Ian Plenderleith

This hugely entertaining and informative book tells the fascinating story of the brief, colourful life of the North American Soccer League. Behind this lies Plenderleith's thesis, namely that in many of its innovations - making the game the centrepiece of an afternoon or evenings entertainment, its business model, and some of its rule changes - the NASL pointed in the direction European, and particularly British, football took later on.

But like all the best sports books, Plenderleith uses the sport as a platform to explore something larger. The essence of the NASL's story is of constant innovation, a freedom from convention, and an unsentimental willingness to ditch what's not working and try something else. In telling this tale of "creative destruction", first creative, then destructive, Plenderleith tells a real American tale.… (plus d'informations)