No-brainer

A Footballer's Story of Life, Love and Brain Injury
The true story of the ‘real’ Bill Gates: famous footballer, millionaire and philanthropist, who suffered football's industrial disease – brain injury
The true story of a footballer who paid the ultimate price

'A heartbreaking but still inspiring insight into the real-life impact of the biggest issue facing the world’s biggest sport.' Jeremy Wilson, Chief Sports Reporter, The Telegraph

'Beautifully written, immaculately researched and pulls no punches.' Ian Herbert, Daily Mail

This is the extraordinary true story of the ‘real’ Bill Gates: a famous footballer and millionaire businessman, who fell victim to football's guilty secret and who, in his final years, made a commitment to use his brain to save the next generation of football players.

Born in a mining village in northern England, Bill was Britain’s first £50-a-week teenage superstar. He played 333 games for Middlesbrough before becoming the first entrepreneur to turn sports shops into high-street fashion, making millions of pounds. With his wife Judith, he lived a life of luxury on a Caribbean island, far from his humble roots.

But in 2017 his life changed when he was diagnosed with football’s best-kept secret, probable Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, caused by repetitive head impacts – mostly from heading the ball.

Award-winning journalist Mike Amos perfectly captures the twists and turns of Bill's career, from the coal mining village of Ferryhill in the 1950s, his footballing career in the 60s and 70s, a chain of sports shops in the 80s, to an exotic lifestyle on Grand Cayman in the 90s, to the difficult journey to safeguard the future of football.

The ground-breaking charity Bill and Judith set up, Head Safe Football, has supported families of players with CTE – and educates players, coaches, sports scientists, and parents to recognise that CTE begins in young footballers and can be prevented with common-sense policies and training.

If you have ever headed a football, if your child or grandchild heads footballs, this is a book you need to read.

Acclaimed in the national media

Reviews

"A heartbreaking but still inspiring insight into the real-life impact of the biggest issue facing the world’s biggest sport. But does football care enough about its former heroes to take sufficient action?” Jeremy Wilson, Chief Sports Reporter, The Telegraph

"A must-read, not only for the light-hearted reminiscing of football anecdotes and memories, but to learn the startling truth behind a game touching so many lives, and the devastation it can cause." Hilary Maddren, widow of Willie Maddren, Middlesbrough player and manager who died of neurodegenerative disease

"Not just an important read for football fans, but for anyone whose life has been touched by the slowly unfolding despair of dementia." Harry Pearson, author of The Far Corner

"No Brainer is a meticulous and moving read that exposes the cost of football’s collective failure to protect players. One day, football will thank women like Dr Judith Gates who fought to spare future generations the pain they suffered as they watched their loved ones slowly succumb to diseases like CTE." Warren Manger, Daily Mirror

“Bill and Judith Gates are the opposites who stayed attracted for more than 60 years together, but both in their very different ways have become titans in the world of football. This book is a vivid and vital account of their work together to improve the lives of footballers, young and old”. Michael Aylwin, sportswriter, The Guardian

Buy the book and start reading

Contributor: Judith Gates (Foreword by)

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.