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  • The People's Game: How to Save Football

  • A View From a Front Seat in Football
  • By: Gary Neville
  • Narrated by: Mark Hadfield
  • Length: 9 hrs
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (81 ratings)

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The People's Game: How to Save Football

By: Gary Neville
Narrated by: Mark Hadfield
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Summary

A passionate and personal account of how football has lost its soul by former player and leading pundit, Gary Neville.

The beautiful game is under threat. The greed and selfishness of the biggest clubs is harming the game—leaving other clubs struggling for financial survival and supporters behind.

It's time to fix football.

Football is the people's game. A sport accessible to everyone and enjoyed by millions around the world. But football is broken. Beneath the glamorous sheen of the Premier League, it's a game that's rusting and rotten. The growing influence and wealth of the biggest teams is harming the game, leaving fans out of pocket and other clubs clinging to survival. This isn't what football is about.

Gary Neville has had a front-row seat in football for over 30 years, witnessing the sport at every level—as a player, a coach, a pundit and an owner. Most of all, he's a fan.

The People's Game is Gary's vision for a brighter future. Drawing on interviews with those at the epicentre of the sport's biggest issues—from the role of ownership to the lack of funding in the football league, the rise in racism and the future of the women's game—he explains how football has sleepwalked into this mess and offers a new way forward. With stories from his own playing career, as well as insight into some of the biggest footballing decisions in recent history, this is a total look at the game today.

This is a passionate, personal and critical account of how football lost its soul, and what we can do to get it back.

©2022 Gary Neville (P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
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What listeners say about The People's Game: How to Save Football

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

How did this performance get given the green light?

The content is ok, a lot of reliving things we were all there for which is a little disappointing. But I guess having it collected and organized has value. It’s in desperate need of a good editor. Lots of repetition due to the different contributors retreading the same ground, but even Gary is regularly repeating himself.
The performance is woeful. Genuinely makes it hard to listen and destroys the content. Either get the actually people doing the voices or accept we have imaginations and just deliver it normally. The budget impressions are cringeworthy to put it politely.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great summary of views on football governance

a range of voices representative of voices in the football community on all things football governance. has a Neville slant, but understandable.
still worth a read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Where was Gary?!

The content was great and really thought provoking. The biggest shame was that it wasn't narrated by Gary Neville - seems like an opportunity missed! The section where it had loads of different people talking was a bit tricky to follow - I kept forgetting which person was talking.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Didn’t touch on one of the Key issues !

This was a good read. Very different to Gary’s first book but still interesting. However I feel he missed an opportunity to discuss the massive issue about the price we the general public have to pay BT and Sky to watch these games (including no 3pm Saturday games) I wonder why…. Oh yeah, he’s employed by Sky !!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Neville, but disappointingly, without Neville

Great content as you'd expect from Neville, but not the same without him narrating, despite being listed as so when preordering. Gave up when someone trying to do a Scouse accent started to narrate Jamie Carragher's part. Will return and buy the book instead.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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AMAZING

I am a big fan of Gary Neville as a Manchester United and England fan very interesting read 10 out of 10 would definitely recommend it all remember football is nothing without the fan's

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lot of issues to tackle

Good book - pulls together many different strands and highlights the challenges facing football & society - as someone who works in finance it is startling to see where the game is at in relation to the lack of financial controls and covenants that are absent at some / most clubs in England - I agree they need an FSA type body to oversee good governance - fixed covenant metrics will work here but Fixed £ caps will not - amazing insight into Bury FC’s demise and the history of the Women’s game - I would urge you to read it and before doing so leave any tribal partizan feelings behind

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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interesting

bought the book as I can listen to Gary Neville all day long discuss all things football and always agree with him.

it's all very well researched and interesting.
would have liked more on the super league as it seemed over very quickly and more on the glazers I guess but it is very encompassing from all angles and aspects of all issues from sexism, racism, asset stripping and parasitic owners in the game

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very thought provoking

This book really informed and raised important issues. A very engaging listen.

Only criticism is the narrator who did Gary Neville’s mother’s voice. The accent was awful. Would have been nicer to hear a natural Lancastrian accent not a poor impression of one.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Awful narration

The reviews are right. Good book but the narration is awful. Gary Neville’s mum just made me burst out laughing.
Why couldn’t Gary Neville narrate his own book?

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