A fascinating insight into the enclosed world of soccer scouts A teenaged boy plays soccer in a suburban park. His name is Raheem Sterling. The call is made: "Get down here quick. This is something special." Another boy is eight, going on 28. His name is Jack Wilshere. The referee, an Arsenal scout, spirits him away from Luton Town. A young goalkeeper struggles on loan at Cheltenham Town in League Two. His name is Jack Butland. Within months he will be playing for England. Welcome to soccer's hidden tribe. Scouts are everywhere yet nowhere, faceless and nameless, despite making the informed decisions worth millions. Award-winning sportswriter Michael Calvin opens up their hidden world, examining their disconnected lifestyles, petty betrayals, and unconsidered professionalism of men who spend long, lonely hours on the road.

The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football's True Talent Spotters

Calvin, Michael

Biographies & Memoirs

Arrow

Charting the progress of more than 20 soccer managers, at all different levels of the game A man punches the wall in a strategic show of anger. Another complains he has become a stranger to those he loves. A third relies on “my three a day: coffee, Nurofen and a bottle of wine.” Yet another admits he is an oddity, who would prefer to be working in cricket. A fifth describes his professional life as “a circus”. These are football managers, live and uncut. Arsene Wenger likens the job to “living on a volcano: any day may be your last." He speaks with the authority of being the longest serving manager in the English game, having been at Arsenal for 17 years. The average lifespan of a Football League manager is 17 months. Across all four Divisions, 53 managers were sacked, or resigned, in the 2012-13 season. There were 57 managerial changes in the 2013-14 season. What makes these men tick? They are familiar figures, who rarely offer anything more than a glimpse into their personal and professional lives. What shapes them? How and why do they do their job? Award-winning writer Michael Calvin provides the answers. Insecurity is a unifying factor, but managers at different levels face different sets of problems. Depending on their status, they are dealing with multi-millionaires, or mortgage slaves. Living on the Volcano charts the progress of more than 20 managers, in different circumstances and in different phases of their career. Some, like Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, are at the peak of their profession. Others, like Chris Hughton, Brian McDermott and Gary Waddock, have been sacked, and are seeking a way back into the game. They offer a unique insight into a trade which is prone to superficial judgement and savage swings in fortune. Management requires ruthlessness and empathy, idealism and cunning. Stories overlap, experiences intermingle, and myths are exposed.

Living on the Volcano: The Secrets of Surviving as a Football Manager

The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter

Lewkowicz, Josef

Community & Culture

HarperCollins, Publishers

Mind Game

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

Vintage

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Penguin (Transworld)

A teenaged boy plays soccer in a suburban park. His name is Raheem Sterling. The call is made: “Get down here quick. This is something special.” Another boy is 8, going on 28. His name is Jack Wilshere. The referee, an Arsenal scout, spirits him away from Luton Town. A young goalkeeper struggles on loan at Cheltenham Town in League Two. His name is Jack Butland. Within months he will be playing for England. Welcome to soccer's hidden tribe. Scouts are everywhere yet nowhere, faceless and nameless, despite making the informed decisions worth millions. Award-winning sportswriter Michael Calvin opens up their hidden world, examining their disconnected lifestyles, petty betrayals, and unconsidered professionalism of men who spend long, lonely hours on the road.

The Nowhere Men

RANDOM HOUSE UK

This is a book about football managers, live and uncut.      A man punches the wall in a strategic show of anger. Another complains he has become a stranger to those he loves. A third relies on "my three a day: coffee, Nurofen and a bottle of wine." Yet another admits he is an oddity, who would prefer to be working in cricket. A fifth describes his professional life as "a circus". These are football managers, live and uncut. Arsene Wenger likens the job to "living on a volcano: any day may be your last". He speaks with the authority of being the longest serving manager in the English game, having been at Arsenal for 17 years. The average lifespan of a Football League manager is 17 months. Fifty three managers, across all four Divisions, were sacked, or resigned, in the 2012-13 season. There were fifty seven managerial changes in the 2013-14 season. What makes these men tick? They are familiar figures, who rarely offer anything more than a glimpse into their personal and professional lives. What shapes them? How and why do they do their job? Award-winning writer Michael Calvin provides the answers.     Insecurity is a unifying factor, but managers at different levels face different sets of problems. Depending on their status, they are dealing with multi-millionaires, or mortgage slaves. Living on the Volcano charts the progress of more than 20 managers, in different circumstances and in different phases of their career. Some, like Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, are at the peak of their profession. Others, like Chris Hughton, Brian McDermott and Gary Waddock, have been sacked, and are seeking a way back into the game. They offer a unique insight into a trade which is prone to superficial judgement and savage swings in fortune. Management requires ruthlessness and empathy, idealism and cunning. Stories overlap, experiences intermingle, and myths are exposed.

Century

This is the third part in Mike Calvin’s football book trilogy. First he wrote about scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he wrote about the pressures of managers in Living on the Volcano. Now he writes about the players themselves, in his biggest and most ambitious book yet. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, No Hunger in Paradise is the definitive book on what it takes to make it as a professional footballer in this country, and the pitfalls, pressures and casualties along the way. From visiting gangs in council estates in Brixton which have produced England internationals, to £200 million training complexes in Manchester, which only breed jealousy and entitlement, Mike follows the stories of the most promising young players up and down the country. He also interviews parents, coaches, agents and top managers and players to get an overall picture of the system, which is rife with corruption and abuse. No Hunger in Paradise is full of powerful human stories: of the youngsters who fall through the cracks and of those who fall prey to the entitlement and distraction of money. But in the vein of Gladwell’s Outliers, he also explores the inspirational stories of grit and of success, and attempts to find out what common traits unite the rare individuals who ‘make it’.

No Hunger in Paradise: How to Make it is as Professional Footballer

First he revealed the extraordinary lives of soccer scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he unearthed the pressures on the managers in Living on the Volcano. Then he chronicled the hardships of young players striving to make it in No Hunger in Paradise. Now in State of Play, in what marks the pinnacle of a career investigating the human stories of soccer, Michael Calvin turns his eye to the biggest story of all—the game itself. From mental health to money, concussion to Champions league, fan-owners to oligarchs, women's soccer to world cups, Calvin gets under the skin of the beautiful game, and reveals why it is truly the game of our lives. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with leading figures around the world, from Arsene Wenger to Steven Gerrard, Calvin reveals the winners, the losers, the politics, the pleasure, the hope, and the despair of the world's most popular sport

State of Play: The Heartbeat of Modern Football

This is the third part in Mike Calvin’s football book trilogy. First he wrote about scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he wrote about the pressures of managers in Living on the Volcano. Now he writes about the players themselves, in his biggest and most ambitious book yet.Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, No Hunger in Paradise is the definitive book on what it takes to make it as a professional footballer in this country, and the pitfalls, pressures and casualties along the way.From visiting gangs in council estates in Brixton which have produced England internationals, to £200 million training complexes in Manchester, which only breed jealousy and entitlement, Mike follows the stories of the most promising young players up and down the country. He also interviews parents, coaches, agents and top managers and players to get an overall picture of the system, which is rife with corruption and abuse.No Hunger in Paradise is full of powerful human stories: of the youngsters who fall through the cracks and of those who fall prey to the entitlement and distraction of money. But in the vein of Gladwell’s Outliers, he also explores the inspirational stories of grit and of success, and attempts to find out what common traits unite the rare individuals who ‘make it’.

No Hunger In Paradise: The Players. The Journey. The Dream

Sports & Outdoors

Soccer

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Calvin, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Calvin, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Calvin, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football's True Talent Spotters

Living on the Volcano: The Secrets of Surviving as a Football Manager

The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter

Mind Game

The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter

The Nowhere Men

Living on the Volcano: The Secrets of Surviving as a Football Manager

No Hunger in Paradise: How to Make it is as Professional Footballer

State of Play: The Heartbeat of Modern Football

No Hunger In Paradise: The Players. The Journey. The Dream