Identify Books In Pursuance Of The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer

Original Title:	The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer
ISBN:	067169961X (ISBN13: 9780671699611)

The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer Paperback | Pages: 216 pages

Particularize Appertaining To Books The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer

Title	:	The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer
Author	:	Arthur Hopcraft
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 216 pages
Published	:	December 31st 1988 by Simon & Schuster (Trade Division) (first published 1968)
Categories	:	Football. Sports. Soccer. Nonfiction. Sociology

Representaion As Books The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer

In an era where even the smallest talking point is catalogued in endless blog posts, it’s refreshing to read football writing that takes a wider view of the sport, and is written with the care to elevate the game above everyday gossip or opinion. And yet the value of this book, written in 1969, is perhaps more as an historical or cultural artefact. It’s very much a window on post-war British football, as well as wider society.

The slightly clipped style is at once both antiquated and charming, only occasionally reminiscent of those Pathe newsreels, yet ground in a genuine love of the game. The author, a contemporary of Michael Parkinson, devotes chapters to profiling various players, including George Best and Nat Lofthouse, as well as managers, directors, referees and even amateur teams. Throughout the book there’s a sense that he wants to correct the misapprehensions of a middle class readership, whilst dignifying both his and others’ devotion to the game. But the joy is in the little details which reveal how football was played and run at the time, and the voices of the men who did so. There’s also an intriguing section at the end which prophesies how the domestic game will develop, including mention of a something called a ‘premier league’ . . .

With so much stuff being written on football, it’s difficult to find books that offer insights beyond the scope of tactics or personality. ‘The Football Man’, written at a moment when footballers were beginning to be well-paid whilst a new generation had begun to shed the post-war shackles, is certainly one of them.

Rating Appertaining To Books The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer

Ratings: 4.16 From 156 Users | 12 Reviews

Crit Appertaining To Books The Football Man: People and Passions in Soccer

Great read for real football fans and real football fans...both of them. It's tough to follow sometimes if you are not versed on who the players are or their impact on the game but well written and informative about the history football.

A journalist's study into football as it was in the late 1960s. To be read alongside The Glory Game.

While of its time, clearly a totally different world to now, it captures the passion of our national game.Really well written, by an obvious football fan, and a great view of 60s football... but the conclusions drawn were proven to be way off the mark. But probably still the best book about football I've read, and it is depressing how little has changed! Loved the final passage!

one of the most majestic, lucid and fantastic pieces of sports/cultural writing that i've read in a long while. a lover of the game with the eye of a journalist the perspective of a historian.brilliant.

If you want to understand why football is epical or at least why it used to be so this is a must read. Heroes of the pitch get told to the reader with such an elegant style the reader almost forgets this is just football to embrace the notion that this sport is in fact a necessary facet of life



Really well written, by an obvious football fan, and a great view of 60s football... but the conclusions drawn were proven to be way off the mark. But probably still the best book about football I've read, and it is depressing how little has changed! Loved the final passage!