A history of how fanzines redefined football and amplified supporters' voices.When the matchday many were treated as the hooligan few, football supporters didn't react with violence or vandalism, but with typewriters, staple guns and Tippex. The fanzine movement of the 1980s transformed a bleak time into a hopeful one, *re-*humanising spectators in the process.Producing DIY zines and selling them outside football grounds from Middlesborough to Torquay, supp...

FEATURED IN THE SCOTSMAN'S SPORT BOOKS OF 2020A collection of lyrical sweet-nothings whispered to late goals, local radio commentators, referees falling over and 47 other reminders of why we love football.Despite its flaws and excesses, modern football is still sprinkled with simple yet beguiling delights. In his previous book Saturday, 3pm, Daniel Gray captured many of them. Now he is back with a further 50 short essays o...

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 - FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR**'Powerful and poignant' Henry Winter'Empathetic and poignant … the game's answer to A Journal of the Plague Year' Harry Pearson**'The Durham City midfielder wore the resigned look of a man trying to find a jar of harissa in Farmfoods. Up front for Jarrow, a centre-forward darted around ...

An evocative celebration of the seventh day in all its rich varietyClosed shops and roast dinners. Bulky newspapers and the hum of lawnmowers. Strolls to nowhere in particular and visiting snoozing grandparents. Television theme tunes cueing bath time and a sudden dread of the looming week ahead…Through an assortment of rituals and activities, Sundays came to be the unique day in our week – whether tedious, pleasant or somewhere in-between. But have they ch...

Fatigued by bloated big-game football and bored of a samey big cities, Daniel Gray went in search of small town Scotland and its teams. At the time when the Scottish club game is drifting towards its lowest ebb once more, Stramash singularly falls to wring its hands and address the state of the game, preferring instead to focus on Bobby Mann's waistline. Part travelogue, part history and part mistakenly spilling ketchup on the face of a small child, Stramash takes an uplifting look at the ...

Daniel Gray is about to turn thirty. Like any sane person, his response is to travel to Luton, Crewe and Hinckley. After a decade's exile in Scotland, he sets out to reacquaint himself with England via what he considers its greatest asset: football.Watching teams from the Championship (or Division Two as any right-minded person calls it) to the South West Peninsula Premier, and aimlessly walking around towns from Carlisle to Newquay, Gray paints a curious landscape forgotten by man...

'A paean to football before the days of big money and soulless stadia.' - The iGoalkeepers in trousers, proper division names, turf patterns, pixelated scoreboards and, of course, Saturday evening pink newspapers... They were the gritty stardust that made football sparkle.Here, 50 such wonders are drawn together with evocative charm before they slip from memory forever. Dedicating a chapter to each wonder, Daniel Gray's pieces read more like love l...

Shortlisted for Debut Food Book of the Year at the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards 2024 Guild of Food Writers 2024 Finalist, Food Book of the Year‘A lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what may be our greatest achievement: the chippy.’ Stuart MaconieStep inside and unwrap this deliciously entertaining look at Britain’s national dish.There is a corner of every town and city in Britain where the air is tangy with v...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS!We lead increasingly time-poor lifestyles, bombarded 24/7 by petrifying news bulletins, internet trolls and endless noises. Where has the joy and relaxation gone from our daily lives? Scribbles in the Margins offers a glorious antidote to that relentless modern-day information churn. It is here to remind you that books and bookshops can still sing to your heart.Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are fifty short essay...

Overpaid players. Sunday lunchtime kick-offs. Absurd ticket prices. Non-black boots. Football's menu of ills is long. Where has the joy gone? Why do we bother? Saturday, 3pm offers a glorious antidote. It is here to remind you that football can still sing to your heart.Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are fifty short essays of prose poetry dedicated to what is good in the game. These are not wallowing nostalgia; they are things that remain sweet an...

Shortlisted for Debut Food Book of the Year at the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards 2024 Guild of Food Writers 2024 Finalist, Food Book of the Year‘A lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what may be our greatest achievement: the chippy.’ Stuart MaconieStep inside and unwrap this deliciously entertaining look at Britain’s national dish.There is a corner of every town and city in Britain where the air is tangy with v...

The Spanish civil war was a call to arms for 2,300 British volunteers, of which over 500 were from Scotland. The first book of its kind, 'Homage to Caledonia' examines Scotland's role in the conflict, detailing exactly why Scottish involvement was so profound. The book moves chronologically through events and places, firstly surveying the landscape in contemporary Scotland before describing volunteers' journeys to Spain, and then tracing their every involvement from arrival to homecoming (...