The book is superb. The film much less so.
It languished for many years in development hell and if the original backers FilmFour hadnt gone belly up then it would have been a vastly superior portrayal of the book. Unfortunately, in the end, Sampson understandably made some compromises just to get it made.
I remember years back meeting him and he asked if I wanted to appear in the street scene. Basically a load of us would get pissed (at FilmFour's expense) then be tumbled out into the street to have a pretend kick-off.
Alas he also mentioned there was another 'hooligan' film on the horizon and whichever one got made first would probably ruin the chances of the other.
It was called Green Street and, as we now know, it was shit.
Please guys, dont be put off by the slightly disappointing film if you havent yet enjoyed the book. Its an incredible piece of work.