The Football Factory

by John King

A raw, powerful first novel, The Football Factory centres on Tom Johnson, a reasoned 'Chelsea hooligan' who represents a disaffected society operating by brutal rules. We are shown the realities of life — social degradation, unemployment, racism, casual violence, excessive drink and bad sex — and, perhaps more importantly, how they fall into a political context of surveillance, media manipulation and division. Graphic and disturving, occasionally very funny, and deeply affecting throughout, The Football Factory is a vertiginous rush of adrenaline — the most authentic book yet on the so-called English Disease.

Genres: Fiction, Football, Sports, Crime, Novels, 20th Century, British Literature

262 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 1997

About the author

John King is the author of eight novels – The Football Factory, Headhunters, England Away, Human Punk, White Trash, The Prison House, Skinheads and The Liberal Politics Of Adolf Hitler. The Football Factory was turned into a high-profile film. A new novel – Slaughterhouse Prayer – was published on 8 November 2018.

King has written short stories and non-fiction for a number of publications, with articles appearing in the likes of The New Statesman, Le Monde and La Repubblica. His books have been widely translated abroad. He edits the fiction fanzine Verbal and lives in London.

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

With his ‘Football Factory’ trilogy, John King provides us with an unflinching and uncompromising, yet compelling look at the dark world of football related gang violence of Britain in the 1990’s.

King neither condones, condemns nor judges the perpetrators, but merely tells is like it is – or at least certainly was at that time. The stories he has created are bleak and brutal; the violence is often shocking, frightening, repulsive and at times unrelenting. Although this is fiction it all too often feels very authentic, it all feels very real.

The ‘Football Factory’ trilogy (‘The Football Factory, Headhunters and England Away’) is consistently well written and convincing throughout. Despite the scale and nature of the violence portrayed, King somehow manages to avoid being gratuitous. Neither does it feel like King is glorifying the culture of violence he is writing about.

These books are about tribalism, about the working classes of Britain in the 1990’s, about an ingrained culture of alcohol fueled violence as part of everyday life. Whilst Football is at the centre of all three novels and central to the lives of the main protagonists – ultimately (and paradoxically) it’s almost incidental to the main themes explored here.

Violent, uncompromising and bleak – but equally thought-provoking, compelling and intelligent.

This is not merely yet another story of hard men, living hard lives and doing violent things.

[Makis Dionis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Βιβλίο δρόμου. Βρώμικο, σκληρό, άνισο, με χτυπήματα κάτω από την μέση, ζωντανό, στακάτο , ρομαντικό, με πάθη. Λόγος κρύσταλλο, δεν παρερμηνεύεται, δεν εξωραΐζει​. Είσαι τυχερός αν μπορείς να δεις την ομορφιά.

[Katerina Charisi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ΕΙΛΙΚΡΙΝΑ δεν ξέρω γιατί πήρα τέτοιο βιβλίο. Απεχθάνομαι το ποδόσφαιρο πια. Αγαπώ τη μπάλα και χαίρομαι που ξαναπαίζω με τα παιδιά, αλλά απεχθάνομαι το σπορ από τότε που ο Άγιαξ ήταν στις μεγάλες δόξες του (κι ύστερα ήρθε ο κατήφορος) και θυμόμουν ολόκληρη την εντεκάδα απ' έξω, ενώ φορούσα επί μια βδομάδα μια ναιλον φανέλα του Ζαμοράνο (Ζαμορανέ σκύλε - αυτό είναι από Κόναν) - (που δεν επαιζε καν στον Αγιαξ) και βρωμούσα σαν άπλυτο τσόου τσόου με κασίδα.

Πολλά και διάφορα με έχουν διώξει δια παντός από τη βιομηχανία του θεάματος του αθλητισμού (όχι από τον αθλητισμό γενικότερα) αλλά κούκου. Από την περίληψη το βρήκα τρομερά ενδιαφέρον αν και με ρίσκο να βει μεγάλη πατάτα.

Που βγήκε.

Όσο άντεξα να διαβάσω - περίπου μετά τη μέση - ήταν περί άπλυτων τεμπέληδων πιθήκων που απλώς βρίζονταν, δέρνονταν, πηδιόνταν (που λένε και στο χωριό μου) φωνάζοντας ΤΣΕΛΣΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙΙ, και χωρίς καμια απολύτως διάθεση να κάνουν κάτι διαφορετικό από αυτό.

Αν υπήρχε κάτι που έπρεπε να δω εκεί μέσα, δεν το είδα. Τώρα ή δεν το είχε ή παραμεγάλωσα για τέτοιες αρκουδιές.

[Godzilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a football fan, travelling to away games there was a lot I could identify with. I'm not a hooligan, but I've seen plenty of the violence that takes place. The book captures the mood and atmosphere around games pretty well.

It isn't just a focus on the hooligans though, there is a lot of observational stuff about men in general and how they interact in different areas of life.

The writing is sharp and punchy, pun intended, and whilst some of the characters appear shallow, this merely reflects the depth of their lives and values.

This certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I feel it provides a good insight into certain male psyches. Be warned though there's claret everywhere!

If it isn't for you, jog on!

[Vroni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this one - it gives a great insight in the english football hooligan scene and in the life of the english working class society in the 90s. Also the language fits the story perfectly - it is sometimes brutal quite direct, but that is how the story is itself. If you're interested in football and the culture of football fans, i can absolutely recommend this to you.

[Il Pech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possiamo star qua a farci le seghe da intellettuali, -si, col mignolino alzato- perché leggiamo Danilo Kis e le letterine che Kafka mandava alla sua fidanzatina e Avalovara che si sviluppa come una spirale disegnata in un reticolo o salcazzo cos'altro ma John King è benzina sui nostri vestiti eleganti, sulle ragazze a cui s'imporpora il viso nei romanzi russi e sulle fottute Madeleine di quel represso di merda di Proust.
Perché a volte c'è bisogno di tornare dove siamo partiti e io sono partito da Irvine Welsh. E quindi? Quindi King scrive in slang londinese scatarrato come Irvine vecchia fiamma e il traduttore di King è il bravissimo Bocchiola, lo stesso di Welsh, quindi leggendo Fedeli alla tribù ti sembra di leggere le avventure degli scoppiati del Leith Walk con il football e le risse al posto dell'eroina. Il resto, squallore, junk food, linguaggio sboccato da sobborghi, lavori di merda, odio per il governo e miserie varie è identico. King lascia gridare il pervertito violento fascista figlio di puttana dentro ognuno di noi - è anche dentro di te, non fare lo stronzo- quello che ti fa dire ok non ho mai sbattuto fortissimo la testa di un tizio a caso contro il muro del cesso di un pub fino a lasciarlo sdraiato svenuto tra il suo piscio e il suo sangue ma si, avrei voluto farlo. Avrei dovuto, probabilmente. Mi sarebbe piaciuto, cazzo.

Questa è la bibbia degli ultras, il Trainspotting del tifoso, un libro che leggo con vent'anni di ritardo ma va bene così.

[Andrew Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book and loved the film. Being a football fan in the eighties and nineties I was well aware of the firms which mainly were down in the London area. But the football factory is not all about football, it's a bit of a coming of age thing, if you like. It's a very good insight into the mentality of the young (or sometimes not so young) men's attitude to anyone outside of their tribe. The film is a little far fetched, but the book captures the mood of the 80-90's football hooligan. A good read if you like that kind of thing, gritty, violent and graphic in places with lots of racist language, which was, sadly all part of the time. Highly recommended really enjoyed it.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read this it hit me like a punch in the mouth. The narrator is a hard core Chelsea hooligan, who walks the walk despite all the new security, cameras and everything else that gets in the way of his tribe. Someone who looks like a "wanker" in a pub? Drive his head into the sink down in the loo. The narrator tries to justify his mentality, juxtaposed against the bleakness of working class urban London. Not for the sqeaumish, non-soccer fans might want to take a pass as well. They might find out what makes the lower division south London team Millwall so notorious though.

[Panagiotis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book. On the one hand the subject of football hooliganism is not something that adresses anyone, on the other hand -apart from the fact that even this way it is a book that has to do with football, and that gives to it extra point if you love the sport-, behind the adventures of Tommy and his friends,this novel gives us a quite interesting study over the life of the working class in Britain and deals with many subjects like corruption of the political system, equation, racism, class, poverty etc.

The book structure is somehow uncosistent, the different stories of the characters do not seem to connect, Vince's monologues are a nightmare ( i had to read one of his chapters again putting imaginary periods in the text in order to make sense). However Tommy's narration is interesting, a welcome sense of humour is present now and then and all the characters are quite interesting, since they seem to represent different aspects of the same society.

[Huw Rhys · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a football fan, and have even been to some of the matches that the author invokes in this book, but to be honest, it's a side of football that has never appealed to me, and one which I've had little or no exposure to, other than on screen or on paper.

As such, it became a bit of a repetitive drone about a world I know little of, and which I do find quite abhorrent - it's been a blight on my time as a football fan.

I'd better give it a two though, in case I bump into the author at some stage in the future.

I suspect that unless you're actually able to identify with the emotions driving this book, you'll find reading this very hard work.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's nothing different about me. I'm just another bored male, approaching 30, in a dead-end job, who lives for the weekend. Casual sex, watered-down lager, heavily cut drugs. And occasionally kicking fuck out of someone.

[Tim Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good and with a lot more depth than the Danny Dyer film. It's almost like a British social history. Not as one-dimensional as you'd think.

[Karl Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, not so much for the content, but for the writing style.

There’s no doubt that John King has the 80’s football hooligan down to a ‘T’ but he has a unique writing style that breaks all the rules – one chapter, for instance, consists of just a single sentence – but is somehow very readable. The reader finds himself inside the mind of the football hooligan as he drinks with his mates, shares banter with them, stands shoulder to shoulder with them as they battle rival supporters, drinks some more with them, runs fearlessly at rival supporters, pulls girls with a style I found myself envious of, and drinks some more with his mates.

Harris, the leader, reminded me so much of someone I know that I couldn’t help myself from seeing his face every time he appeared.

I’d read the book years earlier, and there was just one chapter that stuck in my memory. Again, it’s written in a kind of stream of consciousness reminiscent of Jack Kerouac, the whole chapter taking place in a curry house. There’s nothing wrong with breaking all the rules (grammar, punctuation etc.) as long as you know you’re breaking the rules and are openly experimenting with different writing styles, and John King does this exceedingly well. In this chapter we see a group of lads, already inebriated, enter the curry house, sit down, argue, abuse other clientele, chat up girls on the next table, steam into their Rubies, run out without paying, fight other customers and pull the birds!

This book is like eating a bacon sandwich in that it’s a simple pleasure that is anything but simple. The smell of sizzling football hooligans is enough to tempt even the staunchest of scarfers. Football Factory is a winning combination of taste and smell, you can practically smell the terraces, and hear them from several streets away. Indeed, this book is thick-cut and smoked with quite a kick to it, and a little sauce thrown in for good measure. Just like a bacon sandwich, FF is hot and earthy, but there’s a warning here, reading this book will probably give you cancer as well. All good things give you cancer, it seems, so I’m sure FF is no exception.

‘Ave a pop at it!

[James Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Things like that you have to ignore. Push it down and keep it there on a back burner. Bury the bad times under concrete. What’s the point of thinking too much about things? It just fucks you up.”

Pretty interesting gritty look into the minds and lives of a few people in and around the hooligan scene in the 90s. Up the Chels. Enjoyed the way the pace picked up during the more violent parts. Also just the phrasing throughout was brilliant, super entertaining. Also some creative moments moments like during warehouse shifts he daydreams about scoring a hat trick in the fa cup final, leading to him dating Ar Lady Di, forming a relationship, worrying about her eating disorder, timing toilet trips during a date in macdonalds.

[Angus McKeogh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not necessarily the greatest book I’ve ever read, but a really interesting angle on the fighting football firms of the UK. Nothing’s entirely black or white. And this is just a representation of another grey area in life. See how the other half lives.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Přečteno v českém jazyce: https://www.databazeknih.cz/knihy/fot...

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only novel I’ve read in the last decade in the hope that all the main characters will be incinerated before the end.

[Νίκος Vitoliotis) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πιο καλό από την ταινία. Διαβάστε το.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, nothing like the movie. Don’t let Danny Dyer and his “proper naughty” patter put you off. This is an insightful, fast faced book which critiques class culture in the U.K. of the 90s.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

John Kingin "The Football Factory" (Vintage, 1997) on työväenluokkaisten jalkapallohuligaanien elämää kuvaava romaani, jonka tapahtumat sijoittuvat 1990-luvun Lontooseen.

Tommy-niminen keskushenkilö työskentelee viikot varastolla, mutta varsinaisen sisällön elämään tuo lauantai, jolloin Chelsea pelaa. Futiksen ympärille rakentuu väkivallasta, halvasta lagerista, samanhenkisistä, lojaaleista kavereista ja satunnaisista irtosuhteista koostuva elämäntyyli, jota nykyään tavataan sanoa toksiseksi maskuliinisuudeksi.

Tommyn ja hänen kaltaistensa elämäntyyliä ei suoranaisesti ihannoida, mutta kirjailija tahtoo sanoa, ettei kaikki ei ole ihan niin mustavalkoista kuin väkivaltauutisilla mässäilevä media antaa ymmärtää. Ja voiko yhteiskunta tuomita huligaaneja, kun se samaan aikaan lähettää kansalaisiaan tappamaan muita eri puolille maailmaa?

Lukija saattaisi odottaa lopussa jonkinlaista valaistumista, mutta Tommy ei muutu, vaikka tulee Millwall-pelissä hakatuksi sairaalakuntoon.

Miksi Tommy lyö? En tiedä onko siihen selvää vastausta, mutta ainakin englantilaisen yhteiskunnan kipupisteitä - rasismia, luokkasysteemistä aiheutuvaa yhteiskunnan jakautumista ja muita vastaavia - kuvataan romaanissa välillä enemmän, välillä vähemmän oivaltavasti. Vähempikin alleviivaaminen olisi kyllä riittänyt.

Kirjan rakenne on kunnianhimoinen. Näkökulmaa vaihdetaan välillä, mutta muiden kertojahahmojen tarinat eivät aina tunnu istuvan kokonaisuuteen saumattomasti ja jättävät pikkuisen hämmentyneen olon. Tajunnanvirtatekniikkaa hyödynnytetään usein, ihan toimivastikin.

Lukihan tämän, mutta aineksia parempaankin olisi ollut. Jos pidit tästä, niin Irvine Welshin kirjoja voisit kokeilla seuraavaksi.

[Tommy Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read because I really like the film but came to realise the film is so loosely based on it in terms of story. It does however capture the overall mindset of the football hooligan and that’s what this book offers, a deep dive into that mindset along with some other commentaries from various walks/periods of life which unfortunately I didn’t really care for. In my opinion, the main story is what makes the book good.

[Laurence Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very difficult book to read and I ended up skimming over a number of chapters. If you want to get into the mindset of a vile, beer fuelled racist thug then this is the book for you!

I watched football up and down the country during the 90s when this was book was based, and was looking forward to reading this. Although not a classic, I still enjoyed the movie for what it was. At least the main character was semi likeable.

With this book I hated every character and couldn't care less whether they were on the receiving end of a good kicking or not. The only redeeming factor was the occasional slightly funny moments when the narrator attended away games and his observations on northern towns!

Very disappointing.

[Logan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I could do 2.5 stars I'd probably do that, but maybe I should have given it 3. I'm still a little undecided on this book. It was ok, but definitely not great. It is what it is, a book about mostly shallow football hooligans in the 90's with some of what creates the culture outside of football, like racism and classism etc. The jumping timeline for essentially unconnected characters felt pretty out of place, and don't know what to make of that either.

I think I'll recommend this book to some people, if only to see if they can help me decide what I think about it...

[Ken Punter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irvine Welsh says it best when hailing The Football Factory as "The best book I've ever read about football and working class culture." I've never read anything that so authentically conveys the mood, texture and minutiae of working class life.

The misogyny, racism and violence is hard to read (and meant to be) but the articulation of the philosophy and feelings of the young, (almost exclusively) white, working class, London male has probably never been so accurately and fairly represented.

Two more in the trilogy to read but John King's now on my authors-to-explore-further list.

[Ian Rak · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Football Factory by John King (January 1 2004). The main story is about Tommy Johnson, Chelsea Headhunter and the support he gives his team. Other stories involve Bill Farrell a pensioner fearing for his future and Vince whose mind is opened by travel and seeing other cultures. So much truth and reality for most lads I know. There’s one chapter called Bombay Mix could be taught in English schools.

[Edwige · Rating 5 out of 5]

C'est un livre choc et des émotions à l'état brut. Les propos sont comme des coups de poings à chaque page et une fantastique énergie de révolte se dégage de ce roman. John King nous immerge totalement dans le monde de la violence qui entourait les terrains de foot anglais dans les années 90 et partage avec nous le quotidien des laissés-pour-compte d'une société profondément inégale. Splendide!

[Charlie Brock · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF, this is bollocks. The film is unimaginably terrible and yet this managed to be even worse. The writing style is borderline illegible and there are more slurs (racial, sexual, misogynistic and homophobic, the full house) than punctuation marks. In trying to document the working class passion for football, all it manages to do is categorise working class football fans as thick racists. Shite.

[Jon Chater · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written at a time when it became vogue to describe the thuggish element of football such as those written by Dougie Brimstone.
It is a shallow read that on reflection is a metaphor for its time of lad culture.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

don't be fooled. It's not at all like the movie - it's better. Plus - who doesn't like football hooligans

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was bought this as a Christmas present. I had already seen the film, while enjoyable it was still relatively poor, the book was even worse.