17 December 2022
The following book review was published in the Charlton Athletic vs Bristol Rovers match programme on the above date:
Richard Burton reviews Phil Hearn’s entertaining FA Trophy odyssey, “From Hashtag United to Wembley”, from which he is donating all sales profits to the Charlton Upbeats…
During the 2021/22 season, Charlton fan Phil Hearn travelled the length and breadth of the land, charting the progress of the FA Trophy from its first qualifying round to the final.
Fittingly for the book’s charitable purpose, I got to know Hearn on the Charlton Upbeats walk in 2016 and reconnected with him at another CACT event this year. He’d always wanted to write a book and recalled being inspired by Brian James’ 1970s FA Cup journey “From Tividale to Wembley”. As an avid follower of non-League football, he hit upon the idea of making a similar journey, but one that set far from the madding crowd - and money - of the top professional clubs. Football in its purest form, you might say.
Hearn begins his journey at Hashtag United, a team founded as recently as 2016 and now boasting more than half a million social media followers - more than Leicester City. And what a journey it is. He succeeds in painting a vivid picture of the many and varied characters inhabiting the non-League scene, where players, officials and spectators mingle in an atmosphere of camaraderie that has long been lost in the higher echelons. He also makes a point of travelling to each match by train (he is a Charlton fan after all) and staying a night or two to engage with the locals in their natural environments of high street, pub, curry house and stadium. He’s determined, in his own words, to soak up the genuine pleasure of watching non-League football.
Hearn is clearly as passionate about the sport of people-watching as he is about the actual sport of football. During his travels we are introduced to the colourful range of characters he comes across on trains, in hostelries and out walking their dogs. He educates us on local history and personalities such as the two David Bowies of Aylesbury and that Wrexham Lager was (probably) the last drink served on the Titanic.
He’s invited to drink with the Cheshunt Ultras, an honour bestowed only on the few, and is amused to discover, in contrast to an opposition fan, that Bishop’s Stortford fans sing in French. After another “one for the road” (a recurring theme), he’s hugged by a pub landlady, which he admits is probably a lifetime first. He meets moaners and grumpy grandads, but mainly friendly folk and optimists - as non-League followers tend to be. He treats us to many laugh-out-loud moments on the way.
For Charlton fans there are many treats too, starting when Hearn disapproves of the fashion choices of the Palace fans he spots at East Croydon station. In Bishop’s Stortford, he fails to convince Danny it’s not a massive coincidence that The Valley is located in a valley. He tells how he was once robbed of a pub quiz win in Malaysia by the quizmaster’s refusal to accept that Charlton were indeed a Premier League team (we’ve all been there).
At Cheshunt, he outdoes even the intrepid local historian by remembering that our respective clubs once competed against each other in the Aetolian League. When he learns that Wrexham came back from 2-5 down in their last match to win 6-5, he has no option but to draw comparisons with our famous Huddersfield 7-6 victory in 1957. Finally, he reduces some Sunderland fans to groans as he subtly slips his Addicks allegiance into the conversation. As he says, “Charlton are not the nemesis of many clubs”, so this seems fair game.
But what of the football itself? Whilst it’s certainly possible to enjoy this book without caring too much about the matches themselves, Hearn dutifully pays full attention to the action on the pitch, displaying a knowledge of individual players that verges on the nerdy.
He’s fortunate to witness multiple encounters where the outcome remains unpredictable to the end, the tide turns late in the game towards the underdog, or a spectacular goal is scored. The luck of the draw also works in his favour as he visits 10 different grounds across his 11 matches. The stadia and crowds gradually increase in size from the 76 die-hards at his practice run at Chipstead to an impressive 8,703 for the Wrexham versus Stockport County semi-final.
In a neat twist of fate, the final is contested by Wrexham and Bromley, the club Phil used to watch in their Isthmian League days of the 1980s, in front of 46,111 spectators.
Many miles has he travelled indeed - and I heartily recommend that you join him, in print if not in person.
Phil Hearn’s From Hashtag United to Wembley is available on Amazon as a paperback (£9.99) or on Kindle (£5.99) via https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BCSFF46C. And it all goes to support our magnificent Charlton Upbeats.
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