Not Just England 'Til July …… England 'Til I Die

Vital Football have an exclusive competition for readers to win one of ten copies of England 'Til I Die.

About the book:

FOOTBALL, it`s often said, is life - and for most of us life is football. The dinner party or pub conversation you always try to drag back to the beautiful game and in particular, your team… or the safer ground of England. Those anecdotal trips down memory lane frequently include glad to be alive, heart-warming camaraderie, humour and amazing loyalty. So it`s often a surprise then that among the myriad of footie books that always pop up around major competition time, few ever champion the true fans. Until now… England 'Til I Die is a collection of short stories about supporting our national team, written by blokes on the terrace, from the heart.

It is, in many ways, a celebration of the madness that afflicts every football fan. But these guys take it to the limit, god bless them, to give us mere fanatics a plausible get-out clause with our better halves. Take the bloke with the longest ever run of consecutive England matches who saved a female fan`s life as she hurtled down a ravine on top of Mount Fuji - then ended up marrying her. Or the elderly brothers proud of having been pick-pocketed in nearly every European capital who used to collect horse manure to pay for their wartime match tickets.

Or even the patriotic Brummie who had the choice of seeing every England game in France 98 or saving his marriage. Quelle surprise… he chose 'le football`, and when his missus left admitted, "it took me a whole six weeks to get over her".

These are the men who make us look normal, who think nothing of abandoning all sense of normality and who have women shaking theirs heads in disbelief… and for that, we salute them.

England 'Til I Die captures the funny, the absurd, the emotional, the peculiar, the shocking and unbelievable that are part and parcel of being a die-hard England fan.

Tales of unwavering dedication and loyalty, of personal sacrifice and emotional trauma are entwined with stories highlighting superb camaraderie, intense excitement and proud patriotism. Wives and jobs have been lost, bank balances left in ruins and countless 'sickies` thrown - just to be there, to cheer on the Three Lions.

England 'Til I Die is part of the 'Til I Die series of books published by Legends Publishing and is on sales now priced £12.99. Copies can be bought online at www.tilidie.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk and selected bookshops

For your chance to win, simply let us know which international team Vital England ( http://www.england.vitalfootball.co.uk/ ) supports?
(Clue... Flag is the St Georges Cross and the team is England)

Send your USERNAME (you must be a registered member of Vital) FULL NAME, ADDRESS (to send the prize to) and answer to: competitions@vitalfootball.co.uk Mark the subject as ENGLAND COMP. Please not if you don't send your name, address and username with your answer, the entry will not count.





Terms and conditions:

The winners will be drawn at random, failure to complete the instructions above will lead to disqualification. The judges decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into. The competition closes May 31 2010 at midnight. Winners will be informed within one week of closing. Prizes will be sent directly from the publisher within 28 days. Sorry, UK entries only

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.