A celebration of football by award-winning sports writer Duncan Hamilton.  A massive audience in sitting rooms, parks and pubs watched England in the 2018 World Cup. Yet as Duncan Hamilton demonstrates with style, insight and wit in Going to the Match, watching on TV is no substitute for being there.   Hamilton embarks on a richly entertaining, exquisitely crafted journey through football. Glory game or grass roots, England v Slovenia or Guiseley v Hartlepool, he delves beneath the action to illuminate the stories which make the sport endlessly compelling.  Along the way he marvels at present-day titans Harry Kane, Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Paul Pogba, reflects on sepia-tinted magicians Stanley Matthews, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton and Pele, and assesses managerial giants from Brian Clough and Jose Mourinho to Arsene Wenger and Gareth Southgate.  The odyssey takes Hamilton from Fleetwood to Berlin, via Glasgow and a Manchester derby, making detours into art, cinema, literature and politics as he explores the game's ever-changing culture and character.  The result, like the L. S. Lowry painting that inspired the book, is a football masterpiece.   1. Language: English. Narrator: David Mounfield. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/hodd/002079/bk_hodd_002079_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

What does it mean to be a sporty woman in the 21st century? From the launch of Net-A-Sporter, serving up sports clothing for fashionistas, to the introduction of #plankie as the new Instagram selfie for yoga bunnies, exercise for women has finally gone mainstream. But if sweating has never been so hot for female celebrities, then why are there still so many obstacles for girls and women when it comes to sport? Why do girls still hate school sports lessons? Why is sport consistently defined as male territory, with TV cameras replicating the male gaze as they search out the most beautiful women in the crowd? Will women ever flock to watch football, rugby and boxing in their millions? Or turn up to the park with friends for a Sunday morning kick about? How long do we have to wait to see the first multimillionaire female footballer or basketball player? Eat Sweat Play is an engaging and inspirational work by sports writer Anna Kessel. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Anna Kessel. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/macm/000921/bk_macm_000921_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

For everyone in Britain, Motty, like Pele and Maradona, needs no other introduction. As the nation's best-known football commentator, he has had an unparalleled insight into sports broadcasting and the ups and downs of the game. With a career spanning over 40 years and 2,000 matches, including commentating on six World Cup Finals, Motson's time in the commentary box includes some unforgettable anecdotes. From his remarkable BBC years, the friendly rivalry between him and other talent, and the football legends he has met along the way (including icons such as Matt Busby, Brian Clough, and Bill Shankly), through to the darker times of Hillsborough and hooliganism, this is the story of an incredible career. Between 1979 and 2008, Motson was the BBC's main TV commentator for major cup finals, and he has commentated on a spectacular 50 major finals, including the FA Cup, World Cup, and European Championships. In 2001 he received an OBE for services to sports broadcasting. From grass roots to the highest level, Motty's passion and knowledge for the national sport are unrivalled as he shares all for the first time and guides us through his career with insight, humour, and honesty. 1. Language: English. Narrator: John Motson. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/rhuk/000475/bk_rhuk_000475_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

Cliff Morgan talks to sporting personalities of the past. In this recording he is in conversation with the first full-time manager of the England football team, Walter Winterbottom.Walter Winterbottom was the first full-time manager of the England football team. He was appointed in 1946 and held the job for sixteen years. In the 1930s he played for Manchester United but his on-field career was cut short by a spinal condition. Under his management England had mixed fortunes, with impressive results statistics set against some spectacular failures, notably the defeat by the United States in the 1950 World Cup. After leaving the FA he became director-general of the Sports Council. Sir Walter, who was knighted in 1978, died in 2002 at the age of 89. “Morgan the Magnificent” was the title given to Cliff Morgan by South African newspapers when he toured the country with the British Lions team in 1955.His success in that tour earned him the captaincy of Wales the following season. Cliff was born into a mining family in the Rhondda in 1930 and joined Cardiff Rugby Club straight from school, playing at fly-half. When his playing career ended in 1958 he joined the BBC, working as a TV commentator and producer. For the last ten years of his BBC career he was Head of Television Sport and Outside Broadcasts, with overall responsibility for the coverage of state occasions, as well as all major sporting events. After he retired from the staff of the BBC he became the presenter of the popular Radio 4 programme "Sport on Four". 1. Language: English. Narrator: Sir Walter Winterbottom, Cliff Morgan, OBE CVO. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/crim/000016/bk_crim_000016_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

Cliff Morgan talks to sporting personalities of the past. In this recording he is in conversation with the first full-time manager of the England football team, Walter Winterbottom. Walter Winterbottom was the first full-time manager of the England football team. He was appointed in 1946 and held the job for sixteen years. In the 1930s he played for Manchester United but his on-field career was cut short by a spinal condition. Under his management England had mixed fortunes, with impressive results statistics set against some spectacular failures, notably the defeat by the United States in the 1950 World Cup.After leaving the FA he became director-general of the Sports Council. Sir Walter, who was knighted in 1978, died in 2002 at the age of 89.“Morgan the Magnificent” was the title given to Cliff Morgan by South African newspapers when he toured the country with the British Lions team in 1955. His success in that tour earned him the captaincy of Wales the following season. Cliff was born into a mining family in the Rhondda in 1930 and joined Cardiff Rugby Club straight from school, playing at fly-half. When his playing career ended in 1958 he joined the BBC, working as a TV commentator and producer. For the last ten years of his BBC career he was Head of Television Sport and Outside Broadcasts, with overall responsibility for the coverage of state occasions, as well as all major sporting events. After he retired from the staff of the BBC he became the presenter of the popular Radio 4 programme "Sport on Four". 1. Language: English. Narrator: Sir Walter Winterbottom, Cliff Morgan, OBE CVO. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/crim/000018/bk_crim_000018_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

What are the odds against winning the Lottery, making money in a casino, or backing the right horse? Every day, people make judgements on these matters and face other decisions that rest on their understanding of probability: buying insurance, following medical advice, carrying an umbrella. Yet many of us have a frightening ignorance of how probability works. Taking Chances presents an entertaining and fascinating exploration of probability, revealing traps and fallacies in the field. It describes and analyses a remarkable variety of situations where chance plays a role, including football pools, the Lottery, TV games, sport, cards, roulette, coins, and dice. The book guides the reader round common pitfalls, demonstrates how to make better informed decisions, and shows where the odds can be unexpectedly in your favour. This new edition has been fully updated, and includes information on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Weakest Link", plus a new chapter on Probability for Lawyers.

What are the odds against winning the Lottery, making money in a casino, or backing the right horse? Every day, people make judgements on these matters and face other decisions that rest on their understanding of probability: buying insurance, following medical advice, carrying an umbrella. Yet many of us have a frightening ignorance of how probability works. Taking Chances presents an entertaining and fascinating exploration of probability, revealing traps and fallacies in the field. It describes and analyses a remarkable variety of situations where chance plays a role, including football pools, the Lottery, TV games, sport, cards, roulette, coins, and dice. The book guides the reader round common pitfalls, demonstrates how to make better informed decisions, and shows where the odds can be unexpectedly in your favour. This new edition has been fully updated, and includes information on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Weakest Link", plus a new chapter on Probability for Lawyers.

Barcelona and Real Madrid: two of the most powerful and popular clubs in world football, and one of the world's most bitter sporting rivalries. Going far beyond the boundaries of just sport alone, this is a rivalry at the heart of Spanish life, taking in politics and culture and splitting a country in two. El Clasico gets to the heart of that rivalry, investigating the intrigue, the larger-than-life characters, the key flashpoints and their consequences. From civil war bloodshed to 40 years of fascism and links with General Franco, the clubs' shared history is the stuff of a Robert Harris novel and includes: murdered presidents from both clubs, player kidnappings, acts of hooliganism - and that's before you start thinking of the volatile football matches themselves. The book contains numerous interviews with key figures such as Lus Figo and Hristo Stoichkov (two of the main hate figures from both clubs), Joan Laporta (Barcelona's most successful president and, having entered politics, Catalonian separatism's poster boy) and various ex-players, ex-managers, agents, referees, hooligans, editors, historians, sociologists, filmmakers, novelists, photographers, TV presenters and celebrity fans. The two clubs are packed with international superstar players - including the world's two best players in Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - and 10 of the starting 11 players from Spain's 2010 World Cup final victory play with either Barcelona or Real Madrid. This is a story with resonance around the sporting world, with many instantly recognisable figuresto an international audience such as Jose Mourinho. But it is also a tale of a country divided by a bitter rivalry. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Caroline Shaffer. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/adbl/009547/bk_adbl_009547_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

Several years after his playing career was cut short by injury before it had a chance to really begin, John Madden was hired as an assistant coach by the Oakland Raiders, one of professional football's most iconoclastic franchises. Two years later he was named the team's head coach and proceeded to lead the Raiders to five championship games in his first seven seasons. Following years of heartbreaking losses in some of history's most memorable games including the Immaculate Reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1972 Madden and the Raiders finally reached the mountaintop, winning Super Bowl XI and giving Oakland its first title. One year later, Madden abruptly left the game he loved, retiring with the second-best winning percentage in NFL history. Had John Madden's football career ended there, his life would still be remarkable. The fact that it was only just beginning has made him an American icon and a beloved legend to millions of fans across the globe. In Madden, longtime sports columnist Bryan Burwell has written the first comprehensive biography of this living legend. From his days as a star athlete in Daly City, California, Madden was driven to succeed, a trait that helped him persevere during his tumultuous years with the Raiders under Al Davis and compelled him to try his hand at broadcasting after his coaching career was over. Madden's incredible football knowledge, down-home sensibilities, and tireless work ethic made him arguably the most popular sports analyst in any sport and led to a long and storied career as a TV pitchman. In the third stage of his public life, the Hall of Fame coach became known to new generations of fans through his eponymous line of groundbreaking video games, which are among the best-selling titles of all time. Madden is an entertaining, enlightening, and often poignant look back at the life of one of the greatest coaches, broadcasters, and beloved ambassadors the game has ever known. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Mark Moseley. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/adbl/009599/bk_adbl_009599_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.