What You Think You Know About Football is Wrong: The Global Game’s Greatest Myths and Untruths

by Kevin Moore

Written by a world-respected football historian, this football history unpacks the global game's greatest myths in a charming gift edition.

Football has been completely as a result, many of the things football fans think they know about the game and its history turn out not to be true. Written by Kevin Moore, the founding director of the National Football Museum (the world's leading football museum), this thoroughly researched and authoritative book debunks more than 50 of the greatest myths surrounding football. Moore unearths the truth behind many accepted myths,

· The Germans took football to Brazil, not the English
· Rugby and not football could quite easily have been the world's leading sport
· There are gay professional players . . . and always have been!
· Goalkeepers should not dive for penalties
· Football hooliganism did not begin in England
· Shirt colors do make a difference
· Cambridge and not Sheffield is the home of the oldest football club in the world
· Arsenal should not be in the Premier League . . . they cheated to be there
· The Dynamo Kiev team were not executed after beating a German SS team in 1941
· England did not win the World Cup fairly in 1966 . . . but not in the way you think!

Genres: Football, Sports, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published February 25, 2020

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was in equal parts interesting and frustrating, as it combined factual topics with far more subjective ones. Some of the 50 myths were a bit too much like clickbait and the concise nature of each subject meant that there were quite a few unproven and uncredited assertions.

One that stuck in the memory is that footballers are not overpaid, on the basis that actors and musicians also get a lot of money, and that it is a class issue because nobody has a problem with that. The news about BBC pay suggests the public also thinks those in TV are overpaid, so I thought this was a false comparison. This was more of a truism than truly unmasking a myth.

There were interesting sections too - how Arsenal were promoted to the top flight and early football in the USA and when Moore stuck to the more objective history this was decent. But there was a lack of nuance to the more subjective sections, such as Europe winning all World Cups and the Premier League not being exciting, which didn't have the evidence to back up such forthright claims.

As a result it didn't successfully dispel the myths and while it was clearly meant to be a light read, each part was too short for me and too subjective on the whole. Considering this was the director of the National Football museum I would have expected a bit more commitment to sticking to the facts.

[D. Darko · Rating 5 out of 5]

If, like me, you love the beautiful game,  then this book is for you. An indispensable source of information which will keep you loaded with knowledge when sat around with your mates shooting the shit. I absolutely loved this book, when, in the digital age, information is readily at your disposal, this proved to be entertaining and insightful read. Kudos to the writer, where it could have been dull, it's fascinating!

[Alexander Caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a very entertaining book, lots of fun facts... i

[Kyle Youngblood · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little book that breaks down common beliefs of Football fans. Short read and overall a nice little book.

[Scott E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and digestible. Reminded me a bit of the facts books you could read as a kid

[Nopadol Rompho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining and surprising facts about football. If you love this game, I highly recommended it.