Exploring the Phenomenon of the English Premier League: A Look into How the League Became the Wildest, Richest, and Most Disruptive Force in Sports

Weston P.: I never thought a non-fiction book could be a page turner but this one is it. I blew through it in under one week which is pretty fast for me! As an American who is relatively new to European soccer/football, this book really gave me a lot of insight into the Premier League.

Have you ever looked at the list of Prem champions and wondered how and why Blackburn Rovers snuck their way onto that list? This book goes over a lot of interesting stories like that.

It’s non-fiction but reads like a novel. I highly recommend it.

United States on Aug 26, 2023

Christopher J.: I really enjoyed this book being a relatively new fan of the English Premier league. I wasn’t aware of all the somewhat recent history that went into forming the league, rivalries, etc. Probably wouldn’t be a great book for a long time fan but for a new fan worth your time to purchase

United States on Jan 11, 2023

Brandon Kuring: Very well-written. Learned a ton about the business side of the premier league with some added humor from the writers. Wasn't too technical when getting in depth on certain deals/contracts made within the league. Written much more like a story than a history lecture. Would highly recommend to anybody interested in sports business....definitely a must read if you're a soccer/football fan.

United States on Jan 06, 2023

pooja: This is a fantastic place to start if you're interested in football/the premier league. It reads like fiction, but is very well researched and written. It keeps you interested, laughing and most importantly tells the tale of how we got here in a very clear and gripping manner.

United States on Dec 28, 2022

Michael Beaty: I bought the book hoping for a background on the formation of the league but obviously this is not that. If you already have a background of knowledge of the league in the early years, this adds a little more background to stories you probably know. Enjoyed it, and will recommend to friends.

United Kingdom on Oct 20, 2021

Robinson Vasconcelos: Ótimo livro. Muitas informações inéditas de bastidores que ajudam a entender por completo o contexto histórico desse grande desafio que foi construir o maior produto de esporte da atualidade.

Brazil on Jan 28, 2020

gabriel: Excellente

France on Sep 06, 2019

Hande Z: The English Premier League, known universally simply as 'EPL' is both bane and bone to sport, especially in England. As the authors say, 'It had become an occupational hazard for Premier League fans that when they bought a jersey with a player's name on the back the $100 garment they had just splashed out for had a shorter shelf life than the latest iPhone'. How did football get to this? It will be so nostalgic when Jack Butland wears a plain green jersey in tribute to the late Stoke City goalkeeper, Gordon Banks in the match with Aston Villa on 2nd March.

The book begins with humble beginnings of English clubs, and even big clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United, were 'a loosely affiliated collection of working men full of amateur ideals...club directors abhor the idea of operating a team for profit'. Then in the 1970s, billboard advertising came around. Eventually, so did the Glazer family, Hicks & Gillet, and Abramovich. The authors show how Arsenal's example in thrift and the big stadium brought a flurry of change. Hitherto, even the big clubs were camped in out-of-date and cramped stadiums; what more the lesser clubs?

In comes big money, and...

United States on Feb 26, 2019

Umair: The book goes into detail in what the league was like before the creation of the PL and the astonishing growth since. I would recommend this to any sports business fan

Canada on Feb 18, 2019

Christian Merschinger: The book is informative and - like the subject of the book - a good entertainment in itself. Great read for anyone interested in football (soccer), globalization and the 'love match' between Football and TV.

There are many funny passages, perhaps even more so for non native speakers like me, here just one example:

"On the pitch, Gullit's comically superior standard was obvious. From his position behind the defence, he would bring down long balls on his chest and then volley a pass out to this fullbacks just to hear the crowd gasp. (The more traditional English approach in that situation would have been to hammer the ball into the next parliamentary constituency) But when he tried to build Chelsea's play from the back in the Dutch style he'd always known, Gullit ran into trouble: he'd pass the ball to his fellow defenders only to find that they didn't want the damn thing.... . (p. 83).

Germany on Jan 12, 2019