The Card: Every Match, Every Mile

by Steve Hill

When does a hobby become an obsession? At the start of yet another football season, long-suffering Chester supporter Steve Hill makes his traditional tongue-in-cheek pledge to do The Card every game, home and away. However, this time it is different. This time he means it... One man, 50 matches, 15,000 miles. Spurning parental duties in search of glory, what follows is a disturbing journey into the heart of darkness, from Gateshead to Torquay and all points in between. An odyssey of forgotten towns, bad pubs, crumbling stadiums and shattered dreams, this is Broken Britain viewed through the prism of the match day I have been to Macclesfield, but I have never been to me... Written on the road as a tragicomic travelogue, The Card is self-deprecating black humour at its best. Whether you love the game or not, it is an extraordinary story of football, friendship and fatherhood. And motorways. With literally dozens of fellow fans urging him on, can Hill achieve immortality and valiantly complete The Every Match, Every Mile?

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Martin Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In order to appreciate this it's important to know why people will follow football teams from The North East to the South West, sometimes twice a week, to see the team lose more times than win.
A tremendous feat to watch every minute of every match following non league Chester, especially when you live in London and therefore it's at least 200 miles to a home game. The pursuit of "the card" concentrates on the effort of getting to these obscure stadiums, the pre-match ritual and the familiar faces that crop up along the way. If you've ever done anything like this it is a very accurate insight into the trials and tribulations, often to leave disillusioned, only to travel 3 days later with renewed optimism. Very well written, witty in places, mercifully short on the details of the game, especially as it was a poor season. Big shout out to the long suffering family, support beyond what is normally expected.
As a Chester supporter this had greater interest to me, but any supporter will understand the principle and recognise the traits of a committed supporter.

[George F Zeleny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trump Card

As a football fan who has spent time in only the Premier League and Championship this book has been proof that the real fans exist way down the pecking order. A funny, perceptive and intoxicating read full of neat characterizations and admirable stamina, I loved it.

[Peter Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read! Funny, poignant though perhaps a little too boozy at time!

[James R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book almost exactly a year after the pandemic stopped fans from being able to attend games. It was the perfect time to read it, as it reminded me of all the highs and lows of following a poor football team up and down the country. So much of being a football fan isn't actually the football but all the other ephemera that takes places around the game, the characters, the rituals and the weird moments that crop up. All these elements are captured superbly as the book follows the author on his quest to see every game of the season. The book simultaneously reminded me of how terrible it is to dedicate huge chunks of your life to attending live football matches but equally made me desperate to get back to doing it again.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Chester. Obsessed. What's not to love?

[Peter Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for football fans everywhere, but especially if you are a non-league fan, and very especially if you are a Chester fan!
Congratulations, Steve, on getting to the end of The Card. A real achievement!

[Jamie Lee-Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and really captures the life of a non league football fan brilliantly.