The Club
How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
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The Club
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Narrated by:
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Shaun Grindell
About this listen
This is a sports and business tale of how money, ambition, and 25 years of drama remade an ancient institution into a 21st-century entertainment empire.
No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
Deeply researched and drawing on 100 exclusive interviews, including the key decision makers at every major English team, The Club is the definitive and wildly entertaining narrative of how the Premier League took over the world.
©2018 Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 491
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 427
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 425
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Ahhh the USFL
- By Film Lover on 10-11-18
By: Jeff Pearlman
-
The League
- How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire
- By: John Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 291
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
The National Football League's current dominance has obscured how professional football got its start. In The League, John Eisenberg reveals that Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell took an immense risk by investing in the professional game. At that time, the sport barely registered on the national scene. The five owners succeeded only because at critical junctures in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the League.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
what a great book. loved it completely.
- By Daniel Mosca on 11-08-18
By: John Eisenberg
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The National Team (Updated and Expanded Edition)
- The Inside Story of the Women Who Dreamed Big, Defied the Odds, and Changed Soccer
- By: Caitlin Murray
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 162
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 160
The US Women’s National Soccer Team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, set record TV ratings, drawn massive crowds, earned huge revenues for FIFA and US Soccer, and helped to redefine the place of women in sports. But despite their dominance, and their rosters of superstar players, they’ve endured striking inequality: low pay, poor playing conditions, and limited opportunities to play in professional leagues.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
Too much swearing
- By Rebecca Sheldon on 01-23-20
By: Caitlin Murray
-
The Extra 2%
- How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First
- By: Jonah Keri
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 217
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 181
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 182
In The Extra 2%, financial journalist and sportswriter Jonah Keri chronicles the remarkable story of one team's Cinderella journey from divisional doormat to World Series contender. By quantifying the game's intangibles, they were able to deliver to Tampa Bay an American League pennant. This is an informative and entertaining case study for any organization that wants to go from worst to first.
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2 out of 5 stars
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No Strategies or Insight
- By Victor Luera on 10-11-12
By: Jonah Keri
-
The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL
- The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
- By: Sean McIndoe
- Narrated by: Sean McIndoe
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 228
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 227
Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fun, fascinating education in hockey history
- By D. Trull on 03-27-19
By: Sean McIndoe
-
Calling the Shots
- How to Win in Football and Life
- By: David Dein
- Narrated by: Arsène Wenger, David Dein
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29
There's no doubt that Dein has been one of the most significant and influential figures in British football for over three decades—operating at club and international level. He was a prime mover in the creation of the Premier League, hugely influential within the England set-up and, of course, was the mastermind—along with Arsène Wenger—in creating the glory days of Arsenal Football Club, leading the team for almost a quarter of a century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Modern Day Herbert Chapman
- By Will on 02-10-23
By: David Dein
-
Billion-Dollar Ball
- A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football
- By: Gilbert M. Gaul
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 40
In the spring of 2013, a study showed that despite huge economic problems, 27 states were awarding their highest salaries to college football coaches. College football has doubled in size in the last decade thanks to generous tax breaks, lavish TV deals, and corporate sponsors eager to slap their logos on everything from scoreboards to footballs and uniforms. In one recent year, the 10 biggest programs took in $800 million from football, with profit margins far surpassing those of Fortune 500 companies.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Much Better Books Out There On This Subject
- By Andrew N Dobson on 01-19-16
By: Gilbert M. Gaul
-
Barca
- The Making of the Greatest Team in the World
- By: Graham Hunter
- Narrated by: Graham Hunter
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
Barcelona is the greatest football team in the world, the greatest for a generation, and possibly the greatest of all time. This is the untold inside story of how the best and most loved football team in the world came to redefine how the game is played. We start with the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, the game that ended the debate about whether Barcelona was the greatest team in the world and began a new one: are they the best ever?
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5 out of 5 stars
-
In-depth analysis of the greatest team ever
- By Michalis Petrou on 01-09-18
By: Graham Hunter
-
Endzone
- The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football
- By: John U. Bacon
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 187
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 185
Endzone tells the story of how college football's most successful and respected program nearly lost it all in less than a decade and entirely of its own doing. It is a story of hubris, greed, and betrayal, a tale more suited to Wall Street than the world's top public university.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding!
- By Justin on 12-21-15
By: John U. Bacon
-
You Herd Me!
- I'll Say It If Nobody Else Will
- By: Colin Cowherd
- Narrated by: Colin Cowherd
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 506
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 459
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 457
In this age of billion dollar athletic marketing campaigns, “feel good” philosophy with no connection to reality, and a Sports Media echo chamber that’s all too eager swallow whatever idiotic notion happens to be in vogue at the moment, it’s tough to find people who aren’t afraid to say what they’re really thinking.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, Repeats majority of themes from radio
- By Troy on 01-20-14
By: Colin Cowherd
-
Ten-Gallon War
- The NFL's Cowboys, The AFL's Texans, and The Feud for Dallas' Pro Football Future
- By: John Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Jim Vann
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
In the 1960s, on the heels of the “Greatest Game Ever Played”, professional football began to flourish across the country - except in Texas, where college football was still the only game in town. But in an unlikely series of events, two young oil tycoons started their own professional football franchises in Dallas the very same year: the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, and, as part of a new upstart league designed to thwart the NFL’s hold on the game, the Dallas Texans of the AFL. Almost overnight, a bitter feud was born.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Magnamonious?
- By steve finkelstein on 03-01-21
By: John Eisenberg
-
War Room
- The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team
- By: Michael Holley
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
Bill Belichick is one of the titans of today's game of football. Now, sports commentator and best-selling author Michael Holley follows three NFL teams - the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Falcons - from training camp 2010 through the Super Bowl and into the April draft, opening a new window into Belichick's influence on the game. This one-of-a-kind exploration takes football fans behind the scenes of the most popular sport in America, with unprecedented insider access to the head coaches, scouts, trainers, and players.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator choice - HUH?
- By Ryan Mullaney on 03-25-18
By: Michael Holley
-
Empire State of Mind
- How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office
- By: Zack O'Malley Greenburg
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 676
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 563
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 561
Some people think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others see him as just another celebrity/mega-star. The reality is, no matter what you think Jay-Z is, he is first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself into a lifestyle. This audiobook explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was ok
- By Michelle M. on 01-03-17
-
Death of the Territories
- Expansion, Betrayal and the War That Changed Pro Wrestling Forever
- By: Tim Hornbaker
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 329
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 285
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 280
By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, Vince McMahon changed professional wrestling forever.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Enjoyable Listen
- By Casey on 03-21-19
By: Tim Hornbaker
-
Boys Among Men
- How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution
- By: Jonathan Abrams
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
When Kevin Garnett shocked the world by announcing that he would not be attending college - as young basketball prodigies were expected to do - but instead would enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school, he blazed a trail for a generation of teenage basketball players to head straight for the pros. That trend would continue until the NBA instituted an age limit in 2005, requiring all players to attend college or another developmental program for at least one year.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bad pronunciation
- By K. Spearman on 07-03-16
By: Jonathan Abrams
-
Dream Team
- How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Changed the Game of Basketball Forever
- By: Jack McCallum
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 479
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 423
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 423
In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation. As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great insight into the great basketball team ever.
- By James O'Brien on 09-04-12
By: Jack McCallum
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FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all 32 NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. Journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic
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Masters of Modern Soccer
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In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport - now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.
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Dry and Boring
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A mazy dribble through the recent history of European soccer, showing how shifting styles and influence have shaped the game. In the early 1990s, the Dutch footballing philosophy was worshiped across the continent. Then the baton passed to the Italians, who clearly boasted Europe's strongest league. But when France started winning everything at international level its national academy became the template for others, until suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Europe's most revered player and manager both hailed from Portugal.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Historical perspective not tactical
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Expected Goals
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Football has always measured success by what you win, but only in the last twenty years have clubs started to think about how you win. Data has now suffused almost every aspect of how football is played, coached, scouted and consumed. But it’s not the algorithms or new metrics that have made this change, it’s the people behind them. This is the story of modern football’s great data revolution and the group of curious, entrepreneurial personalities who zealously believed in its potential to transform the game.
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Trove of information
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Alex Ferguson:
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Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg offer a deeply reported account of the intertwined sagas and legacies of two of the greatest soccer players of all time—Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—examining how their rivalry has grown from a personal competition to a multi-billion-dollar industry, paralleling the stunning rise, overwhelming excesses, and uncertain future of modern international soccer.
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Geez. Learn proper name pronunciation
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
Jürgen Klopp is the charismatic German manager who single-handedly overthrew the accepted order in German football, taking Borussia Dortmund from nowhere to back-to-back Bundesliga titles and the Champions League final. He had long been admired in the Premiership and was finally wooed by Liverpool in the belief he could bring back the glory days to the Kop. Klopp is revered as a master tactician with his own unique playing philosophies.
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Over three seasons in England, Pep Guardiola has built something the Premier League has never seen before: a team that dominates games like no other, scoring goals and collecting points and trophies at record-breaking pace. Throughout that journey, the Spanish journalists Lu Martín and Pol Ballús have been embedded with the club, reporting this inside account of how a phenomenal team was constructed: from the recruitment of Guardiola himself, to the backroom staff that provide the platform for his team and the superstar players that have set a new standard in British football.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen!
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Quiet Leadership
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 369
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 370
Carlo Ancelotti is one of the greatest managers of all time, with five Champions League titles to his name. Yet his approach could not be further from the aggressive theatricals favoured by many of his rivals. His understated style has earned him the fierce loyalty of players like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Candy for any leader who also loves football.
- By Christopher on 05-27-16
By: Carlo Ancelotti
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Pep Guardiola
- The Evolution
- By: Marti Perarnau
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 290
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 243
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 242
For three extraordinary seasons at Bayern Munich, Marti Perarnau was given total access around the German super club - to its players, its backroom staff, its board members and, above all, its manager, Pep Guardiola. In the follow-up to his critically acclaimed account of Guardiola's first full season at Bayern, Pep Confidential, Perarnau now lifts the lid on the Catalan's whole tenure in Bavaria.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Total story. Total football. Total Pep.
- By Michal Kuczek on 08-01-17
By: Marti Perarnau
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xGenius
- Expected Goals and the Science of Winning Football Matches
- By: James Tippett
- Narrated by: Simon Darwen
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
xGenius explores the interplay between analysis, tactics, and decision-making. It seeks to put the sport of football under the microscope with the aim of getting closer to the ultimate truth of what makes players, managers and teams successful. What, ultimately, wins football matches. Packed with examples from the Premier League and beyond, xGenius shows how xG and other performance analysis tools are helping answer previously unanswerable questions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive and sharp
- By Csaba Suto on 10-21-24
By: James Tippett
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The Ultimate Soccer Coaching Tactics Bundle
- 5 Soccer Coaching Books in 1 to Improve Your Soccer Skills
- By: Chest Dugger
- Narrated by: Jim Cassidy, Jamie McLean
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 13
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Story5 out of 5 stars 13
Five soccer training books in one. Includes the books: Practice Soccer at Home, Soccer Mastery, Basic Soccer Drills for Kids, Soccer Numbers, and Soccer Defensive Drills.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Definitely Recommend!
- By Mary J. Baker on 09-25-22
By: Chest Dugger
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The Formula
- How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest Growing Sport
- By: Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 158
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story5 out of 5 stars 149
For decades in America, car racing meant NASCAR, and to a lesser extent IndyCar, with Formula 1—the wealthiest racing league in the world—a distant third. Fast forward to 2023, and F1 has emerged at the front of the pack powered by a passionate yet nascent American fanbase. The F1 juggernaut has arrived, but this checkered flag was far from inevitable.
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5 out of 5 stars
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For the complete F1 story...
- By Hybrid Builder on 05-22-24
By: Joshua Robinson, and others
What listeners say about The Club
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David A. Stadlin
- 03-08-23
A well-told story of the growth of the EPL
A funny and irreverent take of the explosive growth of the English Premier League over the last 30 years. Some people complain about the narrator, but I found him fine.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Colin O
- 11-15-19
Excellent Narration, Very Interesting Timeline
The story about the growth of the league's business as well as the host of club owners' whose interactions varied in particular were quite fun to listen to. From tv broadcasting rights, to big stadium projects, to high profile club purchases the book covered nearly it all in the ever-changing landscape of English football.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Findschuster
- 11-11-21
Awesome and fascinating book!
I love European football and learned more than I could have imagined from The Club. If you like Premier League football or enjoy Ted Lasso, read this book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 07-30-19
PREMIER passion
Soccer is a sport that does not have many audio books focused on it. That is why I was so excited to find this.
I wanted to find out the story of why the world loves the EPL. This book tells that tale vividly.
The narration brings you right into the rooms where it all began and introduces you to the people that made it happen.
Most importantly it made me want to watch soccer but not just any soccer the EPL the worlds favorite pro sports league.
I recommend it to all fans old and new alike. I fall into the new category. I hope to listen to a lot more about this. You will too.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gregory Harris
- 08-12-20
Mistakes Billionaire Biographers for the Business
The authors submit to you that this book is about the business of the Premier League. However, it mistakes a listing of biographical details about billionaire owners and a myopic focus on their decisions as a proper accounting of the business they claim they will explain. Terribly dry, completely devoid of interest, and a failure at accomplishing its own stated goal.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Engine4178
- 02-18-19
This is for diehard fans only
I was hoping this would help solidify my understanding of the EPL and what makes it tick. Instead, I learned about specific details dating back 20+ years. I am sure this is a great book for the diehard soccer fan. As for me, I will keep searching for a better understanding of the EPL.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Shehan Kankanamge
- 10-10-20
Thrilling journey of the leagues short history
Completely hooked and pinned to every word. Felt like I was listening to a docudrama!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. M. Galloway
- 01-04-22
Great Story for Any EPL Fan
Loved the content; really fascinating. Definitely a book I could return to just to take in content I missed but probably won’t just because it’s a marathon. Happy to have read it! My one critique was the reader. His cadence, or pacing, was awful. I listened on 1.5 speed and still he sounded like he was taking a long pause between every sentence or two. It was very irritating once I realized he was doing this. Just read the book dude.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 07-07-23
Great read/listen
Good book with lots of information (up to 2018) about the Premier League. If a English soccer enthusiast then it’s a must read. If getting into English soccer it can be hard to follow.
Would recommend.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-17-22
Good content but a tad repetitive
Solid book overall. Some themes are revisited perhaps more times than necessary to get the point across, but the content is good. Well written and well narrated.
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