The English Premier League

Two veteran sports writers and editors take readers inside the history of the most-watched sports league on earth -- England's Premier League.

The English Premier League (EPL) is one of the world’s most valuable and high-profile sports leagues, with millions of fans around the globe. The 2016/17 season marked the 25th anniversary of the EPL, providing a unique opportunity to reflect on how it has contributed, both positively and negatively, to key developments in football – and in sport and culture more broadly – at local, national and global levels. Drawing on central themes in the social scientific study of sport, such as globalisation, celebrity, fandom, commercialisation, gender, sexuality and race, this book is the first to assess the historical development and current significance of the EPL. With original contributions from several of the world’s leading football scholars, it provides in-depth case studies of the multifaceted role of the EPL in the contemporary world of sport, as well as offering thought-provoking predications for the future challenges that it will face. The English Premier League: A Socio-Cultural Analysis is a fascinating read for any sport studies student or scholar with a particular interest in football and the sociology of sport.

WINNER of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2015 In the last two decades football in Britain has made the transition from a peripheral dying sport to the very centre of our popular culture, from an economic basket-case to a booming entertainment industry. What does it mean when football becomes so central to our private and political lives? Has it enriched us or impoverished us? In this sparkling book David Goldblatt argues that no social phenomenon tracks the momentous economic, social and political changes of the post-Thatcherite era in a more illuminating manner than football, and no cultural practice sheds more light on the aspirations and attitudes of our long boom and now calamitous bust. A must-read for the thinking football fan, The Game of Our Lives will appeal to readers of Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson. It will also be relished by readers of British social history such as Austerity Britain by David Kynaston. 'Brilliantly incisive. Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been. Goldblatt's book could hardly be more impressive' Sunday Times

The Premier League is immensely successful, a true worldwide success of the kind not enjoyed by any other English product. Such is the dominance of the Premier League that people have changed their sleeping habits on match days around the world. This fascinating book charts the rise of the Premier League. Few of its founders saw it as a worldwide phenomenon, but the power of TV media, the wider changes in Europe and influx of rich men s money (led by Roman Abramovich) propelled the Premier League into a class of its own. Yet, the Premier League s rise was a spectacular cocktail of events, few of which were properly anticipated let alone planned for. Without any safeguards as to how clubs are governed, or how English football is protected from predators, we are now witnessing a financial crisis of such dimensions that the game may be forced to change in order to survive. Mihir Bose, the UK s leading sports/business journalist, takes us on a mesmerizing journey involving high stakes, multi-billion pound deals, powerful and rich people, and the future of the beautiful game."

Tens of millions follow it. It attracts the finest global talent to play in what is almost a weekly World Cup. In just 20 years it has transformed football from national embarrassment to Britain's leading cultural export. It offers dreams and drama, pride and passion, triumph and tears. It is the most popular sporting contest on Earth. It is the PREMIER LEAGUE. Celebrating 21 years of football's most popular and prestigious competition told through 10 of the most defining matches in history. Please note: This ebook is hand-crafted. Well not quite, but it is certainly a cut above the rest; great care has been taken to make sure it is both beautiful and highly functional.

Two veteran sports writers and editors take readers inside the history of the most-watched sports league on earth -- England's Premier League.

Discover the origins and history of the top tier of English football. The 2016/17 season marks the 25th of the Premier League after its formation in 1992. After numerous discussions with football authorities, players and television broadcasters, the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League in May 1992 and the Premier League was formed with the inaugural campaign starting on Saturday 15 August of that year. The Premiership charts each of the 25 seasons with the story of how the titles were won and the players who starred. From 2011/12's incredible finale, to Arsenal's "Invincibles," as well as each of Manchester United's record 13 triumphs, find out more about the rich history of the Premier League. The book also includes fan sections for every single one of the clubs that has appeared in the Premiership, with greatest moments and greatest players, as well as the worst

The English Premier League (EPL) is one of the world’s most valuable and high-profile sports leagues, with millions of fans around the globe. The 2016/17 season marked the 25th anniversary of the EPL, providing a unique opportunity to reflect on how it has contributed, both positively and negatively, to key developments in football – and in sport and culture more broadly – at local, national and global levels. Drawing on central themes in the social scientific study of sport, such as globalisation, celebrity, fandom, commercialisation, gender, sexuality and race, this book is the first to assess the historical development and current significance of the EPL. With original contributions from several of the world’s leading football scholars, it provides in-depth case studies of the multifaceted role of the EPL in the contemporary world of sport, as well as offering thought-provoking predications for the future challenges that it will face. The English Premier League: A Socio-Cultural Analysis is a fascinating read for any sport studies student or scholar with a particular interest in football and the sociology of sport.