From the publisher:
Football is now more than a hundred and fifty years old, dating from the Rules established by the Football Association in 1863. From early days, clubs adopted nicknames, inspired by ancient traditions in the military and in other sports, but football was such a popular game that the nicknames soon became unique expressions of local enthusiasm. This fantastic book is the first to provide this imprtant subject with a work of reference. Researched using printed and electronic sources, it gives each nickname an explanation and a dating, and it includes nicknames from the whole of Britain and Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, for both large and small clubs, past and present. The subject is highly entertaining, but also very interesting, and this pioneer works treats the nicknames with intelligent respect. Sources are cited, it’s all cross-referenced, and there’s an index of clubs, appendices, and an introduction which gives the whole subject a proper study for the first time. There’s even a classification system. With about four thousand entries, the Dictionary fills a major gap in football literature.
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