Underground, Overground
by Andi Thomas
The Fault Lines of Football Clubs
What is a football club, really, when you get right down to it?
In 2001, the owners of Wimbledon announced one possible answer to this question: a football club is a thing that can be moved to Milton Keynes. A year later, Wimbledon’s fans provided another answer when they founded AFC Wimbledon.
This moment wasn’t just exceptionally controversial. It also forced English football to look at itself and consider what it is that truly matters about football clubs. Is it the connection between club and place, or between fans and players? Or do the interests of the owners trump all other concerns? Does a connection with the past matter more than the prospects for the future? Can a club ever be moved, and if not, why not?
This book looks at how football fans have answered and continue to answer these questions. How ordinary supporters, in all their wide and glorious variety, think about the clubs they follow up and down the country. For some, their club is a community. For others, a family. And for a few, it is a thing with a soul.
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188 pages, paperback
