{"product_id":"9781780572666","title":"Build a Bonfire: How Football Fans United to Save Brighton and Hove Albion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow would you feel if your football club was bought by a businessman who saw your ground as real estate? And what if your ground was demolished leaving you with nowhere to play next season?   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e  Many fans believe that when Bill Archer, a Blackburn-based entrepreneur, bought Brighton and Hove Albion, he had no passion for the club or the game but rather saw an opportunity to make a profit. If so, he made the fatal mistake of misjudging football fans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e  In July 1995, Brighton's local daily paper led its front page with the headline 'Seagulls Migrate', announcing that the Goldstone Ground was to be sold to a property developer for £7.4 million and that 'home' games were to be played at Portsmouth. All this without one word of consultation with the fans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e   What followed was the biggest campaign in the history of football to save a club. Drawing on dozens of interviews with people directly involved - the fans, the FA, the players and the management - Build a Bonfire dramatically traces the progress of the two-year fight with the board: two years of despair, absurdity and solidarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e   In so doing, the book not only explores implications for other clubs, in a world where the battle lines between football and money are being drawn ever tighter, but also creates a picture of that strange and wonderful thing: the football fan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e   And having lived through the crisis and listened to the fans, the authors can offer their Ten Essential Steps to Depose your Club Chairman, should the need arise . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mainstream Publishing Company, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47135438012656,"sku":"9781780572666","price":21.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781780572666_p0.jpg?v=1763714195","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781780572666","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}