Leo Moynihan – författare

NOMINATED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2022'Superbly insightful' - FourFourTwo‘Hugely enjoyable.’ - Henry Winter, Chief Football writer, The Times'A brilliant read.' - Jamie Carragher------Complex, overlooked and misunderstood, football’s centre-halves rarely take centre-stage. Leo Moynihan’s long overdue celebration of this much-maligned position explores the unique mindset and last-ditch, bone-crunching tackles of the traditionally bruising hard man, hell-bent on destroying glory.Football is often romanticised as ‘The Beautiful Game’. If that’s true, then the game’s centre-half might be considered the unsightly pimple on the end of its otherwise perfectly formed nose. The stopper is the last line of defence, the big man with small ideas, the lump who lumps it.Thou Shall Not Pass (from a command England captain Terry Butcher shouted before every match) celebrates the football position where brutal characters are loved for their hard-hitting tackles and bruising mentality, and yet laughed at for their apparent lack of skill.Covering the long and illustrious history of the centre-half, Thou Shall Not Pass takes the reader into the muddy penalty area frequented by our protagonists, into their domain. The places they head the ball, the places where they tackle, the places in which they will stop at nothing to stop a forward. What makes a defender approach the game the way they do? What makes them different from those whose sole purpose is flair?Featuring exclusive interviews – including those with Virgil van Dijk, Jamie Carragher, Terry Butcher, Mark Lawrenson, Darren Moore, Steph Houghton, Tony Adams, Frank Leboeuf and Dion Dublin – and packed with rich and highly entertaining anecdotes, the book explores all aspects of the position and investigates the mentality of those who ply their trade there.

Liverpool FC Cult Heroes is devoted to 20 players who, over the years, have won a special place in the hearts of the Anfield faithful - not necessarily the greatest footballers, but a unique brotherhood of mavericks and stalwarts, local lads and big signings. The cast list alone is enough to stir up memories and tug at the heartstrings of any Reds fan - Elisha Scott, Billy Liddell and Joey Jones, Johnston, Carragher and Suarez - recalling how these charismatic personalities ignited passion on the terraces. Find out which Red icon was left at a motorway service-station as a prank. Which striker was involved in a punch-up with Italian waiters after a European Cup semi in Milan. And which skipper was carried through Lime Street station on the shoulders of fans. Discover and delight in the magical qualities of these 20 mere mortals elevated to cult status by the Red half of Liverpool.

Three of the greatest football clubs: Celtic, Liverpool and Manchester United. Their three greatest managers: Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Matt Busby.Three men born within a 20-mile radius of each other in the central lowlands of Scotland; forged in mining communities to subsequently shape the course of modern football. More than the sum of its parts, THE THREE KINGS, promises a narrative beyond any single biography of its three subjects could. The track record of Jonny Owen and his producers promises a film of critical and commercial importance - loved by all fans of the beautiful game, as well as by fans of the three greatest clubs in the UK. Together these three clubs have a combined 170,000 season-ticket holders, and social-media followings worldwide of over 200,000,000 people.

Three of the greatest football clubs: Celtic, Liverpool and Manchester United. Their three greatest managers: Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Matt Busby.Three men born within a 20-mile radius of each other in the central lowlands of Scotland; forged in mining communities to subsequently shape the course of modern football. From a BAFTA-winning documentary film maker and the people who brought us AMY, I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES and SENNA, this is a book for anyone who loves football and its history.

The Sweet Silver Song is a forensic study of a manager, a club and arguably the most successful decade in English football. On 12 July 1974, Merseyside fell silent. News had broken that Bill Shankly – the man who transformed Liverpool from a ramshackle Second Division side into a team that could ‘conquer the bloody world’ – had resigned. What followed was uncertainty. Who could replace the irreplaceable? The answer was his assistant, Bob Paisley: quiet, reluctant, the antithesis of Shankly. Yet over nine remarkable years he built a side that became the best in Europe. Drawing on interviews with those who worked with and against him, The Sweet Silver Song explores how Paisley built on Shankly’s foundations, how his teams played, how the club evolved, and how his methods turned great into greatest. This is the story of Liverpool’s era of unparalleled glory – a book sure to delight not just Reds fans, but anyone intrigued by this electrifying chapter in the English game.