Football book Recommendations late 80s early 90s

[redkyle81]

Reaching out to see if anyone could recommend any books for the period of football in England for the period either post 1985 until 1992. But more specifically the last three seasons before the premier league.

[ale]

Ian Ridley book that deals exclusively with the 1991/92 football season

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Season-Cold...al-text&sr=1-1

[redkyle81]

Thanks I’ll take a look at that. I read And the sun shines now and wanted to look into the post Hillsborough pre Sky/PL era more. I’ve poked around the WSC archive too. Also have the Far Corner on my reading list which falls a little after this period but I have seen it on a few best football books so I intend on giving it a go. Right now I’m reading an Ice Hockey book (I grew in the Detroit area and that was my sport as a kid) so this will be my next topic I’m going to read about.

[Giggler]

Dave Simpson's book about the Leeds side of 91/92 is broadly interesting. You'll love The Far Corner, I hope.

[Guy Profumo]

Simon Inglis - "Football Grounds of Britain" (2nd edition*) should fit this?


(* 1st edition was 1983, England and Wales, IIRC?)

[ursus arctos]

An all time classics though not one focused on actual play.

My Favourite Year covers the period as well, though it is uneven.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Favourit.../dp/0753814412

The Far Corner deserves all of the praise it gets and more.

[ursus arctos]

BTW, Kyle, you get ten acculturation points for specifying ice hockey.

Several of your fellow North Americans still struggle with that.

[Kowalski]

Simon Inglis' Football Grounds of Europe is one of my favourite books about football, even though it branches out from our sceptic isle it's well worth a look (for the pictures if nothing else). Fever Pitch is ok, as is All Played Out by Pete Davies.

I second, third and fourth the praise for The Far Corner, it's a fantastic book

[Sporting]

BTW, Kyle, you get ten acculturation points for specifying ice hockey.

Several of your fellow North Americans still struggle with that.

Ah, a familiar bugbear of mine!

[ale]

Simon Inglis book is indeed ground breaking.

Far Corner also deserving of all accolades above. And a follow up is imminent which has some reputation to live up to. Particularly as unlike 1992/3 there is very little optimism about any of the major north east clubs-though of course Pearson delves deeper than them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07W3NF8...ng=UTF8&btkr=1

[redkyle81]

I do own both Fever Pitch (pretty dog eared by now) and All played out (it’s the re-release for the documentary my brother has my paperback with the original cover).

Going to pick up Harry Pearson’s follow up as well. I was looking at the Last Game too. Has anyone read it? The WSC review was a bit lukewarm. Also is the Last Champions Leeds specific or more of a wider look.

Thank you for everyone’s suggestions.

[jameswba]

I would second My Favourite Year. Oddly, I'd forgotten that the lead-off piece in it is by Roddy Doyle, though I enjoyed it at the time.

The pieces that have stuck with me more are one that focuses on Bristol City's strikeforce of Bob Taylor and Rob Turner, one about Raith Rovers and one about a mid-70s season at St Albans City.

There's an essay by Hornby about Cambridge's 34-game winless run too, though this may have just been a reprint of the relevant part of Fever Pitch.

[Jon]

The pieces that have stuck with me more are one that focuses on Bristol City's strikeforce of Bob Taylor and Rob Turner

Yes, I remember that. Thighs of an elephant. I have a friend who is a big City fan and I remember him banging on endlessly about Bob Taylor before we signed him. Wasn't the article written by OTF's very own trebeis?

[imp]

Yes, I remember that. Thighs of an elephant. I have a friend who is a big City fan and I remember him banging on endlessly about Bob Taylor before we signed him. Wasn't the article written by OTF's very own trebeis?

It was indeed. That prompted me to look my copy out (full confession - I've never read it. I got it second hand a few years ago for ?2, according to the pencilled-in price tag) and to read the bios. Don Watson is married to the writer Carole Morin, he says. I'd never heard of her, so I looked her up - she's obviously written her own wikipedia page, but her novels look intriguing. Anyone ever read anything by her? (I realise that this one of those 'Books' questions that may not be answered any time in the next hundred years....)

[redkyle81]

Currently about 40 pages into The Far Corner and love this bit. He’s talking about Boro’s winning run at the start of the season.

“Hope was like malaria, it was feverish and untreatable, and no matter what you did to prevent it it kept on recurring.”

The best description of a supporters dashed hopes I have read in a while.

[ChrisJ]

It might be slightly out of the period specified (94-5) and not top flight, but Left Foot Forward by Garry Nelson is worth a look.

[danielmak]

I would echo the My Favorite Year recommendation. That was a good collection. The chapter about Leeds was good as well but was focused on mid-70s. I started the Ridley book but it wasn't flowing for me. I plan to come back to it, though.

Here are a few publications that slightly pre-date the Premier League. The first I don't have in front of me so can't remember if the primary focus is fanzines. The second through fourth are certainly focused on fanzines, which will give you the perspective of fans that would dovetail nicely with the WSC archives:

Football Supporters Association (Ed.) It's Twelve Inches High…And It's Made of Solid Gold Football Supporters Association 1991

Lacey, Martin (Ed.) El Tel Was a Space Alien: The Best of Alternative Football Press, Volume 1 Juma 1989

Lacey, Martin (Ed.) Get Your Writs Out: Another Dose of the Alternative Football Press Juma 1991

Shaw, Phil (Ed.) Whose Game is it Anyway? The Book of the Football Fanzines Argus Books 1989

Then there are these three that take a different tone than many fanzines but focus on a fan's perspective. I think I bought all 3 on ebay so that might be your best bet.

Howgate, David Just to See A Game (Booklet/Zine) Self Published n.d. 1989-1990 season in the UK
Howgate, David Just to See Another Game (Booklet/Zine) Self Published n.d. 1990-1991 season in the UK
Howgate, David Just One More Game (Booklet/Zine) Self Published n.d. 1991-1992 season in the UK

[nmrfox]

A Far Corner, Football Grounds of Great Britain/Europe, My Favourite Year, All Played Out and Left Foot Forward are all excellent books and highly recommended. Would add A Season in Hell by David Binnie and Build a Bonfire (Brightons "entertainment" under Archer) to the list as well. Avoid anything written by anyone with the surname Brimson.

[Sits]

Great thread, if I ever speed up my reading rate.

[danielmak]

I forgot to list the WSC specials:

Offside: The When Saturday Comes Special (number 1) When Saturday Comes 1989
Bookable Offence: The When Saturday Comes Special (number 2) Queen Anne Press 1990
Late Tackle: The When Saturday Comes Special (number 3) Queen Anne Press 1991

I read the Binnie book, but it didn't really work for me. Same vein as other memoirs but not as good for me as Fever Pitch (really hard to top because it seemed to be one of the first and the writing is so good) or the We Don't Know What We're Doing by Chiles and about West Brom, although this one is much later.

[Satchmo Distel]

I think 1989-92 was one of the peak WSC eras so I would recommend binging those issues online. The temptation however is to then keep going through the 90s editions.