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What to expect
'Kevin really understands what's funny about football,' – DAVID BADDIEL
A (SORT OF) MANIFESTO FOR THE MODERN FOOTBALL SUPPORTER
What does being a football fan entail? Can you be a good one or a bad one? And just how much passion, knowledge, sensitivity and schadenfreude do you need to pass as a ‘proper' fan?
With the help of top players, legendary managers and celebrity supporters, comedy writer Kevin Day dissects what it is that makes a real fan. He discusses the instinct to support a club, how we pick our team – family tradition, local club, glory hunting or ‘I found two West Ham shirts in a charity shop’ – and, heart-searchingly, whether we saddle our children with the hopes, despair and occasional exhilaration that has marked our own lives.
Kevin doesn't shy away from the serious issues either. He suggests what fans can do about the brazen exploitation by the clubs they love, the spectre of hooliganism, and the racism, sexism and homophobia which are still all-too evident in the stands and terraces.
Being a football fan isn’t easy. Like any religion, it has its cherished, long-established customs, outdated practices and troublesome elements. The Football Fan's Handbook is your guide through this minefield: an in-depth, analytical if sketchily-drawn road map to becoming a ‘real’ fan.
Critics Review
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Kevin really understands what's funny about football, and not just because he supports Palace.
David Baddiel
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Kevin's books always make me laugh.
Gabby Logan, Match of the Day host
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Kevin's done the hard yards on being a football fan, has the T shirt, and even the tattoo too as proof of his devotion. He knows just how important a club is to a fan in terms of identity, history, heritage and memories. Being a fan involves the ups and the downs, and Kevin puts that across honesty and hilariously in equal measure.
Kieran Maguire, co-host of The Price is Football
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Part love-letter, part survival manual, this book covers all the joy and nonsense of being a football fan.
Alan Davies
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Kevin loves his football, he's a passionate supporter of his club and the game'.
Gary Lineker
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A passionate, funny call to arms. If you love football you’ll love this book.
Paul Tonkinson, comedian and author
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Kevin Day encourages us to think about what a real football fan is: Is it someone who travels the length and breadth of Britain following their team in all weathers? Or the couple sitting on their sofa declaring undying love for one of the Premier League’s giants even though they have never been within 100 miles of the ground? Pick it up and you won’t be able to put it down. Entertaining and hilarious.
Chris Evans, author of How To Win the World Cup and Gary Lineker
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Only Kevin could write a football book like this with such insight and humour.
Geoff Norcott, comedian
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Funny, astute and deeply entertaining, The Football Fan's Handbook celebrates the joys of fandom and criticises all the right things. A reminder that somewhere beneath all its modern excesses, there are reasons we fell for football.
Daniel Gray
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Kevin Day
- Narrator
- Kevin Day
- Duration
- 9 hours
- Release Date
- 19 November 2026
- ISBN
- 9781399426206
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Association football (Soccer), Humour
Synopsis
'Kevin loves his football, he's a passionate supporter of his club and the game' – GARY LINEKER'Kevin really understands what's funny about football,' – DAVID BADDIELA (SORT OF) MANIFESTO FOR THE MODERN FOOTBALL SUPPORTERWhat does being a football fan entail? Can you be a good one or a bad one? And just how much passion, knowledge, sensitivity and schadenfreude do you need to pass as a ‘proper' fan? With the help of top players, legendary managers and celebrity supporters, comedy writer Kevin Day dissects what it is that makes a real fan. He discusses the instinct to support a club, how we pick our team – family tradition, local club, glory hunting or ‘I found two West Ham shirts in a charity shop’ – and, heart-searchingly, whether we saddle our children with the hopes, despair and occasional exhilaration that has marked our own lives.Kevin doesn't shy away from the serious issues either. He suggests what fans can do about the brazen exploitation by the clubs they love, the spectre of hooliganism, and the racism, sexism and homophobia which are still all-too evident in the stands and terraces.Being a football fan isn’t easy. Like any religion, it has its cherished, long-established customs, outdated practices and troublesome elements. The Football Fan's Handbook is your guide through this minefield: an in-depth, analytical if sketchily-drawn road map to becoming a ‘real’ fan.
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