Edge

Ben Lyttleton is a football writer, broadcaster and director of Soccernomics. He is also the author of Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty, and Football School: Where Football Explains the World, a series written to encourage children’s literacy.

‘I devoured this. Lyttleton's journey to the fringes of sporting thought, greedily absorbing innovations as he goes, translates into a pacy, thought-provoking work that reveals just how nuanced sporting – and indeed business – success is in the modern world. The insight into born leaders such as Didier Deschamps, who flex their style rather than their authority, is compelling, as too are the regular reminders of the capacity for old-fashioned qualities such as cohesion and resilience to trump skill and potential. Are enough businesses playing the equivalent of head-up football with their talent and resources? They may start to after reading this.’ – Duncan Craig, Sunday Times