England Football

On 30 November 1872, England took on Scotland at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow, a match that is regarded as the first international fixture. More than 5,000 fans watched the two sides play out a 0-0 draw. It was the first of more than a thousand games played by the side, and the beginning of a national love affair that unites the country in a way that few other events can match. In Hayward's brilliant new biography of the team, based on interviews with dozens of past and present players and coaches, we get a vivid portrait of all aspects of the team's story.

Dear England: The Real Story of the Three Lions Rebirth delves into Southgate's turbulent journey to being hired as England manager, to his emergence as a waistcoated cult figure and becoming the country's most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. Award-winning football writers Jonathan Northcroft and Rob Draper have had extraordinary access to the England team during Southgate's tenure and take us behind the scenes as they exclusively interview key backroom staff and players.

Donald Cameron, a young Scotsman, is commissioned to write a book on the outsider's view of the English. He sets about his task with enthusiasm, encountering along the way an array of richly comical characters including civil servants, newspaper editors, minor poets, a glamourous movie star, politicians, and many more. This satire of English eccentricity has become a classic of 20th century literature.

Daniel Gray is about to turn thirty. Like any sane person, his response is to travel to Luton, Crewe, and Hinckley. After a decade's exile in Scotland, he sets out to reacquaint himself with England via what he considers its greatest asset: football. Watching teams from the Championship (or Division Two as any right-minded person calls it) to the South West Peninsula Premier, and aimlessly walking around towns from Carlisle to Newquay, Gray paints a curious landscape forgotten by many.

This revealing look at the first 40 years of the New England Patriots captures the stories of passion, power, and struggles of one of the most remarkable franchises in sports. True Pats fans know that while today the team’s owner, coach, and stadium all rank among the best in the NFL, the early years were a much harder road. For decades the Patriots was a team known for having comically inept management and ownership, as well as the worst stadium in the NFL.

The national soccer teams of England and Germany have a rivalry spanning decades. What made the teams fierce competitors? How are both countries' fans involved in keeping this rivalry going?

How does an underdog become a champion? One of the most innovative, gutsy, and dynamic head coaches in the NFL reveals the strategies behind building the Eagles team that shocked the world by winning the Super Bowl. Doug Pederson is the very definition of an underdog. He was an undrafted rookie...