Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: Another fanzine set for pages of history?

Several years on from their demise the names are still remembered. Last train to Rolfe Street, A Load of Bull, Grorty Dick, Saddle Sore and more.

Staffed by a handful of dedicated writers and hardy matchday sellers, these volunteers would keep the movement alive until, sadly and perhaps inevitably, they were consumed by the digital age.

A very few, such as Heroes & Villains, have managed to keep operating in trying circumstances.

But one of the best-known and longest surviving of their number, The Gooner, has now reached an existential crossroads.

Publishing six issues a season it has, since the autumn of 1987, been the independent voice of a club that has enjoyed some memorable times over these past few decades.

But unless the fanzine pulls in 1,000 subscribers by midnight on Saturday March 28, then The Gooner will not publish another issue past the final one of this season.

Catching up earlier this week over a pint at the Golazio pub in Elephant & Castle, where Gooner Fanzine TV – the publication’s YouTube output – is recorded each week, current editor Kevin Whitcher and long-time contributor Layth Yousif explained why saving The Gooner is so important.

“It was almost rebellious in giving a voice to a whole section of people who never really had one before, and it also demonstrated how intelligent those people were,” says Whitcher. “Some of the best stuff that reflected the fan experience was printed in fanzines. To younger fans today I would say, ‘Try it out’.

“ It is different to someone spouting off on YouTube for five minutes. There’s a difference when somebody sits down and constructs a piece of writing.”

Yousif is responsible for moving The Gooner forward in today’s social media-dominated environment, running its Twitter and Instagram accounts, the online version and the increasingly popular Gooner Fanzine TV.

“We’re not saying there shouldn’t be other platforms and online offerings,” Yousif adds. “But the gold standard is the print version, a labour of love from loyal volunteers who care about their club. You need that measured voice coming from those with intelligence and a knowledge about our club. There’s something tangible about a fanzine too, we’re really proud of it.”

Some would say The Gooner has done well just to get this far, but both men believe there is life in the publication if it can reach new subscribers during this Save The Gooner campaign.

“Until 2004/05, when the internet really started to take hold, it was the platform for supporter opinion,” Whitcher continues.

“We’ve been able to continue since then owing to the quality of what we put out. Print media has taken a hammering over the last 10 years and it is only niche publications that will survive in the long term. The Gooner fits that profile but we need to keep our audience and gain a few more. It’s too much of a commitment to fit in around work even though it’s a labour of love. My missus says I should have got a proper job years ago.”

Over the past few weeks, The Gooner has been tweeting out front covers of every issue since its first one back in the late 1980s, before George Graham’s famous team had lifted a single trophy.

“The best fanzines have wit and terrace humour,” Whitcher admits.

“The Gooner developed into something that had decent writing over time, there was only so much you could take the mickey out of Spurs. It showed the evolution of the supporters’ voice.

“Occasionally I will pick up a broadsheet after a game and see that The Gooner has been quoted in the article reviewing the game, and that’s something to be proud of.”

In the pre-internet era, the fanzine played an informative role that today’s supporter might find hard to imagine. Very often there was more to be gained from flicking through the opposition club’s fanzine than buying that club’s match programme.

Reading the fanzine on the journey home was an important part of the away day. Whitcher stresses that many home and away fans who read The Gooner still view it like this.

“What is interesting about that is that some of the people who are subscribers and get their issue in the post end up bringing it to the game,” he explains.

“They tell us that part of the experience is having it on a matchday and reading it on the way home. Even though they commit to subscribing, which is wonderful, they still want to maintain that matchday habit.”

The independence of fanzines has always given them an edge over traditional media when controversy or difficult times come riding over the horizon. So is holding a club to account an important part of the fanzine movement?

“100 per cent,” says Whitcher. “One thing I will say is that we are not abusive but where the club does need to be called to account, we will do it.

“We are independent, we don’t owe them anything. We have been very critical of the owners in recent seasons. If something needs saying it shouldn’t be sanitised and watered down if it’s not on message. We are an independent voice. In a sense the nature of a football fan is to have a moan, we just try to do it in a way that is reasoned and respectful but at the same time doesn’t hold back when the truth needs to be told.”

Visit www.onlinegooner.com if you are interested in helping Save The Gooner.