Malcolm Allison is one of the most controversial figures of the last half-century of English football. Leader of the famed 'West Ham Academy', his playing career was cut short by the loss of a lung to tuberculosis. Disillusioned, he became a professional gambler before acknowledging that football was his calling. After humble beginnings as a coach, he began a celebrated partnership with Joe Mercer, turning Manchester City into one of the most stylish teams English football has produced. Along with the trophies came the birth of Big Mal, the larger-than-life personality who helped revolutionise televised football. He became instantly recognisable for his cigar and Fedora, and equally notorious for a string of affairs with beautiful women. As the dark side of Big Mal took over, he was banned for life from the touchlines, became embroiled in a series of boardroom battles and spent time in police cells and rehabilitation clinics fighting the...

"When England cricket captain Tony Greig announced that he intended to make the West Indies 'grovel', he lit a fire that burned as intensely as the sunshine of Britain's long hot summer of 1976. Spurred on by what they saw as a deeply offensive remark by a white South African, Clive Lloyd's touring team made Greig pay through the exciting batting of Viv Richards and the frightening pace of bowlers Michael Holding and Andy Roberts. Grovel! provides a fascinating study of the events and social issues surrounding one of the sport's most controversial and colourful tours. - Runner-up in Best Cricket Book category at both the British Sports Book Awards and Cricket Society Book of the Year - Forthright foreword by Tony Greig, in which he addresses one of the most infamous comments in cricket history - Featuring interviews with key figures from English and West Indian cricket - Addresses all the vibrant sporting storylines of the series, while examining the darker undercurrent that existed in a period of ongoing racial tension around the country - Traces the origins of the great West Indies team of the 1970s and 80s which featured in the film Fire of Babylon"

A coach transported to the field in a hearse as he played dead. An English manager taken at gunpoint to an Argentinian jail after trying to sign that country's World Cup captain. The hero of 1966 who talked his team out of going on strike on the eve of a title decider. All are part of the British professionals' story of life in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 1970s and early '80s, when star turn and unsung journeyman alike had the chance to play alongside Pelé, Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Eusebio in the greatest galaxy of world stars ever assembled in one league. Playing for Uncle Sam recalls the British players and coaches who were part of an organisation that changed the face of football with its shoot-outs, offside rule and wacky marketing methods.It began with Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers spending a bizarre summer posing as the Cleveland Stokers and Los Angeles Wolves in 1967. The late '70s saw the NASL, run by a former Welsh...