Richard Crooks

Richard Crooks is a British soccer writer and lifelong Sheffield Wednesday supporter whose books examine the experience of following the game. He grew up in Sheffield during the 1960s and later lived in Hertfordshire. His writing has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and match programs, and he has discussed soccer on television and national radio.

Taking his grandson Charlie to a first match prompted Crooks to compare contemporary soccer with the game he remembered as a child. That became the starting point for books about successive decades. His other work includes a history of the Sheffield derby, a study of Wednesday’s managers, and an examination of match programs as records of changes in British society.

Soccer Books

Grandad, What Was Football Like in the 1970s?: Crooks recalls the experience of following soccer in the 1970s, drawing on his own memories and contemporary reporting. Travel, grounds, crowds, players, managers, and referees provide a broad view of a changing game. The account also examines commercial developments, World Cups, and the growth of hooliganism and racism, connecting events on the field with the social setting around them. Published in 2017.

Wednesday v United: The Sheffield Derby: Crooks traces the rivalry between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United from its Victorian origins into the modern era. A chronological narrative follows the clubs’ changing fortunes and the matches that became particularly important to supporters. Historical reporting and personal experience combine to examine the intensity of the derby, including the contrasting emotions created when one side’s success becomes the other’s disappointment. Published in 2018.

What Was Football Like in The 1980s?: This account examines English soccer during the 1980s through clubs, competitions, players, supporters, and the grounds they attended. Crooks combines his recollections with research into a decade of sporting achievement and major crisis. The Bradford fire, Heysel, and Hillsborough accompany discussion of hooliganism, television, and commercialization, placing changes in matchgoing within the wider difficulties confronting the sport. Published in 2020.

What Was Football Like in The 1990s?: Crooks examines a decade in which English soccer’s institutions and business arrangements changed substantially. The Premier League, satellite television, the Taylor Report, and the Bosman ruling accompany accounts of players, managers, referees, and supporters. Contemporary material and personal experience connect the transformation of stadiums and finances with rising attendance costs and continuing arguments about racism and crowd behavior. Published in 2022.

Ruling the Roost: The Managers of Sheffield Wednesday: Crooks examines the managers of Sheffield Wednesday, assessing their records and the circumstances in which they worked. Championships, cup victories, relegation struggles, and problems beyond the field provide contrasting tests of leadership. Interviews and statistical summaries accompany the narrative, connecting individual methods and personalities with the changing demands of a club whose expectations have often exceeded its available resources. Published in 2025.

Programmes!: A History Through Football Programmes: Crooks uses match programs to trace changes in soccer and British society over roughly a century and a half. Team information, advertisements, and editorial content reveal assumptions about supporters, commerce, and gender. The account moves through wars, disasters, and the development of the Premier League, showing how ordinary printed souvenirs preserve evidence of a game and culture that changed together. Published in 2026.

Grandad, What Was Football Like in the 1960s?: A grandson’s first soccer match leads Crooks back to his own childhood experiences of the game in 1960s Sheffield. Memories of grounds, crowds, clubs, and leading players accompany an examination of the decade’s competitions and reporting. The 1966 World Cup and changing supporter culture provide part of a comparison between a familiar modern occasion and the routines of an earlier generation. Published in 2015.