Exciting backstory to real-world research - Rated 
This powerful book presents the hidden story of English football `hooliganism'. This account differs from the plethora of hooligan autobiographies currently on the market, however, in two important ways. First, it is not an account of personal `glory', but the backstory to an ambitious research project carried out by social scientists. Second, it serves to challenge the very notion of `hooliganism' as it is used in common sense, media accounts and by the authorities.
One of the most impressive features of the book is the way that a scientific project is described without the usual jargon and dry turgid prose of a scientific text. The two authors, Cliff Stott and Geoff Pearson, manage to convey in very human terms the profound sense of injustice that many travelling English fans have felt at their treatment when travelling abroad to watch their teams play. `Football "hooliganism"' is page-turning stuff, and readers will find themselves emotionally engaged with the story. Cliff and Geoff have been with and in these crowds of travelling fans. They are able to understand their experiences from the inside, as well as to explain how such fans sometimes come to be defined and treated as `hooligans'.
But what makes this book a must-read for anyone interested in football `hooliganism' is the authors' radical view of the nature of such `hooliganism'. The problem for the common sense representation of the problem is encapsulated in the following facts. On the one hand, banning orders have prevented known hooligans from travelling abroad, yet have not prevented mass violence involving English fans abroad. On the other hand, when known hooligans have been present at matches abroad, hooliganism, or mass disorder, doesn't necessarily follow. Over fifteen years of research on crowd-police interaction in and around football matches has suggested that the presence or absence of `hooliganism' is explicable in terms of policing styles. The book documents how `heavy-handed' policing, which presumes that fans are hooligans, can operate as a self-fulfilling prophesy, creating the very problems that the authorities fear.
While the book presents a critical perspective it is also a constructive one. The ultimate test of the authors' `hooligan' hypothesis was what they describe as `the biggest social psychology experiment ever carried out'. When the European championships were held in Portugal in 2004, the researchers were able to brief half of the local police forces involved with the principles derived from these research. Fan behaviour at events policed by these forces showed almost a complete absence of hooliganism, whereas in other areas the `English disease' was still evident. The intervention was judged such a success that Cliff and Geoff's research later came to inform the European Union handbook on the policing of football fans abroad.
This fascinating book will be of interest to football fans, social science students and researchers, and anyone interested in the risks, possibilities and excitement of real-world research.
Enjoyable book. - Rated
I feel that this book is one day going to be a classic of the age, its not a short book like many of this type and has an individial style that i liked very much. I had to keep picking it up to get my next fix in the trial.
If you want to read about football hooligans but want to hear it in a unique style then give this a try.
Well done to the author.
MW
Opened My Eyes - Rated 
Easy to read, not at all acacemdic, the more I read the more interested I became. From the research the authors had carried out it became apparent that the "English Disease" portrayed in the newspapers was an exaggerated myth created by the media to sell more newspapers, and those punished by the police and the politicians are generally the innocent victims of mismanagement of crowds. After reading the book I felt I was more fully informed, as well as feeling foolish for believing what is written in the newspapers. A totally compelling read.
interesting but didn't exactly bowl me over - Rated 
I think it's written in a good way but after a while it's getting a bit boring. In between it cost me quite an effort to read on.
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