals surface; it has become a persistent concern for a number of stakeholders, such as the media, sport followers, and corporates that produce and sponsor sport. Contemporary sport governance is characterised by tension between sport’s potential for commercial benefit on the one hand and moral education and social development on the other. The perceived incompatibility of these two aspects has led to intense conversations in the media, administrative circles, and the public sphere about the need for ethics to be the key element of governance. The chapters in this volume explore the contemporary forms of governance that is structured by sport’s extensive transnational networks, shifts in what the stakeholders mentioned above understand by ‘ethics’, and the emergence of new stakeholders. They identify as the two major directions of contemporary sport governance the growing significance of the non-West, especially in relation to event hosting, and the need for controlling the behaviour of emergent interest groups. The latter is a complex constellation of athletes, officials, supporters, lawyers, and politicians who share power and collectively determine corporate and non-profit governance, legal aspects, and regulatory mechanisms from within their subjective locations. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue in Sport in Society.

Still the market-leading introduction to the science underpinning the world’s most popular sport New edition is fully updated throughout Multi-disciplinary approach, covering physiology, biomechanics, psychology, skill acquisition and performance analysis Includes contributions from world leading sport scientists and practitioners from the UK, US, Europe and South Africa Covers every aspect of training, testing, match preparation, recovery and match analysis

Practical Sports Coaching is a thorough and engaging guide for all sports coaching students and practitioners. Drawing on real-life case studies and examples, the book is designed to develop practical coaching skills and provides readers with the methods and tools they need to become an expert coach. Structured around all facets of the coaching process, the text comprehensively covers topics such as: preparation for coaching mentoring the philosophy of coaching direct intervention coaching methods the use of modern technology. The book’s practical approach allows the reader to consider common challenges faced by coaches, suggesting solutions to performance concerns and preparing students for the realities of professional sports coaching. A companion website containing presentation slides and useful weblinks makes the book a complete resource for students and lecturers alike. Practical Sports Coaching helps to bridge the gap between theory and practical coaching skills, and is an essential text for coaching students looking to deepen their understanding of sports coaching and experienced coaches developing their own practical skills.

This clear and accessible book is the first in-depth history of the role of the football manager in British football, tracing a path from Victorian-era amateurism to the highly paid motivational specialists and media personalities of the twenty-first century. Using original source materials, the book traces the changing character and function of the football manager, covering: the origins of football management – club secretaries and early pioneers the impact of post-war social change – the advent of the football business television and the new commercialism contemporary football – specialisation and the influence of foreign managers and management practices the future of football management. The Football Manager fully explores the historical context of these changes. It examines the influence of Britain's traditionally pragmatic and hierarchical business management culture on British football, and in doing so provides a new and broader perspective on a unique management role and a unique way of life.

Leadership and management lessons from the sports world. The world's elite athletes and coaches achieve high performance through inspiring leadership, mental toughness, and direction-setting strategic choices. Harvard Business Review has talked to many of these high performers throughout the years to learn how their success translates to the world of business. If you read nothing else on management lessons from the world of sports, read these 10 articles by athletes, coaches, and leadership experts. We've combed through our archive and selected the articles that will best help you drive performance. This book will inspire you to: Improve on your weaknesses, not just your strengths Take care of your body for sustained mental performance Increase your confidence and manage your energy before an important event Turn a struggling team around Understand the limits of performance metrics Focus on long-term goals to overcome setbacks Understand where the analogy of sports and business doesn't work This collection of articles includes "Ferguson's Formula," by Anita Elberse with Sir Alex Ferguson; "Life's Work: An Interview with Greg Louganis"; "The Making of a Corporate Athlete," by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz; "The Tough Work of Turning a Team Around," by Bill Parcells; "How an Olympic Gold Medalist Learned to Perform Under Pressure: An Interview with Alex Gregory"; "Mental Preparation Secrets of Top Athletes, Entertainers, and Surgeons," an interview with Daniel McGinn by Sarah Green Carmichael; "SoulCycle's CEO on Sustaining Growth in a Faddish Industry," by Melanie Whelan; "Life's Work: An Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar"; "Major League Innovation," by Scott D. Anthony; "Looking Past Performance in Your Star Talent," by Mark de Rond, Adrian Moorhouse, and Matt Rogan; "Life's Work: An Interview with Mikhail Baryshnikov"; "How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better," by Graham Jones; "Life's Work: An Interview with Joe Girardi"; "Why There Is an I in Team," by Mark de Rond; "Life's Work: An Interview with Andre Agassi"; and "Why Sports Are a Terrible Metaphor for Business," by Bill Taylor.

Why do England lose? Why does Scotland suck? Why doesn't America dominate the sport internationally...and why do the Germans play with such an efficient but robotic style? These are questions every soccer aficionado has asked. Soccernomics answers them. Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology, and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, Soccernomics reveals the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer. An essential guide for the 2010 World Cup, Soccernomics is a new way of looking at the world's most popular game.

The FIFA coach of the Century presents his thoughts and observations on the art of Team Building in the world of soccer and beyond. All the facets of the team building process, including team tactics and psychology, are included down to the minutest detail. Also included is how youth talent, per age group category, should be developed. And finally, how to set up training sessions to achieve the best results. All the chapters are interspersed with examples from Rinus Michels` personal experiences as a trainer. At the same time he gives a reference framework for everyone who is, on a daily basis, involved with the team building process: from youth and professional coaches to managers in the business world. Because of these unique examples, most of which were never published, this will be a fascinating book for anyone involved in a team building process.