The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football's True Talent Spotters

by Michael Calvin

Overview

Winner of The Times British Sports Book Award 2014.

A fascinating insight into the enclosed world of football scouts in the UK

A teenaged boy plays football in a suburban park. His name is Raheem Sterling. The call is made: “Get down here quick. This is something special”.

Another boy is 8, going on 28. His name is Jack Wilshere. The referee, an Arsenal scout, spirits him away from Luton Town.

A young goalkeeper struggles on loan at Cheltenham Town in League Two. His name is Jack Butland. Within months he will be playing for England.

Welcome to football’s hidden tribe. Scouts are everywhere yet nowhere, faceless and nameless, despite making the informed decisions worth millions. Award-winning sportswriter Michael Calvin opens up their hidden world, examining their disconnected lifestyles, petty betrayals and unconsidered professionalism of men who spend long, lonely hours on the road.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781448149964
Publisher:	Random House
Publication date:	08/08/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	665 KB

About the Author

Michael Calvin is one of the UK’s most versatile sportswriters, having worked in more than 80 countries, covering seven summer Olympics, and six World Cup finals. He was named Sportswriter of the Year for his despatches as a crew member in a round the world yacht race, and has twice been named Sports Reporter of the Year. He is currently chief sports writer with the Independent on Sunday, and has held similar positions at the Daily Telegraph, Times and Mail on Sunday. His last book, Family: Life Death and Football, was shortlisted in the 2011 Sports Book Awards. It was a critically-acclaimed study of a season embedded at Millwall, one of English football’s most notorious clubs.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

1 The Initiation 1

2 Billy's Boys 19

3 The Secret Room 38

4 Parklife 57

5 Hiding in Plain Sight 78

6 Mileage Men 100

7 Chat Show 125

8 Big Boys Lost 148

9 Moneyball, RIP 170

10 Ghost Games 189

11 Yellow Ten and the Custard Cream Kid 210

12 I'm Still There 230

13 The Road to Perdition 249

14 The Loneliness of the Long-distance Walker 271

15 Hunger Games 292

16 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 311

17 Glue Guys and Bad Buys 330

18 Smelling the Tulips 353

Index 375

Editorial Reviews

"A magnificent book, full of extraordinary characters and beautifully told."  —Guardian

"A book you have to read."  —The Times

“the book is full of great stories and really shows you yet another perspective into the beautiful game, one that hasn’t been told until now.”  —InternationalSoccerNetwork.com

EBOOK COMMENTARY

"A magnificent book, full of extraordinary characters and beautifully told."  —Guardian


"A book you have to read."  —The Times



“the book is full of great stories and really shows you yet another perspective into the beautiful game, one that hasn’t been told until now.”  —InternationalSoccerNetwork.com

From the Publisher