Book Review: Crystal Palace FC 1969-1990 – A Biased Commentary by Chris Winter

Take all the years you’ve watched your club and then try and pick the best eleven. A time-honoured debate for any football fan, one which can provide heated discussion whilst on the longest of away trips or during the quietest of post-match pints. Quite simply this is the premise for Crystal Palace FC 1969-1990 – A Biased Commentary.

Author Chris Winter attended his first game at Selhurst Park in September 1968 when Palace played Carlisle United in the ‘old’ Second Division, who they thumped 5-0. However, the story of the book begins with the following season 1969/70, with Crystal Palace playing in the top flight of English football for the first time in their history. The book then covers a twenty one year period to 1990, which sees Palace in the ‘old’ First Division and reaching (and losing after a replay), the FA Cup Final against Manchester United. The intervening seasons are a roller-coaster worthy of any theme park, let alone Selhurst Park, and cover Palace suffering consecutive relegations in 1972/73 and 1973/74 down to the third tier of English football. Whilst there, under the flamboyant Malcolm Allison Palace reached the 1976 FA Cup Semi-Final and as quickly as they had left the top flight, they were back after promotions in 1976/77 and 1978/79. However, it was a brief stop as at the end of 1980/81 relegation back to the second tier occurred for a team unfortunately dubbed “the team of the eighties”.

Through the various ups and downs, Winter doesn’t aim, as he says in the books Introduction, “… to produce a definitive statistical record…but rather to set down my…subjective memories of the last twenty one years and my opinions of the characters involved…” The author is as good as his word as the season by season chapters pick up on key games as well as the players, managers and chairmen; some of whom are immortalised in pencil sketches by the author in each section of the book. Winter is not afraid to give his opinions, whether that is in praise of heroes such as goalkeeper John Jackson or damning criticism of short-lived manager Alan Mullery.

What is also evident besides the fluctuating fortunes of the club on the pitch as they bounce between promotions and relegations, are the changes wrought on the club by Malcolm Allison and Terry Venables. In 1973/74 Winter details how Allison changed the colours of the club, the badge and nickname, so that ‘The Glaziers’ became ‘The Eagles’ and “…another gimmick, thankfully a short-lived one, was the printing of bogus nicknames in the programme alongside each player’s name…titles which also embellished their track-suit tops…” However, on a more serious level, Allison also put in place an excellent Youth set-up which Venables when manager benefited from, as he went on to develop a team playing a patient passing game for the Selhurst Park faithful.

After charting the highs and lows of the period from the 1969 -1990 period, the author gets down to the business of selecting his ‘best eleven’. As a reader you might want to skip the books Introduction as Winter provides the eleven selected upfront. My personal preference would have been to only provide the ‘dream team’ once all the analysis of the various players in each position had been provided by the author. However, this doesn’t take away from a book which will provide Palace fans old and new, with material in abundance to discuss the merits of former heroes and villains. Finally, this book is the first of two volumes which cover Chris Winter’s years watching Palace as he also went on to release Crystal Palace F.C. 1990-2011: More Biased Commentary and in that produces not only a ‘fantasy team’ for 1990 – 2011, but a ‘best-ever eleven’ covering 1969 – 2011. Forty two years, now where do you begin…

 

Category: Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT

Book Review: Northern Monkeys by William Routledge

Northern Monkeys was first published by ThinkMore in 2012 with the limited edition run, selling out. Given this success a second edition was published in 2013 which contained some addition material. This review is based on the latest edition.

If you are looking for a run-of-the-mill football hooligan book with pages dedicated to tales of ‘battles’ on the terraces and high streets of towns and cities up and down the country, then you are going to be sadly disappointed. Instead William Routledge offers the reader a journey which involves football, fashion and music centring on the North West of England.

The journey seeks to define the ‘Northern Monkey’ and their evolution with Routledge going back to the 1870s to look at the Victorian gangs in Manchester and Liverpool to start the story. There is then pretty much a leap to the 1950s as the book goes through the decades up to the present day. Through each passing period, Routledge tells his own story and introduces personal recollections from the people who lived through it. These tales tell of the Teddy Boys, Mods, Skinheads, Punks, Scooter Boys, Soul Boys; their music, their fashion and their mentality. It is also about the cities and towns of the North West itself and stories of nights out in the clubs and pubs  of Preston, Blackburn, Blackpool, Wigan, Liverpool, Manchester, Lancaster and Morecambe.

These recollections and those of Routledge himself are the honest reminiscences of those who genuinely experienced the events. Some of the anecdotes are brutal, whilst others are dark, but most are sprinkled with the joy of being alive and living for the moment.

The chapter which most grabbed my attention was that titled Social Entrepreneurship which features interviews with Robert Wade-Smith, Barry Brown and Gary Aspden. These three tell of their success in business associated with the rise of the casuals from the early eighties through to today. The ability of all of these men to see their chance and with a few ups and downs, make it happen was compelling reading.

The excellent writing is supplemented by a range of colour images which enhance this fine publication. These include shots showing the ranges of clothes and trainers of Adidas, Diadora, Fila, and Lacoste etc. to pictures of the author and the contributors in their youth. For readers of a certain age, these images will draw a knowing smile.

Overall this is a wonderful piece of social history, a candid ‘warts and all’ account of life as a ‘Northern Monkey’ through the decades; one which will leave you with a smile as wide as a grinning chimp.

Category: Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT

Book Review: My Fight with Life by Leon McKenzie

Robert Enke (2009), Dale Roberts (2010), Gary Speed (2011) – three men from the world of football who in recent years took their own lives. That list has nearly been added to by ex-players such as Dean Windass and the author of My Fight with Life, Leon McKenzie, who have both attempted suicide.

From a football perspective, the book details McKenzie’s journey from making his debut and scoring as a seventeen year old for Crystal Palace in 1995 through to his last playing spell at Corby Town in 2012. McKenzie spent five years at Selhurst Park playing in the Premier League in 1997/98 season with brief loan spells at Fulham and Peterborough United, before permanently signing for The Posh in 2000. McKenzie proved to be a hit with the fans and his form in his three years at Peterborough earned him a move to Norwich City in 2003, where he was part of the side that was promoted to the Premier League. In the 2004/05 season McKenzie proved he could play at the very top level in the English game, but The Canaries were relegated on the last day of the season after capitulating 6-0 at Fulham. However, as the 2005/06 season dawned, problems on and off the field were beginning to impact on McKenzie both physically and mentally. Injuries were starting to significantly cut into his playing time, whilst his marriage was on the ropes. Against this background, McKenzie looked to make a fresh start and signed for Coventry City in 2006. Here though his playing time was again hit by a series of injuries, but he did score his 100th professional goal against previous employers Ipswich Town on the opening day of the 2008/09 season. After three years McKenzie was again on the move this time, this time to Charlton Athletic, where with injuries seemingly bringing him to a standstill and the loneliness of living away from his family, he attempted suicide in 2009. His last professional club was Northampton Town in the 2010/11 season, before short stints at Kettering Town and Corby Town.

McKenzie is forthright in his views of the managers and coaches he worked under during his playing career. These range from then Crystal Palace boss Steve Coppell who McKenzie describes as “…a great bloke and real inspiration…” to Alan Smith (whilst at Crystal Palace) and Gary Johnson (whilst at Northampton) as “…by far the two worst managers…ever encountered…” The Professional Footballers Association doesn’t escape his criticism either, as he lambasts the organisation for its slowness in addressing the issue of depression in current and ex-players.

Away from the football, McKenzie is equally direct when talking about his life whether it be his famous boxing relatives, (dad, Clinton McKenzie and uncle, Duke), his marriage break-up, his stint in prison for motoring offences, his plans for the future as a professional boxer or working for Elite Welfare Management advising players about depression. There is much to be admired in that McKenzie is so open in talking about the depression he suffered and the attempted suicide, detailing and understanding how his injuries, coming to the end of a career and the impact of his childhood and family life, brought him to that fateful date in 2009.

However, the book suffers from a numbers of errors which proof-reading should have picked up on and from a lack of editing. This book would have been better served by a linear timeline rather than chapters which jump back and forth and therefore lack fluidity for the reader. Tighter editing would also have ensured that the repetition which occurs in the book was also avoided and the bizarre change in Chapter 14 where the narrative switches from first-person to the third-person.

Ultimately though, this is a brave story and one which can give hope to people (in whatever walk of life), that out of despair can come a positive future.

 

Category: Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT

Book Review: Thierry Henry – Lonely at the Top: A Biography by Philippe Auclair

Where do you start with this review? In finishing reading this book and reflecting on the experience, my views and thoughts have been many and varied, which has subsequently made the task of writing a critique a difficult one. So let’s start with some basics.

The author Philippe Auclair is a freelance journalist who has worked as the United Kingdom correspondent for the French magazine, France Football and broadcaster at RMC Radio for a number of years. Auclair has also written, Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King, which won the 2010 British Sports Book Award for Best Football Book. This second book is an unauthorised biography, but as Auclair says in the Acknowledgements, “…Thierry Henry himself, who was aware of my project…from the start, made no attempt to interfere with it or impair my research…I’m grateful to him for that…”

In terms of the book itself, it is set over 337 pages, but contains none of the glossy pages of pictures that accompany most of the autobiographies and biographies published today. Instead, there are simply a series of black and white images which adorn the page at the start of end new chapter and act as an introduction and lead into each section of the book. It may seem a stupid thing to say but this biography is all about the words and the sparse images act merely to compliment the text. For the most part the book follows a chronological path from Henry’s birth in Les Ulis (a suburb of Paris), through his youth football career, and his international and club appearances up to his loan spell at Arsenal in early 2012.

As for the title of the book, “Lonely at the Top”, this is open to interpretation. It could refer to the playing position of Henry, and the question of whether his transformation from wide player to centre-forward was successful. Or it is saying that Henry was a lonely figure by choice at having only a small group of trusted people through his career? In truth there is an element of both as Auclair seeks to find answers to both of these conundrums.

All clear so far? So why has this book proved a difficult one to review? Part of it lies in the fact that Auclair hasn’t written a run of the mill biography which blindly goes from season to season in a sycophantic ‘the boy done good’ manner. This is a book which has been incredibly well researched and has a gravitas that at times reads like a University dissertation as Auclair seeks to answer questions about Henry, Arsenal and the French national team. Along the way the reader comes to learn about the dominating figure that was Henry’s father (Tony) and the incident that broke that bond, when a proposed move from Monaco to Real Madrid went very badly wrong. Unsurprisingly, Auclair points to the pressure and influence of Tony on his son and the ‘Real fiasco’ as having a lasting impact on Henry.

What lies at the centre of this book is a view of Henry from both sides of the channel and which seems to present two very different animals. Auclair is able to do this because of his French roots on the one hand and as an Arsenal supporter living in London on the other. Therefore it may be that English readers (whether Gunners fans or not), will be perplexed by their view of Titi, the record breaking hero of Highbury and The Emirates, compared with that of a fallen idol in his homeland whose international career can now never be separated from “The Hand of Gaul” incident against the Republic of Ireland which sealed Les Bleus qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

Indeed, Auclair uses the book to explore the French national team through Henry’s involvement in various World Cup and European Championship tournaments. The World Cup triumph of 1998 and the European Championship win in 2000 are analysed as the stock of Henry and the national team reached its peak and gave rise to the “…black-blanc-beur…” (black-white-arab), vision of French society as represented by its football team. However, this dream is slowly dismantled starting with the Group exit in Japan/Korea at the 2002 World Cup and is completely shattered by the players strike in the embarrassing exit at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Auclair makes a case for ending the book with that disastrous campaign in South Africa, but in a Postscript that takes in Henry’s move to the New York Bull’s in 2011 and a cameo at Arsenal at the beginning of 2012, there is a positive ending. Incredibly for a book that is written so well and is all about the words, the ‘last-word’ is actually achieved by an image. Just check out page 331…

 

Category: Reviews | 1 Comment on Book Review: Thierry Henry – Lonely at the Top: A Biography by Philippe Auclair

Book Review: Guilty Tiger by Chris Brown

With the advent of books about football terrace culture in the late 1990’s from writers such as John King and more recently Dougie Brimson, this genre has gradually gained an acceptance and recognition in the literary world. Chris Brown is a Bristol Rovers fan, who in the 1970’s was a skinhead on the terraces in the Tote End at Eastville (Rovers home ground up until 1986), who detailed his experiences, the music and fashion of the time in his autobiographical book Bovver (published 2001); it was subsequently updated and released in 2009 as Booted and Suited. Following on from the success of these books, Chris Brown has written his first novel, Guilty Tiger, which draws on his Bristol roots and some of the themes of his earlier work.

Steve Allen is the central character, who back in the 1970s was part of a gang called ‘The Big Five’, who got involved in hooliganism and right-wing politics. Now he has all the trapping of a good life – well paid job, big house, top of the range car, designer clothes and a cocaine habit. However, all is not well in his world; his beloved Bristol Rovers are languishing in the lower reaches of the football league, whilst he reviles the money and influence of the Premiership. Moreover, Steve is frustrated with his sex-less marriage and disenchanted with what he sees around him in the country and the city of his birth; worst of all Allen is suffering a mild-life crisis. However, his life and that of ‘The Big Five’ changes when Kirsty an old flame of Allen gets in touch.

What unfolds is a fast-paced page-turner of a book with revenge and redemption the order of the day. In terms of writing style and telling, it has a graphic quality that would lend itself to a television series, with ‘action’ on the streets as well as in the bedroom. However, Guilty Tiger is not just about the physical, as Chris Brown through his characters, looks at how as people we deal with love, friendship, loyalty and trust, as well the moral dilemma of what constitutes ‘justice’. Brown presents to the reader a world where the idea of ‘good and bad’ and ‘right and wrong’ is blurred, and for all its protestations that we live in a much more moral and politically correct world, Guilty Tiger shows that underneath it all that the corruption, back-handers and violence of the 1970s is still with us.

My only gripe with the book is that the Premiership sub-plot feels slightly hidden and is then concluded too quickly. However, overall it does not detract from a what is a highly readable and engaging first novel from Chris Brown.

 

Category: Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT

Book Review: A Fan’s Folklore – Six Seasons of Triumph, Tragedy and Tough Luck by Dean T. Hartwell

Sport is often held up as a metaphor for life; no matter what the sport, the country that it is played in or whether you experience it as a participant or spectator. Dean T. Hartwell takes his early years watching his beloved Oakland Raiders in the National Football League (NFL) and Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major League Baseball (MLB) to illustrate how they taught him lessons in ways he “…could not have otherwise understood…”

Hartwell focuses on a six year period, from 1972 to 1978 and in particular nine games, as the basis of this book. These include NFL games between the Raiders and their great rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos and MLB fixtures featuring the Dodgers against Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. They are then grouped into three categories, Triumph, Tragedy and Tough Luck, to illustrate the points the author wishes to imparts to the reader about the lessons he has learned from those games, in relation to ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ aspects of life.

Some of the games are infamous such as that remembered for the ‘Holy Rollers’ play involving Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers (1978) and another that is known for the ‘Immaculate Reception’ between Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers (1972). Hartwell looks at these incidents (and others in the nine games in the book) in detail to ascertain or offer a hypothesis as to what took place. For the most part this provides interesting reading, although I was not convinced as to the real benefit of the authors re-run of the 1975 AFC Championship game between Oakland and Pittsburgh based on Raiders home advantage and therefore less inclement weather.

This book is obviously a cathartic work for the author and Hartwell should be praised for his bravery in expressing such personal and sometimes painful episodes from his life. It is part sport, part self-help and a book that will spark debate.

 

Category: American Football, Reviews | 1 Comment on Book Review: A Fan’s Folklore – Six Seasons of Triumph, Tragedy and Tough Luck by Dean T. Hartwell

Book Review: Bicycle Kicks by Simon Hood

Some say football is a metaphor for life, others state that life is a journey; so what does it say if you set yourself the task over a ten month period to complete a 10,000 mile journey on a bicycle watching every single game played by your team (home and away) in the Conference National and FA Cup in the 2009/10 season?

The obvious response for many would simply be – why? However, there was method in the madness for life-long York City supporter Simon Hood which he explains in the Prologue to his book Bicycle Kicks. In his self-deprecating manner Hood tells the reader that on the one-hand he undertook the challenge because at the age of thirty two he felt life was passing him by in a “…passive, rudderless existence…” and that the challenge “…seemed a bit of a lark…” On the other-hand he acknowledges that it was a chance to reconnect with his home-town club, carry out some fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Society, write about his experience and so avoid becoming “…that guy staring into the bottom of his pint glass, thinking about this great idea he’d once had, and had never seen through…” As a consequence, Hood hands in his notice at work, gives up the lease on his flat in London and prepares for life on the road, with his bicycle and panniers containing some basics including a tent.

Over the course of the 155 pages, the book sets out month by month from August 2009 to May 2010 the story of Hood’s efforts to get to complete the task he set himself. In a bizarre twist of footballing fate, the same opposition begin the journey and end it – Oxford United. In between the writer has forty six league games to attend as well as the FA Cup Rounds that The Minstermen find themselves involved in, all achieved by the solitary mode of transport that was his bicycle.

What emerges over the course of the book is a read and style that is engaging, which stems from Hood’s dry wit and sharp observational humour. He manages to balance details about the games he attends, with the cycling routes, his family and friends as well as anecdotes from his travels around the country. Hood allows the reader enough detail to follow the events whether it is on the terraces at Bootham Crescent or cycling through the Fens with a cruel wind biting into the cyclists face and hands. However, there is the feeling at times that the reader is being slightly kept at arm’s length and that some things are not dwelt on. Perhaps it merely reflects Hood’s journey round the country, where the scenery is constantly changing, so that nothing has a great deal of permanence and is merely a passing memory.

By the end of the book the reader has shared with the author some of the emotional highs and lows of an incredible challenge. The story of a man reconnecting with his club, his family and friends and getting his ‘kicks’ enjoying the freedom of the open road. It will leave you with a feel-good factor; it may help restore your faith in human nature. It may also inspire you to get out and do something in turning a dream into a reality.

 

Category: Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT

Book Review: This Is Our Time – The AFC Wimbledon Story by Niall Couper

My allegiance is to Fulham, it’s where I was born and they are the team I have supported since my first ‘live’ game in 1972. However, there are teams you get a soft spot for, a club whose results you look out for. That club for me is Wimbledon FC. The first time I went to Plough Lane was in January 1976 for an FA Trophy 1st Round Replay game against Sutton United. I’d never been to watch non-league football, but something that night hooked me in. Over the following years I regularly attended games at Wimbledon when Fulham were away and was fortunate enough to be there for some memorable games, including the victory against Minehead in May 1977 which went a long way to sealing the Southern League Premier Division, the first game in Division Four against Halifax Town in August 1977 and an FA Cup victory over Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in January 1985. By the time I left London in August 1991 to live in Leeds, Wimbledon were an established First Division team, but had been forced to leave Plough Lane and were about to start life at Selhurst Park. Not being in the capital, I had to follow the disturbing rumours of The Dons move to Dublin and Milton Keynes from afar, but ultimately didn’t believe that The FA would sanction this most invidious of proposals. However, history tells us that the unfathomable decision came to pass and which subsequently led to the beginning of another chapter in the history of The Dons when AFC Wimbledon were born in 2002.

This Is Our Time – The AFC Wimbledon Story by Niall Couper recounts the incredible tale of the rise from the Combined Counties League (CCL) back to the Football League. Couper started following The Dons in 1982 and watched the club at Plough Lane and Selhurst Park. With the release of Charles Koppel’s plan to take Wimbledon to Milton Keynes in 2001, fans looked to boycott official merchandise. An alternative match-day programme, Yellow and Blue, came into existence edited by Couper, which in their inaugural season in the CCL became the ‘official’ club programme for AFC Wimbledon. In addition to this book, Couper was also the author of, The Spirit of Wimbledon – The living memories of the Dons 1922 – 2003. Both books are available from the publisher Cherry Red.

At nearly 600 pages This Is Our Time, is an incredible achievement in terms of research, editing and writing. In terms of style and structure, it is divided into 14 Chapters and for the most part dominated by interview pieces with key figures from The Dons down the years with players, managers, club officials and fans reflecting on the key moments from 2001 to the end of the 2011/12 season. The text is supplemented by a huge array of pictures, some of which are very poignant, including a shot of a disused and over-grown Plough Lane shortly before demolition. The opening chapter provides a brief history of Wimbledon up to the conclusion of the 2000/01 season and then takes on a more detailed look from the time leading up to the point The FA validates the establish of the franchise in Milton Keynes. There is plenty of coverage of the disbelief of the fans and the wider football community at the decision and the feelings of despair, anger and injustice pour out of the pages. Also in the book and very evident is the defiance and determination to put right this footballing wrong, so the stories of the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association (WISA), the Dons Trust and Supporters Direct in the creation of AFC Wimbledon are all here. Incredibly the team was up and running for the 2002/03 season as The Dons entered the CCL after an inaugural friendly against Sutton United when a huge crowd of over 4,500 witnessed the fan’s club debut. The chapters then follow each season and progression from the CCL to the Isthmian League First Division, to the Isthmian Premier Division, to the Conference South, to the Conference Premier and the Football League. The Conference Premier Play-Off against Luton Town at the City of Manchester Stadium is not surprisingly detailed over two chapters, and the book gets its title (This Is Our Time) from the words of Danny Kedwell The Dons skipper that day, to his teammates just before he scored the decisive penalty.

You might think that this incredible nine year journey means that this book is just one long story of one big happy family where everything has gone well. However, Couper should be credited for writing a ‘warts and all’ book. The issues of the inevitable meeting with Milton Keynes in a fixture, the move back to Merton and the attempted takeover by Darragh MacAnthony are discussed. Likewise, the disciplining and sacking of Terry Eames is not avoided, neither is the difficult decisions that were taken when having to replace manager’s Nicky English and Dave Anderson. Disagreements amongst individuals, WISA and the Dons Trust are all here too. What comes through is that The Dons rise has not been without trauma, as the realities of the rapid growth, success and progress of the club hit home and the glass ceiling appears on the horizon. Those in charge accept that lessons have been learned and that mistakes have been made along the way. To some extent the model used at AFC Wimbledon is still really in its infancy and in the closing chapter, Where do you go from here?, the reality of The Dons surviving in the Football League on such a low budget and how progress can be achieved are explored.

This book is an exceptional read, not only because of the incredible story it tells, but in that it captures all the emotions experienced by those in the fight for ‘their’ club and the return to their rightful place in the League.

Nine years, it only took nine year….

 

Category: Reviews | LEAVE A COMMENT

Book Review: The Last Champions by Dave Simpson

If you wander into a bookshop and look at the section on Leeds United AFC, the shelves will invariably be loaded with titles which hark back to the Revie era and the exploits of his teams of the 1960s and 70s. Whilst those trophy winning days at Elland Road put the West Yorkshire club onto the footballing international stage, they were not the last Leeds team to bring the League title back to LS11. In 1991/92 under Howard Wilkinson, Leeds took the First Division title by four points from Manchester United, yet the story seems to have been fairly much passed over. In The Last Champions (Leeds United and the year that football changed for ever), Dave Simpson has brought that extraordinary season to life.

Simpson currently writes for the Guardian and had before that written for Melody Maker, with his previous foray into books a title about the band The Fallen. Away from music Simpson contributed to the official club magazine LeedsLeedsLeeds.

In terms of this book, The Last Champions, the title reflects a number of facts that at the start of the 2012/13 season still hold true. When Leeds United won the First Division title in 1991/92 it was the last time before the monster that is the Premier League took over the top division of English football and therefore Leeds will always be the last First Division Champions. Howard Wilkinson is the last English manager to win the title and that season was the last occasion when Leeds United were the Champions of England; who knows when these two facts will alter?

In telling the story of ‘Sergeant Wilko’ and his team, Simpson seeks out the players and staff who were part of that incredible season. Therefore the majority of the book features chapters which are set around interviews with the central characters of the Wilkinson era prior to and including the 1991/92 season. These include Wilkinson, his assistant Mick Hennigan, physio Alan Sutton, board members Leslie Silver and Bill Fotherby and players such as the late Gary Speed (to whom the book is dedicated), Vinnie Jones, John McClelland, Chris Kamara, Mike Whitlow, Chris Whyte, Lee Chapman and Jon Newsome.

The various chapters provide interesting anecdotes from within the dressing room, the training ground and ‘on and off’ the pitch. However, there are a number of themes that emerge time and time again. Wilkinson is portrayed as a disciplinarian who drilled into his players the benefits of organisation and structure in training until it became second nature on the pitch. He was also seen as ahead of his time in areas such as match preparation including a more modern approach to diet and nutrition for players. However, Wilko was by no means perfect and some players questioned his man management skills, in particular the manner in which so many of the squad left Elland Road. What also comes through is that in comparison with the current Premier League era ‘stars’, the players back then were just ‘ordinary’ guys, with many of them today doing ‘regular’ jobs.

Simpson also seamlessly weaves in his own story of growing up in Leeds and his attachment to the club. He admits as a child, he “…never really liked football…” because of his uncomfortable experiences of playing the game in the school playground. But, after seeing Leeds beat Arsenal 2-0 in October 1974, Simpson “…was hooked immediately…” However, his first love music still tugged at his heart strings and as football in the late 70s suffered at the hands of hooliganism and racism, so he swapped Elland Road for various music gigs. It wasn’t until Wilkinson arrived in 1988 that Simpson returned to LS11 to witness the revolution that saw Leeds take the Second Division title in 1989/90 and the top prize just two seasons later. He ends the book with a brief look at the first season of the Premier League and the end of the Wilkinson era.

This book is a fine tribute to the period Wilkinson was in charge at Leeds and the players and staff that saw them crowned as English Champions. Simpson’s journalistic style, one which never loses the feeling that he a fan, makes this a fascinating read, which is difficult to put down. There is also something ethereal and melancholic about the book. Whilst the pages celebrate that period of the Wilkinson era, the words and images have an underlying feel of a time gone-by. Perhaps it was because it was the last season prior to the Premier League and for Sky football never existed before that point and consequently those last First Division Champions are merely ghosts from the past. Football has become a different beast in the Sky era, where money is ‘king’ and the players, like television hold the clubs to ransom. Like Simpson, I remember growing up and watching football in the 70s when it was affordable. For many nowadays that is not true and that is a sad fact.

For me the pictures also say so much. The images used within the book are not colour or on glossy pages, but are black and white, with a grainy quality; unassuming and understated. Finally, check out the images used on the sleeve of the book. On the front the Leeds team celebrate with the trophy, most of whom are caught in the moment of triumph. Then look at the faces of Gary Speed, David Batty and Mel Sterland. These three seem somewhere else. Maybe the picture has just caught them off guard? What were they thinking about? On the back, Wilkinson is seen walking away (back to the camera) carrying the Championship trophy with Elland Road empty. To use a melancholic musical refrain, “those were the days my friend…”.

 

 

To read an interview with Dave Simpson and another review, please click here.

Category: Reviews | 1 Comment on Book Review: The Last Champions by Dave Simpson

Book Review: Everywhere We Go – Hooligan Series Book One by Dougie and Eddy Brimson

Dougie and Eddy Brimson’s first book of their Hooligan series sets out to explain the phenomenon of football hooliganism; “who causes violence, why, how and when they do it; about what can be done and by whom to try and stop it” and it is also a robust defence of football fans against lazy journalism and stereotyping.

It delivers on all those points and more, but if you want imagery or Cantona-esque philosophy you’ve got off at the wrong tube station. Check over your shoulder for the spotters from the local mob and quickly head back to home turf.

However, if you stick it out on rival territory what you will find is a knowledgeable account of the experience of the football fan and the hooligan following their team home and away and being subjected to the heavy, prejudiced and uninformed hand of the police, media and the FA.

They try to explain that the catalyst that turns a fan into a hooligan can be an instantaneous and unexpected emotion rather than a predisposition and that hooligans and fans both care passionately about their club and its reputation; the difference being that one is on the field and the other is off it.

Their arguments are cogent and, despite their personal experiences, the authors are careful not to glorify the violence and, for every type of hooliganism they recollect, they also provide practical solutions to the problem that should embarrass those promoting knee-jerk reactions in today’s newspapers nearly 17 years later.

I’m reviewing a book written in 1996 under the lights of my 2012 Christmas tree, 2 months after the latest Hillsborough Enquiry found South Yorkshire Police largely culpable for the disaster, 6 weeks after one of my team’s fans shoved over an opposition goalkeeper in his own 6 yard box, the national team captain recently found guilty by the FA of racially abusing a fellow professional and racist abuse of players regularly in the headlines. It’s easy to conclude that much of the authors’ judgement of police, fans and the future of hooliganism is unerringly accurate. Which, given the enormous changes experienced by the game and its supporters since this book was written, is a significant achievement.

Of course, because it was written when the early-90s modernisation of the game was relatively fresh there are, what today may seem anachronistic views; longing for “male-dominated environment we grew up in and fell in love with” and a naïve view of what is and isn’t racist, but there is more than enough forward thinking elsewhere in the book to let these pass as “of-the-time”.

I haven’t yet read the rest of their series; I will in the New Year, confident that I may not agree with their opinion of fighting as a rite of passage nor the significance of the activities of football hooligans – my experience (as a fan of a notoriously supported team in the 70s and 80s) was that, for every fight there were 100 stand-offs where badly-dressed youths bounced around in front of opposing gangs, inviting them to a fight and backing off when they advanced, only for the scene to recur until everyone involved presumably got bored and went to the pub to exaggerate about it. But I will undoubtedly respect the knowledge and common-sense that the authors bring to the debate that they correctly predicted will continue to this day.

If only their judgement of what constitutes “the most famous diving header of all time” was as perceptive. Even up North we had TVs by the time of the 1972 FA Cup Final. No excuses.

 

Paul Gowland

Category: Reviews | 1 Comment on Book Review: Everywhere We Go – Hooligan Series Book One by Dougie and Eddy Brimson