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Graham Brookland – Making A Dream Survive For 40 Years

Aldershot Town co-founder, former Company Secretary and Head of Media, Graham Brookland, launches his new book, To Make A Dream Survive, this Saturday afternoon.

Brookland will be joined by several club legends, including George Borg and Alex McGregor, in The Crimea public house, opposite the Electrical Services Stadium, where the Club was formed in 1992, from 1pm.

As Graham explains: “The Club was formed in the back bar of the pub, with a meeting held between Terry Owens and the Supporters Club of which, at the time, I was Chairman. I have enjoyed writing the book and it is an honest reflection of my memories commencing as a young lad on the terraces in the 1970s through to the current season’s events. It covers so many different experiences few football clubs and supporters will have had over the years. Indeed, there is always a story surrounding Aldershot Town!

“You don’t have to be an Aldershot Town supporter to have an interest in this story. For many supporters at all levels it really is a ‘There for the grace of God go I’ scenario. It is one that covers the demoralising experience of witnessing the death of a Football League club steeped in history, only to be followed by a euphoric rise through the non-league pyramid to reach that target of the Football League again. Unfortunately further destruction saw that cherished status lost again five years later, before heading into administration and near extinction again. It is a unique story which needed to be told.”

Mesmerised after being taken to watch his local Football League side in 1974, Graham Brookland has had the opportunity many fans can only dream of. To Make A Dream Survive covers 40 years of the extreme highs and unique lows of supporting and working for a football club. Liquidation, administration, phoenix rising from the ashes, battling through the non-league pyramid to claim Football League status only to lose it again, with a cast which includes Sir Alex Ferguson, The Dalai Lama and Margaret Thatcher. It is a fascinating recollection of life in the lower divisions, the pressures and destruction that that it brings learning that the football on the pitch and the supporters themselves often get lost during the translation in the battle to survive. Never ending stories for football fans of all levels of the game.

To be guaranteed a copy of the book, priced £15, on launch day, email Graham via grahambrookland@gmail.com and he will be in contact.

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