Top Ten Football Books – Dougie Brimson
Dougie Brimson sums himself up on his website as, “…author, screenwriter, commentator, bloke…” and these four words provide an insight into the talents of the man. Brimson spent 18 years in the Royal Air Force, including action in the Falklands War and first Gulf War, before penning his first book in 1996 with Everywhere We Go, which has become something of a cult classic. His years involved in football hooliganism provided an insight that gave that book and subsequent work a very real edge and understanding. Nowadays, Brimson is considered a leading commentator and voice in anti-violence and anti-racism campaigns and has worked with governments in both the United Kingdom and Europe in their work against football disorder.
Since that first step into the literary world, Brimson has been a prolific author producing the following books, England, My England: The Trouble with the National Football Team (1996), Capital Punishment: London’s Violent Football Following (1997), Derby Days: Local Football Rivalries and Feuds (1998), The Geezers’ Guide to Football: A Lifetime of Lads and Lager (1998), The Crew (1999), Billy’s Log (2000), Barmy Army: The Changing Face of Football Violence (2000), Top Dog (2001), Eurotrashed: The Rise and Rise of Europe’s Football Hooligans (2003), Kicking Off: Why Hooliganism and Racism Are Killing Football (2006), Rebellion: The Growth of Football’s Protest Movement (2006), March of the Hooligans: Soccer’s Bloody Fraternity (2007) and The Art of Fart: The joy of flatulence (2011).
As a screenwriter he is best known for his screenplay for the award winning film Green Street (2005) which stared Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani and Leo Gregory.
Dougie Brimson is a busy ‘bloke’ and has numerous projects he is working on, including a new book, Wings of a Sparrow and a number of screenplays. Therefore, it was a real privilege that he agreed to take some time out to select his favourite top ten football books, which are listed below:
- Left Foot Forward: A Year in the Life of a Journeyman Footballer – Garry Nelson
- The Lost Babes: Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich – Jeff Connor
- Guvnors: The Autobiography of a Football Hooligan Gang Leader – Michael Francis with Peter Walsh
- All Played Out: The Full Story of Italia ’90 – Pete Davies
- Got, Not Got: The A-Z of Lost Football Culture, Treasures and Pleasures – Derek Hammond and Gary Silke
- A Season With Verona: Travels Around Italy in Search of Illusions, National Character and Goals – Tim Parks
- Manchester United Ruined My Life – Colin Schindler
- How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization – Franklin Foer
- Dynamo: Defending the Honour of Kiev – Andy Duggan
- Enjoy the Game: Watford Football Club – The Story of the Eighties – Lionel Birnie
More details about the work and the man himself can be found on his website, www.dougiebrimson.com, and where you can download for free, two of his most successful titles, The Crew and Everywhere We Go.