BROKEN DREAMS: Vanity,Greed and the Souring of British Football.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] NFINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt,white wrap-around background with thumbnail colour photograph to front and capitalised,multi-coloured glossy lettered title+author name and capitalised black+red-lettered flat printed author credit for other titles all to front panel; a white spine/backstrip with repeated thumbnail colour photograph to head of same with similarly coloured+ lettered author name and part-title and publisher's capitalised,black-lettered+b/w with critics' red+black lettered reviews. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present. Top+fore-edges uniformly toned but without any foxing/ spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,unblemished sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked gilt lettering,and immaculate plain white endpapers. UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2-342pp [paginated] includes an Introduction,13 chapters,8pp thumbnail contemporary colour photographs in 1 block,between pp184/85,Acknowledgements, Notes and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,a Contents list/table,and to the rear 2pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and partiularly internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its 20 year-old age. It is only the minimal exterior fault described that prevents a slightly higher overall grading.Despite that,it really is still an exceptional, exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults. From the author of devastating exposes of Mohamed Fayed, Richard Branson and,most recently Geoffrey Robinson,this is a superbly incisive account of how self-interested individuals,adopting questionable and predatory business methods,are exploiting the sport of football to earn billions of pounds and huge glory. As the national sport,football is big business.Itis a world in which the most successful participants can achieve huge fame,wealth and glory.To own a Premier League club is the dream of countless business men. . . Each season,millions of passionate fans follow their team's progress,praying for a Championship victory.But,off the pitch,there is a very different agenda where money is the prize: where dubious accounting,billion-dollar TV deals and puzzling player transfers make men rich.Despite attempts by Tony Blair and others to clean up the game, the football community motivated by ruinous self-interest and shortsightedness,adamantly insists on self-regulation. Focusing on key figures including Terry Venables, Ken Bates, David Dein, Harry Redknapp and other famous agents, chairmen and managers, Bower exposes the money, the politics, and the vicious battles behind the beautiful game.For the first time a non-sports writer reveals the vanity and greed which endanger the national sport. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note, stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **