The Complete Number 9

The Complete Number 9 is an interview series where we ask authors nine questions about their book, the writing process and their football-writing influences. Pitch Invasion: My story as a feminist on a Football Club board gives readers an insider's view of the quirky yet revolutionary culture at Lewes FC. From organising Suffragette flash mobs to introducing Prosecco on tap at the stadium, Karen Dobres brings to life her experiences at this fan-owned, debt-free, gender-equal club where everyone - from local supporters to pop stars - helps shape the future of the game Photo © Zoe Birkbeck What gave you...

The Complete Number 9 is an interview series where we ask authors nine questions about their book, the writing process and their football-writing influences. Since its origins as a provincial cottage industry almost twenty-five years ago, online gambling has become a globe-straddling behemoth worth more than £10 billion a year. It can sometimes feel as if the point of sport is to bet on it. How did we get here? How did a new wave of gambling brands hijack sport on a global scale? In Imitation Games: How Gambling Hijacked Sport, Darragh McGee travels the world to tell the incredible story...

The Complete Number 9 is an interview series where we ask authors nine questions about their book, the writing process and their football-writing influences. In The Impossible Job: The Truly Unbelievable World of Football Referees, William Ralston delves deep into the emotional rollercoaster that is refereeing, offering an unprecedented look inside football's most misunderstood subject. Photo © Thomas Broadhead What gave you the idea for the book?I was struck first and foremost by the toxicity in refereeing. When I began writing, two referees, Anthony Taylor in England and a Turkish referee, had both been attacked — Anthony Taylor at the...

The Complete Number 9 is an interview series where we ask authors nine questions about their book, the writing process and their football-writing influences. In The Spectre of Pep: How Guardiola Haunts Modern Football Tactics, The Athletic's Jon Mackenzie explores the evolution of modern football tactics through the prism of the greatest manager of the last 20 years: Pep Guardiola What gave you the idea for the book?I guess my situation is quite unique in that I was approached by Seven Dials, the publisher, to write the next book in a loose series, a sequel to Jonathan Wilson's excellent Inverting the...

The Complete Number 9 is an interview series where we ask authors nine questions about their book, the writing process and their football-writing influences.

In The Derbyless City: An Emotional Map of Berlin Football, author Damiano Benzoni uncovers the hidden world of Berlin football, exploring its full depth far beyond the bright lights of the Bundesliga.