Some Recommended Reading.....

Following our previous post about the book chapter 'Beer and the Boro - A Perfect Match' that we have co-authored with Fred Hutchinson for the 'beer, pubs and brewing' book, we decided to survey a select few of our colleagues and friends about what other football-related literature they enjoy reading, academic and non-academic.

Our findings were very interesting and showed the enduring popularity of Nick Hornby's 'Fever Pitch' and also the enduring popularity / infamy of one of the sport's most colourful characters: Brian Clough. 'The Damned United', a fictional account of Brian Clough's short-lived but controversial reign at Leeds United, was a big hit amongst respondents, and Phil Rostron's response 'We Are The Damned United' - a factual account of the same topic based on interviews with the players Clough managed at the time - also received a vote.

Here are the findings in full, hopefully they will inspire readers of Soccer Mad Boffins to get reading:



Favourite football book/article (non-academic)?

Prof Bill Cooke, University of York:
Seth Burkett (2014) The Boy in Brazil: Living, Loving and Learning in the Land of Football

Prof Richard Common, University of York:
'Fever Pitch'  Nick Hornby - predictable, I know...


Prof Stephen Linstead, University of York:
'The Damned United'


Dr Sarah Gilmore, University of Portsmouth
'Football Against the Enemy' by Simon Kuper.

Prof Dil Porter, De Montfort University:
 'The Damned United'.


Dr Niall MacKenzie, University of Strathclyde
 'The Damned United'.


Prof David Preece, Emeritus (Teesside Uninversity)

'We are the damned United', by Phil Roston, Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, 2009. Tells the true story of Leeds United when 'managed' by Clough (ie a more-or-less complete disaster).


Dr Rory Miller, University of Liverpool 

Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch.


Dr Catherine Budd, De Montfort University

Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch.

Favourite academic football book/article?

We got a few less responses to our request for recommended academic writing about the world's greatest sport, but the ones we did get were very strong (and thanks Bill for mentioning our own forthcoming book about the 1966 FIFA World Cup!)

Prof Bill Cooke, University of York
Tenent, K.D. and Gillett, A.G. (2016 – in press) Foundations of Managing Sporting Events : Organizing the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Routledge International Studies in Business History, Routledge.


Prof Stephen Linstead, University of York
Sarah Gilmore - The mother’s breast and football managers in The Passion of Organization ed. J Brewis, S. Linstead, D. Boje, T. O'Shea



Prof Dil Porter, De Montfort University
Alan McDougall, The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany  (CUP, 2014)


Dr Sarah Gilmore, University of Portsmouth
McGillivray, D., Fearn, R., &McIntosh, A. (2005). Caught up in and by the beautiful game. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 29, 102-123. Exposes the anti-intellectual culture in the Scottish/UK game and analyses it via Bourdieu. It continues to be foundational for me just at the moment in understanding clashes in capital and why sports science, for example, fails to be as institutionalised and recognised as it should be. Great stuff.

Overall, a very interesting selection we hope that you agree. Watch this space for more surveys of academics and soccer, and more news about our own forthcoming book about the 1966 FIFA World Cup.