Stanley Park

Thievin' Pitch Stanley Park

Publisher Marketing: The Truth hurts. The explosive revelations about 'the beautiful game' led to this book (then entitled FIFA 192) being banned in Brunei Darussalam when first published. It is still on the proscribed list. With a nod to Sepp Blatter's ongoing buffoonery, the book has been re-edited and relaunched as a timely reminder that the writing is still on the wall when the clowns own the circus. The modern game: can it ever implode given the fanaticism it nurtures? Stanley Park, a desperate sporting romantic stuck in the jungles of Borneo, views a nation through the prism of football. What he witnesses as Brunei's marketing manager results in a dystopian tragi-comedy where corruption, cronyism and cynicism are faced-down by loyalty, love and laughter. Life is football: a game of two halves. Sepp Blatter: "Que merde! The Broon-eye play-ers and fans, surrounded by Scown-Drells! Was I not right to kick out der 'orrible FA from my football family in 2009?" Jamie Carragher: "Istanbul was a cakewalk compared to this. The Brunei players are true heroes and Roy Hodgson should use this book as a blueprint to instil some heart n' soul back into the England team." Straits Literary Supplement: "A timeless classic where the anti-hero outdoes Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov. In defending his team and the game's integrity, Stanley Park's crimes are far more justifiable than any FIFA president's."