Last week Off the Ball gave us their top books of the year, and fine selections they were too. However, if you're looking for something a little lighter, but with a similar rigourous approach to sporting obsession, then we have a couple of examples of football books that fit the bill perfectly.

In Bed With Maradona: The First 2 Years -Various

The first hard copy publication from the excellent In Bed with Maradona blog and a superb gift for the football fan who likes their commentary from the left field.

With a selection of the best articles from the site, with topics ranging from the McDonaldisation of football to how The Stone Roses cured football of hooliganism along with several series of photos and collections of football art, this anthology goes a long way to proving that the football world is as deep as you want it to be.

These stories are the kinds that would go unheralded were it not for In Bed With Maradona (who knew Johan Cruyff once almost signed for Leicester? Or Diego Maradona might owe his talents to Scotland?) and this beautifully presented, well written and, above all, informative collection is a perfect fit for any football fans who like to look a little further than the back pages of the papers for their football writing.

Football Manager Stole My Life: 20 Years of Beautiful Obsession

-Iain Macintosh, Kenny Millar & Neil white

If you have someone in your life who has met with the addiction to Football Manager then this book will instantly make sense to you. The computer game that was cited in dozens of divorce cases in the UK has long been making obsessives of once ordinary men. Many won’t dare reboot an old saved game, the fear of losing weeks and months at a time too much to take-and yet addictive.
Football Manager Stole My Life isn’t, however, all tales of obsession and borderline mental illness wrapped up in 2 week old undies. It is the story of the game itself, from its beginnings in the bedroom of its creators to the multi million pound industry it is now. It is also a record of a cult, the cult of Football Manager and the players who, despite never achieving anything of note in the real world have gone on to cult status as their Football Manager incarnations became heroes to thousands of gamers.
Then there are the stories of the line between the game and that very real world blurring at a rapid pace. From tales of “managers” donning full suits in their bedrooms for the big cup final, to the player who lit his waste paper bin on fire to recreate the pyrotechnic atmosphere of the Ali Sami Yen stadium in Istanbul for a Champions League last 16 tie between his Manchester United and Galatasaray.
An entertaining read for the uninitiated, and an unsettling mirror for those who know the intimate realities of a life stolen by football manager.