{"title":"Books by Simon Hughes","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781408721186","title":"Chasing Salah","description":"Despite his consistency, his achievements and more-so, his visibility, he has never written an autobiography and a biography has never been written about him. He remains an enigmatic figure. We barely know how his teammates really feel about him and we do not know what he thinks of them. We do not really know about the world around him: how the events of the past decade in Egypt have impacted on his own life. We barely know what really motivates him. And we also know very little about where he is heading: whether a deal to join the exodus of high level European-based footballers in Saudi Arabia really interests him. This biography seeks to answer those questions by attempting to speak to the people who know him best through a mixture of on-record and off-record interviews. A definitive biography to remember.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":55897381470581,"sku":"9781408721186","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57685809332597,"sku":"9781408721155","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781408721186.jpg?v=1792599004"},{"product_id":"9780552176774","title":"Allez Allez Allez","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe perfect book for any Liverpool fan!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'WE ARE LIVERPOOL - THIS MEANS MORE.' JÜRGEN KLOPP\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAllez Allez Allez\u003c\/i\u003e is the inside account of Liverpool FC's 2018\/19 season, a campaign which saw the club compete in the most gripping Premier League title race in history and become Champions of Europe for the sixth time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeaturing access to management, players and staff, \u003ci\u003eAllez Allez Allez\u003c\/i\u003e explains how Liverpool have emerged from what Jürgen Klopp described as the \"depression\" of 2015 to achieve feats that have eluded an entire generation of supporters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough original research and exclusive interviews, Simon Hughes takes readers into Melwood, the club's training ground, and behind the dressing room door. He takes them to Chapel Street, where the club's business is determined and to America, where it is owned. He takes them into Anfield, where many of the most important moments are defined, and he takes them on to the pitches of the Premier League and the Champions League, culminating in victory in Madrid, as we revisit how one of Liverpool's greatest seasons was written.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56290911125877,"sku":"9780552176774","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552176774_5c36ba87-8b30-4a74-9003-042b6c29fcd4.jpg?v=1786013647"},{"product_id":"9780552775069","title":"And God Created Cricket","description":"\u003cp\u003eCricket defines Englishness like no other national pastime. From its earliest origins in the sixteenth century (or an early version played by shepherds called \u003ci\u003ecreag\u003c\/i\u003e in the 1300s), through the formation of the MCC and the opening of Lord's cricket ground in 1787, to the spread of county cricket in the next century, when the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published and the Ashes series was born, this simple sport of bat and ball has captured the imagination of the masses. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout its 500-year history, cricket has been a mirror for society as a whole, reflecting the changes that have brought us from the quintessential village green to Freddie Flintoff's pedalo, from W G Grace to Monty Panesar, via a fair number of eccentrics, heroes and downright villains.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Hill Award-winning writer Simon Hughes, no mean player himself, has lived and breathed cricket his whole life and now takes his analytical skills and typically irreverent eye to charting the history of English cricket. But this is no dry, dusty tome. It is the story of the mad characters who inhabit the game, the extraordinary lengths people will go to to watch and play it, the tale of a national obsession. It debunks the myth of cricket sportsmanship, showing the origins of sledging and match-fixing in centuries of subterfuge, corruption and violence. And it takes us beyond sport, to the heart of what it really means to be English.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291026174325,"sku":"9780552775069","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552775069_fe44a307-d45f-4e7a-8dc2-465ecca77f22.jpg?v=1786013377"},{"product_id":"9780552171380","title":"Men in White Suits","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMen in White Suits\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Simon Hughes meets some of the most colourful characters to have played for Liverpool Football Club during the 1990s. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe resulting interviews, set against the historical backdrop of both the club and the city, deliver a rich portrait of life at Anfield during a decade when on-field frustrations were symptomatic of off-the-field mismanagement and ill-discipline. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter the shock resignation of Dalglish and Graeme Souness's ill-fated reign, the Reds – under the stewardship of Roy Evans – displayed a breathtaking style led by a supremely talented young group of British players whose names featured as regularly on the front pages of the tabloids as they did on the back. The\u003ci\u003e Daily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e was the first newspaper to tag Evans’s team as the Spice Boys. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet despite their flaws, this was a rare group of individuals: mavericks, playboys, goal-scorers and luckless defenders. Wearing off-white Armani suits, their confident personalities were exemplified in their pre-match walk around Wembley before the 1996 FA Cup final (a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn stark contrast to the media-coached, on-message interviews given by today’s top stars, the blunt, ribald and sometimes cutting recollections of the footballers featured in \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMen in White Suits\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e provide a rare insight into this fascinating era in Liverpool’s long and illustrious history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291266036085,"sku":"9780552171380","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552171380_c0d8852e-5c00-4538-8415-897dca23b588.jpg?v=1786013433"},{"product_id":"9780747255161","title":"A Lot of Hard Yakka","description":"Between 1980 and 1993, Simon Hughes was a regular on the county circuit, playing for Middlesex until 1991 before moving on to Durham at the end of his career. In that time, he played alongside some of the great characters in cricket: Mike Brearley, Mike Gatting, Phil Edmonds and Ian Botham. This is not an autobiography of a good county pro, but a look at the ups and downs, the lifestyle, the practical jokes and sheer hard yakka that make such a poorly paid, insecure job appeal to so many. Now a respected journalist and broadcaster, Simon Hughes has written a brilliant, amusing and wrily self-depracating book, packed with hilarious and embarrassing anecdotes about some of the greatest cricketers of the last 20 years.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56297743974773,"sku":"9780747255161","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780747255161_65e4ed27-3529-483b-a68d-8381d38fe382.jpg?v=1786015165"},{"product_id":"9781780576916","title":"Red Machine","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1980s, Liverpool Football Club dominated English football, winning six league titles, two European Cups, two FA Cups and four League Cups. In \u003ci\u003eRed Machine\u003c\/i\u003e, Simon Hughes interviews some of the most colourful characters to have played for the club during that period. The resulting interviews, set against the historical backdrop of both the club and the city, provide a vivid portrait of life at Liverpool during an era when the club’s unparalleled on-pitch success often went hand in hand with a boozy social scene fraught with rows, fights and wind-ups.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe players featured here include John Barnes, Bruce Grobbelaar, Howard Gayle, Michael Robinson, John Wark, Kevin Sheedy, Nigel Spackman, Steve Staunton, David Hodgson and Craig Johnston, as well as first-team coach Ronnie Moran. Their candid, ribald and sometimes scathing recollections provide an antidote to the media-coached, on-message interviews given by today’s players and combine to offer a unique insight to this exciting time in the club’s history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304458760565,"sku":"9781780576916","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781780576916_2b4dcc4f-f99d-4c47-99ae-a34462743cbe.jpg?v=1786025663"},{"product_id":"9781916278448","title":"There She Goes","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56309341094261,"sku":"9781916278448","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781916278448_6d2c57ad-5170-4cf8-bb84-dc153e68f8ba.jpg?v=1786031125"},{"product_id":"steve-hedges-reports-pa","title":"STEVE HEDGES REPORTS PA","description":null,"brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499266220405,"sku":"9780671773830","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780671773830.jpg?v=1786694582"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-simon-hughes.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}