'Psycho' is a word rarely bandied about in football today. There is no place on the pitch for player contact, let alone the sort of hard, robust tackling that could earn a player such a nickname. But 25 years ago, things were different. Only when players really overstepped the mark were their names added to the referee's little black book. And Pat Van Den Hauwe had a reputation as one of the hardest players in the game. In a caree ...
Kirsty MacColl led a dazzling life – tender, creative, heroic and full of love. This book, by her mother Jean MacColl, charts with moving insight Kirsty's early years and celebrates her brilliant career at the front rank of the music business in the 1980s and 1990s with such hits as the Pogues collaboration 'Fairytale of New York'. It mourns her tragic and untimely death – killed by a speedboat in Mexican waters in December 2000. ...
Mario Balotelli is already a footballing legend – and he's only 22. Incredibly talented, yet frequently controversial both on and off the pitch, Balotelli lit up the Premier League from the moment he signed for Manchester City in 2010. Born in Italy to Ghanaian parents, he suffered life-threatening health problems as a baby. By the age of three he had recovered, but his parents then entrusted him to a foster family and Mario grew up in the ...
Robin van Persie is one of the most talented players in world football today. An intelligent playmaker and deadly striker, he brings creativity and intelligence to Arsenal's forward line and is the first name on the Netherlands team sheet. Signed by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2004 with a view to replace Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp, Van Persie quickly established himself as an integral part of Wenger's talented side, initially plyi ...
Lenny 'The Guv'nor' McLean has become a legend. A bare-knuckle fighter turned actor, he is a street hero whose legions of fans, since his death, have catapulted him to superstar status. His autobiography, The Guv'nor, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies in hardback, was in the top-ten for well over a year, and was the number one bestselling autobiography of 1998. Amazingly, it looks set to repeat this accolade for 1999. ...
The King of King's Road and a vital player in England's bid for victory at the 2010 World Cup, Frank Lampard is a footballer of genuine, dynamic majesty. The East End boy who's become a West End star, he's hailed by fans, critics, players and managers worldwide as a goal-scoring genius. His tireless achievements from West Ham, Chelsea and England have established him as a bona fide legend in the game and confirmed that ' ...
Eric Cantona's era at Manchester United was as thrilling and monumental as it was controversial and harrowing. Never was it dull, predictable or boring. Cantona carved a niche in the hearts of United fans everywhere and became the undisputed King of Old Trafford. The Frenchman made the number seven shirt his own and he certainly lived up to its magical billing as the shirt worn the club's legends – and, more often than not, its bad boy ...
Using contemporary accounts of W.G.'s greatest innings, many for the first time, Robert Low presents a radically new image of the sportsman who was recognised as the pre-eminent athlete of his day.From his emergence as a teenage prodigy to well past his fiftieth year W.G. dominated the game of cricket, taking 2,876 wickets and scoring 54,896 first-class runs in a career lasting an incredible 43 years, from 1865 to 1908. His beard and massiv ...
'He's the world's fittest man – it's official.' – The GuardianHe's gone 110 rounds with 10 opponents to win the World Kumite Karate Boxing Championships.He's got the world record for the number of press-ups done in a year, he did over 1.5 million – that's over 4,000 a day!He's got the fastest time for running a marathon with a 50lb backpack. There's nobody as tough as Paddy Doyle!As a young ...
