Robin Ireland
Writer, academic, public health advocate, and football fan. New book, ‘Cutting the Mustard’, available to order now. www.robinireland.com
- Reposted by Robin Ireland"We’ve lost so much of what football is" ⚽ How has the beautiful game become so dominated by commerce? The answers can be found by studying 50 years of Norwich City F.C., says @robinireland.bsky.social (with a little help from Delia Smith). Read more in @theconversation.com bit.ly/4c3lW8W
- For all football fans as well as those of #NCFC. More in my new book ‘Cutting the Mustard’ theconversation.com/us-cash-spon...
- Really pleased to announce a new event on the 'Commercial Determinants of Health, Football, and Power'. Will draw on 'Cutting the Mustard' for my own contribution. In-person or online on 11th March @uofgshw.bsky.social
- Preston away was obviously a disappointment at the end but I saw enough to be hopeful for 2026. ‘Cutting the Mustard’ sold well leading up to Christmas so Happy Christmas to all those #NCFC fans who will be unwrapping their copies on Thursday! And here’s to a good year ahead for us all 🔰#OTBC
- Clearly #NCFC need three points today, but, in my bit to spread early Xmas cheer, if you buy 'Cutting the Mustard' on my website robinireland.com you can order an additional copy of the book at half-price. If 2025/26 isn't working out as we hoped, you can look back at better times.
- Reposted by Robin Ireland🆕Briefing paper! As part of our annual conference proceedings, we’re pleased to launch our new briefing: Commercial Determinants of Health for Elected Members and Local Authority Officers. Access here 👉 foodactive.org.uk/briefing-pap...
- @footballcollective.bsky.social Looking forward to travelling to Belfast this afternoon and presenting on #CuttingTheMustard at The Clearer Twist National Stadium. I’m focusing on the commercialisation of football but maybe Windsor Park’s current name says it more eloquently than I can? #NCFC
- Fifty years of football, through Norwich City's yellow and green glasses www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic... Fab photo which is not in the book but there are lots more great images inside #NCFC www.robinireland.com
- Reposted by Robin IrelandThe #FoodActive2025 conference is now underway! 165 delegates and a fantastic line up of speakers ready for an exciting morning of reflection and discussion to mark ten years of the Healthy Weight Declaration. #FoodActive2025
- Reposted by Robin IrelandDelighted to have @robinireland.bsky.social and Arif Rajpura set the scene for the conference this morning and reflect on the origins and impact of the declaration in Blackpool. #FoodActive2025
- Thanks Martin. Glad you like it. Anyone interested can buy Cutting the Mustard here: www.robinireland.com
- New book alert: Cutting the Mustard: 50 years of dreaming by @robinireland.bsky.social, a history of commercialisation in English football through a case study of Norwich City. Great research, lively style, and brilliant design based around photos of ephemera. #SportsHistory #norwichcity #otbc
- Things aren't getting any better are they #NCFC. The business model of football is failing many fans, not just those currently extremely unhappy at Norwich City. If you missed my blog yesterday on why a lot more than a fake Dafabet shirt should be binned, here it is: robinireland.com/blogs/blog/i...
- So, quite a weekend in Norfolk. The football was tough to watch. Hard to see how this is going to work out well for anyone at #NCFC. I spent Sunday in The Forum discussing the wreck that is our football club. It certainly isn't a well-run business: robinireland.com/blogs/blog/i...
- Reposted by Robin IrelandPicked up my copy and had a short word with Robin. I think it will be an important read to any of us interested in what truly football represents beyond formations and XG!
- This week I've heard talk about football as a business, the commercialisation of #NCFC, expensive ticket prices, unfriendly kick-off times, fans treated as customers. It's been going this way for a long time. Read all about it in 'Cutting the Mustard' ⬇️http://robinireland.com
- Fascinating to hear Mark Attanasio @bbcradionorfolk.bsky.social last night. Essentially he was talking about the business of football. If you want to understand more about how #NCFC (and many other clubs) are in the position they are in today, can I politely suggest you read ‘Cutting the Mustard’.
- Reposted by Robin IrelandTen years of declarations stemming the flood of unhealthy food across the country! Looking forward to the conference plus our panel on the commercial determinants of health with Prof @markpetticrew.bsky.social, Maria @frameworks.bsky.social & Dr Oliver Mytton with @robinireland.bsky.social
- Food Active 2025 is just two week away! ✨ We have published the conference agenda which is jam-packed with a fantastic line up of speakers and discussions View the full agenda and book your ticket here 👉 foodactive.org.uk/two-weeks-to... #FoodActive2025
- Reposted by Robin IrelandFood Active 2025 is just two week away! ✨ We have published the conference agenda which is jam-packed with a fantastic line up of speakers and discussions View the full agenda and book your ticket here 👉 foodactive.org.uk/two-weeks-to... #FoodActive2025
- Quite the weekend to be in Norfolk. I will be at Carrow Rd on Sat with not a clue as to what to expect. I will also be at a Football Collectors Fair on Sun at The Forum. Lovely to see some #NCFC folk there. I will be selling and signing my book plus some programmes, badges, cards associated with it.
- Reposted by Robin IrelandOn a recent visit to Poland @robinireland.bsky.social recorded a conversation on the impact of sport on public health, and the challenges that the commercialisation and commodification of sport present. 🎧 youtu.be/qGAYdmNW2cI?... @uofgsocsci.bsky.social
- Lovely to be talking football (and exchanging books) with a Polish colleague from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan #CuttingTheMustard
- UK gambling ads with Lewis Hamilton and Chelsea logo banned over influence on children www.bbc.com/news/article.... Tip of the iceberg. Sport thrives on relationships like these. 😩
- Looking forward to being at the Football Collectors Fair at The Forum next month. Look forward to seeing some #NCFC fans there. Maybe it will take our minds on what's happening on the pitch.
- “Right now is a hard watch. It seems from the outside that the club has gotten a bit lost in the quest to become ´an established Premier League team´. It’s normally ended in tears when Norwich have become too focused on that, and I’m not sure if most fans even want it” www.pinkun.com/sport/interv...
- A protester outside held a sign insisting “San Siro belongs to the citizens”. Sound familiar? I went there with #NCFC all those years ago. Mind you the Milan ambition may be bigger than our own 🙄💰💰💰 www.theguardian.com/football/202...
- As mucky as it gets. Every wriggle room employed to avoid any idea of ethics and responsibility: www.theguardian.com/football/202.... When revenue streams trump any idea of decency.
- Thanks @myfootballwriter.bsky.social for carrying my piece about the commercialisation of football - Not Yet Hollywood Norwich! tinyurl.com/3upavfpr #NCFC
- www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba.... Nice piece on football shirts but no mention of sponsors? It can be the brand that either makes the shirt or destroys it if it is a gambling company for example.
- Reposted by Robin Ireland🟢🟡 Not yet Hollywood Norwich! 🗣️ @robinireland.bsky.social ▪️Consultation and good communication are key. ▪️Under D&M's watch, the name ‘Carrow Road’ is sacrosanct. ▪️A fine balance between bringing in revenue and keeping fans happy. LINK: norwichcity.myfootballwriter.com/2025/10/15/n... #ncfc
- Reposted by Robin Ireland#FoodActive2025 conference speaker announcement ✨ We are excited to welcome Dr Arif Rajpura, DPH at Blackpool Council & @robinireland.bsky.social, Director of Research at HEG, who will be discussing Blackpool's leadership on healthy weight. Register here 👉 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-decade-o...
- Reposted by Robin IrelandCfP: Excited to announce our first workshop, exploring histories of Commercial Determinants of Health. Workshop to be held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 15 April 2026. Please circulate widely/consider submitting an abstract by 13 October 2025.
- Back from a great trip to Poland where I spoke at an event organised with Arka Gdynia, a Polish Ekstraklasa team. A lot of discussion on that fine line between being a football fan and consumer. Fascinating to present my new book in this context. Arguably #NCFC may have just crossed this line?
- Thanks to Storm Amy, three days late, but finally off to Gdańsk to lecture about football and public health #HealthyStadia. I will most certainly be mentioning ‘Cutting the Mustard’. Hopefully it will distract me from #NCFC performance yesterday 😩
- #NCFC decision to redevelop Carrow Road with some fans being given no notice to move from their seats in the River End is a classic example of clubs seeking to wring every possible income out of their stadiums and their fans. Covered in full in Cutting the Mustard www.robinireland.com
- Such a pleasure to visit Kett’s Books in Wymondham on Friday. You can now buy Cutting the Mustard there. Great community bookshop to support.
- Great to read a review of Cutting the Mustard in When Saturday Comes. You can buy the book here www.robinireland.com #NCFC
- Good to see my piece on ‘Cutting the Mustard’ in the #NCFC v Southampton programme. Sadly, very little else I want to remember from that game!
- Watched the game on Sky last night. Positively dispiriting. Must have felt a lot worse at the Carra. Anyone not thrown their programme away? There should have been a piece on Cutting the Mustard in it. If so, I would love to see it #NCFC
- Thanks so much. I think they’ve sold out now! I must get them more copies. I really appreciate the feedback. 🔰
- Great to launch 'Cutting the Mustard'. A laugh and great banter on @bbcradionorfolk.bsky.social. Fascinating discussions at Carrow Rd led by @ffionthomas.bsky.social @alongcomenorwich.bsky.social. Getting rave #NCFC reviews and hope to hear from other clubs' fans now robinireland.com/products/cut...
- Delighted I can announce @onthestallcity.bsky.social are stocking ‘Cutting the Mustard’. Just in time for the kick-off tomorrow 🔰#NCFC
- Fab panel at the launch of #CuttingTheMustard at #CarrowRoad last night. Thanks so much to @ffionthomas.bsky.social for expertly chairing the discussion on the commercialisation of football and how it impacts on clubs such as #NCFC. Books at www.robinireland.com
- Tonight ⬇️#NCFC www.edp24.co.uk/news/2536914...
- Reposted by Robin IrelandJohn Deehan wearing the first ever sponsored #NCFC shirt back in 1983/84. Appropriate day for a book launch at Carrow Road on such matters - @robinireland.bsky.social 😉
- As the regime changes at the Carra, literally in the case of Borja Sainz, I’m checking Legends and the South Stand ready for my book launch tomorrow #NCFC. I’m VERY excited. Still places available to join me: www.eventbrite.com/e/cutting-th...
- Well, that was a lot of fun #TheScrimmage. Too busy working on my match predictions to say you can still get tickets for the launch of ‘Cutting the Mustard’ this Wednesday evening at Carrow Road: www.eventbrite.com/e/cutting-th... #NCFC
- Really excited to be on #TheScrimmage tonight talking about my new book, ‘Cutting the Mustard’. Still not too late to purchase the book at its preorder price of £12 or to register for the book launch at Carrow Road on Wednesday evening. Details: www.robinireland.com 🔰#NCFC
- This article on Liverpool FC's "commercial juggernaut" is hopefully free access so, apols, if it's behind a paywall for you. But, simply staggering what clubs aspiring to the #EPL now face. Liverpool's commercial income is declared at £308million. Frankly unreal. www.nytimes.com/athletic/651...
- There’s a whole piece on Martin in ‘Cutting the Mustard’. I saw him score a winner for Norwich (against Ipswich) on my 21st birthday. I was also lucky enough to go to his testimonial against his World Cup winning colleagues.
- On this day in 1966, Martin Peters played a key part in England winning the World Cup final vs Germany. For most players that would be a career peak. Not for Martin. 8-9 years later, he joined #NCFC and the rest is history.
- New book 'Cutting the Mustard' launches on 6 Aug at Carrow Rd. Check out what others say about this "informative, entertaining and lavishly illustrated" "compelling book" www.robinireland.com. You can still order your copy at a presale price and book your place at the launch if you're quick #NCFC
- The publisher has done a beautiful job with 'Cutting the Mustard'. Hoping to see #NCFC fans at Carrow Rd on Wed 6th Aug at the free book launch where you can pick up your own copy at a discounted £12: www.eventbrite.com/e/cutting-th... Oh, & have a proper debate about how money has changed football.
