Brian Belton
Bubbles, Hammers and Dreams - the growth of West Ham United.
Bubbles, Hammers and Dreams - the growth of West Ham United.
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In Bubbles, Hammers and Dreams, Brian Belton looks at West Ham United across the decades and generations to the end of the 1990's via the lens of historic events and the eyes of the past.
Players, managers, directors and now even grounds come and go, but football supporters are always there. As such, football clubs do not belong to boards, chairmen or shareholders but to the fans.
It is from this point of view, from the Boxer uprising, the two world wars, the 50's and CND, 60's London and the slump of the 80's and into the future, the irons of 2095, that the growth of West Ham United is viewed.
Arthur Hopcroft wrote in 'The Football Man': Football has not been a sideshow of this century. What happens on the football field matters, not in a way that food matters, but as poetry does to some people and alcohol does to others'
In Bubbles, Hammers and Dreams, this is essentially what Brian Belton has captured.
About the Author
Like so many West Ham supporters Brian Belton was born only five minutes walk from the club ('I heard 'em cheering in me cradle'). As a teenager Brian worked primarily to support his habit of following West Ham around England.
In his twenties the Mayflower Centre shanghaied him to work with young people in the Canning Town area. Brian was now a youth worker and eventually was persuaded/ bullied/ bribed into taking a professional qualification with the YMCA College in London.
He gained a degree at City University and then became a Senior Youth and Community worker in Islington, whilst gaining a Masters Degree at Essex. He has published over 50 books, mainly on football.
For more information on Brian Belton please see his "About our Authors" page
