Pitch Black: The Story of Black British Footballers

✍ Scribed by Onuora, Emy

• Book ID: 109199682
• Publisher: Biteback Publishing
• Year: 2015
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 215 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9781849549271

✦ Synopsis

When Paul Canoville took to the pitch for Chelsea in 1982, he was prepared for abuse. When the monkey chanting and the banana throwing started, he wasn't surprised. He wasn't prepared, however, for the abuse to be coming from his own side. Canoville was the only member of the team whose name was booed instead of cheered, the only player whose kit wasn't sponsored. He received razor blades in the post. He took to waiting two or three hours to leave the ground after a match, fearing for his safety. So minimal was the presence of black players in the game, the few who managed to break through were subjected to the most graphic abuse from all sides. Today, 30 per cent of English professional footballers are black, and amongst their number are some of the biggest heroes of the beautiful game. But just how far have we come? With unprecedented access to current and former players ranging from Viv Anderson to Cyrille Regis to John Barnes, Emy Onuora charts the revolutionary changes...