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We Don't Know What We're Doing
 
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We Don't Know What We're Doing (Paperback)

by Adrian Chiles (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

We Don't Know What We're Doing + West Bromwich Albion: The Complete Record + West Brom's Cult Heroes: The Baggies' 20 Greatest Icons (Cult Heroes)
Price For All Three: £29.08

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Sphere (1 May 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0751538701
  • ISBN-13: 978-0751538700
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 17,838 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'In his hilarious new book Adrian admits he thinks about his team more often than sex.' DAILY MIRROR 'endearing... no league winning histrionics, but plenty of nutty fans and tragic defeats.' ZOO 'this is a very funny book peppered with Chiles's trademark '2 Good 2 Bad' wit' MAXIM


Product Description

Most things in life that make you miserable you can change. But you can't change your football team. In his brilliant first book, Match of the Day 2 presenter and lifelong West Bromwich Albion fan Adrian Chiles asks why we feel the way we do about our teams and go to such great - almost bizarre - lengths to follow them. Seeking an answer to the oft-chanted question 'Who are you?', Adrian meets the fan who's missed only five games since the Second World War; the woman who has never seen her side concede a goal because she always covers her eyes; and the octogenarian who, relegated or promoted, weaves a rug to celebrate. The story, just like supporting a football team, is by turns hilarious, heartwarming and heartbreaking.
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars We really don't..., 16 Aug 2007
By Ak Benbow "albionfan" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: We Don't Know What We're Doing (Paperback)
As an Albion fan I found this book funny, touching and depressing. There are so many things that remind me of my own experiences, not just the games but the shared memories - the feeling at the first game, going with my Grandad, leaving the house to get the train and not knowing why I bother... The book can't ever explain why we do it, but as a document for Albion fans it's wonderful.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely human book, 27 Oct 2007
By P. G. Harris (Lichfield UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: We Don't Know What We're Doing (Paperback)
You don't have to be a Baggies fan to enjoy this book. You don't even have to be a football fan. This is just a book about people who share a common interest, and as such it is a lovely warm, very human book.

It is simply Adrian Chiles' account of the people he meets in a season of watching Albion as they struggle(unsuccessfully) against relegation. The people he meets are described openly with genuine affection - Nathan the unlikely Lothario, Gurdial the rebellious Sikh, Lee Hughes, the fallen idol, the tragic Steve, inevitably Frank Skinner, the list goes on.

What you get is an account of how people's passion, in this case for the Albion affects their whole lives.

Slightly disturbing is Adrian Chiles' account of his own feelings which a psychologist confirms border on the dangerous. (unless of course he is exaggerating for effect). Fans of Five Live will worry about his treatment of the lovely Jane Garvie. Adrian for goodness sake think more of her and less about the Albion!

But at the end of the day, Chiles is a fine journalist (which is why MOTD 2 is better than the main programme) and his real affection for his subjects is apparent. Thoroughly recommended.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff, 19 Aug 2007
By G. L. Haggett "glynlhaggett" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: We Don't Know What We're Doing (Paperback)
If Helen's face launched a thousand ships, then Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" prompted a thousand pale imitations by writers unfortunately not in the same league.

Thankfully, this is one of the rare exceptions to the rather depressing rule; Adrian Chiles' writing style shows that same approachability and likeable awkwardness familiar from his TV and radio work.

He examines the nature of support, with a number of examples, from the (somewhat underwhelmed) person attending his 750th consecutive WBA game to the long-distance supporter who has never actually been to a home game. He considers the effect of his team's performance on his own mood and his tendency to descend into a form of irrational despair as his team struggles and the response of others to his behaviour.

For all its honesty, sincerity and good humour, I could never quite shake my unease with the fact that this book was written by someone whose (hard-earned and obviously deserved) celebrity status necessarily provides him with a different perspective to those he is reporting on. When the fancy takes, for example, he is able to hire a box; he also has the ear of the upper echelons of the club. Those he meets on the coach to the match do so because it is their only option; the author has the choice.

That said, he does ask some of those questions a lot of those of us who have fallen out of love with the game at the top level would like to see answered: for example, what is it exactly which drives someone to spend £40+ on a match ticket only to spend most of the game in the bar?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A boring lightweight waste of paper.
If this book hadn't been written by a celeb then it would have got no where near being published! It's basically a review of West Brom's relegation season and how fans keep going... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Phillip Calgary

5.0 out of 5 stars And we don't know why we're doing it ...
Oh no, a celebrity fan - surely this book will be a few banalities, an `epic voyage' to a game and pad the rest out with some Google-based research? Read more
Published 8 months ago by Andrew Walker

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I find Adrian Chiles very funny on the TV but I was disappointed by his book. It basically is a review of West Brom's relegation season. Read more
Published 9 months ago by C. Walker

5.0 out of 5 stars Purchased by accident
Brought this book in a random act of impulse buying and cant say I regret it. A very touching book documenting a long and arduous season. Read more
Published 16 months ago by I. Frampton

5.0 out of 5 stars Baggies - Top of The Midlands
Having worked with a few Baggies fans in the Midlands I had a good idea as to the passionate characters that would be unearthed. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Peter Eustance

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great
As a football fan it is reassuring to see your own view of the world echoed by so many others. The theme that really comes through is a sense of belonging and a sense of family... Read more
Published 21 months ago by S. Murphy

5.0 out of 5 stars A fab read for fans and non fans alike
This is a great book even if you aint much of a football fan,Match of the Day 2 host Adrian Chiles,a life long West Bromich Albion fan details a season in which his beloved club... Read more
Published 23 months ago by shansu69

1.0 out of 5 stars Yet again
Another moaning celeb. Poor you, your football team didn't win. Still you have your massive house to go back to and a fat bank account to dry your fake football tears. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Joe

4.0 out of 5 stars Pathos and Humour
I agree with the resentment posited by another about Adrian's celeb status and the ability to flit from terraces to directors box at a whim and drinks with the good and famous... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2007 by MyohoSound

5.0 out of 5 stars Only Certain People Will Understand
As an Albion fan I found that I was unable to put this book down. I know exactly what these people are like. Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2007 by S. M. PARISH

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