FOREWORD BY PHIL PARKES

An Irrational Hatred of Luton author Robert Banks is back with his latest instalment in West Ham's journey through the football leagues to recount the past fifteen years of his life as a long-suffering Hammers fan.

Picking up where he left off in 2003, Banks charts the varying fortunes of West Ham United alongside the mutable modern nature of the beautiful game in An Irrational Hatred of Everything. Cataloguing a stadium move, an Icelandic banking collapse, takeovers, hirings and firings as well as promotions and relegations, Banks follows West Ham's ups and downs in a refreshingly frank and humorous account of the club's recent history.

Through an interconnected exploration of West Ham's progress and the important moments in his own life, Banks continues along the torturous road of detailing his tumultuous relationship with the club to show how much football can mean to the individual while providing sobering reminders that, at the end of the day, it's only a game.

Through the Valley of the Shadow