How Gosport Borough and AFC Portchester fans are keeping the fanzine flag flying on the south coast

The fanzine craze extended to all levels of the sport - from the old First Division right through to the non-league game. Some clubs were covered by just one fanzine; others, Portsmouth among them, had many more. Hands up who remembers Frattonise, or Jan 3, 1988 - still the date of Pompey’s last league victory at Southampton - or More Money Than Sense?

The Sportspages book shop in London was a mecca 30 years ago; no visit to the capital was complete without a visit to flick through the hundreds of different fanzines available. Often, after watching my club lose in the capital, the hours on the train journey back home flew by as I leafed through seven or eight publications.

There were many memorable and witty titles - Brian Moore’s Head Looks Uncannily Like London Planetarium (Gillingham), Only One F In Fulham, A Kick Up The R’s (QPR), 4,000 Holes (Blackburn Rovers), War Of The Monster Trucks (Sheffield Wednesday), Dial M For Merthyr and Liverpool Are On The Telly Again (Norwich).

Oh, and let’s not forget the Exe Directory, the Exeter City fanzine edited by two great friends of mine which I was a regular contributor to between 1988-1995.

The late 80s, when fanzine culture was at its peak, wasn’t a great era to be a football supporter - hooliganism still hadn’t gone away, and the Thatcher Government were keen to bring in identity cards for all supporters; fans were still caged in behind fences at most grounds, even in the lower divisions, with the horrors of Hillsborough the tragic end consequence. Facilities were mildly adequate at best and, with regards to the Bradford City fire, death traps at worst.

The fanzine craze clearly illustrated that not all fans were animals and, therefore, should be treated like them - herded to and from grounds by police, caged behind fences. Fanzines were thought-provoking, funny, controversial, highly libellous at times, occasionally irreverent, but they were always passionate.

Fast forward to today and many fanzines, like terraces and inflatables, have long been consigned to the history books - some, no doubt, killed off by the internet. So much easier, and cheaper, to publish something online than to write, design and print several hundred fanzines.

But, in my eyes, it hasn’t been a fair swap - social media can be far too toxic, far too confrontational, when it comes to talking about football. This paper’s Portsmouth site is a classic example when Pompey lose. Fanzines, in contrast, were conduits to good old-fashioned, considered analysis - remember that? - rather than what passes for debate on Twitter or Facebook today.

Thankfully, though, the spirit of the written fanzine still lives on, even in these technology-dominated days.

Down here on the south coast, Matt O’Connor-Simpson and Lewis Millington have both launched new publications inside the last year or so devoted to their favourite non-league clubs.

Gosport Borough fan O’Connor-Simpson published the fifth edition of Privett Life two months ago, while Millington is working on the second edition of Pulp, Punditry and Portchy - a fanzine devoted to celebrating all things AFC Portchester.

O’Connor-Simpson first started watching Gosport play in 2011 after the club signed veteran Steve Claridge. It was the start of a glorious period, back-to-back promotions catapulting Boro into the Conference South followed by a trip to Wembley for the 2014 FA Trophy final and an FA Cup first round appearance in 2014/15.

The 23-year-old first published Privett Life at the start of last season after moving back to Gosport following three years studying history and politics at Manchester University.

‘I wanted to do something that would raise the profile of the club, and I wanted to improve my football writing - I thought a fanzine was the best way to go about that,’ he said.

‘I’d always read football magazines and my dad had always had copies of When Saturday Comes (a national fanzine) lying around the house.

‘Since starting the fanzine I’m a lot more clued up on the subculture - you used to have photocopied sheets stapled together, now it’s a lot more design focussed using Publisher or Photoshop.

Around 100 copies of Privett Life are published, at £2.50 each. O’Connor-Simpson aims to break even on printing costs by selling around half of them, but so far each edition has sold out.

‘I didn’t have a clue how it would be received,’ he remarked, ‘but the feedback has been great.

‘The players have been some of my best customers - Rory Williams has always bought multiple copies, Mike Carter has bought them all, Pat O’Flaherty is a big fan.’

O’Connor-Simpson likens the continuing appeal of written fanzines to the recent rise in sales of vinyl records. Once thought to have had their day, sales of vinyl LPs have rocketed in the past decade. ‘There’s been a mini-revival,’ he remarked. ‘I think people like something they can hold in their hands.

In true fanzine style, Privett Life doesn’t take itself too seriously and boasts a wide range of features.

The latest 40-page edition, for example, contained pieces on Boro’s highly successful Feed a Family in Need scheme, the pros and cons of 3G pitches, an interview with legendary keeper Tony Stares, a nostalgic look back at former Boro programmes, and a review of the lagers, ales and ciders on sale in the Privett Park clubhouse.

Previous issues have seen interviews with Jamie Brown and Dan Wooden, while Rowan Vine and Justin Bennett are being lined up for future editions.

Privett Life is by no means a one-man band, with Jeremy Fox, Boro’s former head of media, Brian Musselwhite, Edd Champion and Boro steward Steve Webb all writing articles. Champion also helps O’Connor-Simpson record a monthly Privett Life podcast.

The front cover for the latest edition, meanwhile, was designed by a student based thousands of miles away in South America. ‘I found a Colombian student through the internet, and I paid him £11,’ stated O’Connor-Simpson.

The cover is certainly eye-catching, featuring drawings of Boro boss Shaun Gale plus players Theo Lewis, Matt Paterson and Theo Lewis without any facial features such as eyes, noses or mouths. T-shirts featuring the same design have also been produced.

O’Connor-Simpson has ensured the club benefit from Privett Life. All proceeds from a previous issue - £250 - were donated to the Feed a Family Fund while half the proceeds from the latest issue will go to the same scheme. The other half will go towards sponsoring midfielder Bradley Tarbuck.

Last season, sales of the fanzine raised £150 for mental health charity Solent Mind while other funds were used to sponsor defender Sam Roberts, who is now at Salisbury.

Millington, meanwhile, formed his AFC Portchester fans group - The Arancione - earlier this year prior to the first lockdown.

All members receive a free copy of the fanzine, which is also on sale to non-members for £1.50.

Articles in the first copy of Pulp, Punditry and Portchy included features on two clubs the Arancione have established a fans link with - Japan’s Kyoto Sanga and America’s Minneapolis City.

Royals’ under-23 boss Glenn Couchman wrote about the club’s next generation of home-grown players, while there were also tales of Portchester fans travelling to the Isle of Wight and Portland.

Millington also included a list of songs that Royals fans could sing - including one in praise of goalkeeper Brad Snelling (to the tune of a Daft Punk song), one for young winger Patrick Hnath and two for defender Pete Castle.

‘I want it to be a bit light-hearted, a bit tongue-in-cheek, nothing too serious,’ said Millington.

‘I want to highlight the social side of non-league football.

‘There are people disenchanted with the game at the highest level, and non-league football can reap the benefits of that.

‘In our group, we’ve picked up fans who were once season ticket holders at Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic.

‘Though we’re officially linked to the club, I don’t want the fanzine to be a mouthpiece for the club, and I don’t want it just to be my voice - I want lots of different voices writing about football culture and fan culture.’