Ingerland: Travels with a Football Nation

by Mark Perryman (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2010

  $3.25

  The England Supporters Club boasts more members than those of several other European nations combined, many of whom travel to every England away game. And while young working-class white men still make up the majority of fans, the hooligans of the 1970s and 80s are today much more likely to be singing and chanting alongside black, Asian and female supporters, and the conduct -- not to mention the reputation -- of England supporters abroad has changed out of all recognition in recent years. Both celebration and exploration, Ingerlandis a thought-provoking and evocative insight into what inspires the devotion of the England football fan. Packed with interviews with England supporters of all ages and backgrounds, each of whom gives their own individual voice to the debate, this is both a fascinating social document and a passionate personal testament to our national game.

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $3.25

  Over 200,000 England fans travelled to watch Euro 2004 in Portugal. More tickets were despatched to English addresses than any other country apart from the host nation, and England's Supporters' Club boasts more members - 17,000 - than those of many other European nations combined. Almost all of these members travel to every England away game. What has led to this explosion in interest? Is it just an offshoot of the embracing of football within our celebrity-obsessed culture? Or is it more to do with the slow but inexorable eviction of the archetypal England football thug from stadiums?In Ingerland: Travels With A Football Nation , noted pundit and commentator Mark Perryman takes the pulse of an England away crowd as we approach one of the biggest tournaments for years: the 2006 World Cup, forty years after England's triumph, hosted by the old enemy, Germany. He finds that although young working-class white men still make up the majority of fans, they are far less likely to be the hooligans of the 1970s and 80s and much more likely to be singing and chanting alongside black, Asian and women fans of the national team. Both celebration and exploration, Ingerland is a thought-provoking and evocative account of what it means to support the national team, and what that says about England's place in an increasingly disunited Kingdom.