So began the Judge's dismissal of the case brought by the Crown Prosecution Service against Southampton manager Dave Jones. It brought to an end the living nightmare which Dave and his loyal family had endured since he had been wrongly accused of child abuse following a police operation known as 'trawling'. In this moving and heart-rending book, Dave and his wife Ann reveal the torment which the erroneous allegations brought, how it cost him his job as a Premier League manager and killed his father. But this is also a modern love story as Ann and Dave battled together to clear his name, allowing him to take on the new challenge of managing Wolves into the Premier League and leading Cardiff City to Wembley for the first time in 71 years. This book is no-holds-barred account of the case, the highs and the lows of Dave Jone's career and one couple's dignity and courage under extreme pressure.
Comeback 2.0 charts Lance Armstrong's return to the Tour De France after spending 3 years in retirement after beating cancer. Between his charity work and family, he found himself increasingly drawn back to competitive racing and in this amazing photo journal complete with personal high quality colour photographs, he tells the story of how he tackled his toughest competitive season ever.
Botham brought an irresistible cocktail of talent and swagger to cricket. With the aftermath of economic failure still in the air, he showed that Britain could still produce champions and made proud his working class roots. With exclusive interviews with over 100 figures in the sport, Simon Wilde tells the story of a great piece of British sporting history.
When Stephen Davison first met Martin Finnegan in 2003, it marked the beginning of an enduring friendship. Together they produced some of the best action shots in the sport's history and created an extraordinary record of a road racing life that was tragically cut short when Martin was killed at the Tandgradee 100 in May 2008. In over 150 pictures, Stephen Davison charts Martin's spectacular career - from his first race on the black stuff to the gruelling days of training and his glory days as a champion. Flying Finn is Davison's stunning tribute to Martin, a book that captures the spirit and heart of a road racing hero.
Having enjoyed a hugely successful career at some of Britain's largest clubs, Chris Sutton has played next to some of the biggest names in the world - Larsson, Shearer, Dalglish, Vialli. Bow the Celtic, Blackburn and Norwich legend opens his heart on his incredible life story and lifts the lid on the battle he fought on and off the pitch in a successful and controversial 15 year career.
The Gospel According to Merson ï ½ 19 Unforgettable lessons from the master, including: ï ½ Do not bet on Scotland on your wedding day. ï ½ Do not wax the dolphin before an England game. ï ½ Do not go to a Detroit gay bar with Paul Ince and John Barnes ï ½ Do not get so paranoid that you cant leave the house ï ½ Do not give Gazza the keys to the team bus ï ½ Do not tell Harry Redknapp youï ½re going into rehab only to bunk off to Barbados for a jolly.
Gary Speed Remembered is a fascinating and moving tribute to one of the greats of British football. It is the story of a player who enjoyed two decades at the top of his profession. Few men have earned more solid reputations in football than Gary Speed and the football world mourned his passing when he died in November 2011. Regarded as one of the greatest players in Premier League history, Speed broke into the Leeds United team as a teenager and spent 20 years as a professional, winning a Football League champion's medal and 85 caps for Wales. In a career that saw him play for Leeds, Everton, Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United, Speed was always a fan favourite and highly regarded for his skilful, yet combative style. After injuries forced him to stop playing, Speed concentrated on coaching and following three months in charge of Sheffield United, was appointed manger of the Welsh national team. There were some early disappointments, but Wales improved dramatically and won FIFA's 2011 annual award for the team showing the greatest improvement in the year. This heralded the belief that he was leading Wales into a new golden era, which made the news of his tragic death all the more saddening. Written by a celebrated journalist, who followed his career from its earliest days, Gary Speed Remembered details his life in football and contains interviews with many former friends, teammates and managers. Gary Speed was one of football's good guys and this book is a fitting tribute to a Welsh legend. The size of this book is 24cm in height and 16cm wide with 240 pages.
Welsh footballer Alan Curtis is synonymous with Swansea City, having played for the club during three different spells, but he also played for Leeds United, Southampton and Cardiff City, and won 35 caps for his country during an action-packed playing career that spanned two decades. Alan experienced the highs of the game at the top level with Swansea during their meteoric rise through all four divisions to reach the top flight, but this success came after he'd experienced the low of the Swans having to apply for re-election to the Football League in 1975. In this eventful autobiography, Alan recounts the topsy-turvy turns his career has taken, including a disappointing spell at Leeds United in 1979-80 where, despite being the club's most expensive signing ever at the time, a nasty clash with Peter Shilton left him sidelined for nine months. Determined to prove his critics wrong and overcome his injury, he played some of the best football of his career upon returning to Swansea, before moving to Southampton in 1983 to help the club challenge the Merseyside dominance at the time. Since his playing career wound down in 1987, Alan has remained in the game as a coach with both Swansea City and Wales, giving back to the game the wisdom and experience garnered from his years as a player. In Curt, Alan reflects upon his colourful career, highlights just how much the beautiful game has changed since his playing days and explains why he's living proof that nice guys don't always finish second. The size of this book is 24cm in height and 16cm wide with 237 pages.
In A Football Man, Giles tells the story of a dream pursued and realised beyond his wildest imaginings, from his humble beginnings in Ormond Square in 1940s Dublin, counting down the minutes to his next game of football, to that unforgettable moment when the original football man
His amazing amateur career saw him conquer Ireland and Europe before topping the World Amateur Rankings in 2007. But he really came to prominence with his superb opening three-under-par 68 in the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie. He went on to accept the Silver Medal as leading amateur.
Despite high expectations, Rory keeps a cool head on his young shoulders and lets his golf do the talking. In 2008 he entered the elite of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings and his maiden victory came in the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic where he endured a nail-biting final hole.
His final breakthrough came when in June 2011 he won his first major, the US Open at Congressional Country Club in Maryland, USA. Rory finished on an amazing total of sixteen under par to seal his place among the golfing greats. This is the fascinating story of one of golf
Ronnie Whelan was a mainstay of the iconic 1980s Liverpool FC side that won six League Championships, two FA Cups, three League Cups as well an unforgettable European Cup. Under the management of Kenny Dalglish, Whelan and his club team mates, including Alan Hansen, John Barnes and Bruce Grobbelaar, formed one of the finest club sides in English football history - a side that is dear to the hearts of Liverpool fans to this day. It was also, though, a time of great tragedy; when the twin disasters of Heysel and Hillsborough devastated the club and its supporters. In this frank and full-hearted autobiography, Ronnie Whelan tells the story of the good and the bad times at the club, as well as his international career with Ireland.
They boy from Dunblane opens up about dealing with the constant limelight and attention from a media and general public desperate for a genuine British tennis star, and gives the exclusive lowdown on Wimbledon 2008 as he prepares to launch his bid for grass-court glory. Temperamental, gifted, passionate, fiery: Murray is the dazzling new face of British tennis, and a role model for a whole generation. Andy's story will enthral and excite the entire country.
This book is a sympathetic yet probing examination of the mental and physical battles that beset England's most enigmatic cricketer on his way to the top. Author Tony Lawrence explains why the demons which threatened Harmison's Test career endure still...
Mel Charles found himself eternally in the shadow of his brother John, the 'Gentle Giant' of Juventus and Wales, considered one of the best of his generation. It was a question that stalked his career from a homesick schoolboy at Leeds to playing for his hometown club Swansea. Always the joker, larger than life Mel embarked on some hair-brained but hilarious business ventures after his football career ended. Now 75, but still celebrated by Welsh football fans as one of the heroes of 1958, 'Charlo' tells his own uplifting story.
As one of the leading footballers of his generation, gracing the upper echelons of the game, and the tabloid front pages with his breathtaking skills and larger than life off field persona. His much publicised battles with gambling, drugs and alcohol addiction are now behind him and now he's raided his treasure chest of terrific tales and maddening adventures to produce this indispensible guide to a career at both the top and bottom of the Beautiful Game.
In this remarkable new autobiography, Ted McMinn now lifts the lid on his incredible life and career for the first time. He tells how being abandoned by his mother spurred him on to play for Glasgow Rangers. He recalls how he helped them win a Cup Final by removing his own plaster after breaking his ankle, his time in Spain with Sevilla and his return to the UK when he scored one of the best goals of his career on his home debut for Derby County against Manchester United.
Determined, dedicated and dogmatic, Martyn Williams is the inspiring number seven Lynchpin who has steered club and country to victory in inimitable style. In his action-packed autobiography, he writes for the first time about his love for the sport he has made his own.
For all his faults, Higgins was, for a time, the most loved sportsman in Britain. He remains a legend and the most outstanding, charismatic snooker player who ever walked into an arena. Francis traces his crazy life from the time as a baby he was kept in a hoe box in his mother's top drawer, to the sheltered accommodation in Sandy Row, Belfast where he died.
If you want to know what kind of man could mesmerise and terrorise his way to the top; be acclaimed by millions one moment and literally thrown out of the pub the next; die in pitiful isolation yet be celebrated by thousands lining the streets in what amounted to a state funeral, the Who Was Hurricane Higgins? is a must-read.
Thirty-two-year-old Sam Sheridan, a Harvard graduate and former Marine, had always had a taste for adventure. So when he found himself in Australia, with time on his hands, cash in his pocket, and every intention of spending it, he realised he could finally indulge a long-held obsession: fighting. He began training hard, with the best of the best, and within a year he stepped through the ropes for a professional bout against a Japanese karate champion. far from putting him off, he was even more hooked, and he set out on an epic journey into the world of Ultimate Fighting and Mixed Martial Arts in an attempt to pin down not only his opponents, but exactly what it is drives a man to step into the ring. This book is the chronicle of Sheridan's quest. Welcome to the real Fight Club.
The memory of Bob Stokoe lives on. From his first football days at High Spen, this gritty terrier of a man made his mark wherever he went. Respected as possibly the best centre-half Newcastle United ever had, he is still referred to as 'The Messiah' at Sunderland. Regarded as a 'God' having achieved cult status at Carlisle United, Stokoe also worked miracles to transform Bury and Rochdale, and won European silverware at Blackpool. Bob Stokoe was all things to northern football. This is the biography of this late and great player and manager.
Fans idolised him, because he was not only an unparalleled inside forward, he would give his all for the cause for his team. Now, Denis looks back on his remarkable career and with lavishly reproduced photographs, reflects on his life on and off the pitch. A great storyteller, he brings to life that golden era, playing with and against some of the best to ever grace the pitch.
Graeme Swann's transformation from international outsider to England's match winner and indisputably the best spin bowler in the world has been remarkably rapid.
You cannot keep him out of the spotlight for long, and here the man whose irreverent 2010-2011 Ashes video diaries brought the sprinkler dance into cricket's consciousness combines his unique sense of humour with overwhelming honesty to recap his journey.
Colin Montgomerie was Europe's No.1 golfer for a record seven years in a row, with the reputation of being arguable the best player never to have won a Major. A key figure in the Ryder Cup, following the European team's win last September he also holds the enviable record of never having lost a Ryder Cup singles match.
The Real Monty is about the hero of the 1997, 1999 and 2002 Ryder Cup matches, the tournament that inspires him more than any other. It is the story of a prodigious talent and complex personality who is still determined to add to his already impressive achievements.
A much-loved sports personality throughout Ireland and Great Britain, Ruby writes in detail for the first time about his remarkable career. Ruby talks candidly and openly about the three working relationships in his life - with Paul Nicholls, Willie Mullins and his father, the legendary Ted Walsh - as well as laying bare the dynamic relationship that exists between him and jockey Tony McCoy both great friends and professional rivals. Ruby's extraordinary story, told with refreshing honesty and good humour, charts the rise and rise of an immensely talented and popular force in the world of sport.
The Fastnet Race is the world famous yacht race from the Isle of Wight to the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and back. The race of 1979 began in perfect weather conditions but within 48 hours, the deadliest storm in the history of modern sailing struck off the south coast of Ireland. By the time it had passed, the havoc caused was immeasurable. Even more devastating, it had mercilessly taken the lives of fifteen sailors. It had been Nick Ward's childhood ambition to sail in the Fastnet Race, and after being asked to join the crew aboard the 30-foot yacht Grimalkinit was a dream come true. But then the storm hit. Grimalkinwas capsized again and again, the skipper was lost overboard and after hours of struggle, three of the crew decided to abandon the boat for the liferaft. Nick and his fellow crewmember Gerry, both injured and unconscious, were left on the beleaguered yacht in the middle of the Irish Sea. Both were presumed dead, and were taken off the priority list for rescue. Gerry died a few hours later, and Nick was left to face the storm alone. Left for Dead is the tragic and inspirational story of Nick Ward's survival against all the odds. It is the story of an ordinary man who survived an extraordinary event. It was an experience which affected him so deeply that for over 25 years his story has remained untold - until now. The size of this book is 23.1cm in height and 15.6cm wide with 186 pages
Phil Vickeryï ½s career journey has been a remarkable oneï ½from schoolboy at Bude Haven Comprehensive in Cornwall to Englandï ½s World Cup final captainï ½from the training pitches of Gloucester and Wasps to the cauldron of a Test series with the British and Irish Lionsï ½from a pie and a pint to ice baths and deep-tissue massagesï ½from herdsman and qualified cattle inseminator to owner of a sports fashion label. Vickery has seen and done it all in life and in rugby, straddling the amateur and professional eras as one of rugbyï ½s best loved and most successful players. Raging Bull is his fascinating story.
Pepe Reina is a hero to the fans of Liverpool Football Club. The Reds' goalkeeper has established himself as one of the big stars at Anfield and worn the captains armband in the absence of Kop legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. Pepe: My Autobiography is the fascinating personal account of his rise to the top of the game. From winning the FA Cup, European Championship and World Cup, to the agony of a Champions League final defeat and surviving the off-pitch drama that tore one of the countries greatest football clubs apart. Pepe has witnessed first-hand the rise and fall of Rafa Benitez's Spanish revolution at Anfield and he gives revealing insight on some amazing Kop glory nights as well as the controversial departures of compatriots Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres. The gloves are off. THIS IS HIS STORY!
The only player to ever be named Man of Steel in successive years, the St Helens captain is arguably the most talented man to grace a rugby league field in modern times. Now Sculthorpe lifts the lid on a remarkable career. The highs and the lows; the friendships and the fall-outs; and where he feels his future really lies. It's a no-holds-barred account of one man's incredible rise to the top - and the steely determination which keeps him there.
No tennis player since Andre Agassi has captivated the world like Rafael Nadal. He's a rarity in today's sporting arena - a true sportsman who chooses to let his raw talent, dedication and humility define him. Rapidly closing in on his friend and rival Roger Federer's record haul of 16 grand slam victories, Nadal is an extraordinary competitor whose ferocity on court is made even more remarkable by his grace off it. This book takes us to the heart of Nadal's childhood, his growth as a player, and his incredible career. It includes memorable highs and lows, from victory in the 2008 Wimbledon final - a match that John McEnroe called the 'greatest game of tennis ever played' - to the injury problems that have frequently threatened his dominance of the sport, to becoming the youngest player of the open era to complete a career Grand Slam in 2010. It transports us from Nadal's lifelong home on the island of Majorca to the locker room of Centre Court as he describes in detail the pressures of competing in the greatest tournament in the world. It offers a glimpse behind the racquet to learn what really makes this intensely private person - who has never before talked about his home life - tick. And it provides us with a story that is personal, revealing and every bit as exciting as Nadal himself. This book has 304 pages and is 19.7cm x 12.6cm x 2.1cm.
From his emergence as a teenage prodigy to well past his fiftieth year W.G. dominated the game of cricket, taking 2, 876 first-class wickets and scoring 54, 896 first-class runs in a career lasting an incredible 43 years, from 1865 to 1908. His beard and massive frame made him instantly recognisable wherever he went and his gamesmanship and wit were legendary. Using contemporary accounts of W.G
Few champions have astonished the world as much as Lance Armstrong. A cancer survivor who went on to win the Tour de France an unprecedented seven times, he is an inspiration to millions. Brash and fiercely competitive, Armstrong has never been without close friends or bitter enemies, and his achievements have been dogged by accusations of doping and secrecy. With complete access to Armstrong and his inner circle, John Wilcockson explores what makes Armstrong unique. Bringing alive the drama of the races in which he smashed expectations time after time, Lance Armstrong gives the full story of a matchless champion.
He's a total rock 'n' roller. There's a bit of Mario in all of us - well, maybe not Gary Neville - but the rest of us most definitely.' Noel Gallagher Mario Balotelli is one of the most talked-about footballers in the Premier League: from his on-pitch talent to his off-pitch mishaps, he is one of those rare players whose fame has spread beyond Match of the Day and reached the watercooler. Everyone wants to know just what Super Mario will get up to next. Here, for the first time, fans are invited to take a glimpse into the private ponderings of the man who is famously unable to put on a bib without help. ..who set off fireworks in his own bathroom. ..who went to the shop for cleaning products and came home with a trampoline and a Vespa. ..who is rumoured to be allergic to grass. Just what, exactly, is going on underneath that famous mohican? The Secret Diary of Mario Balotelli is a must for all football fans and will have even Man U fans laughing out loud. The size of this book is 19.7cm in height and 12.8cm wide with 224 pages
One of the original Busby Babes, he grew up alongside the likes of Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton, and but for injury would have been abroad the plane which crashed at Munich, killing 23 people including eight of his team-mates and friends. Now for the first time he tells the full story of his incident-packed lifetime in the game, revealing the joy and the injustice, the sorrow and the controversy. He describes what it was like to work and play with Busby and Edwards, Charlton and Ramsey, Law and Best, and a host of other household names. Man and Babe is a moving tale of excitement, anguish and redemption, with humour never very far away.