Unfit and Improper Persons: An Idiot s Guide to Owning a Football Club

Day, Kevin/ Maguire, Kieran/ Kilty, Guy

ISBN 10: 1399407546 / ISBN 13: 9781399407540

Published by Bloomsbury Sport, 2023

About this Item

256 pages. 8.50x5.32x1.00 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # 1399407546

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Unfit and Improper Persons: An Idiot s Guide to Owning a Football Club
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Sport
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1399407546
• ISBN 13: 9781399407540
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.45 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

'A very funny book that tackles some serious football issues.' Gary Lineker

'Witty and wise.' Clare Balding

'Brilliant. Blows the lid off football. Hilarious, detailed and insightful.' Alan Davies

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Ever dreamed of setting up your own football club?

Join the team behind The Price of Football podcast as they start a (fictional) football club and discover what's really going on behind the scenes of the beautiful game.

Buying a football club will set you back a few quid, but you've also got to pass the Premier League and EFL's 'fit and proper persons test'. That all seems like a bit of a faff to the team behind the award-winning podcast The Price of Football, so acclaimed comedy writer Kevin Day, football finance expert Kieran Maguire and producer Guy Kilty start an imaginary club instead.

In Unfit and Improper Persons they take West Park Rovers on a hilarious journey from the lowest level of the FA pyramid right up to the English Football League, the Premier League and, if fortune favours the fictional, into the heart of Europe.

At least that's the plan, but inevitably they face a few challenges along the way. Where to find a shirt sponsor? What should the mascot be – is a dog called Rover too obvious? Can they pay the women's team the same as the men's team? (Spoiler alert: hardly anyone else does.) And how can they get Messi to the Kleanwell Stadium next season, like they promised the fans?

Roofing over the toilets, paying the electric on the floodlights, salary caps, parachute payments and avoiding bankruptcy, never mind relegation – owning a football club isn't all about stuffing prawn sarnies and quaffing champagne in the directors' box.

Unfit and Improper Persons is informed, funny and, thanks to exclusive interviews with those who've been there, done that, it lays bare the labyrinthine world of football finance.

About the Authors

Kevin Day is an acclaimed stand-up comedian and one of the country's leading comedy writers. He writes for Have I Got News for You and A League of Their Own, regularly appears on TalkSport and BBC 5 Live, and is known to football fans for his supporter-focused reporting on Match of the Day 2. Kevin also presents a podcast called The Price of Football with football finance expert and academic Kieran Maguire. A Crystal Palace supporter, Kevin even held his wedding reception at Selhurst Park.

Kieran Maguire is the go-to expert on football finance matters. When not regularly appearing on television and radio commentating on matters related to club finance, he teaches the Football Industries MBA at the University of Liverpool Management School. Forbes describes Maguire as a 'soccer finance expert' and his expertise has earned him nicknames such as "Columbo of football finance", and the "rain man of football finance". @KieranMaguire