''Hope You Die of Cancer"

Life in Non-League Football

Marvin Close

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801502115
• Year: 2022

A million miles away from the rich uplands of the Premier League lies the Poundland world of non-league football. A far grittier version of the beautiful game, it's a glorious ragbag of former EFL clubs on the down, impoverished minnows and ambitious outfits on the make, played by a mix of full-time, part-time and amateur performers. This is the inside story of life in the lower reaches of English football, seen through the eyes of a player with over a decade's experience in the Conference and National Leagues. Footballer X lifts the lid on never-before-told stories of dust-ups, bust-ups, backhanders and betting scandals, the players lucky enough to get contracts and the rest who live precariously from game to game. It's a story of constant financial struggle, big sacrifices and small victories from owners, fans and players alike. Our footballer is still playing, so the cloak of anonymity allows him to give us a true picture of what life is really like playing as a non-league footballer today.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Author’s Note
• Introduction
• The Beginning
• The Pyramid
• The Dressing Room
• Pre-Season
• Players
• Young Players
• The Banter
• Money
• Grounds
• Travel
• Fans
• Managers
• Referees
• Gamesmanship
• Injuries
• The Board
• Agents
• The Media
• Betting and Bribes
• Up for the Cup
• The Non-League Lions
• Covid
• Part-Timers
• The Future of Non-League Football
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Appendix 4
• Appendix 5
• Photos