Fan Focus - Mark Worrall

Welcome to this new Fan Focus and this time the Chelsea Fan in question is Mark Worrall. I know about Mark and his books and projects he is involved with but I checked out Wikipedia to see what I could find on him and here is what they have said:

"Mark Worrall is a British author born in London in 1961 who is mainly associated with football literature, and more specifically Chelsea Football Club. His first book 'Over Land and Sea' was published in 2004 and relayed the adventures of the fabled Gate 17 crew, of which Worrall is an integral part, as they followed the fortunes of the Blues during the Champions League campaign of the previous season which coincided with the Clubs takeover by Roman Abramovich.

In 2007 Worrall's first novel "Blue Murder ... Chelsea Till I Die" was published by Head Hunter books. Recognised by many as being a thinly disguised autobiography, 'Blue Murder' concerns itself with a 'fictional' character called Johnny Nipper whose love of Chelsea remains unfettered by the changes in his personal circumstances as he immerses himself and falls foul of the criminal gangs which inhabit the Capital's dark underbelly.

Gate 17 Books was launched in November 2007 as an imprint of respected publishing house Troubador. The first title published by this Chelsea themed imprint was a second edition of 'Over Land and Sea' which had sold through its first print run on its way to achieving cult-classic status amongst Blues fans. A second title, 'One Man Went to Mow', a follow up to 'Over Land and Sea',was published on January 15 2008.

'Chelsea here Chelsea there', co-written with fellow Chelsea author Kelvin Barker and David Johnstone, the editor of the respected cfcuk fanzine, was published by Gate 17 on August 25 2009.

After completing his education, Mark commenced training for the Priesthood, but it seems that the extracurricular activities about which he writes somehow proved too tempting. Immersing himself in the pharmacological subculture of the dance music scene, he funded a hedonistic lifestyle with a variety of jobs including stints working as a baker, DJ, seismologist and piano tuner before he finally settled on a career in the mobile phone industry.

A familiar figure in and around the numerous watering holes located in the leafy Surrey hamlet of Cheam where he has resided for a number of years, to this very day, Mark Worrall remains captivated by the shared experience of following the fortunes of Chelsea Football Club"

Isn't that Fantastic! Anywhere, I give you my fan focus Mark Worrall!

ABOUT YOU:

Your name?

Mark Worrall

Your age?

48

How many years you have followed Chelsea?

39

Whats the best part about being a Chelsea Fan?

Following the Blues over land and sea (and Leicester of course). Truthfully, I have visited some remarkable places following the Chels that I would never otherwise have been to, Sofia, Zilina and Cluj spring to mind.

Whats your match day routine?

For home games I help out at the cfcuk stall which is across the road from Fulham Broadway Station. I'm up there at about 9.30am. For away games it depends on where we are playing but I like to make a day of it. After home matches I usually end up with the lads in the Imperial on the Kings Road and just about make the last tube home.

Do you have any Superstitions?

I always whistle 'who the f*ck are Man United' as I leave the house on match-days.

THE GAMES:

Whats your favourite game ever?

Chelsea winning 2-0 at the Reebok on April 30th 2005 and clinching the title thereby ending 50 years of hurt. Being behind the goal when Super Frank scored his two goals was as good as it gets ... mind you being in the Clock End when Bridgey scored the winning goal in the Champions League quarterfinal against the Gooners runs it a close second.

Whats the best game you have ever been to?

Nothing can quite compare with winning 6-1 at the Lane. December 1st 1997. Tore Andre Flo scored a hat-trick. It was livelier than usual down Tottenham High Road that afternoon.

Whats the best atmosphere you've witnessed?

August 25th 1984. Arsenal v Chelsea. Chelsea took 20,000 to an away game at the old Highbury Library. A remarkable day out. Chelsea are back Chelsea are back hello hello Chelsea are back. Chelsea were back in the big time, it was the first game of the season. You can read about this game and what following Chelsea was like 25 years ago in my new book Chelsea Here Chelsea There which is published by Gate on August 25th.

Whats the worse atmosphere?

The atmosphere at Eastlands isn't too inspiring. I heard that Manchester City's owners were going to try and bribe Newcastle United supporters to come down and help them make some noise.

Whats your favourite away ground and why?

San Siro. Milan. I fulfilled a childhood dream seeing Chelsea play there back in October 1999.

Where do you sit at Chelsea?

Gate 17 Mathew Harding Upper

If you could sit anywhere else in the ground where would it be?

We get displaced for Champions League games and I have to say the atmosphere in the Shed is pretty good these days so I'd sit there ... plus it's nearer to the pub.

THE PLAYERS:

Who is your favourite player?

Frank Lampard

Who is your least favourite player?

I don't have a least favourite player, but any player who wears the Blue of Chelsea should wear it with pride and always give 200%. Slackers and moaners deserve all the stick they get.

Name you top 3 all-time players

Dixon, Zola, Lampard

Name your top 3 worst ever players?

Dave Mitchell, Les Fridge, Darren Wood.

Who's the top 5 signings Chelsea ever made?

Zola, Lampard, Dixon, Makalele, Jose Mourinho

Who's the top 5 worst Signings ever?

Mutu, Veron, Sutton, Bogarde, Phil Scolari

If you could, who would you sign that is yet to play for Chelsea?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Who would you re-sign if you could?

Wayne Bridge

Player to watch this season?

Yuri Zhirkov

MOMENT:

Name your favourite Chelsea Moment ever (it could be anything to do with Chelsea)

Kerry Dixon scoring for Chelsea at Highbury, August 25th 1984.Sensational goal. Astonishing atmosphere. Proper Chels! as we like to say in Gate 17. Ask anyone who was there I'm sure they'll see my point of view.

You can check out Mark's Official Website here


So its a thanks to Mark from me. Thank you for taking the time to do it and being part of my Blog. If any of you Chelsea fans out there want to take part please make sure you contact me asap!