Black Boots and Football Pinks

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Black Boots and Football Pinks written and read by Daniel Gray.

A collection of lyrical sweet-nothings whispered to old-fashioned wingers, ramshackle dugouts, multiple cup replays and 47 other wonders that made us love football.

Goalkeepers 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 letters than essays.

Here is a sentimental meander beneath main-stand clocks and through streets where children still play football. Written in the same wistful and whimsical style as Gray's much-admired previous book, Saturday, 3pm, the unashamedly nostalgic Black Boots and Football Pinks will warm the heart and prompt fond sighs of recognition.

Gray's words preserve on paper the relics and minutiae of a shared obsession and identity. They make yesterday's football feel within touching distance, and offer cosy refuge from a boisterous game and world.

Critics Review

A heartwarming, occasionally emotional and often very funny meander down Memory Lane… A book of considerable charm, worth the price of admission for the phrase “hair wax applied methodically and in a style that considered Charles Buchan’s Football Weekly a mirror” alone.
The Observer
A funny, affectionate and nostalgic celebration of quirks ... It would be easy to get the tone wrong but Gray's touch is exquisite. A book with so much warmth you could slip it into your pocket for games in winter.
The Times
The perfect stocking filler…a wonderful little book.
Sunday Sport
Often funny and absolutely authentic.
The Herald, Sports Books of the Year
Fifty taken-for-granted gems of Britain’s footballing past have been preserved for posterity…an unabashed love letter to the beautiful game. Back of the net.
The Sunday Post, Books of the Year
[Gray’s] poetic prose makes him the John Cheever of the penalty spot and the Joan Didion of the halfway line.
Ian McMillan
[Gray] effortlessly paints pictures that transport you to a place and time … both clever and endearing
The Football Pink
[Daniel Gray] is a very fine writer … funny, warm and, sheesh, this lad can turn a phrase in the way Juninho would Samba his way past a defender for his beloved Boro.
Glasgow Herald
Wistful and affecting.
Michael Calvin
Brilliant writing.
Jonathan Northcroft
An affectionate, tongue-not-quite-in-cheek lamentation for all that’s been lost from the game… Slight yet robust like a winger of the old school, this book jinks, charms and scores
When Saturday Comes
A paean to football before the days of big money and soulless stadia.
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