Publisher's Synopsis
The Football Imagination is the first in-depth study of football fanzine (fan magazine) culture, contributing to the extensive body of knowledge on the football industry which has developed over the past 25 years in the UK and Europe. Football fanzines emerged in the mid-80s and mushroomed in the early 90s in an unprecedented explosion of literature written by supporters for supporters. After critically reviewing the existing discourses on football, predominantly a sociology of 'football hooliganism', it is agreed that a broader approach to the study of the game is necessary. This involves an ethnography of supporters and fanzine writers and a textual study of fanzines which draws upon a unique archive of fan literature within Manchester Institute for Popular Culture. The author addresses recent debates within popular cultural studies through the study of football fanzine culture. From documenting the genealogy of football fanzines, by studying discourses on football writing, popular music and youth culture, the author then traces the ontology of the 'alternative football fan network' of the late 80s and early 90s. The author concludes that football fanzines represent a 'culture of defence' in a highly commercialised, media-saturated sport.
