A MANIFESTO FOR THE MODERN FOOTBALL SUPPORTER.

What does being a football fan entail? Can you be a good one or a bad one? And just how much passion, knowledge, sensitivity and schadenfreude do you need to pass as a 'proper' fan?

With the help of top players, legendary managers and celebrity supporters, comedy writer Kevin Day dissects what it is that makes a real fan. He discusses the instinct to support a club, how we pick our team – family tradition, local club, glory hunting or 'I live in Surrey so it just had to be Man U' – and, heart-searchingly, whether we saddle our children with the hopes, despair and occasional exhilaration that has marked our own lives.

Kevin doesn't shy away from the serious issues either. He suggests what fans can do about the brazen exploitation by the clubs they love, the spectre of hooliganism, and the racism, sexism and homophobia which are still all-too evident in the stands and terraces.

Being a football fan isn't easy. Like any religion, it has its cherished, long-established customs, outdated practices and troublesome elements. The Football Fan's Handbook is your guide through this minefield: an in-depth, analytical if sketchily-drawn road map to becoming a 'real' fan.