Books published by Empire Publications Ltd

The 1995-96 season would see the birth of the greatest football team Britain has ever seen but it began with a crisis at Old Trafford and rebellion within the ranks of supporters. The Manchester United behemoth had stirred in 1993 to win the title their fans craved and they retained it a year later playing dynamic counter-attacking football. Yet by August 1995 fans were calling for manager Alex Ferguson's resignation following the sales of Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andrei Kanchelskis. A defeat at Aston Villa in their first league game of the season prompted former Liverpool player Alan Hansen's to utter the immortal words "You can't win anything with kids" and he was not the only one to dismiss a title challenge for Ferguson's men. With Eric Cantona still suspended following his attack on a Crystal Palace fan earlier in the year and Newcastle storming into a 10 point lead, United's young team looked anything but champions. Yet by season's end Hansen was left looking shame-faced as United powered to their second League and Cup double in three seasons, overcoming nation's sweethearts Newcastle in the league and Liverpool's over-hyped youngsters in the FA Cup final. Four seasons later the same players would win an unprecedented treble to underline their status as the finest English club team of all time. Wayne Barton recalls the twists and turns of a season that saw controversy, mind games, television outbursts, divine interventions and the return of a legend.

When the single-engined Piper Malibu plane carrying Cardiff City''s record £15m signing, Emiliano Sala, crashed into the English Channel on 21st January 2019 killing both the footballer and the pilot, David Ibbotson, it shone a light on the murky world of football transfers. Using his unrivalled contacts in the game, award-winning journalist Harry Harris helped the resulting investigation in the Daily Telegraph to uncover the way in which agents and clubs work. Emiliano Sala was a relative unknown for most of his career, the Argentinian had been at half a dozen clubs in French football without making much of an impact, but when he hit a goalscoring hot-streak in the autumn of 2018 his timing was perfect as the January transfer window approached. When Mr Fix It'', agent Willie McKay, approached his club Nantes for an agreement to handle the sale of their striker promising a deal in the region of 20m Euros, their chairman Waldemar Kita leapt at the chance; the French club had bought Sala a few years earlier for just 1m Euros. Meanwhile, newly-promoted Cardiff City had struggled to adjust to life in the richest league in the world. Manager Neil Warnock desperately needed a striker and pinned his hopes on the gangly, good-natured Argentinian as the man who could keep the Bluebirds among the elite. The player, finding himself in demand for the first time in his career, may have been initially reluctant to move to the Welsh capital but a new weekly wage offer of £50,000 and the agent''s promise that it might lead to a move to one of the top six clubs was far too tempting to turn down. It was a life-changing amount of money for him and his family. Controversial agent Willie McKay manoeuvred himself into position to exploit the situation, helping his son to negotiate a ten percent cut of the eventual transfer fee and lucrative bonus payments. Many deals are conducted in this way during every transfer window. Unfortunately for those involved here, this was the one that ended in tragedy and sparked investigations by more than one UK police force, the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau, FIFA, the Premier League, the FA, and the FA of Wales. It has already led to the imprisonment of two people with the potential for many more to find themselves in the dock. As the research of investigative journalist Harry Harris shows here, The Killing of Emilano Sala was no accident.

From being the butt of jokes to domestic treble winners, Manchester City fans have endured more ups and downs than most football supporters over the past 30 years as they journeyed down the divisions before bouncing back in spectacular style under a new owner with unlimited wealth. Yet throughout this long rollercoaster journey City fans stayed loyal to their club -- averaging over 25,000 most seasons when other large clubs have seen attendances slump well below that in bleak times. Don Price follows up his naval memoirs and last year''s ''We Never Win at Home...'' with a final collection of memories from is travels with City alongside fanzine editors Dave Wallace, Phill Gatenby and Sean Riley, a City fan who has missed just one game in 35 years and that through no fault of his own! What emerges is a support still in disbelief that after years of their team being the punchline for jokes by their neighbours and rivals they now hold the upper hand and rule the roost in English football.

When Manchester United were relegated in 1974, just six years after winning the European Cup, it was front page news. How could such a thing happen to the biggest club in Britain? Such a scenario would be even more unthinkable today than Leicester City winning the league. The story is one of the most dramatic in football history and yet, still, largely unexplored. Based on a BT Sport film being developed alongside the book, Too Good to Go Down examines the demise of Manchester United, from the moment Bobby Charlton described the club not winning Division One in 1968 as the best thing that could have happened, through the turbulent reigns of Sir Matt Busbys successors, to the crushing blow of relegation which, ironically, came at a time when the clubs young team were just about to bloom and win over a whole new generation. With brand new, in-depth and exclusive interviews with Tommy Doherty, Sammy McIlroy, Alex Stepney, Stuart Pearson, Lou Macari, Pat Crerand, Willie Morgan, Gordon Hill, Martin Edwards and Paddy Barclay, the most controversial story in the history of footballs biggest institution is fi nally told in full detail.

From growing up in a warzone to befriending the greatest football manager in the history of the game, John White''s story is remarkable. Growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1970s was tough but the prospects for John, a Catholic raised in the Short Strand area of Belfast, were even more restricted. Hemmed in on all sides by Protestants and patrolled on a daily basis by British army forces, John and his neighbours soon learned to make light of the searches, patrols and threats of attack by neighbouring communities, even accepting regular interruptions to games of street football as a daily occurrence. Shining through the darkness was the one thing that united this intensely divided community. It all began with George Best, the pride of the province and hero to every schoolboy in his native Belfast. The greatest player in the world regularly turned out for the national team in the most infamous city in the world at the height of The Troubles and these were the first big football matches John watched as a child. From there it was logical to follow Manchester United''s fortunes and a lifelong romance was born as he joined the fortnightly exodus of Irishmen from both sides of the community to Old Trafford. Later, John founded a cross-community Supporters Club with the express aim of uniting Catholics and Protestants and their shared passion for United. It was in this role that he began hosting charity dinners in Belfast and befriending many United legends, foremost among them the Boss, Sir Alex Ferguson. It''s fair to say that John''s relationship with ''Fergie'' was at odds with his fi rebrand media persona. Ever willing to help Irish charities, Sir Alex was a regular at John''s events and eventually placed his trust in the Carryduff MUSC to help promote his own charity, The Elizabeth Hardie Ferguson Charitable Trust Fund, named after his late mother. Sir Alex became a regular visitor to John''s home in Carryduff and even visited John''s father''s regular haunt, the local bookmakers shop in the Short Strand. Following the 1997 Good Friday Agreement, much of the daily antagonism of the 1970s has disappeared from Belfast life but not all. As John reflects on his life in the city, he takes a realist''s view of the current situation in the Province.

While Mikey Milne is locked up, his shoplifter mother Rachel is forced to fend for herself. Her life is soon in danger when menacing local gangster Davo finds out that Mikey ripped him off for £10,000 and gives her 48 hours to pay up. Mikey's girlfriend Sarah is from a nicer part of town; as green as grass, she does not seem to realise the extent of her boyfriend's involvement with local gangsters or that her well-connected family have threatened to have him bumped off if he ever goes near her again. She's smitten with him and hopes he can change... In Karen Woods 15th novel, prison walls can't keep the outside world at bay forever as dark family secrets come back to haunt fearless Mikey Milne.

Mark Blaney was a few years younger than his brother Colin (author of Grafters originally published by Milo in 2004, 9781903854280) and followed in his footsteps across Europe. His wry observations and laid back attitude make for a stark contrast to Colin''s early forrays into the sneaktheiving game. What they had in common was a desire to seek a world beyond Manchester''s council estates. By the 1980s the attitude ''get on your bike and look for work'' was government policy, so the brothers were only following orders really. Mark fell into a life of low level crime quite easily. He honestly admits that he just was not cut out for normal work and the tales of the riches available abroad at little or no risk proved too tempting to turn down. Mark eventually settled down in Amsterdam and had a family. Adjusting to life as a dad proved difficult and he later returned to Manchester. Stuart Campbell is a different kind of grafter. A smart confidence trickster, a smooth talker, a visible presence with an eye for the ladies -- he preferred to stand out rather than blend in. This contrasting approach made him perfect for jobs requiring a legitimate front man or someone who wouldn''t look out of place in a jewellers or a bank. This is the tale of those lads who lived high on the hog for a couple of decades across Europe robbing the natives blind. Like all rollercoaster rides, the lads knew it couldn''t last -- this is the tale of how they survived when so many others didn''t make it off...

Caroline Burch experienced every parent''s worst nightmare when her son Elliot was diagnosed with cancer aged just six months old. To document her experiences she kept a diary detailing the ups and downs of her son''s treatment and the emotional anguish of their situation from diagnosis to remission. Almost ten years later, and with Elliot happily recovered from the condition that threatened his life, Caroline looks back at the traumatic months when there appeared to be no end in sight to the misery. Caroline''s story is proof positive that there is life after cancer and a tribute to the tireless work of the individuals who help parents and their children emerge from their nightmare. A donation will be made to Macmillan Cancer Support for every copy sold.