The format was familiar: by the time Futebol appeared, in 2002, we’d already enjoyed excellent books on football in one country by David Winner (Holland) and Phil Ball (Spain), with several others in the pipeline. You will have read about some or all of these tournaments, but McIlvanney brings them (back) to life with a critic’s eye, an interviewer’s ear and a fan’s heart.

Released in September 2016, Arsenal legend Ian Wright’s book focuses on his journey from Sunday morning football in South London to one of the Premier League’s all time top goalscorers and England international. This fascinating insight into leading football managers' lives reveals precisely what things are like at the epicentre of the chaos that is our favoured game. The book is about Ari, a young boy preparing for his bar mitzvah, who loves soccer and also happens to be very superstitious.Indeed, the first 30 pages of Provided You Don’t Kiss Me are among the best of any book, sports or otherwise, written in the past decade. His straight-talking will always divide opinion but whatever you think of him, you cannot knock his passion for the game which is prevalent throughout this hugely entertaining read. A warm, intelligent and revealing biography which fuses history and politics with the study of genius to produce a unique portrait of the great Hungarian, Ferenc Puskas. After reading this book you will definitely change your opinion about the Joey Barton you have seen on the television and read about in the papers. He also reveals another side of his persona and talks about his personal battles with his inner demons, drugs and his time spent in prison for assault.

Extremely funny from start to finish, the German with the Scouse accent lifts the lid on life playing for two of the biggest clubs in Europe in Bayern Munich and Liverpool as well the German national team. Like Clive James’ TV reviews ( available to read for free online– there goes the weekend), this is allegedly ephemeral reporting, on supposedly lowbrow entertainment, elevated to the level of art. He reveals the truth about his darkest times since retiring from playing which include problems with drugs and gambling and his recent prison sentence after his conviction for grevious bodily harm.

Refreshing in its honesty, ‘Big Sam’, is a real earthy kind of book which is not pretentious in any way and gives readers a real insight into the trials and tribulations of a Premier League manager. Telling the life stories of the best footballers around the globe from having a kick about in the playground to performing on the world stage you can explore everything there is to know about your favourite Ultimate Football Heroes! One of the stars of the early days of the Premier League, he recounts many stories of some of the characters still around in the game at that point before it exploded into the mega money-making machine it is today.