Arena Sport Books

May 17, 2014; the greatest date in St Johnstone Football Club's history. The day the Perthshire outfit saw 130 years of waiting to lift a major trophy come to a glorious end. In his first full season in charge, manager Tommy Wright and his team entered the history books after winning the Scottish Cup thanks to a 2–0 win over Tayside rivals Dundee United. Roared on by 15,000 fans, Saints achieved glory on an unforgettable afternoon at Celtic Park in Glasgow, capping a remarkable season for one of the game's perennial underdogs. With Stevie May, the club's talisman striker and semi-final hero, wearing the No 17 shirt, cup final day appeared destined for Saints, before two other Stevens — Anderson and MacLean — emerged as the matchwinners. Our Day In May tells the story of how St Johnstone won the Scottish Cup through the eyes of the management team and the players involved in the Fair City club's historic success. It's a story for any St Johnstone fan to treasure, a story told by those who are heroes forever. ALL ROYALTIES FROM THIS BOOK GO TO ST JOHNSTONE FC YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Matt Jansen had it all. He was young, quick, audaciously skilful and, at the turn of the millennium, regarded as one of the most intelligent attacking talents in English football. His potential seemed boundless.After bursting onto the scene with Carlisle in 1997 and helping his hometown club win promotion, Sir Alex Ferguson had tried to lure him to Old Trafford — but foreseeing only bench spot at United, Jansen instead opted for Steve Coppell’s Crystal Palace. In 1998, he moved to Blackburn, where he formed an attacking triumvirate with Andy Cole and Damien Duff, and proved himself to be a constant threat for Blackburn and a lethal finisher, scoring 16 times in the 2001/02 season and earning himself a place in Sven Goran-Eriksson’s England squad.Widely tipped to be part of England’s campaign at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Eriksson instead surprised many with his conservative selection of Martin Keown over the rising star; Keown wouldn’t play a single minute at the tournament and England would crash out to ten-man Brazil — but Jansen didn’t see a minute of it. While England battled it out in the Far East, Jansen had taken a holiday to Rome where he was involved a serious traffic accident. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and slipped into a six-day coma.Jansen survived and, astonishingly, he was back playing for Blackburn just four months later. Physically he may have felt he was ready to return to top-flight football, but mentally he was nowhere near. Battling the spectre of the accident, he was unable to recapture the instinctive genius that had previously defined him. In an effort to reignite his career, he joined Coventry, Bolton and then Wrexham but he was never able to find his former footballing self and was finally forced to admit that his playing days were over. He has since channelled his energies into a new career as a coach — proving to be wise, erudite and compassionate in his new role, but also a continuing object of fascination for those who wonder what might have been.This is the story of a career destined for the stratosphere, cruelly snatched away by the vagaries of fate. Brilliant, bold, and at times brutal in its honesty, this powerful tale of shattered dreams and a life rebuilt is a testament to an inspiring, unconquered soul.

Young Tom Morris, the son of the legendary pioneer of golf, Tom Morris, was golf’s first superstar.Born at a pivotal moment in history, just as the new and inexpensive ‘gutty’ ball was making golf affordable and drawing thousands of new players to the game, his genius and his swashbuckling personality would set a game that had been frozen in amber for four centuries on the pathway to becoming worldwide spectator sport we know today.Exhaustively researched and beautifully illustrated, Monarch of the Green is a stirring and evocative history of Tommy’s life (which also includes, for the first time, a compilation of his competitive record in stroke-play tournaments, singles matches, and foursomes) and demonstrates how, in one dazzling decade, this young superstar dominated the sport like few others have ever done.

Listed as one of the five worst international selections ever, and described in a book about Scottish rugby as ‘a full back slower than your average prop’, Ian Smith cheerfully won eight caps for Scotland in a career that saw him score every point for his team on his debut in an historic victory over South Africa (and in so doing became the first Scottish full back to score a Test try) and defeated a star-studded England team to lift the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield in the 1970 Five Nations.One of eight international full backs to have come out of Heriot’s FP, Smith also played for a dashing, innovative Edinburgh University side that revolutionised attacking back play. But this book is so much more than a story of a fleeting Test career. It is a window to another time, when a player could appear, as Smith did, for his club’s third XV and two weeks later make his international debut for his country. And then, eight Tests later, return to his club where he was only considered good enough to play for the second XV.

The School of Hard Knox chronicles the life and career of one of the most admired and respected coaches ever to grace Scottish football, Archie Knox.After his early days at Forfar Athletic, Archie became a key ally for Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen and Manchester United. Together they won the Scottish league title, Scottish Cup and, of course, on a never to be forgotten night in Gothenburg in 1983, they led the Dons to European Cup Winners’ Cup glory against the mighty Real Madrid.FA Cup success followed with United as Archie played a vital role in resurrecting the fortunes of a sleeping giant at Old Trafford. On his return to Scotland, he assisted Walter Smith – a one-time teammate at Dundee United – to historic triumphs at Rangers. They clinched Nine in a Row, won the Treble and came within 90 minutes of reaching the first-ever Champions League final.After moving to Everton, Archie also had spells with the Scotland national team as well as Motherwell and an emotional return to Aberdeen with Craig Brown. From Willie Miller and Alex McLeish, Bryan Robson and Ryan Giggs, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup, Archie has worked with some of the greatest players ever to grace British football. Through his own words and those who witnessed his wit, his work and his wisdom, this is the untold story of a remarkable career.

Fully updated to include Ireland’s historic victory over the All Blacks and their 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam.From Jack Kyle's immortals to Brian O'Driscoll's golden generation, this is the story of Irish rugby told in the players' words.Celebrated rugby writer Tom English embarks on a pilgrimage through the four provinces to reveal the fascinating and illuminating story of playing test rugby in the emerald green of Ireland – all the glory of victory, all the pain of defeat, and all the craic behind the scenes.But this is more than just a nostalgic look back through the years, it is a searing portrait of the effects of politics and religion on Irish sport, a story of great schisms and volatile divisions, but also as story of the profound unity, passionate friendships and the bonds of a brotherhood.With exclusive new interview material with a host of Ireland rugby greats, No Borders unveils the compelling truth of what it means to play for Ireland at Lansdowne Road, Croke Park and around the world. This is the ultimate history of Irish rugby – told, definitively, by the men who have been there and done it.

This edition is fully updated to include Mayweather’s battle with UFC star Conor McGregor.Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather is one of the most successful professional boxers of all time, with fifty professional victories in a glittering unbeaten ring career that has spanned two decades. Mayweather was born into a boxing family that was barely surviving on the poverty line. His father had enjoyed
a modestly successful career in the ring but had to make ends meet on the street. When a rival drug dealer arrived at the house and threatened to shoot him, Floyd Mayweather Sr picked up his son and used him as a human shield. Such were the ashes from which Floyd was to rise.This is the remarkable story of Floyd Mayweather’s ascent from these bleak origins to become the highest-paid sportsman on the planet. It is a story of greed, arrogance, abuse, extraordinary boxing ability and unrivalled ambition. In Money, Tris Dixon explores it all in a searing, insightful and often brutal exposé of one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.

In April 1956 and in April 2011, Ken Venturi and Rory McIlroy each carried commanding leads of four shots into the final day of the US Masters at Augusta National. The green jacket was theirs for the taking, but in their final rounds, both men self-destructed, each shooting 80 over their final 18 holes. For each player the collapse was complete and damning. Remarkably, after their shattering losses at Augusta, both men found salvation in the US Open at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda. Liam Hayes brilliantly pits the incredible struggles and victories of perhaps the single most naturally talented golfer from the 1950s and '60s against the most naturally talented golfer of today. Masters of Men uniquely, and dramatically, brings Venturi and McIlroy together in time, teeing off side by side, walking the same fairways, and facing the greatest challenges of their golfing lives. Over 50 years apart, Venturi and McIlroy experienced extremes of fortune, losing and winning on a scale seldom witnessed in sport. This is their

Fernando Ricksen is a fighter. As a footballer, he carved out a fearsome reputation for Rangers, Zenit St Petersburg and the Netherlands. Throughout his time at Ibrox, his aggressive approach won him hero status among the Rangers fans, and off the field he was just as dynamic a force, finding himself on the front pages of the national newspapers as often as in the sports sections. After leaving the club in 2006 and signing for Zenit St Petersburg, he went on to defeat his former teammates in the final of the 2008 UEFA Cup and established as wild a reputation in Russia as he had in Glasgow. In a career that saw him win twelve caps for Holland and an array of silverware and titles for Fortuna Sittard, AZ Alkmaar, Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg, Ricksen has stood out both on and off the field with the sheer force of his personality and his never-say-die attitude. In late 2013, Ricksen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and here he candidly reveals his battle with the deadly disease, once again displaying the fighting spirit for which he is famed. He has experienced a rollercoaster of highs and lows in both his personal and professional life and now reveals all in this extraordinary story, an explosive expose of football, alcohol, drugs, sex, violence and corruption. With foreword by Barry Ferguson.

I have always thought Gleneagles is one of the greatest places in the world to play golf' – Jack Nicklaus The Ryder Cup is coming home to where it all began; the 40th staging of golf's showpiece event is returning to Gleneagles, Scotland. Tracing the history of the Ryder Cup back to that famous forerunner match at Gleneagles in 1921, this book intertwines the histories of the coveted prize with the five-star resort's own rich heritage, on and off the course. Through a series of over 80 in-depth interviews with an array of national and international celebrities, including Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Sir Jackie Stewart, Andy Murray and Stephen Hendry, Jewel in the Glen reveals what the Ryder Cup and Gleneagles means to them while examining the impact of the tournament on the local community and the wider Scottish society, culture, and economy. With a foreword from golf's greatest player, Jack Nicklaus, designer of the Ryder Cup 2014 course, The PGA Centenary, and a hole-byhole guide by Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie, this volume paints a unique and absorbing portrait of Gleneagles and Scottish golf as a whole.

Access inside the changing room and behind the scenes that any journalist or writer would kill for — Perarnau's insights are astonishing' — Graham Hunter 'Write about everything you see. Be as critical as you like' — Pep Guardiola to Marti Perarnau, summer 2013 Marti Perarnau was given total access to Bayern Munich during season 2013–14. This book represents the first time in the modern era that a writer has got this close to one of the elite teams of world football. At the invitation of Pep Guardiola, he shadowed the Catalan, his staff and his superstar players during training and on matchdays. Bayern smashed domestic records on their way to the double, but were humiliated by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final. Perarnau was with them every step of the way. Perarnau is with Guardiola as he is courted by the world's greatest clubs during his sabbatical in New York. We hear Guardiola explain in detail the radical tactical moves which transform Bayern's season and reprogramme the players who will win the World Cup with Germany.Perarnau talks exclusively and in fascinating detail with players such as Arjen Robben, Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Thiago Alcantara and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Pep Confidential is much more than the story of a season — it is also a lasting portrait of one of the greatest coaches in sport. Marti Perarnau, former Spanish Olympiad turned journalist, is a renowned football analyst. He writes for a number of Spanish newspapers and runs the hugely popular Perarnau Magazine blog. He lives in Barcelona.

Stuart Barnes has spent over forty years of his life immersed in rugby union, remembered as one of the most controversial playing names during the dying days of the English amateur era and now regarded as a controversial observers in the media — on both television and in print — with over two decades of broadcasting and journalistic experience to draw upon.Sketches from Memory combines autobiography with an objective and off-beat study of the sport from the author’s childhood in the 1970s, through the revolution of the transition to professionalism in the 1980s and 1990s, right up until the present day.Eschewing the more traditional form of the sports book, Barnes abandons chronology to allow past and present to mingle, presenting his memoirs as an alphabetical soup with the letters of the alphabet and not the numbers, dates and years of his life leading the narrative. It is a refreshing, beguiling and absorbing approach that allows the dedicated reader to complete the book in sequence, or the bed-side reader to flick from one letter to the next without losing the thread.Honest, insightful, funny and wise, Sketches from Memory is a fascinating study of the game of rugby union, exploring its myriad enchantments, controversies and world-famous characters like no other book has done before.