{"title":"David Tossell","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the captivating world of sports journalism with David Tossell. From ice hockey to insightful biographies, discover compelling narratives that capture the heart of the game and its most fascinating figures.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bertie-mee-book-david-tossell-9781840189452","title":"Bertie Mee","description":"For younger Arsenal fans raised on an annual diet of success, it is hard to believe that the club has ever known bad times. Yet until Bertie Mee - an ex-army medical corps sergeant whose playing career amounted to a handful of games for Mansfield - restored the glories of the past, the club's once proud name had become a byword for disappointment and disarray. Bertie Mee: An Officer and a Gentleman examines the life, relationships and management style of the man who helped to lay the foundations of the modern Arsenal. It studies the club's years in decline, the achievements of the early '70s and the surprisingly swift descent into the relegation battles and in-fighting that dogged Mee's final seasons at Highbury. It also acknowledges Mee's innovative work in the health service, his role in the emergence of Watford as one of the country's leading clubs and reveals a devoted family man. Under the astute leadership of a man who joined the club as physiotherapist, Arsenal ended 17 years in the football wilderness with a night of European triumph in the spring of 1970 and, 12 months later, completed the Double when they won both the Football League and FA Cup. Mee remains the last English-born manager to achieve that feat. In an age when managers like Brian Clough and Malcolm Allison were revelling in football's heightened media profile, Mee was a throwback. Upright and proud, he remained more concerned with upholding the old-school traditions of 'the Arsenal' than forcing himself into the headlines. Mee's style perfectly matched the needs of the club, even if it did not always make him popular with players, media or staff, many of whom cowered in his presence. Mee, who died in October 2001, was an intensely private individual, yet with the cooperation of his family and through interviews with many of his former colleagues, players and friends, Bertie Mee: An Officer and a Gentleman offers a remarkable in-depth loo at a football legend.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49507748086033,"sku":"GOR001952406","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50105509675281,"sku":"GOR006183931","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50555150795025,"sku":"GOR012037414","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1840189452.jpg?v=1751123407"},{"product_id":"alan-ball-the-man-in-white-boots-book-david-tossell-9781473660380","title":"Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots","description":"Longlisted for Football Book of the Year at the Sports Book Awards  It is a special footballer who wins the World Cup as a 21-year-old and ends a two-decade career as one of the most revered players in the history of four clubs. Former England captain Alan Ball was such a man: prodigy at Blackpool, youngest hero of 1966, Championship winner at Everton, British-record signing for the second time at Arsenal and veteran schemer for Southampton - not to mention footwear trend-setter. And all after being told he was too small to succeed in the game.  Yet his years as a flat-cap wearing manager consisted mostly of relegation and promotion battles, some successful and some not, and plenty of frustration as he fought to produce winners in his own image and emulate the feats of his playing days.   His life already touched tragically by the car crash that killed his father and the loss of his beloved wife Lesley to cancer, Ball died, aged only 61, after suffering a heart attack during a garden blaze.  A decade on from his death, and drawing on interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Jimmy Armfield, Sir Geoff Hurst, George Cohen, Gordon Banks, Joe Royle, Mick Channon, Lawrie McMenemy, Francis Lee, George Graham, Frank McLintock, Matthew Le Tissier and many more, Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots is the definitive study of one of English football's most enduring figures.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49508307665169,"sku":"GOR008633423","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49585247813905,"sku":"GOR010378132","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50555261813009,"sku":"GOR009032721","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473660386.jpg?v=1750715218"},{"product_id":"girls-of-summer-book-david-tossell-9781785311352","title":"Girls of Summer","description":"The year 2015 was a historic one for the England women's cricket team, their first full year as professional players and with every ball of their Ashes series live on television and radio. As the dramatic events of the summer unfolded, David Tossell was given exclusive access to follow at close quarters, from freezing training mornings in the dead of winter to the dressing room and team meetings in the heat of battle against Australia. Under the guidance of a coach who cared deeply about their performance and welfare, a diverse group of girls came together in the pursuit of international glory and personal achievement, united by a remarkable love for each other and a passion for their profession. As The Girls of Summer reveals, they would need every piece of resilience and resolve those bonds could offer. With a foreword by England captain Charlotte Edwards.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49516290146577,"sku":"GOR007496831","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50932987822353,"sku":"GOR011792112","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785311352.jpg?v=1751441628"},{"product_id":"grovel-book-david-tossell-9781905449439","title":"Grovel!","description":"When England cricket captain Tony Greig announced that he intended to make the West Indies 'grovel', he lit a fire that burned as intensely as the sunshine that made 1976 one of the most memorable summers in British history. Spurred on by what they saw as a deeply offensive remark, especially from a white South African, Clive Lloyd's touring team vowed to make Greig pay. In Viv Richards, emerging as the world's most exciting batsman, and fast bowlers Michael Holding and Andy Roberts they had the players to do it. Featuring interviews with key figures from English and West Indian cricket, \"Grovel!\" provides a fascinating study of the events and social issues surrounding one of the sport's most controversial and colourful tours - as well as addressing the decline of West Indies cricket and its loss of support in the new century. As reservoirs ran dry during Britain's longest-ever drought, a bruised and battered England team struggled to withstand the brilliance and brutality of the West Indies. The recall of battle-scarred veteran Brian Close, the frightening bombardment of England's batsmen at Old Trafford, and Holding's remarkable performance at The Oval are among the episodes vividly reproduced and discussed, while Greig explains his pre-series comments in a forthright foreword. Off the field, the 1976 series was given a vibrant backdrop and raucous soundtrack by the West Indies' fans, yet a darker undercurrent existed in a period of ongoing racial tension around the country. Featuring full statistics of the tour, \"Grovel!\" shows how 1976 heralded in two decades of West Indies world domination, changing the face of Test cricket for ever. 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Leader of the famed 'West Ham Academy', his playing career was cut short by the loss of a lung to tuberculosis. Disillusioned, he became a professional gambler before acknowledging that football was his calling. After humble beginnings as a coach, he began a celebrated partnership with Joe Mercer, turning Manchester City into one of the most stylish teams English football has produced.    Along with the trophies came the birth of Big Mal, the larger-than-life personality who helped revolutionise televised football. He became instantly recognisable for his cigar and Fedora, and equally notorious for a string of affairs with beautiful women.     As the dark side of Big Mal took over, he was banned for life from the touchlines, became embroiled in a series of boardroom battles and spent time in police cells and rehabilitation clinics fighting the effects of alcoholism. Yet despite the often-destructive effect of his Big Mal persona, Malcolm Allison retains his status as one of the most incisive minds to have graced the game. 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From World Cup Final to Windies whitewashes under ten different captains, this was English cricket's most chaotic decade.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49529369657617,"sku":"GOR006812843","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49888693846289,"sku":"GOR007306724","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52848623616273,"sku":"GOR013334722","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785310119.jpg?v=1751154405"},{"product_id":"alan-ball-the-man-in-white-boots-book-david-tossell-9781473660373","title":"Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots","description":"It is a special footballer who wins the World Cup as a 21-year-old and ends a two-decade career as one of the most revered players in the history of four clubs. Former England captain Alan Ball was such a man: prodigy at Blackpool, youngest hero of 1966, Championship winner at Everton, British-record signing for the second time at Arsenal and veteran schemer for Southampton - not to mention footwear trend-setter. And all after being told he was too small to succeed in the game.  Yet his years as a flat-cap wearing manager consisted mostly of relegation and promotion battles, some successful and some not, and plenty of frustration as he fought to produce winners in his own image and emulate the feats of his playing days.   His life already touched tragically by the car crash that killed his father and the loss of his beloved wife Lesley to cancer, Ball died, aged only 61, after suffering a heart attack during a garden blaze.  A decade on from his death, and drawing on interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Jimmy Armfield, Sir Geoff Hurst, George Cohen, Gordon Banks, Joe Royle, Mick Channon, Lawrie McMenemy, Francis Lee, George Graham, Frank McLintock, Matthew Le Tissier and many more, Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots is the definitive study of one of English football's most enduring figures.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49532505260305,"sku":"GOR009417494","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49658864599313,"sku":"GOR009508658","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49732208263441,"sku":"NGR9781473660373","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51898843463953,"sku":"GOR014453845","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53374300979473,"sku":"GOR011618542","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473660378.jpg?v=1751339028"},{"product_id":"tony-greig-book-david-tossell-9781908051011","title":"Tony Greig","description":"Tony Greig is remembered as the colourful captain who led cricket into its biggest crisis of the last century. 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Tony Greig offers a compelling portrait of a fascinating cricketing era - and was shortlisted for Best Cricket Book at the 2012 British Sports Book Awards.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49537503789329,"sku":"GOR003089301","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50335422808337,"sku":"GOR008310863","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53386187571473,"sku":"GOR014892888","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53393212571921,"sku":"GOR005446464","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1908051019.jpg?v=1751061358"},{"product_id":"great-english-final-book-david-tossell-9781909178441","title":"The Great English Final","description":"The 1953 FA Cup Final between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers had everything: seven goals, a dramatic comeback and, in Stanley Matthews, a fairytale hero. 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The development of the limited-overs game is at the heart of the  sport’s evolution, from the introduction of multi-national competition to the 21st-century phenomenon  of franchise-based 20-over leagues.  ‘One-day internationals’ found their way into the sport’s lexicon from 1971 and the first men’s World  Cup was staged in 1975, while India’s surprise success in the 1983 edition was responsible for changing  the landscape of the world’s most cricket-mad country and the global game’s balance of power. The need for an even more abbreviated version of the sport saw Twenty20 cricket introduced in England  in 2003. Once again, it was Indian success on the world stage that sparked a game-changing revolution  that resulted in the Indian Premier League and a year-round series of franchise-led competitions in all  parts of the world. 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But the mere facts resonate less than the enduring images of the precision of Gareth Edwards, the sublime touch of Barry John, the sidesteps of Gerald Davies and Phil Bennett, the courage of J.P.R. Williams, and the forward power of the Pontypool Front Row and 'Merv the Swerve' Davies.   To the land of their fathers, these Welsh heroes represented pride and conquest at a time when the decline of the province's traditional coal and steel industries was sending thousands to the dole queue and threatening the fabric of local communities. Yet the achievements of those players transcended their homeland and extended beyond mere rugby fans. With the help of comedian Max Boyce, the culture of Welsh rugby and valley life permeated Britain's living rooms at the height of prime time, reinforcing the sporting brilliance that lit up winter Saturday afternoons.   In Nobody Beats Us, David Tossell, who spent the '70s as a schoolboy scrum-half trying to perfect the Gareth Edwards reverse pass, interviews many of the key figures of a golden age of Welsh rugby and vividly recreates an unforgettable sporting era.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49549517553937,"sku":"GOR002449849","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735637369105,"sku":"NGR9781845967314","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50012649980177,"sku":"GOR003866722","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50392392106257,"sku":"CIN1845967313G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50392396824849,"sku":"CIN1845967313VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1845967313.jpg?v=1750802788"},{"product_id":"in-sunshine-or-in-shadow-book-david-tossell-9781908051394","title":"In Sunshine or In Shadow","description":"Derek Dougan was no ordinary footballer. 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