john fieldhouse

FROM BUST TO BOOM

HULL CITY AFC
FROM THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION
TO THE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

By JOHN FIELDHOUSE

GREAT NORTHERN

forewords by
Ian Ashbee and Justin Whittle

The extraordinary, but true, story of Hull City and the decade that has seen them go from the verge of extinction to the Barclays Premier League.
John Fieldhouse was the man on the inside and gives real insight to this modern tale of football rags to riches.

Just over a decade ago, Hull City were virtually penniless, playing in a dilapidated, empty ground and glued to the bottom of the Football League. Relegation to the abyss of the Conference looked certain. Today the club that was routinely ridiculed, briefly locked out of its own home by bailiffs and staring bleakly at the prospect of liquidation and closure is sharing in the glitz and glamour of the Premiership and doing so in a state-of-the-art stadium.
  This period in the club’s 105 year-history is so extraordinary that it almost defies belief.
  John Fieldhouse reveals the unfolding drama of those fraught, impoverished seasons and the club’s glorious and improbable reinvention – a transformation from bust to boom that stands as one of the game’s most remarkable and truly inspiring stories.
  As the reporter tasked with covering them on a daily basis, and travelling on the team coach, he provides the real story of what happened in the dressing room, the boardroom and the boot room. He weaves his own, unique insights into a page-turning narrative about players, managers – such as ex-England international Mark Hateley, Brian Little and Phil Brown – and disparate businessmen who were drawn to the banks of the Humber.
  The book will appeal to any fan – irrespective of loyalty or allegiance. It lifts the lid on Hull and allows the reader to take a rare peek at the intimate, inner workings of a club that went from walking the tightrope of a financial crisis to celebrating a Championship play-off win at Wembley.
  Fieldhouse takes you behind the scenes – up close and personal. 

John Fieldhouse has been a sports journalist for 30 years. He started at the Wakefield Express before moving onto the Western Daily Press, in Bristol.
John was Chief Sports Writer for the Hull Daily Mail, where he covered Hull City AFC for a decade. He is now senior writer for the club’s magazine.
John has two children and lives in Lincolnshire.