Description
Because it's Saturday is a compelling portrait of life in the professional grass roots of football, far from the glitz and glamour of Premier League superstars. Why does anyone travel from Grimsby to Accrington on a wet Tuesday night in November to watch players battling on a muddy pitch with more gusto than grace? How do teams survive in half-empty stadia, and how does a Cotswolds village side owned by an ex-hippy challenge the likes of Luton for promotion? Award-winning writer Gavin Bell spoke to the owners, managers, players and supporters of eight lower-league sides, over the course of a season, to discover the fierce passions and loyalties that sustain clubs unlikely to win anything other than the devotion of their fans. Going beyond the fields of dreams, Bell explores the communities for whom these clubs are more than football teams. From gritty northern towns blighted by post-industrial decline, to ivory towers of academia and a seaside resort riven by a fans' civil war - it's a rollercoaster ride of a season.
Author: Gavin Bell
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 11/01/2020
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.61lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9781785316463
ISBN10: 178531646X
BISAC Categories:
- Sports & Recreation | Soccer
Author: Gavin Bell
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 11/01/2020
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.61lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9781785316463
ISBN10: 178531646X
BISAC Categories:
- Sports & Recreation | Soccer
About the Author
Gavin Bell is an award-winning travel writer whose wanderings from Antarctica to Zanzibar have failed to diminish his passion for football and Motherwell FC. He is probably the only person who has cheered during heavy fighting in Beirut on hearing his team had beaten Celtic. Gavin is a former foreign correspondent of Reuters and The Times. This is his third book.