'If you watched football in the 1980s, you'll want to read it. If you started watching the game post-Hillsborough, you MUST read it' - Steve Wilson, Match of the Day commentator
Piss-flooded terraces and asbestos-roofed covered ends. up the country, down the country, week in, week out. no fucking excuses...
'This painfully compelling tale...is like a relentless drumbeat inside your head; a silent scream demanding to be heard' – Times Higher Education Supplement
'In spare, atmospheric prose, Rhodes alternates between past and present, between home and away, exploring the neglect that led to the tragedy, the massive cultural changes that followed, and the lure of soccer, crowds, and violence for aimless young men... An affecting novel, one that is as dark and haunting as its subject' - Booklist
'At times stylistically reminiscent of David Peace’s The Damned United — also concerning Nottingham Forest and its manager Brian Clough — which is no bad thing, it’s no wonder Rhodes’ depiction of disaster and ensuing PTSD has the ring of authenticity: he was at Hillsborough that fateful day' - Daily Mail
'A cracking and compulsive read which drives you relentlessly on - football, the 80s, relationships and growing up - it's all in there…' - Football Book Review
'In spare, atmospheric prose, Rhodes alternates between past and present, between home and away, exploring the neglect that led to the tragedy, the massive cultural changes that followed, and the lure of soccer, crowds, and violence for aimless young men... An affecting novel, one that is as dark and haunting as its subject' - Booklist
'At times stylistically reminiscent of David Peace’s The Damned United — also concerning Nottingham Forest and its manager Brian Clough — which is no bad thing, it’s no wonder Rhodes’ depiction of disaster and ensuing PTSD has the ring of authenticity: he was at Hillsborough that fateful day' - Daily Mail
'A cracking and compulsive read which drives you relentlessly on - football, the 80s, relationships and growing up - it's all in there…' - Football Book Review
- Extracts from Online Reviews:
- ‘A brilliantly written novel. As a football fan growing up in a working-class family during the Thatcher years […] I found myself transported back in time and able to relate to the novel's social themes and protagonists.’
- 'Never before have I read a novel that elicited as much emotion in me as this one did, or one that told me absolutely, the genuine impact that day had on so many lives.’
- ‘It's a little gem of recall of memories and times past.’
- ‘It is such a powerful read, and incredibly written […] I just got lost in the pages, the bits at Hillsborough just made tears run down my face.’
- ‘He [Rhodes] brilliantly conveys the loneliness involved in pursuing answers to events that took place many years ago and the cruel effect this can have on a person and on all of their relationships. It should have a deep effect on everyone that reads it.’
- ‘a compelling read, full of brilliant narrative and insights.’
- ‘The writing is beautiful; powerful. Unimaginable horror is handled with straightforward honesty that will break your heart.’
- ‘You will laugh, cry, get angry and just follow the journey. […] A truly gritting story.’
- ‘On a subjective level as a lad from a post-industrial drab midland's town, for whom Saturday was everything […] this struck many chords with me. The musical, political and cultural references were pervasive.’
- ‘A must read for the new breed of football fan. I agree the beautiful game is great now, but it is never the same as it was. The exhilaration and adrenaline of the terraces in the 80s and 90s will never be recreated.’
- ‘Rhodes takes the reader deep into a young man’s psyche bringing alive, with vivid images of crowds, stadiums, fights and celebrations, the frenzied excitement of football in the 80s, and the power of the game in peoples’ lives – a lost culture – a lost time.’
- ‘Rhodes, through his character Finchy literally is describing what is now a lost world, one that a newcomer to football would not recognise.’
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