'A love letter to an era that needed its story told' – Josh Widdicombe'This is an absolutely fabulous book' – Duncan HamiltonThe vivid story of the fanzine movement that gave supporters a voice and changed football foreverDemonised and left to watch games in decrepit stadiums, life as a football supporter in the 1980s was a demoralising experience. While some fans turned to violence, many more turned to typewriters,...

FEATURED IN THE SCOTSMAN'S SPORT BOOKS OF 2020A collection of lyrical sweet-nothings whispered to late goals, local radio commentators, referees falling over and 47 other reminders of why we love football.Despite its flaws and excesses, modern football is still sprinkled with simple yet beguiling delights. In his previous book Saturday, 3pm, Daniel Gray captured many of them. Now he is back with a further 50 short essays o...

Overpaid players. Sunday lunchtime kick-offs. Absurd ticket prices. Non-black boots. Football's menu of ills is long. Where has the joy gone? Why do we bother? Saturday, 3pm offers a glorious antidote. It is here to remind you that football can still sing to your heart.Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are fifty short essays of prose poetry dedicated to what is good in the game. These are not wallowing nostalgia; they are things that remain sweet an...

Daniel Gray is about to turn thirty. Like any sane person, his response is to travel to Luton, Crewe and Hinckley. After a decade's exile in Scotland, he sets out to reacquaint himself with England via what he considers its greatest asset: football.Watching teams from the Championship (or Division Two as any right-minded person calls it) to the South West Peninsula Premier, and aimlessly walking around towns from Carlisle to Newquay, Gray paints a curious landscape forgotten by man...

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 - FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR**'Powerful and poignant' Henry Winter'Empathetic and poignant … the game's answer to A Journal of the Plague Year' Harry Pearson**'The Durham City midfielder wore the resigned look of a man trying to find a jar of harissa in Farmfoods. Up front for Jarrow, a centre-forward darted around ...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS!We lead increasingly time-poor lifestyles, bombarded 24/7 by petrifying news bulletins, internet trolls and endless noises. Where has the joy and relaxation gone from our daily lives? Scribbles in the Margins offers a glorious antidote to that relentless modern-day information churn. It is here to remind you that books and bookshops can still sing to your heart.Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are fifty short essay...

'A paean to football before the days of big money and soulless stadia.' - The iGoalkeepers in trousers, proper division names, turf patterns, pixelated scoreboards and, of course, Saturday evening pink newspapers... They were the gritty stardust that made football sparkle.Here, 50 such wonders are drawn together with evocative charm before they slip from memory forever. Dedicating a chapter to each wonder, Daniel Gray's pieces read more like love l...

For those of us who came from the Seventies, it should be obligatory reading. But younger folk should take a look too, for it beautifully captures a bygone era... Brian Viner, The IndependentThere is a rough edge to his diary that reinforces its immediacy and credibility...a funny and fascinating document... Michael Parkinson, The Daily TelegraphThe flavour of the club [Notts County] is brilliantly captured... when younger first team players still took the bus to training a...

From the bestselling author of Jupiter's Travels and Dreaming of Jupiter comes an entertaining and inspiring new journey round Britain.Having crisscrossed the globe twice, Ted returns to the British Isles to rediscover the country of his youth. The result is a revealing portrait of modern Britain and a witty and affectionate journey back to the past, when Ted would hitchhike across the country visiting friends (and girlfriends).He returns ...

The Long Way - an endurance event in the land of the beautiful game.Forewords by Richard Lee, Alan Dowson, Ian Selley & Martin TylerEvery season, adults, who should know better, set out on wonderful journeys of discovery to reach the land of their childhood dreams on the hallowed turf of Wembley. On this quest, they travel up strands, following the winners, to strange grounds in extraordinary lands. Most fall by the wayside, but a lucky few reach their ultimate goal; to see the champions l...

Sheep, hills and inbreds. The typical image of rural Wales is hardly flattering. So why is a little market town in the Welsh Marches attracting waves of newcomers? Hay-on-Wye is hardly 'typical'. Nestled under the Black Mountains, it's home to 20 second-hand bookshops and the UK's largest literary festival. Yet is that the sum of its appeal?From an old pottery workshop under a castle tump, Oliver Balch embarks on an entertaining expedition of his new home to find out who and what m...

Between 1980 and 1993, Simon Hughes was a regular on the county circuit, playing for Middlesex until 1991 before moving on to Durham at the end of his career. In that time, he played alongside some of the great characters in cricket: Mike Brearley, Mike Gatting, Phil Edmonds and Ian Botham. This is not an autobiography of a good county pro, but a look at the ups and downs, the lifestyle, the practical jokes and sheer hard yakka that make such a poorly paid, insecure job appeal to so many. ...