Relegated - Todd Smith

For fans of Ted Lasso and Welcome to Wrexham, this rollicking travel memoir by a middle-aged Midwesterner is a hilarious and heartfelt journey through the United Kingdom, its football clubs, and the rich traditions of English football culture. Relegation, the devastating consequence English football teams face when they underperform, is something Todd Smith kept seeing in his own life. He grew up surrounded by soccer: his father was the head athletic trainer for the Minnesota Kicks of the 70s-era North American Soccer League, and Todd played into college. But while his family life was happy after that, his professional life didn’t go the way of his dreams. He spent two decades working tirelessly in blue-collar jobs while trying to break through as a writer. He often felt discouraged, like he’d never really made it, like he himself had been demoted to a lower league. In Relegated, Todd embarks on a trip of personal and professional discovery. Looking for a change and a chance to write about something that really matters to him, he takes off for a multi-month, immersive expedition through the world and culture of English football. He visits not only the best clubs but also the most out of the way and forgotten ones. In these places, like the Old Spotted Dog Ground in East London, the port town of Grimsby (once voted the worst city in England), and Arbroath on the north coast of Scotland, he begins to understand what it means to be a “true” supporter of this histor
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