so near...

 

 

 

  

 

 

faces in the crowd

 

 

I'm an inveterate people-watcher and I love to see the expressions and gestures supporters make at football matches. The glorious game provides an excuse to let go and celebrate joyously ... or not, depending on the result.

 

It's a privilege to be part of the crowd and many of the supporters I photograph I've stood beside for many years. That doesn't stop me enjoying each new game though, there's always another picture to be taken.

 

 

 

 

it's not just a game ...

 

  

'Always different, always the same', as the late, great John Peel used to say of his heroes, 'The Fall'.  Football's like that in so many ways. 

 

It's a ritual. The trip to the ground, buying a programme, sampling the rich greasy food and slurping down over-priced watery lager.  It's always the same, yet always different.

 

Watching the game on TV has none of the magic, none of the hopes and dreams as kick-off time approaches, none of the shared experience wedged in a constantly moving throng of people.

 

The whistle blows and we're off on yet another adventure together ...