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Football Confidential: Bk.1 (Paperback)

by Ian Bent (Author), etc. (Author), McIlroy (Author), Kevin Mousley (Author), Peter Walsh (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: BBC Books; First edition (2 Mar 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0563551496
ISBN-13: 978-0563551492
Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.6 x 2 cm

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 549,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Football Confidential is a book which every football fan should read--if only to open their eyes to some of the real matters that continue to affect the game as we know it.

BBC Radio 5's On The Line documentary is famed for some of the shocking stories that it has unearthed in the world of sport, and this book contains the stunning findings of the team's forays into the dark side of football.

This book looks beyond the daily digest of glitz and glamour with which fans are constantly bombarded and delves into the grubby underbelly of the game.

Revealed are the practices of clubs seeking out and signing up younger and younger talent, uncovered is the way agents make a quick buck by tempting footballers to Europe with promises of fame and fortune but dump them on the streets when they are not immediately snapped up.

And exposed is the way innocent fans have been branded hooligans and placed on the intelligence blacklists.

The book reveals much more than scandal, though. Its documentary style--essentially transcripts of the original radio broadcasts--is riveting to the last and provides well-sourced, carefully-researched information.

What is certain is that those in the upper echelons of football with vested interests would have wanted to keep many of the revelations under wraps--and proves that the "Beautiful Game" has become as cold and clinical as any other business.

The writers of Football Confidential have created a book that is worth its weight in gold to any self-respecting football fan. --Andrea Thursday

Independent on Sunday, 27 Feb 2000

This is an important book, relentlessly posing difficult questions and unearthing administrative hypocrisy and incompetence.

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	91% buy the item featured on this page: Football Confidential: Bk.1 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
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5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book - informative and entertaining., 9 Mar 2000

By A Customer

This is a very, very good book indeed, and, as a football fan, I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with any interest in the game. 'Football Confidential' charts a series of scandals, and the range of stories here is impressive in its scope: from local youth teams, through League matters and on to international footballing affairs, the book exposes the seedy side of football. By turns shocking and amusing - but always gripping and written with great clarity - this is the kind of book that football fans will devour eagerly. Each of the chapters, all of which are relatively short, stands as a story on its own; taken together, they form a catalogue of, at best, foolish and blundering mistakes, and at worst, disgraceful and dangerous episodes that threaten the game, the players and the fans. Given that this is a BBC publication, it carries an air of authority. Indeed, anyone who has heard BBC 5-Live's sports documentary series 'On The Line' will be familiar with the style of this material, as it is written by journalists from that programme. Quite simply, if you care about football, buy this book. David Ashbridge

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!!!, 19 Dec 2001

By	"juvefriend" - See all my reviews

Have you ever thought who REALLY runs football? If not, it's time you did that. This book does not write about the players on the pitch that kick the ball, but about those "players" who make it possible that those guys went out and kicked the ball. Football is business and business is war. Winning out of the pitch can be sometimes much more difficult than winning on the pitch. If you think that you know much about football, this book will definitely disappoint you. Whar stays in shadow, is the cruel world of TV, economics, transfers and politics. This book will guide you inside the game... Be ready to know something you could never think about...

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a really really good book., 5 Jan 2001

By	monty185@yahoo.com (England) - See all my reviews

If you dont feel that there is enough injustice in the world at the moment, what with man utd winning everything in sight,then i suggest you read this book. it helps to show football fans what exactly goes on behind the scenes at football clubs,and sometimes tells you things that you really do not want to know. in the world of football books,this is definitely a worthy FA Cup runner up to Fever Pitch.

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