Jumpers for Goalposts


Book Description

Jumpers For Goalposts is a fascinating reflection on the history of British soccer, which examines why the charm, innocence, and good humor has disappeared from today's game, compared to the golden days of yesteryear. Smyth considers everything from the huge wage bills, to players' lack of loyalty to their clubs, and their escapades off the pitch. He concludes that the true beauty of football is when it's at its simplest. Including anecdotes from players, past and present, and other sporting insiders, Jumpers For Goalposts is an exhaustive study of whether football has lost its charm—and, perhaps more importantly, whether it can ever get it back.




Moving the Goalposts


Book Description

Martin Polley provides a survey of sport in Britain since 1945 and examines sport's place in British culture. He discusses issues of class, gender, race, commerce and politics, as well as analysing contemporary sport.




Shades


Book Description

Long before the deaths of Wales manager Gary Speed and Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke shocked football, the Scottish game was forced to deal with a numbing death of its own over Christmas 1985. International full-back Erich Schaedler, aged 36, was found dead in a Borders beauty spot, with a shotgun by his side and no suicide note or motive for taking his own life. A straightforward suicide? So it seemed at the time, but family and friends are not so sure, and to this day mystery surrounds his tragic death. Schaedler's loss was felt deeply in the game. He was one of the fittest, hardest men in Scottish football, and appeared indestructible. Fearless and ferocious as a player but a gentleman and genial character off the pitch, Schaedler stood out from the crowd with his lung-bursting runs, long throw-ins and dedicated fitness. Enjoying a career encompassing clubs such as Stirling Albion, Hibernian's Turnbull's Tornadoes team of the 1970s, Dundee, Dumbarton and, of course, the Scotland international team of 1974 World Cup fame, he proved how far hard work and commitment can take a professional sportsman.For the first time, Shades presents an intimate portrait of an incredible man, pieced together by his family, friends, managers, trainers and teammates, who share their memories of a man lost in his prime and a person who enriched the lives of all he knew, both on and off the pitch.




And the Leader is.....


Book Description

And the Leader Is... Gareth Chick's second leadership coaching book, is a critical mentoring guide in business culture, management and organisational behaviour, showing us how to lead effectively with heightened Corporate Emotional Intelligence (CEQ). Drawing on his 40 year experience in every aspect of the Corporate World, from CEO to performance coaching; from manager to trainer, Gareth Chick covers the fundamentals of emotional intelligence coaching to create high performance teams through transformational leadership and authentic change management. In his first book Corporate Emotional Intelligence Gareth provided a compelling analysis of Corporate Psychology; giving us a profound new understanding of how working in the business environment can cause thoroughly decent human beings to behave in unnatural and inhuman ways. The book concluded by outlining the 4 Pillars of Corporate Emotional Intelligence (CEQ), equipping us with personal development strategies to raise our leadership effectiveness. And the Leader Is... completes Gareth's personal corporate life mission to give hard pressed modern managers the practical competencies to be more effective leaders, more fulfilled and more sustainable. While each of his two leadership books stands on its own merits, the combination of the two forms arguably the most important work on corporate leadership since Dr Edwards Demings' writings of the late 20th Century. It is fitting therefore that the Foreword is written by Tony Barnes, the last surviving member of the Deming team that revolutionised Japanese business and manufacturing practices in the 1950s and 1960s. "A bible of common sense; a book that cuts to the core of achieving great business results whilst caring for the people you lead." Fionnuala Meehan, VP EMEA Global Marketing Solutions and Head of Ireland, Google "It's like no other book I've ever experienced. It's intensely personal - the insights, the examples, the honesty. This is much more than a book. It's a deep journey." Alison Platt, Non Executive Director, Tesco Plc "I have read many great books on coaching, leadership and teams. However, this is even greater, with all of these areas more expertly placed in one book". Becky Ivers, People Director - Expansion, Heathrow Airport "I was transported into `And the Leader is....Tina'. Easy to read `brain food' providing simple strategies to unlock human potential. This book is becoming my own personal coach." Tina Jennings, HR Director, Global Consumer Brands, Walgreens Boots Alliance




Calum's Tough Match


Book Description

'Ferguson picks up the ball inside the Scottish half and he's off. He skips round England's Dawes. . . nutmegs Bryan. . . shoots. . . and SCORES! Goal for Scotland in the 89th minute of this World Cup quarter-final! England are on their knees. Ferguson sends the Scottish fans crazy. What a player!' Don't miss a minute of the non-stop action as 10-year-old Calum Ferguson goes from struggling to settle into a new town whilst fighting for his place on the school football team to impressing scouts, proving themselves and contending with arch rivals. Scotland Stars F.C. books are packed with excitement on and off the field, as well as loads of extras like character cards to collect and football tips, puzzles and games. Caleytown’s P6 boys have come so far, but they’ve still got to beat their old rivals Muckleton in the playoffs if they want a place in the National Soccer Sevens Tournament. There’s a longstanding tradition of pranking between these two teams, and Calum and Leo are feeling the pressure to make this year more hilarious than ever... Their headteacher has threatened to forfeit the tournament if they pull a prank on Muckleton. Will they risk it anyway -- and have they forgotten how important the tournament is to them?




Life Will See You Now


Book Description

Best selling author, award winning comedian and international keynote speaker Gavin Oattes challenges you to live life better than you have to, to never be afraid of your own style and to blow your own god damn mind for a change. Cast your mind back to that album that changed your life? The riffs, the hooks and the lyrics that blew your mind? That movie that moved your whole world and assured you that life was going to be special? Transporting you to a place you’d never been before, the opening chapter of that book that changed your life forever? The hairs on the back of your neck stood, adrenaline rushed through your entire body with the weight of the world gone from your young shoulders. Energised, inspired, alive, all in and ready to turn up to this wonderfully f*cked up thing we call life. Close your eyes and remember that feeling right there in that moment? Life Will See You Now is a rousing, uplifting anthem that will inspire you to put down your phone, rediscover what truly matters and completely rethink what ‘making it’ in life actually means. A personal development title with a difference – there’s no step-by-step guide and no map to change your life – instead, it provides you with hilarious, real life inspiration, motivation and energy to figure it out for yourself and rediscover that wee piece of magic you had when you were just five years old. Oattes makes the argument – backed by both positive psychology and an abundance of childlike wonder – that in an anxious world ruled by pressure, ego and other people’s expectations, we are all incredibly lucky to be alive at a time where kindness, gratitude, play and ice-lollies really do matter. Remember, you don't have to do what everyone else is doing. . .




Child Welfare in Football


Book Description

Sport and those who run it have an important duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of young participants. This text presents the findings of a unique research project into the experiences of a wide range of stakeholders in contemporary youth soccer, exploring crucial issues of child protection, social policy, and the culture and governance of sport. It covers: The youth soccer context — twenty-first century family life, the sports policy background, and the organisation, governance and culture of the English game Research findings — the experiences of children and young people, parents and carers, coaches, teachers, referees, Child Protection Officers, Football Development Officers, and those involved in women’s, disability and professional soccer Issues in social policy research — methodological, ethical and management challenges Conclusions and implications — the benefits and limitations of different approaches to the protection of children and young people in sport. For researchers, professionals and decision-makers, this text provides important new insight into the impact of child protection policies, and into the potential for evidence-based practice in youth sport.




Completely Conkers


Book Description

Who would live in a country where no child is allowed to win a race on sports day and you can lose your job for forwarding an ‘Irish joke’ email? About 60 million Britons, that’s who! Completely Conkers is a laugh-out-loud collection of ludicrous laws, political correctness gone mad, and ridiculous red tape.




Get Your Head in the Game


Book Description

Get Your Head in the Game is the first book to tackle the issue of mental health and its relationship with the most popular sport in the world, football. Football is more than just a sport; the pitch reveals emotion in the extreme, from the glory of goals, the thrill of comradeship, the rollercoaster of club loyalty, through to the immense pressure of expectation, fear of injury, and crushing defeat. Fans, players, managers, coaches, and even those new to the sport can't help but be swept up by the drama at the heart of the beautiful game. But when players at the peak of their physical fitness commit suicide, or poor mental health derails careers, there can still be a stunned silence in the community, a lack of connection. In Get Your Head in the Game, Dominic Stevenson, a writer, player, coach, and lifelong football obsessive, interviews a diverse cross-section of characters in the football world, from fans to managers, from players at the start of their careers to retired veterans, women's football stars, international celebrities, refugee footballers and mental health professionals. Football is more than just a sport. The pitch reveals emotion in the extreme: from the glory of goals, the rollercoaster of club loyalty, through to the immense pressure of expectation, fear of injury, and crushing defeat. Fans, players, managers, coaches and even those new to the sport can't help but be swept up by the drama of the beautiful game. But when players at the peak of their physical fitness commit suicide, or poor mental health derails careers, there can still be a stunned silence in the community, a lack of connection. Dominic Stevenson, a writer, player, coach and lifelong football obsessive, interviews a diverse cross-section of characters in the football world to try to understand this lost connection between the sport and the mind. This book contains contributions from internationally renowned players such as Sam Hutchinson, Chris Kirkland, Ella Masar, John Harkes and Iffy Onoura. From voices at top clubs around the globe including Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and DC United, to the stories of smaller clubs and unsung heroes behind the scenes, Dominic reveals personal battles both on and off the pitch, touching on anxiety, depression, discrimination, trauma, identity and recovery.




Business and the Beautiful Game


Book Description

Extract from cover: Provides a framework for a fresh way of thinking about business, helping readers to remember what's important, on and off the pitch and in and out of the workplace...this book makes useful observations without taking the business world too seriously.