Steaming in

by Colin Ward

First published in 1989, STEAMING IN is now acknowledged as the definitive account of terrace life in the 1970s and '80s. Unvarnished, unflinching, it tells the story of Colin Ward's experiences at Arsenal, Chelsea and England matches, at home and away. From Highbury to Luxembourg, Turin and Istanbul, Ward charts the camaraderie and confrontations, the hatred, the fear -- and the unexpected friendships between rival fans. By turns disturbing, horrifying and hilarious, it is astonishing reading, and draws a vivid picture of numerous colourful terrace characters. Countless words have been bandied about on the subject of football hooliganism by politicians, journalists and sociologists. Now re-issued with a new Preface by the author, STEAMING IN shows us what it was really like, and reminds us just how much football has changed. Controversial and provocative, it has become that rarest of gems -- a classic of football writing.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published July 18, 1989

About the author

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

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining and fairly light read. This is the story of 70’s and 80’s ‘terrace culture’ as told by Colin Ward, a supposed veteran of Arsenal, Chelsea, Leatherhead and England scraps at home and abroad. While I don’t believe everything Colin tells us in the book I suspect it’s mostly a case of him making certain embellishments to his experiences rather than dreaming the whole thing up from his leafy north London suburb. There are some good little stories and anecdotes in the book and it’s well worth a read for someone even remotely interested in the area but don’t expect to learn anything new or gain any new perspective on football violence. There were a few parts that really grated on me, for example I can’t imagine anyone outside of an Enid Blyton novel hurling some of the insults supposedly said. Nothing though, was more irritating than seemingly every single ‘scouser’ Colin encounters on his travels being a thief. That said, very enjoyable. Liverpool and Everton fans be warned!

[Shane C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this one. Badly written but there is some progress of maturity towards the end. No real discussion on his life and what brought him to enjoy this fairly reprehensible behaviour. The death of his mother was given one line, which I thought was interesting.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steaming In by Colin Ward (Simon & Shuster 1989)(nonfiction). This is widely regarded as the definitive book about the thugs and hooligans who inhabited the terraces of British British football clubs of the 1970s and 1980's. They showed up to drink nonstop for a weekend, to puke, to fight, to shock, to destroy, and to bleed. The book features Arsenal and Chelsea at home and on the road. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 2007.

[Jonathan Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better books of this genre. It's a weak genre.