Go To War
How the '80s Rocked Football
In the 1980s politicians declared war on football; football supporters declared war on each other inside crumbling stadia that resembled bomb sites and the '82 and '86 World Cups were played against the backdrop of the Falklands conflict. It was the decade when some fans died watching the sport they loved and at times, football seemed set to die too.
The decade also saw the emergence of West Ham's blonde bombshell Frank McAvennie, the very 1980s rivalry between Luton Town and Watford, the birth of the long-ball game, early sponsorship deals, the inflatable craze of the late 1980s, Saint & Greavsie, the arrival of plastic pitches and fanzines, mullets and back perms, travelling behind the Iron Curtain for matches and short-lived competitions like the Full Members' Cup.
Like its prequel, the bestselling Get It On, Go To War draws heavily on the recollections of the footballers and managers who set the tone for the decade, providing a unique insight into the contemporary game and blending football stories with historical, political and cultural insights.
Praise for Get It On:
'Commendably avoids the usual romantic cliches…Spurling tells it like it was.' — The Times
'If 1970s football is due a reappraisal, Get It On is an exhilarating place to start.' — When Saturday Comes
'Jon Spurling is a superb navigator through those memories, recalling the times without a hint of rose-coloured spectacles…Here are original, never-heard-before accounts.' — Jim White, Mail on Sunday
A history and politics teacher by day, Jon Spurling is the author of six previous books, including the bestselling Highbury: The Story of Arsenal in N.5 and Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup. A child of the ’70s, he is the author of the bestselling Get It On: How the ’70s Rocked Football. He lives in Canterbury.
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