Have you ever found yourself completely inexplicably losing you temper with your football team? Or the referee? Or perceived bad luck? Or just general circumstances that have “conspired” against them to make them lose?

I know I certainly have and, based on the content of this book, Dr Damien Pearse, a practising clinical psychologist and Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, most definitely has.

The book starts with the author watching his beloved Wolves taking on Liverpool on a dodgy stream in his office. While there is nothing inherently unusual in that. Nor in the fact that his side eventually lose 3-1 to a better team. It is his reaction to the defeat that sparks the analysis that forms the basis of this fascinating book.

As many of us football obsessives will have done after similar disappointments by our team, Pearse heads to social media to vent his frustration, where he is baffled by the fact that he finds solace in others being equally as angry.

As well as exploring and trying to understand the underlying causes behind his own anger at something that he has no control over and that really shouldn’t be so important; Pearse also explores a broad range of examples of football fans who have let their emotions get the better of them. Often with tragic and horrific consequences.  He also talks to a range of scientists, academics etc as well as the fans themselves and their families.

Despite the, at times, very difficult subject matter, there is real humour in this book and a clear sense that Pearse is fully aware of how ridiculous his own overreactions to his team’s increasingly disappointing performances are. Aren’t we all really?

It is a simply brilliant book – I read it in a matter of days as I simply couldn’t put it down. An absolute must-read for any football obsessive, or indeed anyone trying to understand why we care so much about our team, when we know we probably really shouldn’t.