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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

'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...

The vivid story of the fanzine movement that gave supporters a voice and changed football foreverDemonised and left to watch games in decrepit stadiums, life as a football supporter in the 1980s was a demoralising experience. While some fans turned to violence, many more turned to typewriters, Tippex and staple guns to create a mass movement that transformed a bleak time into a hopeful one.Adopting a DIY punk ethos, fanzine founders spread their pages acros...