GLADIATOR by Francesco Totti (with Paolo Condo)

For 25 years Francesco Totti was the uncrowned king of Rome, donning the famous carmine red jersey of the Italian capital’s eponymous football club more times than any other player and scoring more Serie A goals than any other player in history, bar one. Captain of Roma for twenty years he won every domestic honour as well as the 2006 World Cup with Italy.

Now, for the first time, he tells his story in full.

(Publisher: deCoubertin Books. October 2021. Paperback: 350 pages)

SAVED: OVERCOMING A 45-YEAR GAMBLING ADDICTION by Peter & Steph Shilton

After a trophy-laden and record-setting club and international career, England’s greatest ever goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, could rightly look forward to an equally successful post-playing career. But a gambling habit forged in his playing days soon spiralled into a gambling addiction: a silent, self-destructive and ruinous obsession that destroyed relationships, his mental health and very nearly himself.

With the love and support of his wife Steph, he was able to face up to his addiction, find hope for the future and overcome his 45-year secret and turn his life around.

Peter and Steph – who has over 20 years’ experience working in the NHS – now campaign to raise awareness of this, and other destructive addictions, helping both addicts and their partners weather the long and arduous journey back to recovery. Their support for and work with ‘The Big Step’ campaign aims to bring in stricter advertising controls and team kit sponsorship rules.

Steph and Peter bravely tell both sides of their journey with a direct honesty and an empathy born of real-life experience, offering advice and hope to not only those affected by gambling, but sufferers of other chronic addictions. They also shine a light on football’s obsession with gambling, taking millions of pounds from the gambling sites and bookies who sponsor the game, while neglecting to support both the players and fans who fall prey to addiction.

This is the ultimately uplifting story of how he was saved – by Steph’s love and support, and his own strength and determination.

(Publisher: Ad Lib Publishers Ltd. September 2021. Hardcover: 288 pages)

“I HOPE YOU DIE OF CANCER” LIFE IN NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL by Marvin Close

A million miles away from the rich uplands of the Premier League lies the Poundland world of non-league football. A far grittier version of the beautiful game, it’s a glorious ragbag of former EFL clubs on the down, impoverished minnows and ambitious outfits on the make, played by a mix of full-time, part-time and amateur performers.

This is the inside story of life in the lower reaches of English football, seen through the eyes of a player with over a decade’s experience in the Conference and National Leagues.

Footballer X lifts the lid on never-before-told stories of dust-ups, bust-ups, backhanders and betting scandals, the players lucky enough to get contracts and the rest who live precariously from game to game. It’s a story of constant financial struggle, big sacrifices and small victories for owners, fans and players alike. Our footballer is still playing, so the cloak of anonymity allows him to give us a true picture of what life is really like playing as a non-league footballer today.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. January 2022. Paperback: ?272 pages)

FIT AND PROPER PEOPLE: THE LIES AND FALL OF OWNAFC by Martin Calladine & James Cave

In 2019, an app called OwnaFC hit the market promising football fans the chance to by and run their own club. Just a few months later it collapsed leaving customers hundreds and thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Fit and Proper People tell the story of the business that was supposed to revolutionise the game, the people who lost out and the violent consequences suffered by those who tried to hold OwnaFC to account.

The book uncovers how poor regulation and the financial structure of English football makes clubs easy prey for unsuitable owners and how time and gain, the fans are left to pick up the pieces.

With the aborted launch of the European Super League, there is finally widespread recognition that billionaires, venture capitalist, broadcaster and tech business must no longer be allowed to dictate the future of the game.

Fit and Proper People is a powerful expose of the state of football and a call to properly protect clubs and to involve the people who really love them – the fans – in how they are run.

Read our review here: Book Review – Fit (footballbookreviews.com)

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. January 2022. Paperback: 352 pages)