Pitch Publishing – Page 11 – FOOTBALL BOOK REVIEWS (FBR)

Book Review: Is it Just Me or is Modern Football S**t? – An Encyclopaedia of Everything That is Wrong in the Modern Game by Jim Keoghan

Jim Keoghan is a freelance writer who has for over thirty years been an Everton supporter. He has written three books about his beloved Toffees, Highs, Lows & Bakayokos: Everton in the 1990s, Everton Greatest Games: The Toffees Fifty Finest Matches and Everton: Number Nine: Nine Players, One Iconic Shirt. In addition he has produced two other football titles, Punk Football: The Rise of Fan Ownership in English Football and How to Run a Football Club: The Story of Our National Game.

In May 2021, he added to his bibliography with Is it Just Me or is Modern Football S**t? – An Encyclopaedia of Everything That is Wrong in the Modern Game. Given his years supporting the side from Goodison Park he is old enough to remember football before the Premier League came into existence and gave us what we now regard as ‘The modern game’. Keoghan acknowledges though in the books Introduction, that, “for all its ills, the game today, at almost every level of the sport, is technically and tactically better than it was in the pre-1992 age”, but that, “there’s undoubtably a sense that modern football comes at a cost.”

This book lists on an A-Z basis a selection of those things as chosen by the author which challenge the reader to judge whether indeed Modern Football is S**t. Every aspect of the game comes in for scrutiny, whether that be the media, The FA, pundits and presenters, players, fans, competitions and the like. As a result amongst the pages there a number of the obvious panto-villains of the modern era such as VAR, half and half scarves, and the Champions League, as well as others such as the yearly introduction of new kits and the proliferation of betting sponsors.

However, the major overriding factor is the introduction of the Premier League and the Sky influence. Pundits at Sky and indeed BT get their comeuppance as Michael Owen, Tim Sherwood, Jamie Redknapp, Jamie Carragher and Steve McManaman all get called out by Keoghan. Whilst the increase in ticket prices and rise of Corporate Hospitality are also seen as unwelcome consequences of life post-1992 and a result of the influence of the satellite company.

Each of Keoghan’s entries are short and sharp with a mixture of tongue-in-cheek comedy and sarcastic sideswipes at what the ‘People’s Game’ has become and just keeps on the right side of not becoming too preachy. Not every reader will agree with his choices, as he states himself. However, it would be interesting to see what twenty-something fan of a Premier League club would make of it. As a reader of a similar age to Keoghan, this book resonated with me.

The Premier League has brought money sloshing into the game, but as the rich get richer, those further down the food chain have to increasingly survive on scraps and with it traditions and history, like the ‘Magic of the FA Cup’, are tarnished and side-lined for ever. With recent news of a proposal for a World Cup every two years instead of four, the rumble of the money machine continues its relentless march. Just another example of Everything That is Wrong in the Modern Game.

(Pitch Publishing. May 2021. Paperback 256 pages)

To find out more about Jim Keoghan visit his website: www.jimkeoghanwriter.wordpress.com

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Book Review: Andrew Watson, a Straggling Life: The Story of the World’s First Black International Footballer by Llew Walker

The first question that many people will ask in first picking up this book is, ‘who is Andrew Watson?’ Author Llew Walker addresses this in the Preface to this well researched and diverse read, with the following:

Andrew Watson is a sporting and cultural icon: a black footballer who succeeded despite the conventions and morals of Victorian society. He was a footballing pioneer when the love affair with the beautiful game was taking its first few steps. Yet, at the end of his career, when he fell from the public gaze, he disappeared and eventually became lost to history.

To describe Watson as a sporting icon may seem a very bold claim, but when you look at his list of accomplishments (verified by research undertaken by the Scottish Football Museum), then the statement is more than justified. This sees full-back Watson acknowledged as the first black player to:

Represent a British football team internationally
Captain an international football team
Play for the Scottish national team
Captain the Scottish national team
Win a major cup competition
Play in the English FA Cup
Hold the role of a football club administrator

So the question is then why did Watson and indeed his contemporaries vanish from the pages of football history? The author believes that it was essentially down to two main things, firstly, until recently, research into football was not seen as legitimate territory for scholarly research and secondly, Watson and his generation were all amateurs and as professionalism took over the game, so their code, their memory faded, and by 1975 The FA removed the word ‘amateur’ from their rule book.

Given this it is all the more remarkable that Walker is actually able to tell Andrew Watson’s story, but the author does acknowledge that, some interpretations have been made on the available facts. However, ultimately Walker hopes that, this book will inspire further research and discussion…and perhaps one day we will know all there is to know about the world’s first black international player. For now though, readers must content themselves with this book which does explore not only Andrew Watson’s life story, but also is a piece of social history.

In terms of format, following the Preface, there are eight chapters, with the book rounded off by Appendices which include Watson’s family tree and details of his playing record. The first two chapters, A Man of Colour and The Game, give an understanding of the climate in which Watson grew up in terms of the attitudes towards those of colour and the early years of Victorian Football and the rules that governed it. The remaining six chapters then focus on Watson, titled Origins, Education, Estate, Footballer, Mariner and Gentleman. These as their titles infer provide a look across Watson’s life in a wider sense, and not simply as a footballer.

Therefore, within Origins, readers get an insight into the Watson Family and his relatives, before moving onto a chapter focusing on his education and Watson’s progression to Glasgow University. Estate sees the twenty-one year old Watson receive his inheritance and invest in a wholesale warehouse business and latterly into Parkgrove Football Club, where his football story really begins and leads into the chapter aptly named Footballer.

This chapter covers ninety pages, the largest of the book, and follows his career and the clubs he played for in Scotland and England, including, Parkgrove, Maxwell, Queen’s Park, Bootle and Corinthians, with details also of his three appearances for Scotland, when his first against England in 1881 saw Watson captain the team. Author Walker is able to establish through press reports the skill and regard that Watson was held in as a player, both in Scotland and England. Indeed, the Scots were the innovators of the playing style of the time, and this saw the influx of players such as Fergus Suter (portrayed in the 2020 TV series The English Game) cross the border to change the way the game was played in England and contribute to the process of the ‘professionalisation’ of the game.

After ending his playing career at Bootle in 1888 Watson, having completed the required studies, took up a career as an engineer aboard various merchant ships, which necessitated long stretches of time away from his family. This part of Watson’s life is detailed in the chapter Mariner which surmised that he retired around 1905 in Liverpool. The final chapter Gentlemen, muses as to why Watson decided after retirement to move away from family and friends down to Kew in London, where he died in 1921. Walker also ponders in these final pages how Watson in being an absent father had affected the lives of his children, who themselves did not have any offspring with the family line seemingly coming to an end in 1975 with the death of Henry Tyler Watson.

Finally, there remains the question of the curious phrase, a straggling life, included in the title of the book. In the Preface Walker details how a newspaper article of 1888, reacting to Watson’s playing retirement had used the phrase, possibly with the implication that Watson had wasted his talents, but for Walker it was instead the inspiration for this accomplished book, as it suggested there was much more to the world’s first black footballer.

(Pith Publishing. February 2021. Hardback 256 pages)

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Book Review: Fierce Genius: Cruyff’s Year at Feyenoord by Andy Bollen

If you engaged a football fan in word association, throwing them the name ‘Johan Cruyff’, the most expected response would be ‘Ajax’, the club he successfully played and managed and with which he is most readily associated. You might also get a few replying ‘Holland’, ‘Total Football’ or ‘14’ the number famously worn by the Dutch legend, or even ‘Barcelona’, like Ajax a club he won honours with both as a player and coach. Some may even respond ‘turn’ as in the ‘Cruyff Turn’, which originated when he twisted Swedish defender Jan Olsson inside out during their World Cup game in 1974. What is highly unlikely is that any would be prompted to say ‘Feyenoord’ – the reason? Well, Cruyff’s farewell season in 1983/84, playing for the Rotterdam based club, despite the club winning the ‘double’ (Eredivisie and KNVB Cup), is largely forgotten about, amongst all else that Cruyff achieved. Andy Bollen’s Fierce Genius: Cruyff’s Year at Feyenoord, therefore, is a welcome window on this period about Amsterdam’s most famous footballing son.

In terms of the format of the book, Bollen does not simply focus on that campaign back in the early 1980s but provides a wider view as he looks across Cruyff’s career as player and coach in Holland, Spain and in America, as well as portraying something of his character and temperament. This means that the triumphant season at Feyenoord, is dealt with in just six chapters (out of thirty-one), with five focusing on the league matchdays and one detailing the Cup win. The emphasis of these six chapters is very much around match detail with description of the major incidents of the games, drawn it feels from the many videos available on YouTube, and incidentally well worth a watch to fully appreciate the genius of Cruyff. If there is a disappointment it is that those chapters on that season don’t contain more interviews and opinions from that campaign, whether that be coaches, players, administrators, fans or the media, to get more reflection and insight on an incredible achievement. Indeed it is not really until the final chapter, that more context is provided on the events of the 1983/84 Eredivisie.

However, that aside, this is a very informative and readable portrayal which Bollen relates with humour and as it evident from the writing, from the authors position as a fan of Cruyff. The chapters woven around the 1983/84 season take the reader from Cruyff the boy growing up in Amsterdam, through his first playing spell at the De Meer Stadion from 1964 to 1973, his five year stint in Spain with Barcelona, brief sojourns in the USA playing in the NASL and Spain with Levante, before a second spell at Ajax in which Cruyff delivered leagues titles in 1981/82 and in the following season. At the end of that campaign, in which Ajax also won the Cup, Cruyff was 36 and the expectation was that he would get a further one-year deal and retire at the club.

However, as Bollen details, this didn’t come to pass and instead Cruyff made the forty-odd miles journey from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, joining Ajax’s bitterest rivals, Feyenoord, capturing the ‘double’ for De Trots van Zuid and winning Dutch Footballer of the Year for himself. Once he retired from playing, Cruyff showed that his genius wasn’t just restricted to playing as coaching roles at Ajax and Barcelona brought national and European success taking and developing ‘Total Football’ to a new level, with his influence today seen for example in the managerial style of Pep Guardiola and a lasting legacy on the youth set-up and systems at both de Godenzonen and Barça.

For all the positives that Cruyff brought to the game, Bollen is balanced in acknowledging that the Dutchman had his faults and weaknesses. For instance, not everyone was comfortable with Cruyff’s continual drive for perfection or his stubbornness and sometimes forthright views, whether on or off the pitch, aimed at teammates, coaches, the media and football administrators alike. Indeed, Bollen recognises that this side of his character was undoubtedly instrumental in Cruyff lose a captaincy vote by the Ajax squad in 1973 and was no doubt influential in him not becoming coach of the Dutch national side.

The nearest Cruyff got to being an international manager was his time from 2009 to 2013 when he was in charge of Catalonia and which turned out to be his last job in the game. Sadly, Cruyff lost his battle with lung cancer and died on 24 March 2016 – the Fierce Genius was gone. He will though be remembered as long as football is played.

If you look at the greatest players in history, most of them couldn’t coach. If you look at the greatest coaches in history, most of them were not great players. Johan Cruyff did both – and in such an exhilarating style. (Former Ajax and Dutch international Johan Neeskens)

(Pitch Publishing. February 2021. Hardback 288 pages)

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Book Review: Football’s Fifty Most Important Moments by Ben Jones and Gareth Thomas

Choosing fifty moments that define football seems generous enough on the face of it, but when it comes down to a sport that has been in existence for over 150 years, things aren’t quite so clear-cut. So, hats off to Ben Jones and Gareth Thomas – writers of ‘The Football History Boys blog’ – for taking on this challenge – and the inevitable questions and debates that will follow – in their book Football’s 50 Most Important Moments.

As the title suggests, the book aims not to map the greatest or best moments in the course of the beautiful game, but those moments that have shaped the sport and made it what it is, but as the authors highlight, “the list of 50 moments will no doubt be different for each and every individual”, so whilst the book tries to give a comprehensive history of the key moments in the game, these are, naturally, open to opinion.

The book begins in 1857 and is split into eras right through to 2018 and the introduction of VAR – certainly one of the most important moments in modern football – and arguably far from the greatest! Along the way, the fifty moments take in everything, from World Cups to World Wars, hooliganism to the Hand of God, flitting between domestic and national scenes to continental and international, encompassing individuals and teams and covering both tragedy and victory. Chapters are short and don’t become too prosaic and readers can easily opt to read the book from cover to cover or just pick and choose chapters of note to dip into. The authors also provide references for further reading, but, if I’m being, ultra-picky, I did find the footnotes on each page a bit of an annoyance and would have preferred them all collated at the back of the book, but that’s a minor quibble.

In terms of the selection of the fifty moments themselves, readers are likely to be familiar with at least some of them, but even those that are familiar are detailed well and may offer up new information. I also found a number of moments that I’d heard of or knew in passing but which the book offered further explanation on, as well as a couple of moments that were entirely new to me. In general, though, most of the fifty moments are likely to be familiar to some degree, but I suspect even the most learned football fan will pick up some nuggets of information, even if it’s only the fact that the Man City megastore ran out of the letter O after Aguero’s Premier-League-winning goal in 2012 and Martin Tyler’s iconic ‘Aguerooooo’ (is that the right number of O’s? It’s easy to see how they ran out) commentary. What is striking about this history of football is the extent to which it is interwoven with tragedy – all of which have left indelible marks on the game and it is fitting that these are remembered.

Whilst some of the fifty moments are unquestionable – the formation of the FA; the first World Cup – as the authors had outlined, the choices are subjective, and there were a few that I wasn’t entirely convinced by, especially some of the later inclusions, such as that of the 1998 World Cup and latterly Zidane’s headbutt, both of them undeniably memorable, but the most important, I’m not sure. Similarly, there were a few moments conspicuous by their absence, and, in particular, whilst the roots of women’s football are acknowledged, further mentions of the women’s game, and especially its rise in recent decades, are excluded, even in a section of Honourable Mentions that adds a further ten moments that just missed the top fifty. For me, a chapter on the first Women’s World Cup or the formation of The FA Women’s Super League would warrant inclusion above either the 1998 World Cup or Zidane’s headbutt, and Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ would trump ‘Agueroooo’s goal – although I suspect Man City fans would think otherwise. Such debates just go to show how tricky is the task the authors faced, but it’s also really interesting and thought-provoking. For instance, whilst both England’s 1966 World Cup victory and Manchester United’s Treble are included, in terms of football as a whole and as a global game, just how important would these moments be judged elsewhere? Would Real Madrid’s La Decima (tenth winning of the European Cup/Champions League) be prioritised in a more global view or Indonesia’s appearance as the first Asian team at a World Cup in 1938? Again, such questions simply prove that there is no such thing as a definitive list of the most important footballing moments, but Jones and Thomas do an admirable job of getting the ball rolling. In providing their selections, the authors have created a book that not only brings their chosen moments to the fore but also encourages discussion of others. In shining a spotlight on certain moments in football history, the book also paradoxically brings others to light as it engages readers to consider the selections and weigh up the inclusions and exclusions. Football’s Fifty Most Important Moments is thus an informative read, but, more crucially, a thought-provoking one.

Jade Craddock

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Book Review – British Football’s Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues by Mike Bayly

Although published at the end of 2020, this book started its journey way back in 2013 emanating from an idea by Mike Bayly, who wanted to create, as he outlines in the Introduction, “a bucket list, a holy grail…of the top 100 British football grounds to visit”. He decided that the best way to determine this was to put the vote out to the general public via a blog, that was publicised by amongst others, The FA and the Football Supporters’ Federation as well as countless publications and podcasts.

The voting closed in January 2014 with the blog receiving nearly 16,000 visits from across the globe, eliciting nominations for over 300 grounds, from which the hundred must popular was formed. Bayly’s next task, and no mean feat given it was all done on public transport, was to visit the venues, which took him six years. This saw the self-confessed “football ground enthusiast” travel across Britain, from the depths of south-west England, through the valleys of South Wales, to the extremities of north-east Scotland, taking in modern Premier League stadiums and amateur venues alike.

From these visits, and countless miles in all weathers, the author has created the text which accompany each chapter. These words provide an insight into the grounds history as well details about the club or clubs that played at the venue. This content is then complemented by page after page of stunning images of the venues from a range of photographers.

Griffin Park, former home of Brentford FC

However, this is not some ‘coffee-table book’ merely for decoration, this is an important work which records both a snapshot of a point in time, as well as a change in football venues as the game itself continues to evolve. This is acknowledged by the fact that in addition to the one hundred venues, there is a ‘ghost’ section, which details stadiums that were in use back in 2013 (and voted into the top 100), but have subsequently been decommissioned, including the former homes of Boston United, Brentford, West Ham United and York City. These wonderfully atmospheric, but now ‘lost’ grounds, illustrate the pressures that have come to bear on clubs and will continue to do so.

Nostalgia is no longer enough to ensure that clubs remain at a particular venue or retain historic stands and features, with economics now often at the heart of many decisions. For those non-league clubs either in the National League System pyramid or hoping to move into it, ground grading dictates what is needed, which can cause clubs to have to drastically modernise their facilities or in some cases even require a move from their historic home. Premier League clubs are not exempt either, as clubs trying to compete with those in larger stadiums and generating greater matchday revenue, look to increase their stadium capacity and update facilities, again either requiring major surgery to exiting venues or a move away.

So, savour while you can the venues listed.

This is a book to be enjoyed and absorbed – one that will have you eagerly turning the pages in anticipation, as each gem of a venue is uncovered. Whether your club is listed or not, this is a publication you will want to get hold of, to appreciate the varied glory of the most rudimentary venues through to the most modern facilities that there is to offer.

(Pitch Publishing Ltd. November 2020. Hardback 290 pages)

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Interview with Mike Bayly author of British Football’s Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues

Mike Bayly describes himself on his Twitter profile (@Mike_Bayly) as, “History enthusiast. Contributor to @wsc_magazine Amateur photographer and writer. Quirky ground lover.” And all these attributes have been brought together in his latest project, British Football’s Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues. Following the publication of the book which has received much critical acclaim, FBR caught up with the author.

Football Book Reviews (FBR): Can you tell us what were your first football memories?

Mike Bayly (MB): Like most children, I played football at school and in parks as soon as I was old enough to kick a ball. The first televised game I clearly remember watching was the 1986 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Everton, followed by my first major tournament, Mexico ‘86, shortly afterwards. In 1987, I attended my first live game, seeing Hereford United beat Hartlepool United 4-0 at Edgar Street in the old Division Four. Football quickly became an obsession after that, and I was never happier than when pouring after the results and tables in the ‘Sports Argus’, the local results newspaper for the West Midlands.

FBR: Do you have a team you specifically support?

MB: Growing up in the West Midlands, I occasionally watched Hereford United and Shrewsbury Town, but Kidderminster Harriers were my first love. Harriers were then a very successful non-League side, winning the 1986-87 FA Trophy. I spent many happy years at Aggborough and still have a framed photo from when I was mascot against Maidstone United in 1988.

When I moved to Sheffield for university in 1994, it was much harder to attend games and I lost touch with the club. While it may be anathema to most fans, I tend to gravitate towards clubs where I live, and as a resident of the Steel City, would probably describe myself as a fan of local football than of a specific team. While I consider myself a casual follower of Sheffield Wednesday, the club I probably watch more than any other is Hallam FC of the Northern Counties East League, albeit only a few times a season. Most Saturdays I tend to be out photographing random grounds and have long passed the point where I can claim a specific allegiance.

FBR: Changing Ends: A Season in Non-League Football was your first football book. What was the driving force for writing it?

MB: During the first decade of the 2000s, I grew increasingly disillusioned with football and hadn’t watched a non-League game in years. For reasons I don’t entirely recall, I attended what was effectively the Conference South title decider between Hampton & Richmond Borough and AFC Wimbledon in April 2009. It was a fantastic experience and made me question whether the charge that football had ‘lost its soul’ could be so readily applied to non-League football. I decided to spend the 2009-10 season watching different non-League clubs, interviewing fans and committee members for their take on the modern game. This included trips to London APSA, a leading Asian club, and the fan-owned AFC Liverpool. It was through this journey I rediscovered my love of football and became aware of the invaluable and unsung work volunteers do, who, in my opinion, are the real heroes of our national game.

FBR: Do you think this book has even more relevance today?

MB: In some respects, yes. Professional football has become even more commercialised and expensive to watch in the last decade and will presumably continue on a similar trajectory. There have long been examples of fans finding refuge in the non-League game as it offers an affordable and more traditional matchday experience. Interestingly, a by-product of the pandemic is that fans desperate for live football have turned out in record numbers at non-League grounds. Here in Sheffield, interest in Hallam FC spiked prior to the latest lockdown. For a league game against Brigg Town, the Covid-restricted ticket allocation of 150 sold out in two minutes.

A number of those attending would ordinarily be watching Sheffield Wednesday or Sheffield United, and it would be naïve to assume ticket demand will remain the same once things return to normal. However, it is interesting to note that many fans watching non-League football for the first time loved the experience and vowed to continue doing so even when restrictions lift. At places like Hallam, you can watch the game and have a couple of pints for £10. The quality of football might not be the same as in the Football League or Premier League, but as an overall experience I suspect it will remain highly appealing in a financially uncertain post-Covid world.

FBR: What is the inspiration for your latest book, British Football’s Greatest Grounds: One Hundred Must-See Football Venues?

There were two main reasons I decided to write the book after the idea came to me in 2013.

Firstly, I’ve always enjoyed visiting new grounds, but, as I’m sure is the case with a lot of people, social and work commitments can restrict opportunities to do so. There were numerous ground guides available in print and on the internet, but, to the best of my knowledge, nothing that provided a shortlist of our must-see venues. Providing some guidance or suggestions in the form of a ‘bucket list’ might be useful for those fans with limited free time who wanted to be more selective with their football trips.

And secondly, I thought it would be a fun and rewarding project to carry out. Which it certainly proved to be.

FBR: Do you have a favourite ground and why?

MB: Like music albums, I think my choice of favourite ground changes with my mood or interest at a given time. However, there are three grounds that will always occupy a place near the top:

Cappielow (Greenock Morton) – A timeless football ground with old stands, large open terracing, evocative floodlights and an industrial titan crane for backdrop.
Bellslea Park (Fraserburgh) – The 1920s main stand. The imposing Victorian church behind the ground. The harbour views. Quite wonderful.
Cadbury Recreation Ground (Cadbury Athletic) – Part of the Bournville Model Village laid out by the Cadbury brothers in the late 19th/early 20th century. Complete with Edwardian Pavilion, the Cadbury Recreation Ground is in Birmingham but not of it. A utopian place to watch football.

FBR: Do you think the unique grounds will survive or is there an inevitability about standardisation where clubs are in the football pyramid?

MB: The football ground landscape in Britain has changed behind recognition in the past 30 years. I suspect there are five man drivers for this.

The recommendations laid out in the Taylor Report that compelled many professional clubs to upgrade their ageing grounds to all-seater and improve safety.
The increased cost of competing at the highest level, resulting in numerous out-of-town ground relocations. Some ground moves are made from necessity (Shrewsbury Town relocated from the beautiful Gay Meadow partly because of constant flooding) but other new builds appear to be driven solely by the desire to capitalise on land value and/or increase revenue.
The desire to replace old structures with newer, more comfortable facilities that enable other revenue streams such as bars, hotels or conference suites.
More stringent ground grading standards in the non-league pyramid (I reference this specifically in the last part of the Richmond Town section of my latest book)
Greater fluidity in the non-League pyramid (not least automatic promotion to the Football League and play-off places in the tiers below) resulting in a greater number of aspirational clubs replacing older structures or moving to new facilities.

Taking this as a whole, I fear it is a case of when, not if, our oldest or most unique grounds will cease to exist. The Boleyn Ground, Griffin Park and Bootham Crescent have been lost in the last few years and based on current planning discussions, it’s only a matter of time before places like Goodison Park (Everton) or the Pilot Field (Hastings United) go the same way. Many other sacred venues have been the subject of relocation talk in the last decade. The fate of football grounds rests as much on the attitude and ambition of incumbent owners as anything else. I do worry that in the twilight of my life, ‘British Football’s Greatest Grounds’ will be more a document of what was, than what is.

FBR: How do you think COVID will shape football going forward?

MB: I think it’s very difficult to tell at present. Reduced capacity at stadiums could be in place until late 2021 or even 2022. In this eventuality, some fans might have gone 18-24 months without watching their clubs live. I imagine the vast majority of supporters will be desperate to watch their club play again, regardless of the wait. However, it’s more than feasible that some will drift away or find themselves in the habit of watching non-League football, assuming restrictions are lifted earlier that those in the Premier League or Football League. As for Covid’s impact on the actual ground layout or design, I don’t know. Making predictions on anything right now can be a fallacious exercise.

FBR: Many thanks for your time Mike. Good luck with the book!

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William Hill Sports Book Of The Year: 2020 Longlist announced

Now in its 32nd year, the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award is the world’s longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize.

First awarded in 1989, the award is dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing, and this year the prize for winning will be £30,000, with shortlisted authors receiving £3,000 cash and a leather-bound copy of their book.

The Longlist was announced on September 29 with fifteen books in the running, following a record 152 entries this year. This will then be whittled down to a shortlist on October 27, with the winner being announced at an awards ceremony on December 03 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The winner will be decided by a judging panel chaired by Alyson Rudd. Following Duncan Hamilton’s historic triple crown in 2019, organisers will be naming a new winner this time around – with no previous victors featured on the longlist.

Football is represented by two books, The Farther Corner by Harry Pearson and Out of the Darkness: From Top to Rock Bottom: My Story in Football – Matt Piper and Joe Brewin.

The full fifteen books in the longlist are as follows:

Born Fighter – Ruqsana Begum

Born Fighter is an inspirational account of how Ruqsana Begum battled against the odds to achieve her dream and become a Muay Thai world champion. Having to fight in secret as her Bangladeshi family would not allow her to participate, Ruqsana’s story is an inspirational tale of empowerment and how to overcome opposition to achieve your goal.

A People’s History of Tennis – David Berry

Going beyond Centre Court, David Berry’s A People’s History of Tennis reveals the hidden history of the game, providing a rich account of the challenges faced and victories won over the years. Scratch beneath the surface and there’s a different story about tennis to be told, one of untold struggles on and off the courts.

This is eSports (and how to spell it) – Paul Chaloner

Paul Chaloner’s This is eSports (and how to spell it) marks a first in the history of the William Hill Sports Book Of The Year award: a longlisted book on eSports. Chaloner takes you inside the unstoppable rise of professional gaming to reveal the bitter rivalries, scandals and the never-before-told history of eSports.

Where There’s a Will – Emily Chappell

In 2015, Emily Chappell embarked on a gruelling new bike race: The Transcontinental. 4,000km across Europe, unassisted, in the shortest time possible. This is Emily’s remarkable story – a compelling tale of transformation from courier to cross-continental bike racer, pushing herself to the limits of her endurance.

The World Beneath Their Feet – Scott Ellsworth

In the 1930s, contingents from Great Britain, Germany and the United States set up rival camps at the base of the Himalayas, seeking to become recognised as the fastest, strongest, and bravest climbers in the world. Scott Ellsworth’s The World Beneath Their Feet brings to life this unforgettable saga of survival and breath-taking human physical achievement set against the backdrop of a world headed towards war.

The Unforgiven – Ashley Gray

In the 1980s, 20 West Indian cricketers were paid more than $100,000 each to take part in rebel tours of apartheid South Africa. When they returned home to the Caribbean they were banned for life and shunned by their countrymen. This is their fascinating untold story from Ashley Gray.

Niki Lauda – Maurice Hamilton

Maurice Hamilton first came across Formula One legend Niki Lauda in 1971 and in this definitive biography tells his remarkable story. Based on interviews with friends, family, rival drivers and colleagues, it’s the most comprehensive and detailed biography of Lauda ever published.

Surf, Sweat and Tears – Andy Martin

Surf, Sweat and Tears tells the story of the epic life and mysterious death of Edward George William Omar Deerhurst, the son of the Earl of Coventry and an American ballerina who dedicated his life to becoming a professional surfer. Andy Martin guides us through the world of global surfing while revealing a dark side beneath the sun, sand and sea.

Fringes – Ben Mercer

Ben Mercer is a former rugby player turned writer and Fringes is Ben’s story about how it feels and what it means to play the sport for a living, to dedicate yourself to an uncompromising game. Ben brings to life what it’s like to be a professional athlete in the lower reaches of professional sport – where your employment status is as precarious as your health and barely anyone will know your name.

The Farther Corner – Harry Pearson

A generation on from writing The Far Corner – which was a vivid portrait of football in the north-east of England and of the people who bring such passion to it – Harry Pearson has returned to the region to discover how much things have changed and how much they have remained the same.

Out of the Darkness: From Top to Rock Bottom: My Story in Football – Matt Piper & Joe Brewin

Former Leicester and Sunderland winger Matt Piper retired aged 24, after 16 knee operations, and his life soon spiralled out of control, becoming dependent on alcohol and Valium. In Out of the Darkness: From Top to Rock Bottom: My Story in Football, Piper collaborates with deputy editor of FourFourTwo, Joe Brewin, to tell his extraordinary life story – one that brought about light after hitting rock bottom.

The Breath of Sadness: On Love, Grief & Cricket – Ian Ridley

When Ian Ridley’s wife died of cancer at the age of 56, he found himself plunged deep into a sadness. In an attempt to make sense of it all and seek some solace, he embarks on a summer of watching county cricket. The Breath of Sadness is an unflinching account of how we carry on when we are left behind, and a poignant exploration of love and loss.

The Rodchenkov Affair – Grigory Rodchenkov

In 2015, Russia’s Anti-Doping Centre was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency following revelations of an elaborate state-sponsored doping programme at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The programme was masterminded by Grigory Rodchenkov who, in the The Rodchenkov Affair, tells us the whole story.

Mud, Maul, Mascara – Catherine Spencer

Catherine Spencer was the captain of the England women’s rugby team for three years – all while holding down a full-time job because the women’s team, unlike the men’s, did not get paid for their efforts. Mud, Maul, Mascara is Catherine’s story, showing the woman behind the international sporting success.

The Russian Affair – David Walsh

David Walsh’s The Russian Affair is the true story of the couple who uncovered one of the greatest sporting scandals: the unearthing of Russian athletics’ institutionalised doping. Walsh reveals the full truth of what went on in Russia, but also via a warm and human story of a couple fighting to tell the truth and to save their family at the same time.

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Book Review: Yer Joking Aren’t Ya? – The Story of Middlesbrough’s Unforgettable 1996/97 Season by Tom Flight

On 23 June 2020, Jonathan Woodgate, the third Middlesbrough FC manager in as many years, became the latest managerial casualty at the Riverside, with perennial stalwart Neil Warnock brought in to steer the Boro’ ship out of a relegation battle, which, at the time of writing, is still undecided. But whilst Middlesbrough’s recent campaign and fate are nothing to write home about, it was a very different story in the mid-90s when Boro seemingly looked to be at the start of something special, and it is this period of both promise and eventual disappointment that lifelong Middlesbrough fan Tom Flight reflects on in Yer Joking Aren’t Ya?

The book specifically picks up the story of the 1996/97 season, following the arrival of new chairman Steve Gibson, player-manager Bryan Robson, and a move from their home of 92 years, Ayresome Park, to the forerunner of the modern stadia, the Riverside. It was a season that began on a wave of optimism and ambition, with a team of colourful characters, but proved ultimately to be amongst the most topsy-turvy of campaigns in Boro’s history, ending in their relegation. Flight tells the story of this turbulent season through chapters dedicated to each month of the campaign, giving an overview of the matches and results, which are paired with accompanying chapters which focus on a specific game from each month that was pivotal to Boro’s season. It is a great format that lends itself to avoiding getting bogged down in unnecessary details whilst allowing more in-depth accounts of the moments that matter, and as such it offers a thorough but lively commentary, and Flight’s writing is always engaging and interesting.

Naturally, Flight starts in August 1996, in a game against Liverpool that marked the start of Boro’s epic season and the arrival of the mercurial Fabrizio Ravanelli – perhaps one of the most iconic figures of the North-East club for fans at large. Indeed, if you remember nothing else about Middlesbrough, you most likely remember the silver-haired marksman and his pint-sized Brazilian playmate, Juninho – the two players who featured most notably that season, for better and worse, and that consequently feature most heavily in this book.

The overview chapters are helpfully and ingeniously supplemented at the start by snapshots of Middlesbrough’s position in the table, which in themselves give a sense of the buoyancy at the outset and Boro’s steady decline. Whilst the chapters flesh out the incredible details of a largely forgotten campaign for those not associated with the Boro’ red, including the disappearance mid-season of Brazilian midfielder Emerson, who struggled to settle with his wife in the North-East, and the notorious Friday 20 December date that is etched in Boro’ minds for a virus sweeping through the squad that led to the postponement of their game against Blackburn and the eventual docking of three points that would have made the difference to Boro’s Premier League survival.

Against this backdrop, though, there are moments of real success and achievement, both collectively, with the club reaching not only one but two cup finals – the very first in their history – albeit coming out second-best each time – and individually, most notably for Brazilian wunderkind, Juninho, who has become synonymous with the club and one of those players who is generally admired across the football fraternity. Not only did Juninho scoop a Player of the Month award but also Premier League Player of the Year in that chaotic season – the only player to do so for Middlesbrough, the only Brazilian to do so and one of only five players to do so outside of the big hitters of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, not to mention the fact of doing so in a relegated team. He is rightly revered on Teesside and had that 1996/97 season not come to a crushing end with relegation, one really has to wonder how things may have turned out for Juninho’s Premier League career, for the league and Middlesbrough itself. Who knows, as this mad 2019/20 campaign comes to an end, instead of contemplating Boro’s Championship survival, we may have seen a team continuing the legacy of Juninho pushing at the right end of the Premier League, with Ravanelli as manager and Emerson happily retired in Teesside. After all, going on the 1996/97 season as Tom Flight’s book recounts it, stranger things have happened for the team from the North-East, and the author offers a memorable and enjoyable account of that most surreal of seasons in the history of Middlesbrough Football Club.

(Pitch Publishing Ltd. April 2020. Hardback 224pp)

Jade Craddock

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Book Review: A Tournament Frozen in Time – The Wonderful Randomness of the European Cup Winners’ Cup by Steven Scragg

The European Cup Winners’ Cup (ECWC) competition came into being in the 1960/61 season, and as its title suggests qualification was attained by being the winners of a countries domestic cup. Despite its creation after the first European Cup competition in 1955/56 and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup which also began in 1955 (before it morphed into the UEFA Cup in 1971/72) and therefore being the youngest of the three competitions, it was though seen as the next most prominent after the European Cup. It continued until the 1998/99 season with the final playing of the tournament between SS Lazio and RCD Mallorca at Villa Park, home of Aston Villa, the last of the 39 Finals.

If Willy Wonka did football tournaments, then it would undoubtedly be the ECWC, a competition that was a fabulous mix of the eccentric, the magical, the unexpected and the sometimes bizarre, which is brilliantly captured in Steven Scragg’s book, A Tournament Frozen in Time – The Wonderful Randomness of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Rather than take the chronological route within the book, Scragg creates chapters which look at the history of the competition in terms of the countries or regions that took part in the ECWC, so for instance, Italian clubs participation is captured within the chapter titled, Forza Italia, whilst Robbie and the Purple and Whites, Plus Other Adventures Through the Low Countries, looks at how the sides from Belgium and the Netherlands fared during the thirty-nine seasons of the tournament. The exception are those which look at the 1980/81 campaign, Everton’s triumph in 1984/85 and Sir Alex Ferguson’s two cup wins with Aberdeen (1982/83) and Manchester United (1990/91). What this allows is that the story of the ECWC is able to be told in its own right, but also intertwined to the wider footballing context, so that its relationship with both the European Cup (and later the Champions League) as well as the UEFA Cup is presented.

What the reader is also given are stories that justify part of the author’s subtitle for the book, The Wonderful Randomness. Even from its inaugural season, there was something ‘different’ about the ECWC, in that for that 1960/61 the Final between Fiorentina and Rangers, was played over two-legs and was never to be repeated with all subsequent Finals a one-off at a neutral venue. Additionally, the trophy presented to the first winners, Fiorentina, was replaced by a different design for the remainder of the tournaments existence. Unlike the other two European competitions, there was never a period during which a team came back and was able to successfully defend the trophy and indeed never had a Final in which both sides were from the same country. It was a tournament littered with teams from all corners of Europe, some unlikely due to the current UEFA formats, ever to get near a European tournament again.

But readers may ask, if this was such a wonderful competition, why was it ended? Scragg addresses this by detailing how the change in status of the European Cup to the Champions League, was part of the process, as was the breakup of the former Communist bloc, necessitating the introduction of a Preliminary Round to the competition, as well the fact that attendances for the Finals were invariably poor. This included just 3,208 witnessing the 1963/64 Final in Brussels, 4,641 for the 1973/74 Final in Rotterdam and in 1992/93, just 37,393 strewn around the ‘old’ Wembley in its 100,000 capacity days, as Parma beat Royal Antwerp.

As a football fan, my view is that the demise can be traced back to when the so called ‘big-clubs’ in Europe, unhappy with the European Cup knock-out format, wanted a change so that they would be not only be part of an expanded tournament but of one bringing increased TV revenues. For me, there is nothing special, season-on-season, of another Champions League tie featuring Barcelona v Real Madrid (or indeed any combination of the repeat qualifiers) and as for the farce of the 2018/19 Final in which neither of the finalists (Liverpool and Spurs) had won the League – well just don’t get me started. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the greed and money that has infested our game both at home and abroad and at the cost of the romance that the ECWC gave us, such as Italian giants Napoli up against the Welsh minnows Bangor City in 1962, in a tie which required a replay in a time before the away-goals rule was introduced. That game is though just one of the many wonderful stories to be found within the pages of Scragg’s homage to the tournament.

What more can be said? Well, to paraphrase the words of Willy Wonka, “If you want to view paradise, simply look at this book and view it.” It is without doubt a wonderfully researched and written book and is a rightful nominee in The Telegraph Sports Books Awards 2020 (within the football category), and is a must read for anybody wanting to discover about a lost treasure in the football world or for those of us of a certain age, a most magical trip down memory lane.

(Pitch Publishing Ltd. September 2019. Hardback 288pp)

Category: European Cup Winners Cup, Reviews | 1 Comment

Book Review: Out of the Shadows – The Story of the 1982 England World Cup Team by Gary Jordan

For many football fans in England, the 1982 World Cup in Spain is simply remembered for the fact the Three Lions were eliminated from the tournament despite not losing a game: a footnote, nothing more than a pub quiz question. However, there is so much more to this oft repeated simplistic one-line memory of England at the 12th Copa del Mundo Finals.

Author Gary Jordan, could have simply gone down the route of writing about the games that Ron Greenwood’s squad took part in during that summer of 1982, but has instead provided a well-researched and in-depth look at providing a story that leads all the way back to the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico. By taking the reader back to that Quarter-Final tie when as World Cup holders England surrended a two-goal lead to West Germany, Jordan pinpoints the start of a period in the international football wilderness for the English National team. Jordan continues in the opening chapter his exploration of England’s fall from grace with the detailing of the infamous 1-1 draw at Wembley against Poland, which effectively sealed Sir Alf Ramsey’s fate, as England failed to qualify for the 1974 Finals in West Germany, and the Don Revie era, tainted by his defection to the United Arab Emirates, with England once again missing out on World Cup qualification, this time to Argentina in 1978.

With Revie gone, Ron Greenwood takes the reigns in 1977 with the aim of ensuring qualification for the 1980 European Championship Finals in Italy and the 1982 World Cup Finals in Spain and in doing so, hopefully restore some pride in the Three Lions. This mission for the ex-West Ham United supremo then is explored by Jordan, who skilfully details the changing face of the playing squad as it navigates qualification for the 1980 Campionato Europeo di Calcio in Italy. England qualified for the Finals, after going unbeaten in a group which contained, Bulgaria, Denmark, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland and travelled to Italy with high expectations. However, against a backdrop of English hooliganism on the terraces and dull defensive football on the pitch, England missed out on progression to the knock-out phase, after a draw with eventual runners-up Belgium, a 1-0 loss to hosts Italy and a 2-1 win over Spain.

However, Greenwood now had the task of ensuring qualification for a World Cup for the first time in 12 years and with a draw that saw England in a group with Hungary, Norway, Romania and Switzerland, the English Press were planning their Spanish sojourn even before a ball had been kicked, given what they perceived was an easy group. Younger England fans familiar only with the ease of qualification that Gareth Southgate’s team have enjoyed for the 2018 World Cup and 2021 European Finals, will find the chapters in this book detailing the group games during 1980 and 1981, bordering on the unbelievable, as Jordan describes England stumbling over the finishing line to reach Espana ’82, including at one point the intended resignation by Greenwood and the lows of the losses (all on the road and all by the same score-line 2-1) to Romania, Switzerland and Norway.

However, with qualification achieved, the book turns its attention to the preparation for the tournament and almost has a real-time feel to it as the provisional 40-man squad is whittled down to the final 22 and the last friendlies are played, before the actual tournament itself. Jordan continues though to provide some great insights into the issues in and around the camp during the tournament, with England playing against the backdrop of the Falklands War, concerns about the behaviour of English supporters and the injury struggles of England’s key-players, Kevin Keegan, and Trevor Brooking. History tells us that the Three Lions finished top of their group after wins against France, Czechoslovakia, and Kuwait and went into the second group-stage with hosts Spain and West Germany, where only the winners would progress to the Semi-Finals. England drew 0-0 with the Germans and went into the Spain game knowing that they had to win to have any chance of progressing. With a third of the game remaining and the score 0-0, Greenwood threw on Keegan and Brooking in the hope of pulling off a miracle. It wasn’t to be, but as every good pub-quizzer knows England bowed out undefeated and Greenwood having done what he set out to achieve, made way for Bobby Robson.

There is a useful statistic section included which details the qualifications for the 1982 Finals and the games in Spain itself. A nice touch is the biographies of the 18 players who made the provisional squad, but were cut from the final 22, some never to get near an England Cap or indeed an England squad ever again.

This book just is not just about a largely ignored time in England’s footballing past but tells the tale of football as a whole from a different era, whether this be the coverage it now receives, the preparation squads now have or the globalisation of the sport. As an example looking at the number of teams participating in major competitions then and now shows the growth in just under forty-years. In Italy for the 1980 European Championship Finals, there were just 8 teams in a tournament which lasted only 11 days, the now rescheduled 2021 equivalent, will see 24 teams contest the title over the period of a month. The World Cup too has seen not only the format change, but as with the European Finals a rise in the numbers qualifying for the showpiece event. Spain 1982 saw a 24 team tournament, whist Qatar in 2022, will see 32 countries take part and talk from FIFA of further expansion in future.

Jordan does in this book indeed bring the England team of this era, Out of the Shadows, in an honest reflection of the work manager Ron Greenwood did in a difficult period for the National team. A book for those who remember that time and for younger readers to appreciate the history of the Three Lions.

(Pitch Publishing Ltd. October 2017. Paperback 320pp)

Category: Reviews | 3 Comments