The Beautiful Game?

Once, football proudly claimed to stand for passion, community, honour, even beauty.

Today, football is about money. Its richest club, Manchester United, earned GBP175 million last year; yet since 1992 thirty-six of the Football League's seventy-two clubs have been insolvent.

The game is in danger of losing its lifeblood - and its soul.

David Conn, the game's most respected investigative journalist, sets out on a journey through the heart of our national game, exploring how the sport has failed - and who is to blame.

Travelling to football's every outpost, Conn interviews players, managers, chairmen and fans, building up a picture of a game mired in crisis.

At its heart, football is a game deeply loved by millions.

This is a book for those who keep the faith, who believe that the sport itself, stripped of the greed and self-interest blighting its organisation, still has values, and can still be beautiful.