{"product_id":"glory-days-for-the-waifs-and-the-strays","title":"Glory Days for the Waifs and the Strays","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn\n12 May 2019, Manchester City became the first team to retain the Premier League\ntitle for a decade. Twenty years earlier, the same club was slogging its way\nout of Division Two, having sunk ignominiously to the third tier, its glory\ndays well behind it. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOrdinarily,\nthe tale of a sleeping giant awaking to stomp over the competition would be\ncelebrated far beyond the core fan base. But City's success is tied\ninextricably to its takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, an event\nthat altered the club's horizons beyond any plausible recognition. The\ninjection of billions of pounds into the club amid accusations that Abu Dhabi\nis 'sportswashing' its reputation tarnished City's treble-winning season in\n2022\/23, as have serious charges of financial impropriety from the Premier\nLeague. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eGlory\nDays for the Waifs and Strays\u003c\/i\u003e\ncharts this route from noble rags to uncomfortable riches and unpacks what it\nmeans when a team's lowest lows and highest highs occur improbably within a\ngeneration. It amounts to a story like no other in modern football: the\ndistance travelled from there to here, the greats on either side of the white\nline and the uniquely divisive means by which this has been achieved. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eManchester\nCity have defined an era in English football. This is the tale of how that\nhappened and why it matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Biteback Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54983403307352,"sku":"9781785909689","price":27.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781785909689.jpg?v=1778665546","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/glory-days-for-the-waifs-and-the-strays","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}