ABSTRACT
By the mid-nineteenth century the game of football had barely developed beyond its mob or folk form. It remained relatively violent and was only just being organized in wider English society. Though a degree of organization was taking place in and around London, a vibrant and successful sub-culture was beginning in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. Why this particular locality was ripe for such development is at present unclear. However, it is certainly true that the footballers of the area were some of the first to establish a coordinated programme of fixtures between a network of thriving clubs. It should be noted that there has been some work completed on the history and social impact of football on the city community, though there remains a multitude of areas yet to be researched. For instance, the growth in attendance figures, the type of people who attended matches and the behaviour of football crowds have all yet to be analysed in any great detail. It is with this in mind that this article tackles two issues of importance regarding fan culture in the mid-to-late Victorian Sheffield football community. Initially the paper will seek to uncover the extent to which the game of football was being played and watched during midweek. In doing so it will note through the medium of football not only the amount played on each day but also the continuance of the tradition of Saint Monday. Secondly, there will be an attempt to analyse the types of spectator disorder linked to Sheffield football around this time by providing examples of such misbehaviour and examining these through existing theories.
