Title: Big Mal

Author: David Tossell

Publisher: Mainstream

Price: £16.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Malcolm Allison

Category: Football

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 effects of alcoholism. Despite the often-destructive effect of his Big Mal persona, Allison retains his status as one of the most inventive and incisive minds to have graced the game. This book tells both sides of the story, tracing the life and times of one of the most charismatic characters in British sport.

Title: Arsenal Stadium History

Author: Brian Glanville

Publisher: Hamlyn

Price: £25.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Arsenal

Category: Football

In May 2006 Arsenal played its last game at Highbury before moving to the new state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium. It was an emotional farewell to a ground that had witnessed some incredible games and which Arsenal fans had come to love as their second home. Relive those Highbury memories in this lavishly illustrated book that charts the stadium's story from the move to North London, the building of the stands and Chapman's many innovations. It brings to life the stories from the Second World War and the fifties when the team returned to winning ways. Reacquaint yourself with the characters that bought the first double to Highbury in 1971; the celebrations in' 89; the success of the Wenger revolution and the final season at this unique ground. It features rare and previously unpublished photography; exclusive interviews with ex- and current players; key members of staff and fans; and full statistics of every match in Highbury's history.

Title: The Official Arsenal Encyclopedia

Author: Jem Maidment

Publisher: Hamlyn

Price: £16.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Arsenal

Category: Football

From the club's humble beginnings in 1886 through to the move to the magnificent Emirates' Stadium, the Club has been at the forefront of innovation and entertainment. Every key player and manager is profiled including luminaries of the game like Chapman, Bastin, McLintlock, Brady, Wright, Bergkamp, Wenger and Henry. Certain Arsenal games have become part of Football folklore such as the incredible Championship winning performance at Anfield in '89. Lavishly illustrated and with over 500 entries, this is the first point of reference for any true Gunner.

Title: Arsenal: Extraordinary Images

Author: Arsene Wenger

Publisher: Hamlyn

Price: £25.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Arsenal

Category: Football

This is the first attempt to tell the story of the 121-year-history of the Arsenal Football Club through the greatest and most iconic Arsenal photography ever published. From the earliest days at Woolwich and Plumstead, through the heady highs of Herbert Chapman and George Allison, to the colourful 1980s and the successful Arsene Wenger era, these images capture the emotions, stories, faces, fans and day-to-day existence of this incredible Club. Rarely seen photography provides an alternative view of many of the key events in the Club's history and shows you sides of the Club that you never knew existed.

Title: Raich Carter

Editors: Frank Garrick

Publisher: Sports Books

Price: £16.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Raich Carter

Category: Football

Raich Carter played during the golden age of English football but like many of his contemparies had his career blighted by the second world war. In this biography Frank Garrick details how Raich Carter is the only man to have won FA Cup winning medals before and after the war, winning what was then England's premier competition – the one every professional wanted most to win – with Sunderland and then Derby County. And although like many from that era he suffered from the vagaries of an amateur selection system he is regarded as Stanley Matthews best partner, even if he wasn’t best pleased to play with him. Carter also won the League title with Sunderland.

Title: The Complete Centre-Forward

Author: David McVay & Andy Smith

Publisher: Sports Books

Price: £14.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Tommy Lawton

Category: Football

We will never know if Tommy Lawton was truly the greatest centre-forward ever produced by England but we do know that he played in an era totally different from today. It is probable that Lawton never earned in a 20 year career what Rio Ferdinand earns in a week! Certainly in 1955 when Tommy Lawton was in his mid-thirties and playing for Arsenal he was on £17 a week. He was approached by the brewers Guinness to head a poster campaign for a fee of £10,000. But he had to turn it down, no Arsenal player was allowed to be associated with alcohol. How different from today! The book also touches on the darker side of Lawton’s life. The court appearance for passing dud cheques, his failed marriage and the dodging of bailiffs before he was re-discovered as a pundit and journalist.

Title: Black Lions

Author: Rodney Hinds

Publisher: Sports Books

Price: £16.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Black Footballers

Category: Football

It was 28 years ago, in 1978, that Viv Anderson became the first black player to be selected for England. It is a measure of how life for black footballers has improved that in 2002 Arsenal could field nine non-white players at Leeds’ Elland Road ground without comment. A tenth, Jermaine Pennant, came on as a substitute. While it would be wrong to claim that racism has been entirely banished from English football, the problem is not as bad as on the European continent. Rodney Hinds, sports editor of The Voice, Britain’s leading black newspaper, examines the attitudes of the football establishment over the years and talks to players who had to suffer abuse from visiting fans and players, and sometimes their own team-mates.

Title: Sheffield United Champions

Author: Nick Udall

Publisher: Breedon Books

Price: £9.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Sheffield United

Category: Football

Following a promising season in 1896-97, the United football committee, at the start of the new campaign, declared its intention to 'gain the Championship of the League'. This seemed no idle boast as the team started on a terrific 14-match unbeaten run, with a series of outstanding performances. Yet a mid-season slump saw Aston Villa and Sunderland merge as serious rivals to United's title ambitions. The matches against these teams proved full of excitement, tension and controversy, and there were to be many twists and turns in the season before United were declared finally as Champions at Bolton on 8 April 1898.

Title: From Sheffield With Love

Author: Brendan Murphy

Publisher: Sports Books

Price: £8.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Early History of Football

Category: Football

October 2007 is the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sheffield FC and there will be considerable celebrations both in England and among the wider footballing and sporting community, with Inter Milan, AC Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona keen to be involved. Sheffield is the true birthplace of football, having had a huge influence on the Football Association. The Sheffield Football Association was once a rival to the game’s ruling body and had a large say in the forming of the Laws of the game. Unfortunately Sheffield decided not to embrace professionalism in the late 19th century and so allowed the rise and growth of Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. But they have kept going and in 2007 were promoted to the Unibond League Division One South.

Title: The Lads

Author: Alan Candlish

Publisher: Sports Books

Price: £14.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Sunderland

Category: Football

Newcastle United and Sunderland football clubs generate a rivalry that assumes a greater importance than any other in English football. Perhaps in British football only that between Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow can match it and that is fuelled by sectarian bigotry. Newcastle and Sunderland are not even in the same city. Fifteen miles separates the rivers Tyne and the Wear but the rivalry is stronger than that which exists even in cities with more than one club like Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The most detailed history of Newcastle v Sunderland derbies ever produced; it includes match reports of every league and cup derby game between these old rivals with descriptions of every goal scored. Key players are profiled and every player who has played in Tyne-Wear derbies is assessed.

Title: Wembley: The Complete Record

Author: Glen Isherwood

Publisher: Sports Books

Price: £14.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: FA Cup

Category: Football

The definitive masterwork on what was the world’s most famous football stadium. All 386 of the big matches – internationals and FA and League Cup finals and replays etc from the very first ‘White Horse’ final of 1923 to the World Cup final of 1966 and the final defeat by Germany in 2000 – have a report in this ultimate reference book as well as the teams, scorers and attendance while the teams and attendances from all the other games - schoolboy internationals, lesser cup finals – have details only. A full list of clubs and their records, plus all the League players who played underneath the Twin Towers is also included in the book.

Title: The Bumper Book of Football

Author: Hunter Davies

Publisher: Quercus

Price: £19.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Early History of Football

Category: Football

Beautifully designed, affectionately written, and lavishly illustrated, this is a football book for boys and girls of all ages, written and presented in the spirit and style of the annuals that adorned the game's golden age. "The Bumper Book of Football" delivers a feast of facts, feats and anecdotes relating to every conceivable aspect of the world's most popular game: how it began, and how its rules developed; the stories of the great clubs, legendary managers, epic games and great players (including today's top premiership stars); bizarre facts and records; origins of footballing words and phrases; famous football quotes; plus footballing nicknames and superstitions. But "The Bumper Book of Football" is not merely a rich source of football information and entertainment, it also provides practical guidance on such matters as how to become a footballer, how to start and manage a collection of footballing memorabilia, and how to become a demon autograph-hunter.

Title: Football Grounds: 2007-2008

Author: Aerofilms

Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing

Price: £14.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Football Encyclopedia

Category: Football

The book includes an aerial photo-map of each ground allowing the reader to locate the stadium in relation to the surrounding area and also has useful information on public transport facilities, where to park and also includes updated plans of the grounds identifying blocks and disabled facilities and also provides a brief sketch of each club's season, which makes this book the best illustrated guide for the travelling football supporter of Premier League and Championship football in England and Wales.

Title: Thank God for Football!

Author: Peter Lupson

Publisher: Azure Publishing

Price: £9.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Football Encyclopedia

Category: Football

It is a little known fact that of the thirty seven clubs that have played in the English Premier League since its inception of the 92/93 season, twelve can trace their origin directly to a church. However, many of these famous football clubs know little about their origins or their founders. This book, which is the fruit of seven years intensive research, features chapters on: Aston Villa, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Queen's Park Rangers, Southampton, Swindon Town and Tottenham Hotspur. This book is a must read for football fans everywhere!

Title: Lost in France

Author: Spencer Vignes

Publisher: Tempus

Price: £9.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Leigh Roose

Category: Football

Leigh Richmond Roose was a brilliant and controversial Edwardian goalkeeper - so good at his job that the FA had to change the rules of the game to keep him in check. His was the first name on the "Daily Mail's" teamsheet for their "World XI to challenge another planet at football". He was an inspirational figure for Stoke City, Sunderland and Wales (when they won their first Home Nations Championship), also playing for Aston Villa, Arsenal and Everton. Through dating music hall stars he became the first footballer to regularly appear in the newspaper gossip columns. Like millions of others he died serving his country in the Great War; unlike millions of others, nobody knew how or where...until now.

Title: War Hammers

Author: Brian Belton

Publisher: NPI Media Group

Price: £14.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: West Ham United

Category: Football

This book tells the fascinating story of West Ham United Football Club during the First World War. In many ways, it was their success in wartime competitions that led to them being accepted into the Football League in 1919, paving the way for subsequent FA Cup and League successes. As well as a football story, this book is about the impact of the war on Britain, and Londoners in particular. It will fascinate football historians and social historians as well as lovers of West Ham United Football Club.

Title: Football Grounds: Then and Now

Author: Aerofilms

Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing

Price: £14.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Football Encyclopedia

Category: Football

This book provides a graphic portrait of the changing face of British Football Grounds over the years. For each ground featured, it provides an historic shot to allow a direct comparison with the contemporary scene and the photographs are supplemented by a detailed and well informed commentary highlighting the significant changes over the years.

Title: Colussus: The True Story of William Foulke

Author: Graham Phythian

Publisher: Tempus

Price: £11.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: William Foulke

Category: Football

Bulky and brilliant, William "Fatty" Foulke delighted Victorian and Edwardian football crowds. A legend within the history of the game, the 24-stone goalkeeper is one of the most distinctive players ever to take to the field at the highest level of football. Featuring illustrations and photographs, many of which have never been published before, the first biography of the Sheffield United, Chelsea, Bradford City and England hero is packed with anecdotes about this larger-than-life character's unique talents, unorthodox approach and impressive playing career.

Title: A Fan's Guide to Football Grounds

Author: Duncan Adams

Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing

Price: £9.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Football Encyclopedia

Category: Football

The contents of the book provide a wealth of information for the large number of fans who are interested in the history and heritage of British league grounds and is also handy and useful reference source for fans visiting grounds around the country. This is a serious and factual book though tackled in an attractive and accessible way.

Title: Who's Who of Aston Villa

Author: Tony Mathews

Publisher: Mainstream

Price: £15.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Aston Villa

Category: Football

The Who's Who of Aston Villa is a comprehensive guide that promises to settle any disputes amongst supporters of the club once and for all. Packed with facts and stats, it contains profiles of every Villa player to have appeared in a competitive match for the team since 1879, the year the club first entered the FA Cup. Since then, some truly great players have been associated with the club. These include: record appearance-maker Charlie Aitken; Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel; 1890s stars Charlie Athersmith and Jas Cowan; scheming midfielder Gordon Cowans; tough guy defender George Cummings; 1957 FA Cup-winning captain Johnny Dixon; longstanding centre-half Allan Evans; Welsh international goalscorer Trevor Ford; 1890s goalkeeper Billy George; goalscorer supreme Harry Hampton; long-serving player, manager and director Eric Houghton; Irish double act Peter McParland and Con Martin; skipper Dennis Mortimer, who led the side to League championship and European Cup glory in the early 1980s; post-war goalkeeper Joe Rutherford; '80s stars Gary Shaw and Nigel Spink; influential '30s half-backs Alec Talbot and Joe Tate; Billy Walker and Pongo Waring, two of the club's greatest-ever goalscorers; and European Cup final hero Peter Withe. As well as providing full details on these legends and many others, this indispensable guide also profiles the men who have managed Villa down the years, including current gaffer David O'Leary, Joe Mercer, Graham Taylor, Graham Turner, Ron Saunders and Alex Massie. Featuring rare photos of Villa heroes past and present, the Who's Who of Aston Villa is essential reading for any supporter who wants to know everything there is to know about this Premiership club.

Title: Who's Who of Preston North End

Author: Dean Hayes

Publisher: Breedon Books

Price: £19.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Preston North End

Category: Football

In the years since Preston played their first game in the Football League, hundreds of footballers have pulled on a Lilywhites shirt to represent the club in first-class competitive matches. In this richly illustrated, hugely informative reference work, Dean Hayes has detailed the careers of every single one of those players, whether they are household names or men who made only a handful of appearances at Deepdale. The book is highly illustrated throughout, and various statistics are included to supplement the career details of the players. Preston's all time top twenty goal scorers appear, along with appearance statistics, and managers of the club have their own section.

Title: The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal

Author: Phil Soar and Martin Tyler

Publisher: Hamlyn

Price: £20.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Football Encyclopedia

Category: Football

This official history charts Arsenal's story from its inception in 1886 right up to the first full season at the impressive Emirates Stadium. It details how Dial Square became Woolwich Arsenal, the move to Highbury, Herbert Chapman's inspirational leadership, the famous Double of 1971, the exciting title race of 1989, the second Double of 1998, the unbeaten season of 2003/04 and the move to their current home. There is a complete statistical record of European and domestic games and in-depth features on North London derbies, the stars of the 1930s, Arsenal internationals, the team of 1971 and the modern French connection.

Title: Alan Shearer: My Illustrated Career

Author: Alan Shearer

Publisher: Octopus

Price: £18.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Newcastle United

Category: Football

Following his debut for Southampton in 1991, to his emotional testimonial match and retirement, Alan Shearer has taken a long look at his illustrious career in this insightful book. He has chosen all the best photographs that highlight his finest moments in the game. Working alongside journalist and confidante Dave Harrison, he has reflected here on the many clubs and countries he has played against, players he's faced, and the characters he's met along the way. His Newcastle United coach and fan - Sir Bobby Robson, has provided the foreword. This will be the only book anyone will need to fully appreciate the career of one of the game's greatest players, who is acclaimed as one of the last great true centre forwards.

Title: Best and Edwards

Author: Gordon Burn

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Price: £8.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Manchester United

Category: Football

In "Best and Edwards", Gordon Burn looks at two of football's brightest talents. United by the club they played for, but divided by the tragedy of Munich, they came in very different ways to embody their respective generations. In plotting the course and trajectory of these two careers, Gordon Burn has produced a brilliant and startlingly original look at football and British culture.

Title: Here We Go Gathering Cups in May

Author: Nicky Allt

Publisher: Canongate

Price: £16.99

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Football League

Category: Football

"Here We Go Gathering Cups In May" is the story of Liverpool F.C's ongoing love affair with the European Cup, told through the eyes and voices and the fans themselves. 7 Finals. 7 Fans. 7 amazing adventures, in which the ingenuity (and pockets) of the fans have been challenged as they set their sights on getting to that final by hook or by crook.Above all this collection of essays tells of the bond between a club and its fans; the lengths those fans will go to, in order to be there at the endgame to cheer on their team; what happened along the way; their escapades in some of Europe's iconic capitals; and their recollections of those historic nights - nights of glory and, sometimes, nights of tragedy.

Title: Football League Players' Records

Author: Michael Joyce

Publisher: SoccerData

Price: £25.00

Bookshop: Amazon

Spartacus Website: Early History of Football

Category: Football

Author Michael Joyce has spent many years compiling a unique database of players' records. The database contains information on every player that has made an appearance in the Football League. Details include the player's date and place of birth, the year of his death, his usual playing position, seasons played, and his appearances and goals at each club. Non-league clubs played for are also listed when known. "The Football League Players' Records 1888-1939" uses the database to provide the details of some 16,000 players who appeared in the League seasons prior to the Second World War. Over a million appearances are included in more than 50,000 League matches. Among the players are four knights, four ordained ministers, two VCs and two MPs. League tables for the period are included. This is the only comprehensive source of player data for the seasons from 1888 to 1939.

Educational Websites

Standards Site, BBC History, PBS Online, Open Directory Project, Virtual Library,
Education Forum, History GCSE, Design & Technology, Learn History, Music Teacher Resource,
Freepedia, Teach It, Science Active, Geography IST, Brighton Photographers, Sussex Photo History,
Compton History, Universal Teacher, English Teaching, English Online, History Learning Site,
History on the Net, Black History, Greenfield History, School History, HistoryWorld, I Love History,
E-HELP, Ed Podesta Blog, Macgregorish History, Historiasiglo20, Sintermeerten, ICT4LT

News and Search

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Washington Post, BBC, CNN, Yahoo News, New Scientist, Google News, Channel 4, ZDNet,
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