Michael Calvin

Winner of The Times British Sports Book Award 2014. A fascinating insight into the enclosed world of football scouts in the UK A teenaged boy plays football in a suburban park. His name is Raheem Sterling. The call is made: “Get down here quick. This is something special”. Another boy is 8, going on 28. His name is Jack Wilshere. The referee, an Arsenal scout, spirits him away from Luton Town. A young goalkeeper struggles on loan at Cheltenham Town in League Two. His name is Jack Butland. Within months he will be playing for England. Welcome to football’s hidden tribe. Scouts are everywhere yet nowhere, faceless and nameless, despite making the informed decisions worth millions. Award-winning sportswriter Michael Calvin opens up their hidden world, examining their disconnected lifestyles, petty betrayals and unconsidered professionalism of men who spend long, lonely hours on the road.

The Nowhere Men

This is a book about football managers, live and uncut. A man punches the wall in a strategic show of anger. Another complains he has become a stranger to those he loves. A third relies on "my three a day: coffee, Nurofen and a bottle of wine." Yet another admits he is an oddity, who would prefer to be working in cricket. A fifth describes his professional life as "a circus". These are football managers, live and uncut. Arsene Wenger likens the job to "living on a volcano: any day may be your last". He speaks with the authority of being the longest serving manager in the English game, having been at Arsenal for 17 years. The average lifespan of a Football League manager is 17 months. Fifty three managers, across all four Divisions, were sacked, or resigned, in the 2012-13 season. There were fifty seven managerial changes in the 2013-14 season. What makes these men tick? They are familiar figures, who rarely offer anything more than a glimpse into their personal and professional lives. What shapes them? How and why do they do their job? Award-winning writer Michael Calvin provides the answers. Insecurity is a unifying factor, but managers at different levels face different sets of problems. Depending on their status, they are dealing with multi-millionaires, or mortgage slaves. Living on the Volcano charts the progress of more than 20 managers, in different circumstances and in different phases of their career. Some, like Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, are at the peak of their profession. Others, like Chris Hughton, Brian McDermott and Gary Waddock, have been sacked, and are seeking a way back into the game. They offer a unique insight into a trade which is prone to superficial judgement and savage swings in fortune. Management requires ruthlessness and empathy, idealism and cunning. Stories overlap, experiences intermingle, and myths are exposed.

Living on the Volcano

Thomas Bjorn

Eye-opening contributions from the stars of game make this a powerful, groundbreaking investigation into the mind of the professional golfer. In a ground-breaking expos of professional golf, Michael Calvin and Thomas Bjorn capture the distinctive nature of the game, and the principles and philosophies of players who dominate the world rankings.

The Secrets of Golf's Winners

Mind Game

This is the third part in Mike Calvin's football book trilogy. First he wrote about scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he wrote about the pressures of managers in Living on the Volcano. Now he writes about the players themselves, in his biggest and most ambitious book yet. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, No Hunger in Paradise is the definitive book on what it takes to make it as a professional footballer in this country, and the pitfalls, pressures and casualties along the way. From visiting gangs in council estates in Brixton which have produced England internationals, to £200 million training complexes in Manchester, which only breed jealousy and entitlement, Mike follows the stories of the most promising young players up and down the country. He also interviews parents, coaches, agents and top managers and players to get an overall picture of the system, which is rife with corruption and abuse. No Hunger in Paradise is full of powerful human stories: of the youngsters who fall through the cracks and of those who fall prey to the entitlement and distraction of money. But in the vein of Gladwell's Outliers, he also explores the inspirational stories of grit and of success, and attempts to find out what common traits unite the rare individuals who 'make it'.

How to Make It Is As Professional Footballer

No Hunger in Paradise

Toby Gutteridge

PRAISE FOR NEVER WILL I DIE 'Toby's sheer grit and determination is a powerful testament to his character. His story demonstrates the true nature of inner strength and courage. I think he's an inspiration to all of us.' Tom Hardy 'Inspirational. An amazing book.' Jason Fox 'The inspiring soldier who never gave up.' This Morning 'Toby's truly humbling journey will realign your benchmark for the words determination, hero and inspiration.' Victoria Pendleton CBE 'Toby has overcome more obstacle than anyone I know. His is a story of life triumphing over death, and shows the strength of the human spirit.' Nims Purja 'Motivational and powerful.' The Telegraph 'A truly inspiring story of an amazingly driven individual who refused to go quietly and fought back against all the odds.' Titch Cormack 'In international rugby we speak about putting your body on the line for your mates. Toby's inspirational story gives an unforgettable insight into the men who do that for real, in life or death situations. A remarkable book.' Dylan Hartley 'Nothing short of inspirational.' Ollie Ollerton 'Toby is one of life's most inspirational men with an amazing life story. He has endured great adversity but continues to face life head on.' Jodie Kidd ------------------------------ There's no pain, no theatrical agony. No screaming, no shouting. The kill shot is catastrophic and conclusive. I slump silently on to my knees and topple forward, head first, into the dirt. The lads have seen enough death to assume mine is instantaneous. The lights are out. That's him gone. Toby Gutteridge was only 24 when he was shot through the neck while operating behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. He survived despite not breathing for at least 20 minutes. Back in the UK, doctors recommended that his life support machine be switched off, but with the defiant spirit that would define his recovery, Toby pulled through. Now quadriplegic, capable of movement only with his head, Toby has rebuilt his life. His is an extraordinary story of survival against overwhelming odds, and of the power of the human spirit to overcome extreme adversity. Brutally honest and authentic, he builds a compelling picture of the type of person produced by the Special Forces system, and tells of how one split second changed the course of his life forever. Powerful and inspiring, Never Will I Die is a universal story of life triumphing over death.

The inspiring Special Forces soldier who cheated death and learned to live again

Never Will I Die

Football has never seemed so distant from its fans. Many have been alienated by the greed and shameless self-interest of the Premier League, and no one can predict how the global game will look post-pandemic. In Whose Game Is It Anyway?, Sunday Times best-selling author Michael Calvin searches for a reason to believe. Written at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, the book is a thought-provoking, deeply personal account of the role sport - and particularly football - plays in everyday life. Part memoir, part manifesto, it takes the reader on a tour of the world's greatest sporting occasions and into its outposts in sub-Saharan Africa, the Amazon Basin and the Southern Ocean. Drawn from Calvin's experience as an award-winning sportswriter, covering every major sports event over 40 years in more than 80 countries, it offers first-hand insight into such icons as Muhammad Ali, Maradona and Sir Bobby Charlton. With settings ranging from a jungle clearing to a township in apartheid South Africa, this is sport as you've never seen it before.

Whose Game Is It Anyway?

From the award-winning author of NO HUNGER IN PARADISE Outside the global spotlight, footballers don't drive Aston Martins or pose for underwear ads. This is war. This is life. This is football. Michael Calvin turned up for the first day of pre-season training at Millwall FC. 333 days later, he sat among the subs at Wembley. Over the course of a season, he witnessed the intimate everyday life of a football club far from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, and the unique characters that come together every day on the field. These are dedicated, hard-working family men, close to their roots, 'playing for the people who hate their jobs, who'd love our lives.' Forget about the over-hyped circus of the Premier League. This is the beautiful game in all its raucous glory: essential reading for anyone whom football is a way of life.

Life, Death and Football: A Year on the Frontline with a Proper Club

Family

Shortlisted for the British Sports Book Awards 2018 “What’s your dream, son?” A six year-old boy, head bowed, mumbles the eternal answer: “Be a footballer....” Steadman Scott, football’s most unlikely talent scout, smiles indulgently, and takes him in from the street. He knows the odds. Only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play organised youth football in England will become a Premier League pro. That’s a success rate of 0.012 per cent. How and why do the favoured few make it? What separates the good from the great? Who should they trust – the coach, the agent or their parents? Michael Calvin provides the answers on a journey from non-league grounds to hermetically sealed Premier League palaces, via gang-controlled sink estates and the England team’s inner sanctum. He interviews decision makers, behavioural specialists, football agents and leading coaches. He shares the hopes and fears of players and their parents. He exposes bullying and a black economy in which children are commodities, but remains true to the dream.

The Players. The Journey. The Dream

No Hunger In Paradise

First he revealed the extraordinary lives of football scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he unearthed the pressures on football managers in Living on the Volcano. Then he chronicled the hardships of young players striving to make it in No Hunger in Paradise. Now in State of Play, in what marks the pinnacle of a career investigating the human stories of football, Michael Calvin turns his eye to the biggest story of all - the game itself. From mental health to money, concussion to Champions league, fan-owners to oligarchs, women's football to world cups, Calvin gets under the skin of the beautiful game, and reveals why it is truly the game of our lives. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with leading figures around the world, from Arsene Wenger to Steven Gerrard, Calvin reveals the winners, the losers, the politics, the pleasure, the hope, and the despair of the world's most popular sport

Under the Skin of the Modern Game

State of Play

Joey Barton

L'autobiographie passionnante du "bad boy" du football anglais. "​Je sais ce que vous pensez : ma place est derrière les barreaux. Je suis une brute, un homme des cavernes, le déshonneur de la société. Je suis celui qui a souillé le sport préféré des hommes, le football. Mais tout n'est pas aussi simple que vous le pensez." Vous croyez connaître Joey Barton parce que vous avez regardé, fasciné, l'une des multiples compilations des agressions, bagarres de rue, altercations avec ses propres coéquipiers, dans lesquelles il a été impliqué. Vous ne confieriez pas votre fille à un homme marqué par une enfance difficile à Liverpool, qui a collectionné les cartons rouges et que ses excès ont fini par conduire en prison. Et pourtant, vous avez un doute. Car vous savez que l'on dit de lui qu'il est l'un des footballeurs les plus engagés et les plus intelligents qui soient. Vous savez aussi qu'une saison lui a suffi pour s'imposer comme une figure marquante de l'OM, où la banderole qui l'accueillit résume bien l'amour que lui portèrent les supporters: " Welcome, Sweet and Tender Hooligan ". Et s'il fallait voir au-delà des apparences ? C'est ce que permet cette autobiographie marquante, dans laquelle Joey Barton se raconte pour la première fois, sans filtre ni faux-semblants, tout au long d'une carrière en montagnes russes qui l'a mené de Manchester City aux Glasgow Rangers, en passant par l'OM et la sélection anglaise. Un livre à son image : cru, brutalement honnête, intelligent, émouvant, passionnant. Son manuel de survie dans le monde du football et une immersion dans les vestiaires de Premier League et de Ligue 1. Joey ne s'épargne pas : il reconnaît ses erreurs et revient sur les polémiques qui ont accompagné sa carrière. Il raconte la prison, et explique comment sa détention a marqué un tournant dans sa vie. Et l'on comprend que oui, à sa façon unique, Joey Barton est un gendre idéal.

Sweet and tender hooligan

Thomas Bjørn

Eye-opening contributions from the stars of game make this a powerful, groundbreaking investigation into the mind of the professional golfer. * SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS * Professional golf is the most remorseless of sports, unique in the complexity of its demands. Technical perfection must be produced in short, concentrated bursts of synchronised movement. Huge mental strength is required. Why, then, do we know so little about what it takes to succeed - even survive - at the highest level? What separates the good from the great? What are the rituals of preparation and execution? How does an elite team come together? In a truly groundbreaking exposé of professional golf, Michael Calvin and Thomas Bjorn - captain of the 2018 European Ryder Cup Team - capture the distinctive nature of the game, and the principles and philosophies of players who dominate the world rankings. With unprecedented access to the European Tour players, and in-depth interviews with the European Ryder Cup team, Calvin reveals a sport which operates entirely within the finest margins of excellence.

The Secrets of Golf’s Winners

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD Award-winning author of The Nowhere Men, Living on the Volcano and No Hunger in Paradise returns with his magnum opus on the state of modern football First he revealed the extraordinary lives of football scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he unearthed the pressures on football managers in Living on the Volcano. Then he chronicled the hardships of young players striving to make it in No Hunger in Paradise. Now in State of Play, in what marks the pinnacle of a career investigating the human stories of football, award-winning writer Michael Calvin turns his eye to the biggest story of all - the game itself. From mental health to money, concussion to Champions league, fan-owners to oligarchs, women's football to world cups, Calvin gets under the skin of the beautiful game, and reveals why it is truly the game of our lives. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with leading figures around the world, from Arsene Wenger to Steven Gerrard, Calvin reveals the winners, the losers, the politics, the pleasure, the hope, and the despair of the world's most popular sport.

Michael Calvin

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