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Images: S T U A R T R O Y C L A R K E

Interview: S E B W H I T E

Homes of

FootballPhotographer Stuart Roy Clarke has documented football for over three decades, and his new book The Game is an absolute must for your coffee table.

01. The Sisters Gobsmacked—Dundee, 2015

"A lot of my material is from the nineties, the game was so different back then, and it has changed so much since. So as time has gone on, I did wonder if I could still capture the game in the modern age, but there’s always an angle in football. It helps that some of the grounds in Scotland haven’t changed as much as ours; they’ve still got that rustic charm. Dundee were getting absolutely tonked this day, and these two sisters just couldn’t work out what was going on. All foot-ball fans can empathise with that frustration in their faces."

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02. Finding His Likeness In The Crowd—Sunderland 1992

03. Espying His Likeness— Sunderland, 1992

"Of course, you can’t do it these days, but I went onto the pitch before kick-off to photograph the players, and there was Brian Kilcline. I could never work out if he was serious and, as ferocious as he looked to me it always seemed he was a bit of a gentle giant. I was taking this picture, and he was staring intently behind me and there in the Sunderland end was his likeness in the crowd, another big bloke with long scraggly hair. And while he was a Sunderland fan, there was a mutual respect, that sort of connection between the crowd and players isn’t there as much anymore."

" For me, the stadium and where the match is actually being played is just a small part of it all, the other bits around it is what makes football so special"

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05. Four Lads In South Wales—Cardiff City, 1992

"Even though Cardiff are at home, these lads are all dressed in identical away shirts and matching tracksuit bottoms. It looks like I’ve selected them and put them together, but this is how they were standing as I walked along the terraces at Ninian Park. I very rarely get people to pose for anything or set them up; I didn’t need to do that, because there are always loads of great photos just waiting to be shot."

04. Fog On The Wear—Sunderland, 1991 "The title is obviously a play on the song made famous by their rivals; some would even say more famous rivals. However, I’ve always felt that Sunderland and Newcastle are two of a kind; historic, traditional football clubs both with hugely passionate support. To get to Roker Park as it was then, most people had to cross the river, and on this occasion, I was lucky enough for the fog to lift just at the right time to reveal this fan making the trek to the ground."

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07. Gissa Snog—Everton, 2001

"I just love the tender-ness in this image.

After capturing it, I followed both of

them to the stadium, watching them go

through different entrances. I saw

them in the ground later, separated by

a fence, waving and kissing to each other

before they went their separate ways."

06. Sunset Over Springfield Park—Wigan Athletic, 1990 "It looks superimposed, almost magi-cal, but it’s exactly how it was that night. There was a beautiful sunset, and I managed to capture the moving figures by using a flash gun. I knew that grassy bank was going to disappear soon so I made sure I got to Springfield Park because I wanted to capture this particular image to record the passing of one game to another, and they couldn’t have ended up moving to a more different stadium."

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09. Back Up The Hill—Leeds United, 1991

"Leeds United fans are always great; they seem to revel in the struggle of being a fan of the club and this fan ambling up the big hill after the match typifies that struggle. I’ve often walked around town, well before the game, to source different viewpoints and I knew this would be a great spot, so left the match early and waited and managed to get this fan who looks all rosy cheeked, like he was climbing a hill in the Lake District."

08. Neon Girls—Tranmere Rovers, 1992

"It just goes to show you can go to a game and not get anything to do with the actual kicking of a ball, and it still smacks of foot-ball. I’d gone to see my team, Watford, play Tranmere, it was a nice change ‘cause I was usually watching someone else’s teams. But it was one of the worst games imaginable, so boring, and people were drifting off for their refreshments well before half-time. There were actually three sisters there, plus another one at the other end. They were the stars that day more than any of the footballers."

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10. Peeling Away Up The Road—Southampton, 1991

"The Dell was great, but it always felt claustrophobic, and it was difficult to get out, and fans would always try and get ahead of the crowds. Like stadiums in those days, it was surrounded by houses, and I just wanted to capture the guy sprinting back home to tell everyone about the game. There are obviously some spiky fences, and the design of the ground is haphazard, but there is something very comforting about this picture."

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