On the Brink: A Journey Through English Football's North West

by Simon Hughes

In the winter of 2016 Simon Hughes began a journey through English football's most successful region, meeting the players, the managers, the chairmen and owners that shape the mood of a changing time. From the Premier League to grassroots, in On the Brink, Hughes examines how the landscape of the game across the north west is shifting: how geography explains the way things are; how industry defines identity; how money threatens existence ― and what Brexit might mean for the future.

Genres: Football, Sports, Nonfiction, Soccer

330 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2017

About the author

Simon Peter Hughes is an English cricketer and journalist. He is the son of the actor Peter Hughes, and the brother of historian Bettany Hughes.


Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Reviews

[Matt Roylance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely fascinating. It takes in every single facet of football in England’s North West, providing something of a cultural history as well as a critical analysis of the modern game.
The variety of formats in each chapter makes this very easy to read, and I particularly enjoyed the chapters that focused on in-depth interviews with particular individuals, the chapters with Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios & Accrington Stanley manger John Coleman spring to mind.
Overall an excellent read, and I would say required reading for anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of modern football.

[Benny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hughes let's us travel through the heartland of English football. The North West. From the constantly above their weight punching Accrington Stanleys and Morecambe over the crime that's taking place at Blackpool, an Ukip supporter at Fylde to the super-rich at City, United and Liverpool. And with all the football within this 300+ pages observation, it more tells us a lot about modern day Britain with all it's lost identity and obvious disparity.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book going through various teams in Northwest England. As an American, unfamiliar with teams outside of the Premier League, there were many chapters about places that I had never heard of, but were still interesting. I loved the chapters with Dyche, Klopp, and Neville. The author Simon Hughes had coffee with my brother and me when we were in Liverpool so he gets 5 stars out of principle.

[Cristobal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part travelogue, part social commentary this book goes into the rough and tumble English northwest. Similar in theme to “Welcome to Wrexham” but in a much more raw vein. It doesn’t have the celebrity angle but it makes up for that by getting deeper into the struggle of semi amateur sport and how global business is leaving it by the wayside.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is reviewed for The Two Unfortunates football blog here.

[Kevin Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to read about football in the north west, it's interesting when you have football teams that are at different levels and some have been through good and bad periods.

[Oliver Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting, but a slow read for me. Each chapter focuses on a different club with a different insight into how the town and politics of the area affects the clubs and vice versa.