Wolverhampton author turns Japanese with ‘Haiku for the 92’ football book deal
A Wolverhampton writer has blended British football terrace and Japanese cultures with the launch of his first book.
With the title based on the cheeky terrace chant ‘Who the **** Hell Haiku?’, this new quiz concept features all 92 teams in the English professional football pyramid with a haiku written for each. Readers are then challenged to guess the teams hidden in their three-line stanza.
A haiku is a Japanese poem that typically consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third.
Author Matt Eccles, who has lived in the Black Country for more than 25 years, explained: “This is where the 'highbrow' element of the book starts and indeed ends. I’ve been watching the game for almost 50 years, so I thought I’d turn my observations into something for other fans to enjoy.
“The clues feature references to TV, film, music, famous commentary lines, players, managers and fans, terrace chants, grounds, club crests and even some Latin mottos.”
To continue the theme, Japanese characters throughout offer an additional clue for each club to the bilingual (or indeed smartphone-owning) reader.
The book is published by Halcyon, who print authors who tell real stories about real football.
Publisher Rob MacDonald added his support: “We believe in celebrating the beautiful game, finding hope and inspiration between the lines and in the deeply personal relationships our writers develop with the sport over their lifetimes. We work with them to tell their stories and turn them into beautiful books.”
Matt, who admits to a lifelong obsession for Barnet FC, concluded: “The West Midlands football teams are all represented, but can you work out they are? There’s an ode to prize strikers, heavy metal gods, noses, cultural ground breakers and good fellows."
The book is available from halcyonpublishing.co.uk
