Nick Hornby's interview

Q: WILL THERE EVER BE A SEQUEL TO FEVER PITCH, A BOOK WHICH COVERS ARSENAL’S SUCCESS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS?

A: I wouldn’t want to write one. Sequels are very rarely a good idea, and in any case, the success of the book changed my relationship with the club in some ways. When I wrote Fever Pitch, I felt that I could represent the typical fan, but the success of the book changed my relationship with the club. I’ve met a number of the players, and got to know many of the staff at Arsenal…I don’t think I could write with the same perspective, and the perspective was very important to the original.

Q: HAS FOOTBALL CHANGED SINCE YOU WROTE FEVER PITCH? AND CAN YOU REALLY IDENTIFY WITH A TEAM FULL OF FRENCH AND BRAZILIAN PLAYERS IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU COULD WHEN IT WAS AN ALL- BRITISH SIDE?

A: I think more has changed in the thirteen years since the book came out than in the previous hundred. Even at the beginning of the 90s people in England stood on the terraces to watch British players who would almost certainly need a job of some kind when they retired. Now we sit down to watch mostly foreign players who couldn’t possibly get through the money they earn. And we hardly need ever go to the stadium to watch every game live, because they’re all on TV. Many of these changes haven’t been for the better. But Arsenal fans are probably in two minds about it all, because the last decade has been the best of our lifetimes. We’ve seen fantastic football, and we’ve seen our team win a lot of trophies.

I’ve never really understood the argument about foreign players. Of course a player like Tony Adams, who was relatively local, came through the youth team and stayed with the club throughout his career, is always going to be special to the fans. But Charlie Nicholas wasn’t local, and neither were Lee Dixon or Nigel Winterburn, who’d played for loads of different clubs. Lee Dixon was a Manchester City supporter who became a key Arsenal player simply because of his commitment to the club. And if he can find it, then why not Henry or Vieira? Dennis Bergkamp has already played a lot more games than Charlie George ever managed - Charlie George was a local boy who only stayed for a couple of years. It’s the transfer system that’s the problem, not the influx of foreign players, and the transfer system has always been with us, and will always be with us.

Q: ARE THERE ANY GOOD BOOKS ABOUT FOOTBALL THAT YOU CAN RECOMMEND?

A: Pete Davies' All Played Out, which is about the 1990 World Cup and certainly helped me get Fever Pitch published; Eamon Dunphy's Only A Game?, which is the diary of a so-so professional footballer, and gave insights that most of those player books don't; Hunter Davies' The Glory Game - a year spent on the inside of a club, and I'd love a club to be brave enough to give someone similar access now; and Simon Kuper's Football Against the Enemy.

I've never particularly wanted to read a football novel. Like most football fans, I suspect, I wouldn't believe in a Melchester Rovers, nor in a player I'd never heard of. And I'm not sure what the POINT of such a book would be. Real-life sport already contains all the themes and narratives you could want. 07