Rob Smyth
Jumpers for Goalposts is a fascinating and funny reflection on why football has changed so much since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, and why the old descriptions of â€œthe beautiful gameâ€ and â€œthe peopleâ€™s gameâ€ no longer fit.,Smyth & Turner look at all the things that have stripped the charm and innocence from football, a list that includes grotesque wages and transfer fees, diving, 4-5-1, TV overkill, political correctness â€“ and the lack of decent moustaches.,With a wit and concern for the game we love, Jumpers for Goalposts is an engaging study of how football has sold its soul â€“ and, perhaps more importantly, whether it can get it back.,"As a catalogue of all that is wrong with the game, the book is accurate and thorough. As rhetoric, it is stylish and irresistible ... It is not a new idea to index the simultaneous depravity and mundanity of modern football. But it has never been done as well as this. Richard Scudamore will despise every word, and there can be no higher praise than that." -- When Saturday Comes,"Smyth and Turner have done an absolutely excellent job summing up the travails of the modern game in 'Jumpers for goalposts' â€“ there are numerous anecdotes that needed re-telling and the depth of knowledge and research contained in the book is staggering ... Kudos also to Smyth and Turner for finishing off the book with a humdinger of a conclusion. After flagging up all the problems with the game today, they set out to remedy them and come up with some fine suggestions. However unlikely, hopefully some of the game's administrators are reading this tome." -- 101greatgoals.com,"'Jumpers for Goalposts' is a fascinating and funny reflection on why football has changed so much since the inception of the English Premier League in 1992, and why the old descriptions of 'the beautiful game' and 'the people's game' no longer fit." -- soccerlens.com
Football,Sports,Sports,Nonfiction
Jumpers for Goalposts: How Football Sold its Soul