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Synopsis
Bill Shankly once said that for him football was more important than life and death. But Shankly was manager of a great Liverpool side - what about those less fortunate, who offer their undying support to their team through thin and thinner? One such is Adrian Chiles, MATCH OF THE DAY 2 presenter and lifelong fan of West Bromwich Albion, and a man who thinks about his team far more often than he thinks about sex. Following West Brom - a team that has known more troughs than peaks - over the course of a season, Chiles writes brilliantly about the passion for the Baggies that dominates his life ('If West Brom are doing well, I'm good company. I'm a nice colleague to have around, a good friend, a doting father, a loving husband. If, as is more often the case, we're doing badly, I'm none of the above'). Along the way he meets a quite remarkable cross-section of fellow fans, including one who has missed only five games since the Second World War and 'one-legged Kev', whose false limb once fell off while he was celebrating a goal scored against Wolves; while unhappy circumstances give him pause to consider the truth of Shankly's famous assertion.

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9 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Good stuff, 19 Aug 2007 By  G. L. Haggett "glynlhaggett" (UK) - See all my reviews       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?  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   9 of 10 people found the following review helpful: We really don't..., 16 Aug 2007 By  Ak Benbow "albionfan" (London) - See all my reviews    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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: A lovely human book, 27 Oct 2007 By  P. G. Harris (Dudley, W Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews    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 comm