By ERIC BROWN It was, perhaps, football’s greatest mystery. Why did Arsenal make striker Clive Allen the first £1million teenager in English fo…
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Category: Books and reviews
Stick to swimming… how Per Mertesacker overcame the odds to become a World Cup winner
Book review by ERIC BROWN Per Mertesacker was told he had no chance of becoming a professional footballer by his own father at the age of 14, ye…
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How Manchester-born pools millionaire John Moores transformed the fortunes of Everton FC
Everton’s rise to challenge the top clubs of the 1960s is traced and explored in a new history reviewed by ERIC BROWN. The late 1950s represente…
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McRae and Hamilton head William Hill shortlist aiming for record third win
By Anton Rippon The Guardian’s Donald McRae and freelance sports writer Duncan Hamilton have again entered the ring for the 31st William Hill Sports…
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‘Confronting a new landscape’: Sports journalism academic text launched
In our rapidly changing industry, what learnings can we all take about the modern sports media? A new text book assesses ‘The State of Play̵…
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A life behind the lens: SJA award winner Richard Pelham’s 30-year journey with his camera
Award-winning photographer Richard Pelham of The Sun has a book out and who better to review it than award-winning pal and colleague TOM JENKINS of Th…
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Happy 50th to the Football Year Book, the stats bible for the football fan
By PHILIP BARKER Every sports desk worthy of the name has, by now, found room for the 50th anniversary edition of the Football Yearbook. Around 1,000 …
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It’s that time of the season again – the Nationwide Football Annual is out
Another year, another Nationwide Football Annual, reviewed by ERIC BROWN Now the football season can really start. That one missing item to go along w…
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The Great Romantic: Cardus book a must for aspiring sports journalists
By ERIC BROWN He was born illegitimate in a Manchester slum and never knew his father. His mother and aunt worked in a family laundry business by day …
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Welcome to the first edition of Shoot: Gifts, features, and a call for a footballers’ beauty contest
Shoot Magazine was launched 50 years ago. PHILIP BARKER unearths his first edition and takes a trip down memory lane The new football season had just …
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