What is it like to follow one of English football's perennial
non-achievers? Hugging Strangers is a celebration of what it means to
support your club through thick and thin. It speaks to all who love the
game but are lumbered - by way of family, geography or plain bad luck -
with a team whose glory days are few and far between. At the end of the
1963/64 season Birmingham City stayed in the first division by winning
on the last day of the campaign. In the 55 years that followed, the
Blues kept either survival or promotion for the final fixture on a
further 12 occasions. Stir in nine relegations, eight promotions, along
with play-off failures and embarrassing exits from cup competitions and
you'll have an idea of what it means to be a Blues fan. But you don't
have to be a Birmingham fan to enjoy this book. This light-hearted
collection of tales from a lifelong, hopeless football addict will
strike a chord with anyone who has asked themselves quite why they allow
this simple game to assume such importance in their lives.