Game Changers: Inside English Football: From the Boardroom to the Bootroom

Game Changers: Inside English Football: From the Boardroom to the Bootroom
Alan Curbishley

Alan Curbishley has spent a lifetime in football both as a fan, player and manager.In his forty years, he has seen the game he loves change beyond all recognition. The money, the media, the celebrity culture, the agents – when Curbishley began his playing career in 1975, no one could have foreseen a future in which television rights sold for £10 billion.Through incredible access to the biggest names in the game, he takes a look at the modern game in all its guises, from the chairmen and chief executives at the very top to managers and players and all the way to the fans and ground staff. On the way, we hear from an eclectic and colourful cast of characters and some true legends of the sport, old and new: Arsène Wenger, Stevie Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Harry Redknapp, Harry Kane.This is a truly unique football book, written by one of the most respected and well-connected men in the sport. Never before has such an array of talent been collected within the pages of one book – it will spark discussion, enliven arguments and throw fire onto the debate: as the game changes, does it change for the better?

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Copyright (#u5dbca813-44d2-5c6a-85f0-2694964d15b0)

HarperSport

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by HarperSport 2016

FIRST EDITION

© Alan Curbishley 2016

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

Cover illustrations © Catherine Ivill AMA/Getty (Harry Kane); Andrew Yates/Getty (Ryan Giggs); Chris Williamson/Getty (Roy Hodgson); Julian Finney/Getty (David Sullivan); Andrew Powell/Getty (Steven Gerrard); Michael Regan/Getty (Jamie Carragher); EPA European Pressphoto Agency b.v./Alamy (Arsène Wenger); Jamie Garbutt/Getty (stadium background)

A catalogue record of this book is

available from the British Library

Alan Curbishley asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780007247646

Ebook Edition © August 2016 ISBN: 9780008158163

Version: 2016-06-22

Dedication (#u5dbca813-44d2-5c6a-85f0-2694964d15b0)

To all football fans up and down the country who support their teams through thick and thin. I hope this book gives you an insight into the game we all love.

Contents

Cover (#u69a9c21f-f3d9-5055-a7d0-237202d41592)

Title Page (#ulink_f4a1f287-9ab9-5e1f-94ea-2479fa314c1b)

Copyright (#ulink_a43a9ccc-fe71-5a10-ae38-0522f8520b85)

Dedication (#u9c2a4bb4-a5da-510b-af9d-c6c0cdee8be8)

Introduction (#ulink_c95c101b-0ea5-5488-acbf-bae051639db8)

1 Manager (#ulink_ec42fa99-eb5b-5c4a-8209-2ee34d0e2e31)

2 Player (#ulink_6c859c74-b5db-5f3f-8f6c-b0a1cd8a18a0)

3 Legend (#ulink_15611f28-e511-5edb-aee4-658371ac8e0e)

4 Retirement (#litres_trial_promo)

5 Youth (#litres_trial_promo)

6 Assistant Manager/Coach (#litres_trial_promo)

7 Agent (#litres_trial_promo)

8 Chief Executive (#litres_trial_promo)

9 Backroom (#litres_trial_promo)

10 FA (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Media (#litres_trial_promo)

12 International (#litres_trial_promo)

13 Fan (#litres_trial_promo)

14 Referee (#litres_trial_promo)

15 Executive Director of Football (#litres_trial_promo)

16 Associations (#litres_trial_promo)

17 Owner (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)