Böcker av Neil Fitzsimon

Rebirth of the Blues is the third instalment in Neil Fitzsimon's acclaimed trilogy on Chelsea FC, covering one of the club's most exciting eras - 1977 to 1985. It's also a gripping memoir of growing up in the late 1970s to mid-80s and Fitzsimon's experiences of living through the political unrest of Thatcherite Britain.

A Deeper Shade of Blue recounts how Chelsea Football Club went from being the cup kings of London to a struggling mid-table Second Division side. It tells of the fall, the rise and then the fall of Eddie McCreadie's Blue and White Army - a golden opportunity that was spurned by the club's owners.

Rhapsody in Blue is a joyous celebration of growing up in the late 1960s and early 70s in the aftermath of England's 1966 World Cup victory. It was a time when football and pop culture merged - an era of smoke-filled pubs, when Fray Bentos pies and fry-ups were consumed without guilt and parents had no fear of letting their kids stay out after dark. It was also a time without live TV football, when being a fan meant traipsing through the turnstiles every week. The book vividly recalls how a boy fell in love with Chelsea Football Club, cheering the Blues on week after week, while at the same time becoming immersed in the culture of street football. Neil Fitzsimon skilfully transports us to the Stamford Bridge of his youth, when the likes of Ian Hutchinson and Peter Houseman lit up the pitch. Away from the terraces, he played in his own street team in bitterly contested games against rival street sides. Rhapsody in Blue is a moving and nostalgic tribute to a lost era and way of life.