State of Play

One of the issues Calvin explores in his most recent book State of Play is the need for more emotionally intelligent managers and coaches in football, as epitomised by England manager Gareth Southgate. * CNN Sport *
As enthralling and insightful as any fans of Mike’s previous books would expect – Matt Williams * Simon Mayo’s Books of the Year Podcast *
A grandstand view of the beautiful game … Calvin draws on his own frontline reporting as well as interviews with leading football figures to present an exhaustive portrait of the modern game. * Radio Times *
Thought-provoking and well-wrought. * The Sunday Times *
Michael Calvin has done the game a massive service with this broad ranging, hard-hitting and exceptionally well researched book and he has also written it in a beautiful, lucid prose style. * Greville Waterman Review *
The most vivid, revealing insight into contemporary British football that you are ever likely to read. * Tottenham on My Mind, blog *
Very few books about football are truly essential, but this is now one of them. * TIFO *
State Of Play is Mike Calvin’s finest work to date. * Phil Catchpole, BBC Sport commentator *
Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in football * Barry Glendenning, Guardian *
Heartbreaking and funny, State Of Play is essential reading on many burning issues in the modern game. * FourFourTwo *

Michael Calvin is one of the UK’s most accomplished sportswriters, having worked in more than eighty countries. He has covered every major sporting event, including seven summer Olympic Games and six World Cup finals. He was named Sports Writer of the Year for his despatches as a crew member in a round-the-world yacht race and has twice been named Sports Reporter of the Year.

His book, The Nowhere Men, a study of football scouts, won The Times Sports Book of the Year prize in 2014. He became the first author to receive the award in successive years, when Proud, his collaboration with former Wales and British Lions rugby captain Gareth Thomas, was named Sports Book of the Year in 2015.

In the same year Living On The Volcano, which exposed the pressures on managers, was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize. No Nonsense, his collaboration with Joey Barton, was named Autobiography of the Year in the 2017 British Sports Book awards.

No Hunger In Paradise, an insight into youth football that spawned a widely-praised BT Sport documentary, was a Sunday Times bestseller. State of Play, a study of the morality and social impact of modern football, was longlisted for the 2018 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.

He has been working closely with Thomas Bjorn on Mind Game to capture the unique nature of golf, and the principles and philosophies of the world’s best players.

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