Football: Terms and Teams

The Kop, the Koon, and the Spireites—these are three of the hundreds of names, nicknames, stadiums, stands, fanzines, and club crests that are included in this concise guide to the vocabulary of British soccer. Covering the vernacular of 92 professional British soccer clubs, from the Arsenal to York City, etymologies of idioms are provided, as is the history of why the clubs adopted them over the years. Helping explain such mysteries as the presence of a canary on the Norwich Club crest, the entertaining and informative anecdotes and obscure trivia about each of the teams convey insight into the meaning of terms that have in time become synonymous with the sport itself.