The end of the terraces (2002)

‘The End of the Terraces’ analyses the transformation of English football in the 1990s. In so doing, it provides a comprehensive account of contemporary football culture that not only contributes to the study of the sport but also sheds wider light on recent transformations in British society. Although the author draws on past writings on football, the scope and analytic focus of this book are original. Starting with a theoretical and historical framework, Anthony King goes on to examine the organic political and economic developments of the last thirty years which put the big city clubs in a position to effect a division from the rest of the League. By the mid-1980s football faced both economic and crowd-control crises which began to influence the ‘consumption’ of the game. This book looks at those who implemented the changes – the new business class – and those who have been affected – the fans.