The Silence of the Stands (Finding the Joy in Football’s Lost Season). Written by Daniel Gray
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2022
When my subscription to Nutmeg was renewed I was sent a free copy of the above book.
Harry Pearson writes for Nutmeg as well as other publications and has written football books of which ‘The Farther Corner’ was the last of his that I read and thoroughly enjoyed. It is his use of words and observation that gets my attention and the opening paragraph in the introduction to this book says it all.
‘The Durham City midfielder wore the resigned look of a man trying to find a jar of harissa in Farmfoods. Up front for Jarrow, a centre-forward darted around frenetically, as if chasing a kite during a hurricane.’
The book chronicles that depressing time when we knew that football would soon be closed down, the period when you could watch only on TV, the opening up of the game out of the darkness with those lucky fans observing it only through social distancing, watching as a reporter and finally the renaissance and joy of the football community.
It’s depressing time and how football fans coped is told with great empathy and fun.
If you want to laugh but feel humble that football for many was a rope to hold onto in scary times then just go and buy this book.
Thank you Daniel Gray, I look forward to the follow up to ‘The Farther Corner’ and your Nutmeg contribution.
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