In the 1980s, football supporters engaged in combat inside dilapidated stadiums that bore similarities to bomb sites, while the Falklands conflict cast a shadow over the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Politicians had declared war on football. Some football fans sacrificed their lives while watching their beloved game throughout this decade, and at times it seemed like the game itself was in danger of going extinct. Aside from the emergence of the long-ball game, early sponsorship deals, the emergence of West Ham's blonde bombshell Frank McAvennie, the rivalry between Luton Town and Watford that dates back to the 1980s, the inflatable craze of the late 1980s, Saint & Greavsie, plastic pitches and fanzines, mullets and back perms, travelling behind the Iron Curtain for matches, and transient competitions like the Full Members’ Cup, these events also marked the decade. Go To War, like its best-selling predecessor Get It On, is mostly based on the memories of the players and coaches who shaped the game over the decade. It offers a distinctive perspective on the modern game and combines football narratives with historical, political, and cultural analysis.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A history and politics teacher by day, Jon Spurling is the author of six previous books, including the bestselling Highbury: The Story of Arsenal in N.5 and Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup. A child of the ’70s, he is the author of the bestselling Get It On: How the ’70s Rocked Football.
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Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: October 29, 2024
Price: £25.00
ISBN-10: 1785907492
ISBN-13: 978-1785907494
Hardback: 384 pages
Dimensions: 234 x 156 mm
