authoritarianism, ruthlessness and hyper-masculine workplace practice(s)' (Parker 1996a: 1) of the football world.Over the last twenty-five years, academic analysis of football has focused overwhelmingly on the issue of hooliganism (see Giulianotti 1999).The study of players and their work by sociologists has been marginal at best.Some academics, for example King (1999), have written about the sociology of football and neglected totally to mention players.This marginalization is, perhaps, unusual, since work and how it is organized and experienced is central among the traditional concerns of sociologists.The careers of professional footballers will be examined in this book in an attempt to add to knowledge in this relatively neglected area.Williams et al. (2001: 1) indicate that there has been an 'astounding growth' of interest in professional football over the past twenty-five years: books and studies are widely available covering diverse subjects including 'local histories, fan remembrances, life biographies and statistical accounts'.Indeed, research on football at all levels of the game extends over several areas and themes.It would be impossible to review all these bodies of work here, although a substantial