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Scum Airways: Inside Football's Underground Economy (Hardcover)

by John Sugden (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Mainstream Publishing (26 Sep 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1840185767
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840185768
  • Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.2 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 312,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #90 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Social Issues > Football

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Product Description

Product Description

Football is big business, and it doesn't come much bigger than Manchester United - but in the shadow of Old Trafford a black economy is growing to rival the commercial power of the official sales channels. This is an inside investigation of the Manchester Grafters - touts, black marketeers and general shady dealers - who, led by "Big Tommy", have come up with a remarkably successful money-making venture: Scum Airways. With the expansion of the Champions League came the opportunity for the Grafters to move from ticket touting and producing "unofficial" replica kits into the independent travel business. Travel Free is the airline for those who, through choice or because their police records prohibit them, do not travel with the official clubs. Their customers include many Leeds supporters, arch-rivals of Man U, but Tommy's core clients are "The Lads" - die-hard 30-something football hooligans. "Scum Airways" follows the exploits and adventures of Big Tommy and his team of Grafters as they continue to build their empire. John Sugden infiltrated the gang and provides startling insights into professional football's burgeoning black economy.


About the Author

John Sugden is a university professor and a renowned investigative researcher. He has written many sports books including FIFA and the Contest for World Football and the acclaimed Great Balls of Fire (with Alan Tomlinson).

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Football's Underworld Exposed, 29 Jan 2004
This review is from: Scum Airways: Inside Football's Underground Economy (Mainstream Sport) (Paperback)
A lot of the stuff detailed in this book would come as a shock for many part-time football supporters, and indeed, would probably sicken many others. However, for better or worse, touts are part of the game. Indeed, in Japan and Korea, they were the most effective way of getting the tickets from the office to the fans, and if the corruption at each rung if the FIFA ladder persists, touts will always have a veyr importtant role to play. With touts, we sometimes have to pay over the odds for tickets. Without touts, we might not get our hands on them at all.

Stories such as phone lines being jammed by unsrcupolous call centre employees who sell the working number to the touts would shock many people if they were more widely known. The story about the bootleggers sweatshop being next door to the geniune manufacturers' sweatshop is also alarming. The scope of the book is an interesting diversion from the plethora of hoolie books, in that it deals with general nutters on the fringe of the football travel scene, and also, of course, the football merchandising scene.

The book dovetails towards the end, as it deals with ticket distribution for the World Cup. Such major tournaments are great opportunities for the grafters, FIFA's chaotic ticketing system inevitably making it easy for the lads to operate. The moral line between the touts and the corrupt FIFA officials is very hard to draw cleanly, as Sugden offers the type of detail that can only leave the reader to ponder about the way football is being run in the 21st century.

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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Get out of the way, 7 Dec 2002
By A Customer
John Sugden is an academic. This is an important consideration. He has discovered a world with a fascinating story to tell; a parallel universe to the megastore gloss of Manchester United PLC. He has done extremely well to gain access to the subculture of touts, unoffical travel clubs and counterfeiters.
The book is at its best when we learn of this world and how the system works and get inside the characters like Big Tommy, AJ and the FIFA officials who got him tickets.
It is weakened however by constant justification of Sugden's own role in the drama. His painful fence sitting, his moralising over the behaviour of English hooligans and his lack of journalistic nous doesn't do the rest of the story justice. There are also a few basic errors which betray his lack of football culture knowledge.
Nevertheless, it's a good insight and a good story. I just wish a journalist like Nick Lowles or David Conn had done it.
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