Football Nation

by Andrew Ward, John M. Williams

Football is at the heart of British national identity. Through more than forty fascinating stories, "Football Nation" reveals the hidden and not-so-hidden history of the game since 1945. From the mass audiences of austerity Britain when footballers were amateurs through the arrival of the Premiership after the Hillsborough disaster to the present day when top-flight players command a higher weekly wage than the average spectator can earn in a year, Andrew Ward and John Williams reveal the truth about the national game as it once was and is today. "Football Nation" is informed, wryly amusing, often surprising and always vastly entertaining. It offers an entirely fresh perspective on the history of the beautiful game in Britain.

Genres: Football, Sports

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

45 essays in roughly chronological order by two footballing academics – the essays tend to be short, often quoting a series of statistics based on surveys or excepts from interviews as part of a research project. Overall the book gives an interesting perspective on English football but is disjointed and unsatisfying, the essays give no real sense of excitement or occasion or any real insight or new perspective.

[Lew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was an interesting book and I learned more about the English game than I knew before especially football at the lower levels. Some chapters were boring. I would recommend it to anyone interested in English football from various different perspectives vs. just a straight history of the game.

[James Berehowskyj · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Football helped to revive the nation in the late 1940s and provided some hope, stability and community through the fifties. In the sixties and seventies the game symbolised key aspects of social and generational change, but this also brought some negative consequences. Football suffered terrible traumas in the eighties. Then the game was reborn again in the 1990s, although not without its new contradictions and difficulties. After the launch of the immensely successful Premier League the professional game became ubiquitous, no longer contained by the parameters of the sport." - p. 339.

Andrew Ward and John Williams provide a highly readable interpretation of the societal changes that took place in the UK following the Second World War, and how these developments were reflected in the nation's favourite pastime: football. A variety of stories spanning numerous clubs, persons, and groups are told that serve as a microcosm of the larger changes taking place within society and football. These short individual accounts allow the book to be read quickly without being bogged-down in exhausting detail.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any football fan seeking a deeper understanding as to the changes that accompanied the game in Britain in the latter half of the twentieth century.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Ward did a good job of trying cover and describe football/soccer in England from 1945 to 2005. It is more of a study in culture and sociology of English football than a straight history paper. He talks about what life was like for players and how their lives and training changed over the years. Andrew also talks about board members, coaches, trainers, police officers, hooligans, politicians, and fans and how they also changed and evolved over time. It is filled with quirky and funny stories from the pitch, and in the kop. It's fairly light reading but very enjoyable.