OUT NOW!
#treble@25
Three Games in May takes us all the way back to Manchester United’s final three matches of the 1998/99 season.
Prior to these games, United had won nothing that year.
However, what unfolded over those 11 days at the end of May would see them complete THE most unique of trebles, and it all came down to the final few seconds of the Champions League Final at the Camp Nou.
Drama at its finest!
By chronicling the twenty-year period of 1989 to 2009, including anecdotes from the players, fans, and journalists who witnessed the historic events first-hand, Three Games in May provides a unique perspective on the events leading up to those fateful three games, as well as the three great dynasties that Sir Alex Ferguson built at Old Trafford; a period that began with United’s greatest-ever manager facing the sack!
A must-read for all Manchester United supporters, Three Games in May demonstrates that there is more to the story than those three trophies and takes the reader on a nostalgic journey through all the trials, tribulations, and, ultimately, the glory. For every copy sold a donation will be made to Prostate Cancer UK. Please click on the link below to purchase the book
NEW!
Out Now ...
Available to pre-order now with official release date as 7 September 2023
Shaun Teale’s football story is one of rejection, perseverance, belief and, ultimately, success, as he reached the very top of the game. He was 24 when he finally became a professional footballer. He never took it for granted and made the most of every second of it.
Here, There & Everywhere tells the story of Shaun’s journey from the brutal world of non-league football in the eighties through to cup final glory in the nineties and beyond.
During his spells with Southport, Weymouth, Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Tranmere, Preston, Carlisle, Motherwell, Burscough and Northwich Victoria, Shaun played with and against some of the world’s greatest players and was managed by some of the biggest names in football.
Shaun tells his story the same way he played – honest, tough and wearing his heart on his sleeve.
“He’s here. He’s there. He’s every f**king where.”
He’s Shaun Teale!
Under the Floodlights
Under the Floodlights – The story of the English Football League Cup is the fascinating story of a new competition formed in 1960 that was born out of rejection from a new and radical league format. It was called the League Cup and originally an idea from Sir Stanley Rous. The competition began under the guidance of the then, Football League Secretary, Alan Hardaker. The idea was to play midweek cup matches under the floodlights and would serve to be an alternative competition to the FA Cup. However, it was originally met with indifference from clubs and derision from the Fleet Street journalists.
Not all teams entered the competition in its early years, and it did not capture the imagination of the football fan up and down the land. The format of the competition went through several changes, and it wasn’t until 1967, that it really picked up traction when the final was moved to Wembley. Before then, the final was a two-legged affair between teams played home and away during a time when it was feared that the competition would not survive. However, it then went from strength to strength with all 92 clubs competing over the next few years with a European place given to those to explore new lands.
Unlike the FA Cup, it has featured clubs in the final from the bottom tiers of the Football League and it has given opus to those clubs who have never appeared in the final of the more prestigious FA Cup, let alone win it.
As the competition celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2025, the book tells the complete story of the first 64 seasons and features contributions from the people that were there – the players, fans, managers, journalists and match officials.
Under the Floodlights will be released by Pitch Publishing on 5th August 2024
The day I met THE DON!
I recently spent a lovely afternoon in the company of League Cup royalty. Of course I am talking about none other than the legend which is Don Rogers. And it took place in his Sports shop in Swindon. Don's two goals in extra-time in the 1969 final against Arsenal cemented his place in the hall of fame of this famous competition. We spoke about the build up to the final and Don and his lovely wife, Jane, provided me with some great stories that are in the book - Under the Floodlights. Don is also a Manchester United fan and it was a pleasure to present him with a copy of Three Games in May
Kenny's winning habit!
One of the many contributions to Under the Floodlights came from the legend that is Kenny Hibbitt. Kenny was a League Cup winner in 1974 and 1980 for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also scored the first goal against Manchester City, fifty years ago.
Kenny was a true gentleman to work with and here he is at home with some great pictures and memories!
Another happy reader!
It was lovely to meet up with Graham Bracey who has supported Reading home and away since the sixties. Graham told me a great story about the match when Reading hosted Arsenal in the 2012-2013 season in the competition. The match in question set a record for the most goals scored in a single game, which has since been matched. And both feature in the book.
A great endorsement from a fine Broadcaster and Writer!
I was very pleased to hear from one of the UK's finest Journalists, who has received his copy of Under the Floodlights. Aidan Magee has worked for Sky Sports and more recently, GB News. Aidan is a massive QPR fan who also contributes to their matchday experience.
He won it as a player and a manager!
It was wonderful to have Brian Little contribute to the book. Brian is one of a handful of elite footballers that won the League Cup as a player and a manager.
2025
Five Years (Cinque Anni) - The Story of the Italian national team: 2017 ~ 2022
When it comes to international football, Italy dine on the finest tables. Crowned FIFA World Champions on four occasions. The ‘Azzurri’ have also won the coveted UEFA European Championships on two separate occasions as well.
They are the only nation to ever win both competitions at the first time of asking as well as the first to successfully retain the World Cup.
The last time that they had not qualified for the World Cup Finals was 1958, so for the Italians to not qualify for two consecutive finals in 2018 and 2022 sent seismic shock waves through the world of football. What made this even more fascinating was that sandwiched in-between these two failures, was success in the European Championships set to the backdrop of a world severely impacted by one of the deadliest pandemics on record.
The book will tell the story of how all this happened. The agony and the ecstasy. The tears and the laughter.
It begins with the history of the game in Italy and how the national team was formed. It will detail the journeys to Glory on the World and European stages and how and why the fall from grace to resurrection and back again happened on the pitch in those five years.
It will be a must read for not only fans of the Italian game, but to anyone with an interest in the fine line in Sport that separates winning and losing!
In the WORKS ...
Aston Villa Football Club. The aristocrats of English football and one of the founding members of the Football League and the Premier League. They are steeped in the finest traditions and woven into the fabric of football in England, winning 21 major trophies including the pinnacle of being crowned Champions of Europe in 1982.
Not many teams can say that!
Aston Villa’s standing cannot be underestimated, and they have shone lights whenever and wherever they have played for many decades. However, those lights dimmed and turned to darkness during the second decade of the 21st century after the untimely departure of Martin O’Neill just days before the start of the 2010-2011 season. It hit hard, especially after three consecutive top-six finishes and regular European football.
What followed were several seasons of decay that ultimately led to relegation in 2016. The core of the book centres around the three seasons that the Villa played in the Championship - but it is so much more than that.
It was a time when the ownership of the club, and the managerial helm changed hands on several occasions: a time when the club experienced mid-table finishes, play-off heartbreak and coming close to folding. All this before finally getting back to the ‘promised land’ and top-flight football once more under Dean Smith, and bringing European football back to Villa Park under the stewardship of Unai Emery – all in the space of a few years.
From O’Neil waving goodbye to Emery saying ‘Hola’, the book will document how it all happened, the matches that mattered and will feature contributions from the players, managers and most importantly, the hardy Villa fans.
In short, it shows how Aston Villa Football Club turned full circle when the Rampant Lion started to roar once again!
From the Championship to the Champions League!
'Sunshine after the Rain' will tell the full story!
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