Belief - Buying the worst football club in Britain

by Spencer Fearn

East Stirlingshire weren't just bad, they were legendary for it. Bottom of the Scottish Third Division five years running. They were the team everyone laughed at, the ones you stuck a tenner on to lose without a second thought and dubbed the worst football team in Britain. But for one football obsessed lad from Sheffield, they became something else a dream worth chasing.

This is the true story of how a childhood virtual obsession of playing Football Manager turned into real-life madness. Of how Spencer Fearn went from picking tactics on a laptop to drinking red wine with Ally McCoist and Walter Smith, chasing John Hartson to become manager, gaining a huge fanbase in Norway, crossing paths with Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alex Ferguson to a night out partying with Frank McAvennie and having the odd brush with the Glasgow underworld, all whilst trying to fix the most broken football club in Britain.

This isn't a story about chasing glory. It's about grit, madness, and unshakable belief. About taking the club everyone had written off and daring to dream it could stand proud again.

Funny, moving, and at times downright surreal. Belief is for every fan who's shouted at the telly, every gamer who thought they could do better, and everyone who has backed the underdog.

This is how Spencer Fearn bought the worst football club in Britain and what happened next.

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2025

Reviews

[T]

Brilliant read, couldn't put it down and read it all inside 24 hours. Amazing story.

[Ray Smillie]

Bought as an impulse buy and so glad that I bought it. Note that they are currently bottom of the top level of the lowland league and their return to senior football likes increasingly unlikely. They have always been a club run on the most shoestring of shoestring budgets.

Made a few trips to Firs Park in the early 80s to see my club, the Pars, play the Shire. One game, I vividly recall, is when they only had eleven fully fit players, two of them goalkeepers. Regular keeper Shire legend, Charlie Kelly, played up front. Unsurprisingly we won.

Really enjoyed this and will be paying more attention to their results after reading this. You don't have to be mad to buy a football club like the Shire but I think it helps.

[Dizz]

Four stars cause I wish it had been longer.

Great little story about one man's obsession, and what football really means, it's not about the millions, the fame, it's a simple thing, it's about the fans, the community, the people behind the scenes, the little cogs in the big wheel.

This was a joy to read, told with honesty, humour, but it left me wanting to know more about the process, the people etc.

[Stephen Hall]

I've had a distant and inexplicable interest in East Stirlingshire for almost 40 years. They fell into terrible hands in the early 2000s. Fearn was the man who dared to dream of being their saviour. This is the story of that dream, and how it ultimately died. The club was clearly better as a consequence of his involvement, but I couldn't have let go as easily as he seemed to. No happy ending for the Shire, but an enjoyable ride.

[Jane]

A compelling, heartfelt, and sincere account by Spencer, this book offers a thoughtful exploration of the emotional, financial, and practical challenges of owning a football club. The narrative captures the true highs and lows of the journey with honesty and depth. It serves as an inspiring reminder that resilience, grit, and self-belief are essential to overcoming life's obstacles.

[Martyn]

4.5/5 - Loved this. Read it in two sittings in a day. Quick, to the point but still full of feeling, drama and what it’s like to fall in love with a lower league club. I can feel a non-league to legend save coming with The Shire!!

[Brian Paterson]

excellent read

Very good insight as someone who
Was a director of ffc many years ago I appreciate the honesty and sincerity of someone else that was as mad as myself

[Duncan Steele]

Short, shallow but completely correct about Mackin and Wylde.