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And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain
WINNER OF THE NEW WRITER AWARD AT THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE, THE GORDON BURN PRIZE AND FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
FEATURED IN THE OBSERVER'S SPORTS WRITERS' BOOKS OF THE YEAR
And the Sun Shines Now is a book about why Hillsborough happened, and how the flawed response to the disaster created a 'whole new ball game' but destroyed a culture. The Taylor Report. All-seater stadia. Police lies. Political neglect. Murdoch. The oligarchs. And an FA plan to gentrify football. But what happens when you take the people's game away from the people? What happens to the game, and what happens to the people? Powerful, funny, soulful and brutal, Adrian Tempany's acclaimed book exposes the real cost of the modern game . . . and the forces that shaped it.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE, THE GORDON BURN PRIZE AND FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
FEATURED IN THE OBSERVER'S SPORTS WRITERS' BOOKS OF THE YEAR
And the Sun Shines Now is a book about why Hillsborough happened, and how the flawed response to the disaster created a 'whole new ball game' but destroyed a culture. The Taylor Report. All-seater stadia. Police lies. Political neglect. Murdoch. The oligarchs. And an FA plan to gentrify football. But what happens when you take the people's game away from the people? What happens to the game, and what happens to the people? Powerful, funny, soulful and brutal, Adrian Tempany's acclaimed book exposes the real cost of the modern game . . . and the forces that shaped it.
421 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2014
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July 5, 2016
And The Sun Shines Now – Football’s Darkest Hour
On Saturday 15th April 1989 I was in Blackburn watching my team getting another pasting when news of the FA Cup semi-final over at Hillsborough that there were problems in the crowd. The initial feeling was the scousers fighting each other again, with other murmurings about you cannot take Liverpool fans anywhere.
It was only at half-time and after the game it dawned on the rest of the football fans what was actually in the process of happening at Hillsborough. On that day the author Adrian Tempany was a 16-year-old Liverpool fan and had gone to the Cup semi-final, he survived the carnage that happened on the Leppings Lane stand that day. Like all Liverpool fans that day they had to deal with the trauma, the accusations and pointing the of fingers as 96 fans died.
From that day until April 2016 when the begins of justice began to pull down the pernicious cover up from the establishment towards the Liverpool fans, their families and the City. May 2016 an Inquest Jury found the police guilty of ineptitude, that they were made to watch football in a dilapidated and dangerous football stadium that did not have a safety certificate.
Tempany not only gives a vivid survivor’s account of what happened at Hillsborough, as like many Liverpool fans that day, he was never able to have closure. Through the pages of this book he tries to work out what happened to himself and what has also happened to football and the nation since that day. Since that day we as a society have become more risk averse and everything more is more managed more controlled and our carefree days have gone.
He also examines what happened after the Taylor Report, the findings of which were accepted by the Government and then routinely ignored except for all seater stadia. The miss the fact that Lord Taylor also stated that the fans should not be made to pay through the nose for the modernisation of the game.
Tempany quite rightly insists that football as a sport has profoundly changed because of Hillsborough, football accepted the recommendation of all seater stadia. There was also the Premier League, created in 1992, which was profit and very much money driven around TV rights. There was a rapid and rather shameless switch from the egalitarian football of the past to the Thatcherite market, money driven, survival of the ‘fittest’, which really means the richest.
What Tempany sees is the irony of the Murdoch business that football fans need their fix of the sport just as an addict, how it was his paper that condemned the fans in 1989 and now cannot make enough money from them. He discusses at length the relationship we fans now have between the clubs and their communities and that some have not forgotten the community they came from and are putting something back.
Quite rightly Hillsborough looms large over this book and you cannot help to be moved by Tempany’s writing and the personal perspective that he gives. This is an important book that not only chronicles what happened, well researched, packed with perspectives and speaks the truth that for so long was either hidden or shouted down.
On Saturday 15th April 1989 I was in Blackburn watching my team getting another pasting when news of the FA Cup semi-final over at Hillsborough that there were problems in the crowd. The initial feeling was the scousers fighting each other again, with other murmurings about you cannot take Liverpool fans anywhere.
It was only at half-time and after the game it dawned on the rest of the football fans what was actually in the process of happening at Hillsborough. On that day the author Adrian Tempany was a 16-year-old Liverpool fan and had gone to the Cup semi-final, he survived the carnage that happened on the Leppings Lane stand that day. Like all Liverpool fans that day they had to deal with the trauma, the accusations and pointing the of fingers as 96 fans died.
From that day until April 2016 when the begins of justice began to pull down the pernicious cover up from the establishment towards the Liverpool fans, their families and the City. May 2016 an Inquest Jury found the police guilty of ineptitude, that they were made to watch football in a dilapidated and dangerous football stadium that did not have a safety certificate.
Tempany not only gives a vivid survivor’s account of what happened at Hillsborough, as like many Liverpool fans that day, he was never able to have closure. Through the pages of this book he tries to work out what happened to himself and what has also happened to football and the nation since that day. Since that day we as a society have become more risk averse and everything more is more managed more controlled and our carefree days have gone.
He also examines what happened after the Taylor Report, the findings of which were accepted by the Government and then routinely ignored except for all seater stadia. The miss the fact that Lord Taylor also stated that the fans should not be made to pay through the nose for the modernisation of the game.
Tempany quite rightly insists that football as a sport has profoundly changed because of Hillsborough, football accepted the recommendation of all seater stadia. There was also the Premier League, created in 1992, which was profit and very much money driven around TV rights. There was a rapid and rather shameless switch from the egalitarian football of the past to the Thatcherite market, money driven, survival of the ‘fittest’, which really means the richest.
What Tempany sees is the irony of the Murdoch business that football fans need their fix of the sport just as an addict, how it was his paper that condemned the fans in 1989 and now cannot make enough money from them. He discusses at length the relationship we fans now have between the clubs and their communities and that some have not forgotten the community they came from and are putting something back.
Quite rightly Hillsborough looms large over this book and you cannot help to be moved by Tempany’s writing and the personal perspective that he gives. This is an important book that not only chronicles what happened, well researched, packed with perspectives and speaks the truth that for so long was either hidden or shouted down.
April 16, 2018
Very moving and shocking first chapter describing the author's experience at Hillsborough.
Rest of the book drags a bit and is overly political though.
Rest of the book drags a bit and is overly political though.
November 21, 2017
Football has not grown apart from society since 1989. The national sport has become as dysfunctional as society has become dysfunctional. With wealth increasingly concentrated at the top, with inequality increasing, with clubs serviced on debt, and with foreign capital flowing in and out, English football is teetering on the same flimsy foundations as much of the English economy.
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain is written by Hillsborough survivor Adrian Tempany and opens with a grim account of his own experiences on Saturday 15th April 1989.
Hillsborough - the tragedy, and the subsequent fight for justice - book-end this account of what has happened to English football since that fateful day in 1989. Essentially, our national sport has been wrested from its traditional local supporters, many of whom have been priced out by the spiralling cost of tickets, and handed to a more passive, moneyed group and an audience of global TV viewers. Exactly how this happened makes for fascinating reading and it is on this key topic that the book really succeeds.
Adrian Tempany also visits the more fan-centric clubs in Germany, and explores community initiatives in England, most notably at Tottenham Hotspur. Interestingly, German fans love and revere English football but now feel sorry for most English fans - and rightly so. Clubs like Schalke 04 and St Pauli have an engaged, passionate support who can stand on terraces, buy cheap tickets, drink beer whilst watching the game, and enjoy a truly vibrant atmosphere. It's a far cry from the sterile feel of most Premier League grounds where supporters are treated as customers, and not the lifeblood of the club.
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain is essential reading - authoritative, rigorous and honest - if a tad meandering in parts. I concluded that if English football clubs are ever to recapture their status as community beacons then the responsibility lies firmly with the supporters who must organise and rouse themselves into action - this excellent book provides both inspiration and a blueprint.
4/5
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain is written by Hillsborough survivor Adrian Tempany and opens with a grim account of his own experiences on Saturday 15th April 1989.
Hillsborough - the tragedy, and the subsequent fight for justice - book-end this account of what has happened to English football since that fateful day in 1989. Essentially, our national sport has been wrested from its traditional local supporters, many of whom have been priced out by the spiralling cost of tickets, and handed to a more passive, moneyed group and an audience of global TV viewers. Exactly how this happened makes for fascinating reading and it is on this key topic that the book really succeeds.
Adrian Tempany also visits the more fan-centric clubs in Germany, and explores community initiatives in England, most notably at Tottenham Hotspur. Interestingly, German fans love and revere English football but now feel sorry for most English fans - and rightly so. Clubs like Schalke 04 and St Pauli have an engaged, passionate support who can stand on terraces, buy cheap tickets, drink beer whilst watching the game, and enjoy a truly vibrant atmosphere. It's a far cry from the sterile feel of most Premier League grounds where supporters are treated as customers, and not the lifeblood of the club.
And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain is essential reading - authoritative, rigorous and honest - if a tad meandering in parts. I concluded that if English football clubs are ever to recapture their status as community beacons then the responsibility lies firmly with the supporters who must organise and rouse themselves into action - this excellent book provides both inspiration and a blueprint.
4/5
June 30, 2018
“And the Sun Shines Now” is a curious book. By turns a survivor’s account of the Hillsborough disaster, an attack on the creeping gentrification of football, an analysis of media ownership in the UK, and an investigation into the business model of German football, it maybe suffers a little as a read by trying to cover too much ground too quickly.
The author Adrian Tempany plots how the Football Association’s reforms introduced in the aftermath of Hillsborough led to the corporate takeover of English football during the 1990s and beyond. The establishment of the Premier League and sale of TV rights to Rupert Murdoch and Sky saw a fundamental change in the relationship between football supporters and their clubs. Fans were turned from “football supporters into subscribers”, their inherent loyalty to their clubs making them easy pickings for Sky’s pay-per-view model. The TV subscriber audience came to be the priority of the clubs at the expense of their traditional fans (as Tempany writes, ”the clubs are making so much money from television they no longer need the community that built them into world-class brands”).
Tempany doesn’t quite prove the case for his book’s subtitle “How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain”. Hillsborough undoubtedly led to revolutionary change in British football, from all-seater stadiums, increasing player power, foreign ownership of clubs, and the alienation of the clubs traditional fanbase. But, rather than changing British society, Hillsborough itself could be seen as the horrific consequence of many of the trends unleashed by a decade of Thatcherism (the demonisation of the working classes, the politicisation of unaccountable and corrupt police forces, etc).
Adrian Tempany has the material for about 3 or 4 different books here. Given the author’s gut-wrenching account of almost being crushed to death on the terrace of Hillsborough – and subsequent involvement in the campaign for justice – I would be fascinated to read a book by Tempany purely devoted to the Hillsborough Family Support Group’s heroic decades-long fight. Similarly, the chapters on the fan ownership model in German football were intriguing, and Tempany could potentially flesh them out in a book of their own.
But, while “And the Sun Shines Now” is in parts powerful, insightful and intelligently-written, by flitting between so many seemingly disparate topics, it can be a little disjointed.
The author Adrian Tempany plots how the Football Association’s reforms introduced in the aftermath of Hillsborough led to the corporate takeover of English football during the 1990s and beyond. The establishment of the Premier League and sale of TV rights to Rupert Murdoch and Sky saw a fundamental change in the relationship between football supporters and their clubs. Fans were turned from “football supporters into subscribers”, their inherent loyalty to their clubs making them easy pickings for Sky’s pay-per-view model. The TV subscriber audience came to be the priority of the clubs at the expense of their traditional fans (as Tempany writes, ”the clubs are making so much money from television they no longer need the community that built them into world-class brands”).
Tempany doesn’t quite prove the case for his book’s subtitle “How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain”. Hillsborough undoubtedly led to revolutionary change in British football, from all-seater stadiums, increasing player power, foreign ownership of clubs, and the alienation of the clubs traditional fanbase. But, rather than changing British society, Hillsborough itself could be seen as the horrific consequence of many of the trends unleashed by a decade of Thatcherism (the demonisation of the working classes, the politicisation of unaccountable and corrupt police forces, etc).
Adrian Tempany has the material for about 3 or 4 different books here. Given the author’s gut-wrenching account of almost being crushed to death on the terrace of Hillsborough – and subsequent involvement in the campaign for justice – I would be fascinated to read a book by Tempany purely devoted to the Hillsborough Family Support Group’s heroic decades-long fight. Similarly, the chapters on the fan ownership model in German football were intriguing, and Tempany could potentially flesh them out in a book of their own.
But, while “And the Sun Shines Now” is in parts powerful, insightful and intelligently-written, by flitting between so many seemingly disparate topics, it can be a little disjointed.
August 6, 2017
A rather brilliant, if slightly meandering, read. In essence, of course, it's about Hillsborough and the author's first-hand account of his experiences on the day are really quite harrowing. From there, Tempany traverses a lot of ground, not least the shamefully long wait for justice that the victims' families and survivors had to endure; the day's impact on the game at large; where top-flight football in England is today; and how things are done differently better in Germany. A lot is therefore packed into its 400 pages. However, even if I slightly lost the narrative thread at times it would be churlish to rate it any lower than four stars, such is the subject's significance for fans and non-fans alike.
March 30, 2025
Hard to know how to review this - ultimately think I am not passionate enough about football to really connect with the arguments made, but equally found the Hillsborough chapters incredibly moving, and some of the very political chapters about the relationship between class and football and politics fascinating. If that content had made up a higher % of the book, I think it would have been a 4/5.
October 2, 2017
A book written by a survivor of Hillsborough, looks at events leading to and the tragic matchday and the legal process over the time until the warrington inquests. looks at how football changed with bskyb premier league and all seater stadia and move away from traditional working class support of the game. The book is very interesting and should be read so hopefully again never happened again.
March 19, 2014
From http://freeburner.wordpress.com
Adrian Tempany is a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster where 96 people lost their lives. Here he sets out to give an account of how football has changed in the wake of the tragic events in Sheffield.
He gives a harrowing account of the day itself, describing the intensity of the crush and the scale of the devastation with bodies lying everywhere. The gymnasium was being used as a mortuary for the dead. The effects were felt heavily down the years, with the bereaved going through fierce grief and survivors suffering trauma.
The false narrative that was put forward reshaped English football. The authorities felt that the game had to be rescued from the characters that were attending and a new class of consumers should be brought in to be entertained in all-seater stadiums.
Football supporters were demonised in the aftermath of Hillsborough and made to carry the can instead of police. In the wake of Lord Justice Taylor’s report all-seater stadiums came in and football became more of an entertainment industry.
Tempany gives us an insight into a culture being pushed to the margins. He puts forward fanzines and publications like Viz as outlets that gave the working class as voice not afforded by traditional mainstream media. Football supporters weren’t understood by Margaret Thatcher and they were broadly branded as being troublemakers and a major social problem.
The books looks into the erosion of the social function of the game with an increase of the average age of supporters and rising tickets costs pricing people out of the market. Parents and children aren’t able to attend on a regular basis and families have a lost a great place to bond and show emotions that usually go unseen.
The wage demands are outlined as the biggest drain on the finances of English clubs. Players used to go to play in other European leagues before the Premier League was in a position to offer bigger salaries. He outlines the conditions that have led to this, with the rise of of Sky television very prominently involved.
He takes a trip to Germany and finds a very different situation, with supporters wielding considerable influence and power in their clubs. There’s efforts to ensure supporters from all social backgrounds can participate in the life of the club and attend matches regularly. When he returns to England and watches Liverpool play West Ham in the Premier League he finds less teenage men in the crowd than in Germany and people don’t seem as engaged with the game.
He reckons there’s an opportunity now to draft a new football manifesto, one with a viable long-term commercial strategy and recognition of the unique social purpose. This book is a very fine overview of how things have changed and an examination of what could be done in future to improve the landcape of the game. He looks to the positive aspects of the German game and puts forward a passionate case for improving the sport that brings joy to so many people.
Adrian Tempany is a survivor of the Hillsborough disaster where 96 people lost their lives. Here he sets out to give an account of how football has changed in the wake of the tragic events in Sheffield.
He gives a harrowing account of the day itself, describing the intensity of the crush and the scale of the devastation with bodies lying everywhere. The gymnasium was being used as a mortuary for the dead. The effects were felt heavily down the years, with the bereaved going through fierce grief and survivors suffering trauma.
The false narrative that was put forward reshaped English football. The authorities felt that the game had to be rescued from the characters that were attending and a new class of consumers should be brought in to be entertained in all-seater stadiums.
Football supporters were demonised in the aftermath of Hillsborough and made to carry the can instead of police. In the wake of Lord Justice Taylor’s report all-seater stadiums came in and football became more of an entertainment industry.
Tempany gives us an insight into a culture being pushed to the margins. He puts forward fanzines and publications like Viz as outlets that gave the working class as voice not afforded by traditional mainstream media. Football supporters weren’t understood by Margaret Thatcher and they were broadly branded as being troublemakers and a major social problem.
The books looks into the erosion of the social function of the game with an increase of the average age of supporters and rising tickets costs pricing people out of the market. Parents and children aren’t able to attend on a regular basis and families have a lost a great place to bond and show emotions that usually go unseen.
The wage demands are outlined as the biggest drain on the finances of English clubs. Players used to go to play in other European leagues before the Premier League was in a position to offer bigger salaries. He outlines the conditions that have led to this, with the rise of of Sky television very prominently involved.
He takes a trip to Germany and finds a very different situation, with supporters wielding considerable influence and power in their clubs. There’s efforts to ensure supporters from all social backgrounds can participate in the life of the club and attend matches regularly. When he returns to England and watches Liverpool play West Ham in the Premier League he finds less teenage men in the crowd than in Germany and people don’t seem as engaged with the game.
He reckons there’s an opportunity now to draft a new football manifesto, one with a viable long-term commercial strategy and recognition of the unique social purpose. This book is a very fine overview of how things have changed and an examination of what could be done in future to improve the landcape of the game. He looks to the positive aspects of the German game and puts forward a passionate case for improving the sport that brings joy to so many people.
May 9, 2016
For those, like Adrian Tempany, who had football as chief among their passions in a pre-Premier League childhood, the last 25 years has been like watching the lights go green and seeing a powerful motorbike disappear away from him.
And The Sun Shines Now illuminates how far the game, and Britain have travelled since it jumped the lights a quarter of a century ago.
Tempany’s starting point for this beautifully written, heartbroken, and witty book was nearly the end. He came close to death at Hillsborough. There is palpable and rightous anger in early sections on the complacent failings that led to the disaster. Not least those of Sheffield Wednesday and The FA.
The gut wrenching description of how the police failed, and 96 people died at Liverpool’s semi-final against Nottingham Forest is visceral and terrifying.
The triumph of truth and justice at the recent inquest is handled with intelligence and insight.
Hillsborough is the beginning, but the book's narrative is how football followed a society in which the goalposts moved so far. Leaving fans mute witnesses as the game was handed to billionaires. Not least Rupert Murdoch.
One of the best sections deals with the way in which a Conservative Government bemused by a game it didn’t understand all but gave football to Sky, past a Labour Opposition too weak to do anything about it. And how Murdoch didn’t even realise what he had until the money started pouring in.
If profit is the bottom line in football Tempany spends time wondering if it should be. Football’s value to communities, and individuals is explored through fan culture, and a chapter on how kids have lost out through being organised. Jumpers for goalposts as freedom rather than cliche.
The most illuminating section of the book is on Tempany's time in Germany. If succesive British Governments washed their hands of a game they didn't understand German football from top to bottom doesn't get why British fans let it go.
We may in this country view German clubs as being the same as ours. Largely they don't seem to be. Clubs like Schalke 04 and St Pauli feel genuine responsibility to their fans. They in turn feel connected to their club in a way that most British fans seem not to anymore. Beating us on penalties isn't enough, they feel sorry for us.
Tempany illuminates the big picture with his own journey. The personal is seen clear eyed through the lens of deep and effective research.
And The Sun Shines Now has the resigned wit of a parent on the touch line watching a talent free child lump the ball at the opposition.
But like all those who watch any game Tempany retains hope that sooner or later in English football something good may happen throughout this brilliant book.
And The Sun Shines Now illuminates how far the game, and Britain have travelled since it jumped the lights a quarter of a century ago.
Tempany’s starting point for this beautifully written, heartbroken, and witty book was nearly the end. He came close to death at Hillsborough. There is palpable and rightous anger in early sections on the complacent failings that led to the disaster. Not least those of Sheffield Wednesday and The FA.
The gut wrenching description of how the police failed, and 96 people died at Liverpool’s semi-final against Nottingham Forest is visceral and terrifying.
The triumph of truth and justice at the recent inquest is handled with intelligence and insight.
Hillsborough is the beginning, but the book's narrative is how football followed a society in which the goalposts moved so far. Leaving fans mute witnesses as the game was handed to billionaires. Not least Rupert Murdoch.
One of the best sections deals with the way in which a Conservative Government bemused by a game it didn’t understand all but gave football to Sky, past a Labour Opposition too weak to do anything about it. And how Murdoch didn’t even realise what he had until the money started pouring in.
If profit is the bottom line in football Tempany spends time wondering if it should be. Football’s value to communities, and individuals is explored through fan culture, and a chapter on how kids have lost out through being organised. Jumpers for goalposts as freedom rather than cliche.
The most illuminating section of the book is on Tempany's time in Germany. If succesive British Governments washed their hands of a game they didn't understand German football from top to bottom doesn't get why British fans let it go.
We may in this country view German clubs as being the same as ours. Largely they don't seem to be. Clubs like Schalke 04 and St Pauli feel genuine responsibility to their fans. They in turn feel connected to their club in a way that most British fans seem not to anymore. Beating us on penalties isn't enough, they feel sorry for us.
Tempany illuminates the big picture with his own journey. The personal is seen clear eyed through the lens of deep and effective research.
And The Sun Shines Now has the resigned wit of a parent on the touch line watching a talent free child lump the ball at the opposition.
But like all those who watch any game Tempany retains hope that sooner or later in English football something good may happen throughout this brilliant book.
August 3, 2018
Interesting story, and it is important that people keep talking about the event. Alas, this book simply does not make sense. Whereas the first chapter is about Hillsborough, the rest is kind of unrelated and rather an attempt to make a political statement (which one is not clear, though). You might go and publish books written by non-professional authors. But then you need a good editor. That‘s what is missing here. A pity, given the urgency of the case, which has just been put on the agenda again.
July 25, 2017
The 'Hillsborough Disaster' is not so much a disaster, but an appalling and horrific series of crimes. Manslaughter by gross negligence to be precise. Calling the harrowing events of that day a disaster detracts from the truth. Crimes were committed, and the Liverpool supporters were the victims of these crimes.
The supporters were and are completely innocent of any wrongdoing relating to the crimes that were committed against them, by South Yorkshire Police, the local council and authorities. Finally, after all these years, the truth is out! This work by Adrian Tempany will undoubtedly serve as a significant contribution to making the truth known in the public sphere.
The sincerity of the social commentary Tempany provides regarding football culture in Britain at the end of the twentieth century is akin George Orwell's 'The Road to Wigan Pier' and 'Down and Out in Paris and London'
The opening chapter of this book, describing his own personal experience on the day of Hillsborough, and the experiences of other supporters in the stadium, is gripping, yet extremely emotionally draining. In the context of helping the reader understand the sheer horror of Hillsborough, this chapter is the best personal account you will find, anywhere.
Tempany's disdain for Thatcherism is cogent, however, he achieves this without alienating the reader with overt socialist narratives.
The soul has been ripped out of British football. Fans are now treated as consumers and subscribers, not as a community of franchised emotional investors. The British working class are marginalised due to the ticket price rort, driven by television viewing rights and international commoditization of the Premier League. The game has become inaccessible to the young, and they have never been more disenfranchised from the sport as they are today.
Tempany's postmortem is incisively accurate, using a plethora of references, social science research and interviews with industry professionals.
Is it too late to revive the game? Perhaps not. Tempany takes us to Germany, to explore how the community game is kept alive against the rampant forces of commoditization, which has ravaged the English game. Tempany's findings and insights should bring British football fans hope for the future.
If you are a passionate football fan, it goes without saying that this book is essential reading. Turning Tempany's findings and insights into actionable policies for the football community is a case of life or death the game. I don't shy away from this statement.
The supporters were and are completely innocent of any wrongdoing relating to the crimes that were committed against them, by South Yorkshire Police, the local council and authorities. Finally, after all these years, the truth is out! This work by Adrian Tempany will undoubtedly serve as a significant contribution to making the truth known in the public sphere.
The sincerity of the social commentary Tempany provides regarding football culture in Britain at the end of the twentieth century is akin George Orwell's 'The Road to Wigan Pier' and 'Down and Out in Paris and London'
The opening chapter of this book, describing his own personal experience on the day of Hillsborough, and the experiences of other supporters in the stadium, is gripping, yet extremely emotionally draining. In the context of helping the reader understand the sheer horror of Hillsborough, this chapter is the best personal account you will find, anywhere.
Tempany's disdain for Thatcherism is cogent, however, he achieves this without alienating the reader with overt socialist narratives.
The soul has been ripped out of British football. Fans are now treated as consumers and subscribers, not as a community of franchised emotional investors. The British working class are marginalised due to the ticket price rort, driven by television viewing rights and international commoditization of the Premier League. The game has become inaccessible to the young, and they have never been more disenfranchised from the sport as they are today.
Tempany's postmortem is incisively accurate, using a plethora of references, social science research and interviews with industry professionals.
Is it too late to revive the game? Perhaps not. Tempany takes us to Germany, to explore how the community game is kept alive against the rampant forces of commoditization, which has ravaged the English game. Tempany's findings and insights should bring British football fans hope for the future.
If you are a passionate football fan, it goes without saying that this book is essential reading. Turning Tempany's findings and insights into actionable policies for the football community is a case of life or death the game. I don't shy away from this statement.
December 18, 2019
'This is not a book about Hillsborough' well OK, but ultimately what is it about?
This book I'm afraid flips all over the shop. We start with Tempany's traumatic experiences in the Leppings Lane end at Hillsborough that day and he then uses that touch-point of the disaster to segway into how the face of football has changed in the past 30 years. Some of this is really interesting, such the change in approach of clubs towards their financial aims, the move to all-seater stadia and the rise of Sky. Some of this is awful though. The endless 'it was better in my day when it was all flat cap wearing working class fans' and the weird obsession with the Bundesliga and it's fans, which goes on for nearly 100 pages. I've seen German fans, and frankly they're shit. Bayern Munich play the fucking can-can when they score a goal and Dortmund have the most fake, plastic, orchestrated support I've ever seen.
The ending of the book where a group of Hillsborough survivors sending an email is dramatised to almost Mission Impossible proportions is absolutely bizarre. I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt but it feels uncomfortably like self heroics.
At it's best this book feels like an overlong, fairly interesting University Dissertation. At it's worst it feels like a mess, easily a good 100 pages could have been lost here.
This book I'm afraid flips all over the shop. We start with Tempany's traumatic experiences in the Leppings Lane end at Hillsborough that day and he then uses that touch-point of the disaster to segway into how the face of football has changed in the past 30 years. Some of this is really interesting, such the change in approach of clubs towards their financial aims, the move to all-seater stadia and the rise of Sky. Some of this is awful though. The endless 'it was better in my day when it was all flat cap wearing working class fans' and the weird obsession with the Bundesliga and it's fans, which goes on for nearly 100 pages. I've seen German fans, and frankly they're shit. Bayern Munich play the fucking can-can when they score a goal and Dortmund have the most fake, plastic, orchestrated support I've ever seen.
The ending of the book where a group of Hillsborough survivors sending an email is dramatised to almost Mission Impossible proportions is absolutely bizarre. I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt but it feels uncomfortably like self heroics.
At it's best this book feels like an overlong, fairly interesting University Dissertation. At it's worst it feels like a mess, easily a good 100 pages could have been lost here.
July 6, 2017
As someone who knows very little about Hillsborough or football I found this a very enlightening read. I was a little disappointed that very little of the book itself is actually dedicated to the event but if I'd bothered to do a little more research before buying I'm sure I would have known this so really it's my own fault.
The author is wide ranging in his choice of topics, covering how football has changed since the disaster and the implications for English football as a whole. At times I found it slightly partisan - Sky Sports rights to the Premier League is talked about almost exclusively in negative terms without mention of the benefits to millions of fans around the world. The Thatcher government is also spoken about negatively throughout the book. I don't doubt that there are many, many things both Sky / Murdoch and the Tories have to answer for but I would have liked a little more balance here.
Overall I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book as a great overview of the issues that need addressing if English football is to regain its status as a fan-driven sport. But as the unbalance doesn't present the positives and negatives of these changes together I would advise readers to do their own thinking post-reading rather than taking everything at face value.
The author is wide ranging in his choice of topics, covering how football has changed since the disaster and the implications for English football as a whole. At times I found it slightly partisan - Sky Sports rights to the Premier League is talked about almost exclusively in negative terms without mention of the benefits to millions of fans around the world. The Thatcher government is also spoken about negatively throughout the book. I don't doubt that there are many, many things both Sky / Murdoch and the Tories have to answer for but I would have liked a little more balance here.
Overall I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book as a great overview of the issues that need addressing if English football is to regain its status as a fan-driven sport. But as the unbalance doesn't present the positives and negatives of these changes together I would advise readers to do their own thinking post-reading rather than taking everything at face value.
January 30, 2018
Antra metų knyga, didžiausią Anglijos istorijoje futbolo tragediją, Hillsborough, išgyvenusio A.Tempany žvilgsnis į tai, kaip ši 96 žmonių žūtis pakeitė Anglijos futbolą.
Knygos pradžia, kurioje autorius pasakoja, ką patyrė Hillsborough grūstyje, kai vos nemirė, tikrai gniaužia kvapą. Vėliau Tempany pasakoja, kaip ši tragedija pakeitė futbolą, kaip gimė Premier lyga, kaip gimė "modern football", kaip futbolas komercializavosi ir nutolo nuo savo šaknų. Net sunku patikėti, kad futbolą galima aptarti iš tokios daugybės kampų ir požiūrių (politika, visuomenė, socialinės problemos, vaikų auklėjimas, korupcija, vyrų-moterų vaidmuo ir t.t.)
Jei tikitės čia sužinoti visą Hillsborough tragedijos tyrimo istoriją ir visus kampus - to nėra. Tragedija yra tik atspirties taškas, įvykis, po kurio viskas keitėsi ir tebesikeičia. Ne į gerą. Kaip sako knygą man rekomendavęs Gintaras, po jos norisi mesti EPL futbolą ir atsigręžti į žemesnes lygas. Knyga visiems futbolo romantikams. Kiauras 10-ukas.
Knygos pradžia, kurioje autorius pasakoja, ką patyrė Hillsborough grūstyje, kai vos nemirė, tikrai gniaužia kvapą. Vėliau Tempany pasakoja, kaip ši tragedija pakeitė futbolą, kaip gimė Premier lyga, kaip gimė "modern football", kaip futbolas komercializavosi ir nutolo nuo savo šaknų. Net sunku patikėti, kad futbolą galima aptarti iš tokios daugybės kampų ir požiūrių (politika, visuomenė, socialinės problemos, vaikų auklėjimas, korupcija, vyrų-moterų vaidmuo ir t.t.)
Jei tikitės čia sužinoti visą Hillsborough tragedijos tyrimo istoriją ir visus kampus - to nėra. Tragedija yra tik atspirties taškas, įvykis, po kurio viskas keitėsi ir tebesikeičia. Ne į gerą. Kaip sako knygą man rekomendavęs Gintaras, po jos norisi mesti EPL futbolą ir atsigręžti į žemesnes lygas. Knyga visiems futbolo romantikams. Kiauras 10-ukas.
July 15, 2017
My 3 star review is a reflection of my reading taste & intellectual ability rather than the quality of this book. I found the parts about Hillsborough completely heartbreaking & fascinating - there is no denying this book is exceptionally well written and researched. I did struggle with the middle parts of the book though - I knew I was challenging myself to read a whole book about football but I did presume there would be more about how the world as a whole changed as a result of Hillsborough & the premier league. Perhaps I misinterpreted the title of the book. For even the mildest football enthusiast, this is an excellent book for you.
November 20, 2022
As we prepare to see how appalling the results of FIFA corruption is in ruining the joy of the World Cup it is useful to remember corruption of the British variety. This book written by a Hillsborough survivor is first terrifying, in its account of only just surviving the Leppings Lane end, infuriating, if you don't come away with a hatred of the police and the Thatcher government then you aren't paying attention, and then fascinating. It's ability to take the Hillsborough disaster as a start point for so many discussions is impressive and telling about the importance of the sport to UK society. Although I have to say I found the sections on the German football model dragged somewhat
January 14, 2024
Like a roller coaster ride between three different topics. And although they are linked with a singular narrative, it is not the most convincing one. The opening and closing Hillsborough chapters are excellent, emotional and insightful. The ones focusing on the establishment of Premiere League and TV rights are not original but still interesting to read. And then there are those from Germany which are just bad. A nice analysis makes way for blind enthuiasm and cherrypicking (the way the author dodges the Gazprom bullet when in Gelsenkirchen is just pathetic). Such a shame a brilliant book about such an important story had to be tied with a narrative this incomplete and grumpy.
May 28, 2024
Let me get my main grip out of the way: reading a book by a Liverpool fan from Stevenage who’s dad is an Arsenal fan and brother is a Forest fan lacking any reflection on how glory supporting is part of the commodification of football.
That aside it’s a good read, especially for getting a picture of what the UK was like around that time. The personal account of Hillsborough was very well written and worth reading for anyone. To me it dragged on a bit, the stuff in Germany and about spurs etc was interesting but probs could’ve been a different book. I ended up dipping in and out quite a lot hence the long reading time.
That aside it’s a good read, especially for getting a picture of what the UK was like around that time. The personal account of Hillsborough was very well written and worth reading for anyone. To me it dragged on a bit, the stuff in Germany and about spurs etc was interesting but probs could’ve been a different book. I ended up dipping in and out quite a lot hence the long reading time.
January 26, 2017
Published just after 'The Truth' this is a compelling read which offers insight into the government/media involvement in the cover up of the tragedy, but also gives a well researched view of how football has evolved from a working class sport into the multi billion business it now inhabits. Also gives a great insight into the German fan led football leagues as opposed to the now Murdoch consumed world of the Premier League we now have in the UK.
Also offers interesting sociological perspective to how the working class have been priced out of the game.
Also offers interesting sociological perspective to how the working class have been priced out of the game.
June 22, 2017
Admirably passionate but restrained given the authors own experience of Hillsborough. Whilst I dont entirely go along with him on the overall effect of the Hillsborougfh tragedy and the subsequent changes to English football on UK politics and media he does spread the narrative on to the role of fans and re-organisation of clubs in an interesting way.
This book could have be ome all about anger but what anger there is has been harnessed and used positively. It is also well written.
This book could have be ome all about anger but what anger there is has been harnessed and used positively. It is also well written.
November 5, 2018
A poignant and probing exploration of the evolution of football post 1989. The opening is a moving and harrowing portrait of the catastrophe that inspired huge social change in the UK with regards to football stadia - but the book offers a truly detailed analysis of social history and the beginnings of the Premier League.
Not one for the sports fan looking for a book that is dripping in sports action, but definitely worth a read if socio-political timeline writing is of interest.
Not one for the sports fan looking for a book that is dripping in sports action, but definitely worth a read if socio-political timeline writing is of interest.
February 21, 2017
Começo do livro até seus 40 e tantos % é excepcional, mas a partir do momento que ele vai pra Alemanha, o livro já poderia ter terminado. Não parece fazer muito sentido um cara que detona (com razão) os "consumidores" da Asia comprarem o "produto tribal" dos clubes ingleses achar a coisa mais linda do mundo ingleses "sem terraces pra torcer" irem ao continente pagar de fãzaços do Schalke, só para ver um jogo à moda antiga, de pé e bebendo cerveja. O ritmo cai bastante.
Os pontos altos do livro são:
- A descrição dos momentos de desespero que ele passou em Hillsborough;
- Como a TV de Murdoch se apoderou do futebol inglês e como o futebol foi imprenscidível para o sucesso da TV por satélite;
- A descrição, ainda que sucinta, da Copa de 1990, na minha opinião MUITO superior ao "One night at Turin", a decepção entre minhas aquisições literárias em 2016.
- O desespero dos torcedores de grandes clubes em ter que lutar por coisas singelas, como o respeito à identidade de seus times.
- A discussão das medidas do relatório Taylor na Câmara dos Comuns, o ponto mais alto do livro, que mostra como em 1990 foram retirados os primeiros grãos de terra para a sepultura do que a gente conhecia como futebol.
De negativo, além da parte cansativa e demasiado extensa sobre a organização dos clubes alemãs, há alguns outros problemas:
- Do que o autor promete no título, só metade é entregue: fica realmente claro como Hillsborough transformou o FUTEBOL britânico, mas fora o aumento do poderio da mídia, televisão e jornais, com o futebol mudando de "slum sport for slum people" para "good news" e gerando bilhões de libras/euros, esperava ver mais sobre como a gourmetização (ou gentrificação, como aponta o autor de maneira mais acurada) impactou nos costumes dos ingleses. Não é bem o que ocorre, com o livro mostrando mais como o futebol se adaptou à sociedade de consumo, e não o inverso. Mesmo as menções à "Dama de Ferro" são pouco profundas e contraditórias, ora ela como implacável inimiga número 1 dos torcedores, ora o hooliganismo sendo apenas "um bipezinho irritante no radar do governo".
- Ainda assim, o autor minimiza o problema de elitização do esporte mostrando "soluções mágicas", como nos casos de Portsmouth e do Schalke, que são a exceção e não a regra, virtualmente impossível de se aplicar em grande escala. Ele também busca uma isenção forçosa com páginas de elogios à iniciativa do Tottenham de "reinvestir na comunidade", passando um pano para o Spurs que descreve anteriormente como um dos clubes que capitanearam essa revolução desastrosa, sendo pioneiro em lançar as ações do clube no mercado e o papel fundamental do clube para que a BSkyB levasse os direitos de transmissão no início da Premier League.
No geral, um livro com fatos e informações que chamam à reflexão, embora falhe um pouco na hora de analisar o indivíduo que hoje "consome" o esporte no estádio em comparação com o torcedor "raíz" dos tempos pré All-Seated Stadia. Também abusa da simplificação quando resume o problema à idade média do frequentador de estádios antes e agora e apresenta números pouco conclusivos sobre a estratificação social desses torcedores.
Na impossibilidade de fracionar a nota e dar um 3,5 ou 3,75, dou 4 estrelas mais pelo mérito histórico de apontar onde e quando começou essa parvice de tratar o futebol como negócio e o torcedor como cliente, o que fez com que muitos torcedores da minha idade (ou mais velhos, em centros espoetivos e econômicos mais avançados onde a novidade chegou primeiro) tenham perdido absolutamente o tesão de frequentar estádios e menos pela qualidade da análise sociocultural das pessoas que seguem um time de futebol.
Os pontos altos do livro são:
- A descrição dos momentos de desespero que ele passou em Hillsborough;
- Como a TV de Murdoch se apoderou do futebol inglês e como o futebol foi imprenscidível para o sucesso da TV por satélite;
- A descrição, ainda que sucinta, da Copa de 1990, na minha opinião MUITO superior ao "One night at Turin", a decepção entre minhas aquisições literárias em 2016.
- O desespero dos torcedores de grandes clubes em ter que lutar por coisas singelas, como o respeito à identidade de seus times.
- A discussão das medidas do relatório Taylor na Câmara dos Comuns, o ponto mais alto do livro, que mostra como em 1990 foram retirados os primeiros grãos de terra para a sepultura do que a gente conhecia como futebol.
De negativo, além da parte cansativa e demasiado extensa sobre a organização dos clubes alemãs, há alguns outros problemas:
- Do que o autor promete no título, só metade é entregue: fica realmente claro como Hillsborough transformou o FUTEBOL britânico, mas fora o aumento do poderio da mídia, televisão e jornais, com o futebol mudando de "slum sport for slum people" para "good news" e gerando bilhões de libras/euros, esperava ver mais sobre como a gourmetização (ou gentrificação, como aponta o autor de maneira mais acurada) impactou nos costumes dos ingleses. Não é bem o que ocorre, com o livro mostrando mais como o futebol se adaptou à sociedade de consumo, e não o inverso. Mesmo as menções à "Dama de Ferro" são pouco profundas e contraditórias, ora ela como implacável inimiga número 1 dos torcedores, ora o hooliganismo sendo apenas "um bipezinho irritante no radar do governo".
- Ainda assim, o autor minimiza o problema de elitização do esporte mostrando "soluções mágicas", como nos casos de Portsmouth e do Schalke, que são a exceção e não a regra, virtualmente impossível de se aplicar em grande escala. Ele também busca uma isenção forçosa com páginas de elogios à iniciativa do Tottenham de "reinvestir na comunidade", passando um pano para o Spurs que descreve anteriormente como um dos clubes que capitanearam essa revolução desastrosa, sendo pioneiro em lançar as ações do clube no mercado e o papel fundamental do clube para que a BSkyB levasse os direitos de transmissão no início da Premier League.
No geral, um livro com fatos e informações que chamam à reflexão, embora falhe um pouco na hora de analisar o indivíduo que hoje "consome" o esporte no estádio em comparação com o torcedor "raíz" dos tempos pré All-Seated Stadia. Também abusa da simplificação quando resume o problema à idade média do frequentador de estádios antes e agora e apresenta números pouco conclusivos sobre a estratificação social desses torcedores.
Na impossibilidade de fracionar a nota e dar um 3,5 ou 3,75, dou 4 estrelas mais pelo mérito histórico de apontar onde e quando começou essa parvice de tratar o futebol como negócio e o torcedor como cliente, o que fez com que muitos torcedores da minha idade (ou mais velhos, em centros espoetivos e econômicos mais avançados onde a novidade chegou primeiro) tenham perdido absolutamente o tesão de frequentar estádios e menos pela qualidade da análise sociocultural das pessoas que seguem um time de futebol.
September 8, 2020
Good overview of the modernization of British soccer from the 1980s to the current day, viewing Hillsborough (the author survived the disaster) as a pivotal moment in the process.
Very political - anti-Thatcher, anti-markets, and often thinly veiled or even overt socialism - but I found the book to be informative, and at times insightful.
Very political - anti-Thatcher, anti-markets, and often thinly veiled or even overt socialism - but I found the book to be informative, and at times insightful.
April 14, 2021
At its worst this book is good but what sets it apart is the opening and closing chapters on Hillsborough ' from the survivor perspective of the disaster through the establishment cover up (including how far the systems on England are weighted towards those in power even when it is clear where fault lies) to redemption and justice mark this as a must read for all not just football fans
September 29, 2021
Enjoyable,informative and harrowing in parts but how there is no mention of German football in the title stumps me.
I felt this book was at least 100 pages too long and wasn’t expecting an in-depth explanation of everything to do with the bundesliga.
Skipped over the last 100 pages as I was becoming bored and felt like I was reading an essay.
I felt this book was at least 100 pages too long and wasn’t expecting an in-depth explanation of everything to do with the bundesliga.
Skipped over the last 100 pages as I was becoming bored and felt like I was reading an essay.
October 2, 2018
one of the best books about football around. Beginning with Hillsborough, it goes on to address the history, the economics, the politics and most importantly, the sociology of football, mainly in England but also in Germany. Well-written too
December 20, 2019
The five stars are for the most moving first chapter of any book I have read. It describes the author's experience at Hillsborough where he nearly became one of the victims.
The rest of the book is an excellent read unsurprisingly struggles to have the same impact as the first chapter
The rest of the book is an excellent read unsurprisingly struggles to have the same impact as the first chapter
July 1, 2024
A great not-just-football book. Everything that I love is there, football put into a large, very large context. Nothing is ever just about football, and Adrian, through his terrible experience managed to put it brilliantly into words. Thank you!
February 16, 2021
Hillsborough/Taylor Report segments are gripping, the Bundesliga diversion bland and overdone. Worth it for the good parts.
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February 22, 2021Great book covering the state of football, media and politics woven between the story of Hillsborough
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