Ian Ridley – författare

'Claridge is not just a character...it's his utter inability to take football, or life, even remotely seriously which makes his book so entertaining' TOTAL SPORT'Ranks among the best football books of recent years' DAILY TELEGRAPHThe biography of Steve Claridge, as much a story of a Midlands cult hero as a vivid portrait of life in the lower divisions of English football.Away from the glamour and wall-to-wall coverage of the Premiership lies the reality, for the majority of fans and players, of British football. From Claridge's early days with non-league Weymouth, to the Premiership with Leicester, and back to First-Division Portsmouth, TALES FROM THE BOOT CAMPS spans the lows of irregular salary payments and training sessions on dog-fouled carparks at Aldershot, and the highs of the last-minute win in a First Division play-off at Wembley, and on to the Premiership. Controversial, itinerant, but popular wherever he has played, Claridge also talks frankly about his addiction to gambling. Part biography, part autobiography, it is full of insight and dry wit, a unique portrait of British football.

With 2011 celebrating the Premier League''s 20th anniversary, it''s time to take stock of a phenomenon that has changed English football - and English society - forever. Ian Ridley took a long hard look at the game back in the 1980s against a backdrop of recession, strikes and football hooliganism. In this new book he examines just how far the game has come, sucking in players and money from around the globe and providing fame, fortune and hours of pleasure in return. It includes:- Interviews with major players such as the chairman of the FA, top-flight managers, and the broker who sold Chelsea to Abramovich.- A behind-the-scenes look at clubs such as Fulham and Manchester United, as well as roles within football like refereeing.- An exploration of the finances of the game, its changing profile and the growing gap between the Premier League and the rest of the game.As he examines the changes that have occurred over the last twenty years, Ridley seeks to discover if the soul of the game still exists. With his eye for detail, his knack for voices and his incisive intelligence, he has woven together a rich and fascinating story of football''s metamorphosis from social outcast to favourite child.

In its first 20 years the Premier League has moved football from a state of unprecedented crisis against a backdrop of recession, strikes and hooliganism to a global sport of unimaginable riches. To mark this anniversary Ian Ridley takes stock of a phenomenon that has changed English football and English society forever. Taking in the game at all levels and across the country, There''s A Golden Sky is a full picture of the game today with all its glitz and glamour, rags and riches. From Hackney Marshes, clinging on in the shadow of the Olympic park, to the vastness of Old Trafford; from Doncaster Belles women''s team to the rebirth of Cornish football in Truro; through to the modern game''s relationship with Sky and the big bucks of Abramovich, Ridley takes us on a journey through the English game from grassroots to the topflight. Ian Ridley took a long hard look at the game back in the early 1990s when it was beset by problems both on and off the pitch and seen as the epitome of all that was wrong with our society. There''s a Golden Sky examines just how far the game has come since those dark days, sucking in players and money from around the globe and providing fame, fortune and hours of pleasure in return. Examining the changes that have occurred over the last 20 years, Ridley seeks to discover if the soul of the game still exists. Through interviews with larger-than-life characters from around the game managers, referees, administrators, players and fans he has woven together a rich and fascinating story of football''s metamorphosis from social outcast to favourite child.

Jimmy Armfield was one of the great figures of English football - captain of the national team before Bobby Moore, member of the 1966 World Cup-winning squad, one-club man with Blackpool. Gentleman Jim went on to enjoy a wonderfully rich life and career as a manager with Leeds United, before becoming a broadcaster of warmth and insight, then consultant with the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association. In Pantomime Hero, award-winning football writer and author Ian Ridley tells the remarkable tale of when Armfield took over at Leeds after Brian Clough's ill-fated 44 days and came up with a novel and unique idea to restore the morale of a club in turmoil. Around that amazing tale, Ridley also describes a friendship forged through the bonds of cancer with a giant of a man who was already long established as a national footballing treasure at the time of his death in January 2018. This is the first book in the innovative Football Shorts series.