She Stood There Laughing : A Man, His Son and Their Football Club

by Stephen Foster

'If I have an idealised still of my childhood, it's of standing amongst a small group of like-minded boys beside the player's tunnel as drizzle falls through the beam of the floodlights waiting to see which one of the team will come out to talk to the presenter...On an absolutely perfect occasion, on completion of his work in front of camera, the player might autograph my programme and possibly ruffle my hair and maybe even refer to me as mate. Sometimes on a Sunday I'd bike down to the ground and circle its silence, reliving the day before...' Last season Stoke City were unexpectedly propelled into the dizzy heights of the First Division, rare oxygen for a club that has been known to have three managers in one season. Stephen Foster, a diehard fan, who now lives in Norwich, follows the fortunes of his dire team as they struggle to retain their hold on this slippery peak of glory. From Icelandic owners, hopeless managers, hapless players, and a ground to rival the best of East German architecture, this is a marvellously mordant account of one fan's helpless obsession with a team that nearly always manages to let him down.

Genres: Football

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[DaViD´82 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack boycotted the next match. Me too, except I went anyway.

Nesnesitelná těžkost bytí/bití oddaného fanouška klubu na hovno Stoke "Delilah" City. Podané láskyplným spíláním nad jednou sezónou skrze postřehy obdařené patřičnou dávkou suchého anglického humoru. Jestli vás fascinuje dokusérie Sunderland 'Til I Die (znáte to "A lot of money to watch that shower of shite! No effort, no class, no fucking idea!"), tak tohle je to samé, jen pohledem z tribuny.

Směs deprese, utrpení, oddanosti, odevzdanosti, naděje, mrmlání, pohrdání "těmi nahoře" a radostí z každého vstřeleného gólu. Navíc je to sympaticky krátké a úderné, taková směs trefných blogových příspěvků, ve kterých se pozná každý, kdo fandí jakémukoli (ne)úspěšnému klubu. Ve větším množství by se to přejedlo, ale takto si to nelze nezamilovat. A "dvojku" po letech, kdy se Stoke zvedlo a vrátilo se do Premier League si s chutí seženu, to zase ne že ne.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 3 out of 5]

You'll never hear Delilah the same way again. Useful book to remind people that there is joy to be found in the suffering of the also-rans.

[D. J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gib me stoke win

[Simon Kostrava · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is easy to bother if you are fan of Arsenal or Manchester United. But what would you do if you are fan of a finally second-league Stoke City.
Even this kind of reference to Fever Pitch from Nick Hornby can be found in Stephen Foster book She Stood There Laughing. Book about one season of average football club fan. That is one sentence characteristics of this funny a easy to read piece from Stoke City fan Stephen Foster.
Foster lives in Norwich but it can not stop him from visiting matches of his club on weekly basis. Usually he is accompanied by his son Jack, another passionate Stoke City fan. So you are reading round after round, match after match, diary of one year (football year, not calendar one). Season 2001/2002 was not easy one for Stoke, as they fight for maintaning League for another year. So key question of book is set. Will Stoke stay in second league or not. I will not reveal answer as you can find it on net or on last pages of this book.
Author is not Nick Hornby and sometimes he repeat himself. You will not burst out to uncontrolled smile so many times as you did when reading Hornby’s Fever Pitch. Hovewer I read book in two days. Author has high degree of masochism and selfirony in himself. And as Fever Pitch is absolutely respected benchmark for all football books we have to compare. To be an Arsenal fan in 90s means you see losses and draws just occasionally. To be an Stoke fan in 2001/2002 means that you see wins just occasionally. Your team losses almost with every other club and you spent entire year with raving about owners (Islandic owners) who do not understand football, incompentent managers and weak players. From match to match you count losses and are afraid of next season in lower league where you inevitably will visit smaller and smaller villages. To be the fan means you have to stay with your club whatever happens. No matter how many losses you see, what position you stay in league table, you can not change your club. Fan is for life, not for season. And that’s the point of his book. You have to stay with your club, with your life. You can do it if you have enough trust in you and enough selfirony. And Stephen Foster and his son has in themselves enough of both mentioned essences.
All in all this book is very plesant companion for afternoon day after your club lost again. You will not find so many pertinent comparisons to your incompetent manager. And more over you feel that your are not alone in this mess.

[C M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story about a man who grows up in Stoke, a small English city, and becomes a fan of the local football team Stoke City. Although the team has little success, and he moves to another town, Norwich, some two hours away, he stays loyal. When Stoke City gets back into the First Division, largely due to its new Icelandic owners, he tries to pass his live for the team to his son, born and raised in Norwich.

Unlike several similar books on painful football fandom (e.g. Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch) or father-son football books (e.g. Colin Schindler's Fathers, Sons and Football), Stephen Foster's She Stood There Laughing falls flat and becomes tedious and annoying the longer you read it. The story lacks depth and the writing lacks style.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Stoke City fan hasn't read this book. A brilliant summary of a season following the ups and downs of Stoke City. Stephen has a wonderful way with words and this book is both funny but informative.

[John Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Fantastic author! RIP :(