Pray: Notes on the 2011/2012 Football Season

by Nick Hornby

Pray is bestselling author Nick Hornby's extraordinary account of an astonishing season'That is why there is NOTHING better than sport' Kevin PietersenThe 2011-12 Premier League season finished on an afternoon so extraordinary that it prompted Kevin Pietersen's tweet. Yet this was just the climax of an incredible season. By May fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked and enraged. Along the way football had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law and matters of life and death. Beginning with the weekend of 28 August when the Man Utd demolition of Arsenal 8-2 and the Man City demolition of Spurs 5-1 showed what was to come, he concentrates on a number of games whose significance went beyond the immediate the October games with alleged rascist incidents, the fairy-tale return of Thierry Henry, the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, the Carling Cup Final where Liverpool's victory only served to point up the club's problems, the unusual (but increasingly more common) 4-4 draw between Man Utd and Everton...It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. Read all about it, and relive it, here, from the award-winning author of the football classic Fever Pitch.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Football, Soccer, Essays, History

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Nicholas Peter John Hornby is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch (1992) and novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists. His books have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide as of 2018. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, Hornby was named the 29th most influential person in British culture. He has received two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for An Education (2009), and Brooklyn (2015).

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything Fever Pitch wasn't to me.

The 2012-13 English football season has recently wrapped up. This is a brief musing on the season before that. It was an important season to me in many ways; I'd been nominally a West Ham supporter for a few years prior, but this was the first year I really made an effort, watching any matches I could -- not many, for reasons I'll get to in a moment -- reading soccer news, discussing it seriously with other fans, and so on. Ironically, my increased interest in the English game was spurred by my decision to start seriously following Major League Soccer (MLS), the current top flight of American soccer. I pay attention to a couple others as well, including the Scottish leagues.

So the 2011-12 season is, unlike the 1991 Fever Pitch, not ancient history to me. It's also the year after my West Ham were relegated to the Championship, the level of the English system below the Premiership and also the level where people not invested in a team there tend to stop paying attention. Sam Allardyce brought my side back to the Premiership in a playoff final, having played quite well relative to the standards of the league but not well enough to qualify for automatic promotion after stellar seasons from Reading (who are back down again after this year) and Southampton (who are still up). I attended a viewing of the match at one of my city's downtown soccer bars, at 10am, with about four other Hammers fans and my friend and former roommate, for whom this was the introduction to the game. As you can imagine, I paid quite a lot of attention to soccer that year. And even when your side isn't in the Premier League, it's a big deal and you don't not follow it if you're invested in the English game at all.

Pray, while certainly written through the eyes of an Arsenal supporter, doesn't have the self-pity of Hornby's earlier book, and captures a lot of what, to me, was really on everyone's mind last season. Fabrice Muamba, the increasingly powerful effect of wealthy owners, and more. Fever Pitch was a history lesson that overstayed its welcome; at a slender 41 pages (and correspondingly lower price, don't worry), Pray is a great, quick romp through recent memories. If you're a fan of English football, this is definitely worth your time. If you aren't, probably there's less here for you than in Fever Pitch, since that was a better look at what it means to be obsessed. For my part, I'd pay my $3 for a Nick Hornby writeup of every season, going forward.

I could have done without his dig at American sports fans' love of playoffs, but I have to concede that many of my countrymen do feel exactly that way. But please, a bit less broad a brush next time, Nick.

[Samba · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A match can’t be a work of art because there is nobody playing God”

Damn, i should’ve read sports book earlier because i really like the politics and fenomena that happened during that years, I should have read more of his books about football, and read football books in general.

[Harry Rutherford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Penguin Specials seems to be their imprint for short, cheap ebooks — like Kindle Singles — and I think the principle, that digital publishing has made it financially viable to publish what are basically pamphlets, is an exciting one. The more variety of stuff that gets published, the better.

Having said that, this particular book was a bit so-so. Hornby famously played a big part in the rehabilitation of football's image in the UK when he published Fever Pitch , and at the time, just the fact of someone writing so thoughtfully and intelligently about being a football fan seemed quite radical. And this is a well-written look back at the events of the 2011-2012 season, and I quite enjoyed reading it. But the gentrification of football has brought a whole raft of thoughtful football writing, so this doesn't particularly stand out, and it doesn't have the personal connection of Fever Pitch, which was as much about Nick Hornby as it was about football. It might have been more interesting if he'd written a survey of Arsenal's season in particular, rather than the whole Premier League: it would have been more focussed and more personal.

So, likeable enough as far as it went, and at £1.99 I can't complain too much, but it was hard to see what the point was.

[Mimi V · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't know that there's much in life more sublime that reading Nick Hornby's writing about football. especially when that football is Arsenal. i read Fever Pitch years before i saw a Premier League match, and after watching for several months (a time when i could truly enjoy a match, no matter who was playing; which is not so much the case now.) i decided that i liked Arsenal's style of play best and so became an Gooner. (i suppose most folks would have immediately decided to go for Man United, 'cause, after all, they're the "best." but i used to be a Cubs fan and i just can't go for the "best" side. it's not in my nature.)

i had forgotten that Fever Pitch was about Nick Hornby's tumultuous relationship with Arsenal. reading this collection of articles about the 2011-2012 season was pure delight; even considering where Arsenal finished in the table. my only question is: how can i read such articles this season as they're written? where, oh where, can i find such beautiful writing about the beautiful game?

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having just read Fever Pitch I was excited to read Hornby's reflections on the 2011/2012 English Premier League season. It was my first season watching in earnest and I was looking forward to his treatment of it. Unfortunately, after reading this you realize what made Fever Pitch so great was the authors overwhelming passion for Arsenal football and the formative games of his youth. Reading Hornby write about 2011 games which he isn't nearly as invested in, either because he is less passionate in general about the game, or because Arsenal isn't playing in it, was just sort of dry...

[Russio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because he is Nick Hornby his opinion counts more than yours. He is the ultimate fan/expert. Yes he talks sense but then so do loads of people. He can see how things are going but then so can loads of people. He over-rates Arsenal and some teams get only really scant mention despite their significant seasons. Football news that isn't new.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tiny book contains Nick Hornby's thoughts on the 2011-12 Premier League soccer season. If that sentence excites you then this book is a must-read and if not then just pass on it. For me, I loved it, and will now be going back into ESPN3 on xbox to see if I can't find some of these games archived. Of course, that's only when I'm not too busy watching the current Barca games.

[Jay Hinman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the many burgeoning mini-ebooks cropping up these days, longer than a long article and much shorter than a book. Hornby writes SO well about football/soccer. Funny, maudlin at times but never cheesy. It makes me want to re-read Fever Pitch, but I suspect the writing in this one is even better.

[David Bril · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another E book special from Nick Hornby this time following his thoughts through the 2011- 2012 Soccer Season. It is a very easy read and it is perfect addition to Fever Pitch and Fan Mail, the 3 giving you a complete history of Hornby as a soccer fan. As always Hornby's excellent writing and quick wit, help make this a must have even for non soccer fans.

[Jen H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Hornby a lot, and I love sports a little. This book is probably better suited for someone who knows more about soccer, but I could relate to his passion for a game and a team and a way of life.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty basic, small, cheap e-book only Nick Hornby publication. Very enjoyable but read it in about ten minutes.

[Janina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? It's Nick Hornby and football. No one can tap into how I feel as a football fan and express my thoughts more eloquently than Hornby.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this at 4am in a tent during a huge windstorm, so possibly not in the best frame of mind to assess it? I found myself really wishing this was longer, because it was so fun to read.

[Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

There should have been more to this than what there was. Where is German football's Hornby. I get lost with the English shtuff.