New Book Release
Village Voice
The story of PERCY MAIN AMATEURS 2009/10 SEASON
THE NORTH EAST has been known as “the hotbed of soccer” ever since Arthur
Appleton coined the phrase with his book of the same name in 1961. Yet, how true is the
description? The 2009/2010 season saw recently relegated Newcastle United storming
back to the Premiership in front of the biggest attendances the Championship had ever
seen. However, less than 10 miles away from those rarefied climes, Percy Main Amateurs
celebrated the 90th anniversary of their triumph in the Northumberland Minor Cup
by striving to gain promotion from the Pin Point Recruitment Northern Alliance First
Division.
Village Voice tells the semi-dramatic story of the Main’s sometimes nerve shredding,
sometimes triumphant but always expletive-strewn, ultimately successful attempt to escape
from the 11th tier of English football. With a couple of cup final appearances thrown in,
we follow the Villagers’ season on and off the pitch as the economic realities of running
a club where players on the pitch outnumber fans on the terraces are never far from the
author’s mind.
Topics such as the incomprehensible fashion choices of most of the squad, a winter of
such severity that the Villagers go 112 days without playing a league game and the need
to offer the best quality hot dogs in the Northern Alliance are addressed alongside mere
fripperies such as the 2010 General Election by a world-weary, all-seeing author who
discovers, despite himself, that his love for Percy Main deepens by the day.
Ian Cusack’s affectionate and articulate book provides a fascinating and supremely honest insight into the world of grassroots football in the North East, with the bonus of a happy ending thrown in. Village Voice will make you adopt Percy Main Amateurs as your second team.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ian Cusack was born on Tyneside in August 1964.
A lifelong football fan, he saw his first game on New
Year’s Day 1973 when Newcastle United drew 2-2
with Leicester City. Having developed a passion for
the non-league game in the North East during the
previous decade and a half, Ian finally “retired” as
a Newcastle fan in May 2009 to dedicate himself
to Percy Main Amateurs FC, where he is Assistant
Secretary and chief dishwasher. Ian has written about
football for a huge range of publications such The
Guardian, When Saturday Comes, Non League
Monthly, Players Inc and The Mag, currently contributing
to Toon Talk and, of course, the
Percy Main Amateurs programme. His interests
include Teenage Fanclub, ultra left wing politics,
Real Ale, urban cycling, the novels of James Ellroy
and emphasising the cultural significance of nonleague
football in the North Tyneside area to anyone
prepared to listen.
ISBN: 978-0-9565736-0-5
BINDING: Paperback
COVER PRICE: £9.99
SIZE: 138mm x 216mm
PAGES: 192
PUBLICATION DATE:
September 1st, 2010
Available from all good bookshops and online
retailers, or by mail order at the cover price of
£9.99, post free in the UK, from
PMA PUBLISHING
(make cheques payable to Ian Cusack)
52 River View, Tynemouth, NE30 4AF
Mobile: 07900 431379 Tel: 0191 209 9284
Email: iancusack@blueyonder.co.uk
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