Kelvin Barker was just five years old when he stood on Stamford Bridge’s famous Shed End terrace for the first time in December 1970. Chelsea beat Newcastle United 1-0 that day, although Kelvin, standing just two foot tall, was able to see precious little of the action. Nevertheless, it heralded…
Picture the scene, August 25th 1984, Highbury Stadium, London. Thousands upon thousands of expectant Chelsea fans have congregated at the stately home of aristocratic Arsenal to celebrate the return of the Blues to the old First Division. Get the Book…
Gaetano Buglioni writes openly and with great humour about his life with the Chelsea Head-Hunters. He writes about the arrests, the court appearances and his tumultuous relationship with the police. He also charts his near fatal stabbing in a Paris backstreet, his cocaine addiction and his fight for life after…
It's July 2006, the World Cup has just finished in dismal penalty shootout failure for England and back to back Premiership champions Chelsea FC are preparing for the new season with a squad bolstered by the high profile signings of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko.…
This book is a must for anyone interested in the casual culture from its inception in the late 70′s to the modern day. It predominantly centres on the clothes and music of the periods concerned, and describes how the style has evolved, putting it into context with the skinhead, two-tone…
Optical illusions are the stuff of magic – harmless entertainment conjured up to both enthral and amaze, aren’t they? Well, maybe not, as it s not quite so amusing if the stunt takes the form of an episode of the BBC s groundbreaking documentary series MacIntyre Undercover on organised football…
Having examined England’s twin obsessions – violence and sex – in THE FOOTBALL FACTORY and HEADHUNTERS, John King completes his trilogy with ENGLAND AWAY: sex and violence abroad, under the Union Jack. The novel works on three levels – past, present and future – as pensioner Bill Farrell remembers his…
Following on from his bestselling study of violence, THE FOOTBALL FACTORY, John King considers Britain`s other obsession-sex. Formed in the chemical mists of New year`s Eve, The Sex Division sees the once=sacred act of procreation at its most material, as five men devise system based on the sexual act. In…
‘The best book I’ve read about football and working-class culture in Britain in the nineties. Buy, steal or borrow a copy now’ Irvine Welsh ‘King’s novel is not only an outstanding read, but also an important social document … This book should be compulsory reading for all those who believe…
First published in 1989, STEAMING IN is now acknowledged as the definitive account of terrace life in the 1970s and ’80s. Unvarnished, unflinching, it tells the story of Colin Ward’s experiences at Arsenal, Chelsea and England matches, at home and away. From Highbury to Luxembourg, Turin and Istanbul, Ward charts…
