The Footballer Who Could Fly

Without football, we were strangers under a shared roof. With it, we were father and son.' The Footballer Who Could Fly was inspired by Duncan Hamilton's father and his life-long devotion to Newcastle United. Charting the progress of British football from the War to the present day covering the hardscrabble 40s, the 'you've-never-had-it-so-good' 50s, the social convulsions of the 60s and 70s, and the circumstances which meant the dowdy First Division of the 80s was able to become the shiny, money-driven Premiership in the early 90s. It looks at the significance of the game both socially and culturally and covers a range of hot topics such as; the pay and life-styles of players, the over-importance of managers, the change in tactics, kit and grounds, the treatment of supporters and the role of television and the decline of the FA Cup and the dominance of the Champions League. But at its heart, however, it is about a father and son and the way football became the live connection between them. Beautifully written, and compellingly told this is the story of the most important three-way relationship in a man's life- Father, son, football.