‘A Lover’s Guide to Football Shirts’

‘A Lover’s Guide to Football Shirts’ Written by Neal Heard

Published by ‘A Lovers Guide Publishing’ 2016

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This was again a Charity Shop find and what a find. Neal Heard has put together a book about football shirts that was 25 years in the making in his head. He had intended to write a book about the development and history of football shirts back to footballs inception but it has turned out to be his personal view of a subject he feels passionate about. It starts in the mid 1960’s when he explains that the viewing of football became a worldwide phenonium due to more televised games even if some were in black and white.

It is fascinating how the sports brands took over football shirts and tried for domination through changing styles, designs and the use of their own name and logo’s to further this cause. From the clubs getting income from the shirt brands came the bigger income stream of sponsorship on shirts. Football shirts have also been used to push political allegiances but the thing that came through to me was the designs that represented the times in which they were worn. Some have become iconic and hugely collectable and Neal points out that this is sometimes not due to the shirt but a specific game, season or individual.

Neal has also written a new book on shirts in 2017 and had previously published ‘Trainers’ in 2003.

Neal is perhaps one of the most knowledgeable people on football design and culture and is best described by himself on his Twitter feed.

“Brand Consultant – Pop Culture Historian – Author of: Trainers’ & ‘The Football Shirts Book – A Connoisseurs Guide’ – I’m not as boring as I make myself sound.”

To pick the best ever football shirts is all very subjective and everyone will have their own favourites often on partisan lines depending on who they support. The book made me think what my three favourites are and I have chosen the following.

No.1 Juventus

I perhaps should have chosen Real Madrid’s all white strip of the 1960’s but to me the Juventus strip was top. This non branded, non logoed shirt states that they are Italian and the vertical stripes gave their players stature that reflected their no nonsense style of play. To me this says we are who we are.

No2 Huddersfield Town FC away kit !991/92

Huddersfield Town 1991/92 away strip is in Neal’s book. It just says to me flair, different, lets just be fun. Also worn in Disco’s of the time.

Classic Football Shirts | 1991 Huddersfield Town Old Vintage Soccer Jerseys

No 3 Aston Villa home and away kit 1993/94

Excuse me an indulgence in picking a season for my third choice Aston Villa’s 1993/94 season of which the black red and green one was my favourite. The claret and blue one will be remembered for Villa’s 3-1 League cup final win over Manchester United and the amazing semi final two legged 4-4 draw and a victory through penalties. The Villa fans at Wembley were in good spirits and put their more fancied rivals in the shade, this was brought to a higher level when they noticed Gary Shaw sitting amongst them just two rows down from me. As Gary Gary Shaw rang out he stood and waved to his adoring fans and all seemed good. Villa never looked back as the silky smooth Dalian Atkinson loped through on the right for the lead.

For me the most memorable part of the game was with the final whistle a bunch of jubilant fans went off on a Conga but with my ten year old son on one of their shoulders. My fear of how I would explain that I had lost her son to my separated wife was banished when in great spirits they returned him some minutes later.

Aston Villa 1994 Away shirt | Aston Villa FC Retro Jersey | Score Draw

Great book Neal, great memories.

‘Paying on the Gate’

‘Paying on the Gate’ by Jason McKeown

Published in 2011 by Peakpublish

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With the blog named ‘payonthegate’ I couldn’t resist this book. It was not my usual charity shop find and I had to pay over the cover price to get a copy.

The book is about a schoolboy Manchester United fan who has little if no chance of ever getting a ticket for Old Trafford and by chance gets to go to Bradford City then in the championship. He is immediately smitten and embarks on a journey into the Premiership and then a quick decline to end up in league 2. This roller coaster of the clubs journey, that includes near death experiences for the clubs finances, is mirrored by Ian’s schoolboy to college, to Uni, to looking for a job, finally getting a job he enjoys, girlfriends to marriage all in a little over 10 years.

It is breathless but shows how the passion for your team grips you and determines your mood and life. It was worth paying over the odds for it and I applaud Ian’s frankness in the writing. Supporting your local team through thick and thin is certainly not boring and is more rewarding than clicking up trophy win after trophy win with a team you will never experience the physical relationship with the club.

Jason has written some of the history of the club since but again the prices seem too harsh for me so I will not follow that up. I wish Jason well and Bradford City who are now down there at the foot of League 2 with a very real danger of dropping into the National League. Their near neighbours Halifax will attest to the difficulty of getting out of that League.

There are green shoots of optimism out there too.

More than ten years ago I went to a local. evening game at Glapwell in Northern Derbyshire very close to the Nottinghamshire border. It is one of a cluster of town’s and villages in this part of Derbyshire that grew up due to local pits which are today almost impossible to find any trace of apart from symbolic statues or artefacts to a long lost hard, dangerous and often tragic life.

Glapwell is straddled on either side of the A617 midway between Chesterfield and Mansfield, It’s population today hovers around 1500 and like those other villages/town’s is coming to terms with proposed expansion of housing but without the increase in infrastructure and amenities to cope.

What’s this to do with football you ask. Well the local football team suddenly closed in 2009 and the ground, owned by the local Parish Council, has been sadly quiet since looking sadder by the day.

Glapwell football club had been a beacon for football in these parts rising in it’s history to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League Division One South. No mean feat for the size of the village. This eminence was surprising due to the bigger local villages of this part of Derbyshire, Bolsover, Clowne, Barlborough and Cresswell having no teams that have competed to this level or at all. The oposite to this is nearby Mansfield where a thriving group of non league teams play within a few miles of the centre.

When recently passing the ground I was surprised to find a notice of activity and to my joy research showed that I had missed the fact that the community have reformed the football club and are trying to get it up and running for all ages in the face of a world pandemic.

Their senior team have in fact been elected to the East Midlands League Division 1 North and are undefeated this season having only played two games because of the retrictions.

It’s great to see this club and community fighting back particularly in these hard times and when I can again resume my passion for lower league football I will make sure I see a match there.

Beaten by the Tiers

Although some parts of England will resume with varying levels of spectators in their football stadia, after lockdown 2, unfortunately I will be grounded because we are surrounded by Tier 3 restrictions and there are no local games in the area.

My season so far has been eight games which I have thoroughly enjoyed but I still fear for the many local teams that are unable to generate their usual income streams. There has been support some government but much of it is in the form of loans which if there is no income they cannot repay.

The positive note is that of the eight games it was a joy to see that volunteers had spent lockdown cleaning, painting and improving facilities. Some have laid synthetic pitches that will reduce postponements and can be used by youth teams and rented out for casual users. Like many businesses Non League teams have had to re-assess their payment of players and how to generate future income.

I have followed St Albans City mainly from afar for too many years and they have been a beacon of light to me this year. During the first prolonged lockdown their twitter feed kept me engrossed with some great clips of past games, history articles and updates on their volunteers work schedules. What was very interesting and perhaps a masterstroke was achieved before these pressing times hit them hard.

The well respected Ian Allinson was hired to manage the team in February 2016 after a strong career as a footballer and manager. He has made St Albans into an attractive side that has maintained their National League South status and this year are the only undefeated side in the upper levels of football. Their style of play has meant that even in defeat they have managed to maintain a good level of support that has been vital for income because their grounds position [Clarence Park] is in a very leafy housing area with limited parking which excludes them from generating a good income from the bar facilities that is the life blood of many of their peers. The owners have proposed two strong regeneration proposals to move the club and build housing to pay for the move but as yet they have not been able to get local council approval.

In July 2019 Ian was employed to update their commercial activities and what a transformation. Ian had not only gone into football management after his playing career ended but also carved out a successful commercial business career as well. There have been numerous new sponsorships and commercial activity and the masterstroke this season was their shirt sponsorship. The shirts have been sponsored by Enter Shikari the world famous St Albans based rock band. It has been fascinating to watch City’s twitter feed to see the football and band fans post their delight at owning the new strip, sometimes the second as well. Surely this must have generated good income.

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Image copied from St Albans City Shop

To have the football manager also responsible for income generation makes good sense, their commercial achievements can be reflected in the squad that is assembled.

St Albans’ YouTube and match streaming activities have generated extra income that can continue well into the future and give those that watch from afar a chance to keep in touch.

With a vaccine program within reach hopefully I will be able to make a pilgrimage to Clarence Park.

I can’t wait for football to return locally but I hope that any restrictions that apply will be actioned by the clubs. It was patchy at the best with Frickley Athletic being my exemplar of those I experienced.

Helicopter Dreams

Helicopter Dreams – the quest for the Holy Grail.

Written by Ron Ferguson, Published by Northern Books.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed ‘Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil’ by Ron Ferguson I looked into his other books and found two others that interested me. Firstly I read ‘The Reluctant Reformation of Clarence McGonigall’ from Steve Savage publishers 2003. This short (126 page) story about the last years of the Reverend J Clarence McGonigall MA BD in the Scottish Kirk. He rails against the church being taken over by marketing gurus who talk about customers and targets. His travails get him into trouble on lots of fronts but this grumpy, antagonistic man has a good heart and a great passion for what he believes. I won’t say more just buy the book and have a smile in a cosy chair by the fire with a wee dram.

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You will remember from my blog about ‘Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil’ that it was about Cowdenbeath FC and their disasterous season of 1992/93 when they were relegated having been promoted the year before. It was as much a social history of the club, the town, the religious and political scene and most importantly the players and people.

Well this is about the 2005/06 season which starts badly but the arrival of a manager from Finland transforms them into promotion battlers. This book is more about the games, team and past players as Ron Ferguson inducts ex players into his ‘Hall of Fame’. There is also some more local and family history. I do not want to give away the ending of the book but it’s a good read.

Reading all of the books Cowdenbeath has seeped into my conscioisness and I now have to check on their results. Perhaps one day I will visit.

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A new football experience for me.

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Missing the football experience I decided to watch a live streamed non league game. It was easy to chose one as St Albans City, unbeaten in the National League South, were playing away at the top team Dartford.

For £6.99 the game was good value although there were a few initial streaming issues. The fact that there was only one camera and no replays did need some adjustment. The commentary was also provided by Dartford supporters who didn’t seem to see the controversy of their penalty award midway through the second half although the disbelief from the St Albans players and a subsequent booking for arguing seemed to show a different side to the decision.

Charlie Sheringham’s penalty was magnificently palmed out by Michael Johnson diving to his right.

It all seemed to be playing out to a goalless draw when on 90 minutes Shaun Jeffers hit a 35 yard missile that hit the cross bar and bounced down and back into the net. This was almost identical to one he hit roughly ten minutes earlier that crashed back off the bar

There were four minutes more to play but two individual substitutes by the away team made this drift on to 6. St Albans retained their unbeaten start to the season but made little progress in the table having played less games than their near rivals.

Dartford had more possession throughout the game probing down the wings especially on the left. Throughout though St Albans were continually dangerous and often played some neat pretty passing moves that Dartford found hard to defend.

I would do this again and I can see this continuing when crowds are back. Particularly for fans like me who live a 130 mile drive away from Clarence Park.

I have seen on St Albans’ social media advertising that for their streamed home games you can also buy a digital program. Perhaps they can team up with a fast food company to deliver some food and coffee prior to the game and at half time, this would be the ultimate as long as there are chips.

Bloody Confused!

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Written by Chuck Culpepper

Published by Broadway Books; 2008

I am normally lucky in finding a football book in Oxfam and this time in Oban.

The book was a ‘Bound Galley – Not for Resale ‘ which I had never heard of before. It turns out a ‘Bound Galley’ is the pre-publication version of an upcoming published book that is a printed, perfect bound book. The cover of the Bound Galley may be the four color cover of the book to be published. In some cases the covers are printed on color stock and contain information useful to marketing the book to reviewers, bookstore distributors and buyers. This description is taken from The Country Press Inc. Website.

However this book had been sold at least twice. Once by a Community Thrift Store for 2 dollars in the USA and then £1.49 in Oxfam.

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Perhaps the reason for it being once sold in the USA is that the book is about a successful American sports writer who had attended the most iconic sporting events in the world and comes to Britain to absorb the Premiership football scene.

Initially Chuck Culpeper visits grounds and games to decide who to follow and stumbles on Portsmouth where he sees them survive a relegation battle in April 2006.

Chuck returns the whole of the next season and where possible follows them home and away. He not only reports on the games, the stadiums and locations but also the fan base culture that is the true soul of the English game. He was also tired of the stale state of reporting and organisation of the NFL, NBA and the MLB.

He finds a league structure that has ‘relegation’ some thing very strange in his home countries sports set up where franchising of clubs is the norm. Interestingly it is this franchising that has produced the recent proposals by the American owned Premier League teams as they try to protect their investment and dictate the future structure of our senior league or a European ‘Super League’.

He picked the best modern season to support Portsmouth who battle to achieve qualification to European football. How their fans would wish to be back in that position having endured so much frustration and trauma since these heady days.

Chuck makes friend with a group of supporters and is welcomed into their world which includes attending matches with a blue bear.

This is a well written book that is easy to read and drives you on the journey and you feel the emotions that the fans go through.

If you want a Football fix in these days of no spectators this book will take you there.

Gladiators show their metal.

With the new Covid lockdown coming in just over 24 hours, which will close down most of Non-League football for at least a month, I headed to Coalville where they were entertaining Matlock in a very interesting third qualifying round F.A. Trophy match. It was also mid way for myself Daughter and Son to meet to see one another.

Coalville is in the East Midlands not too far South of East Midlands Airport and as the name suggests was an ex mining town and was right in the centre of the North Leicestershire coal mining district.

The ground is just off the centre of town through an area of older terraced houses and where a new housing estate starts there is a turn into the carparks. The ground is a good standard considering that they have only been in Coalville since 1995 and further building is on going behind one goal.

The evening was clear with a large moon in the sky and a very slight drizzle in the air which felt cold to the bone. The football was soon to warm the spectators. The pitch looked wet with long grass cover and was overall flat but with some undulating areas.

Coalville moved from Ravenstone, where they were formed in 1926 as Ravenstone Miners Athletic, because they could not develop the ground and have since moved up the football pyramid from local football to now being members of the Southern Premier Division Central of which they are currently top. They were moved into this League in 2018 during one of the many restructurings. Although Matlock is only 30 miles North of Coalville they play in the Northern Premier League, Premier Division. So both teams were of the same level but North v South.

In Coalville’s history since relocating they have been losers in an F.A. Vase final at Wembley and reached the first round proper of the F,A, Cup in the 2004/5 season when they lost away to Wycombe Wanderers, all in all a good cup tradition. Matlock in contrast won the F.A. Trophy back in 1975 but have since not managed to regain those high standards. I have written previously about Matlock’s history (formed in 1878) in a previous post as they are my go to game on Boxing Day.

Coalville Town FC 3 Matlock Town FC 3

Coalville Town FC 2 Matlock Town FC 4 Decided on Penalties

Coalville immediately took control of the match which was played at a fast pace and it was no surprise that a brilliant through ball found Tim Berridge who didn’t hesitate to smash it into the net for the lead. Although Matlock had chances it fell to Berridge again on 37 minutes to run onto another fine pass and outsprint the Matlock defence to calmly place the ball past the advancing Matlock goalkeeper, Shaun Rowley. Half time soon came and Coalville looked comfortable with their two goal advantage.

There was an amazing start to the second half when within a minute Matlock had one back as Reece Kendal evaded a group of defenders to head in a bouncing ball that should have been cleared. The momentum seemed to change immediately and Matlock gained the upper hand and equalised 7 minutes later when a pin point left foot free kick was met by Spencer Harris to head home.

Matlock continued to have chances but Coalville hit the woodwork and the pace continued with chances for both sides. With only 15 minutes to go another great cross from the left was again met with the head, this time Declan Walker, and the ball flew just under the bar to give the Gladiators the lead for the first time in the match. There was no relaxing and Berridge the scorer of Coalvilles first two goals turned provider when he was able to place the ball to the back post where it was met by Luke Shaw for the equaliser, Wow. There were plenty more thrills but no further goals and although the crowd of 362 would have relished extra time being played this year all ties are decided by penalties if the scores are equal at 90 minutes.

The penalties were taken at the end with the most Coalville fans and social distancing went out of the window as they encouraged their hero’s. Shaun Rowley made two excellent saves and Matlock didn’t miss any of their spot kicks to run out 4-2 winners.

What a great competitive game that showcased some very good football although the defensive coaches of both sides will have some things to say when next the player meet. Unfortunately we have no idea when football at this level will be able to continue and Matlock await a date to play away at Coleshill in the next round.

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The chips looked good for just £1.50 and crinkle chips too. However although hot they were greasy and I could still taste what they they were cooked in at half time. A disappointment and a low score of 58.

Cobras football entrances Vics.

Having misheard the Google maps directions I was up against the clock and I could see in the distance the lights of Clipstone FC but it was the eerie menacing dark enormous shadows of the mining headstocks in Clipstone that take your breath away. The giant mining towers built in 1953, the largest in Europe at the time, were closed in 2003 and now are grade two listed buildings. Locals have been campaigning to keep and develop the site, which is part of the local Welbeck Estate, for some years.

Image from the local newspaper ‘Chad ‘ 2014

Entering the ground with just 10 minutes to kick off I went straight to the Cobra Cafe door where strict Covid procedures followed those at the entrance gate. I joined the queue as each portion of chips were fried. They were just ready for eating as the teams ran out. They were very hot, tasty, crispy but with a soft inside and did not taste of the oil that they had been cooked in, overall for £1.80 a treat and a score of 77 for my chip league.

After yet another wet October day, looks like the wettest October on record, the evening had become still and you could see stars in the sky on the drive to the match. But being clear it was getting colder and a feel of winter was in the air.

This is a very compact friendly ground with other sporting activities adjacent to the main road that runs through the village. The surface of the pitch is basically flat with a few undulations, as with all pitches this season the grass cover was immaculate.

Clipstone were known as Clipstone Welfare until 2013 a name they had chosen in 1955 having previously been Clipstone Combine. They have been a successful local Nottinghamshire side and reached the Nothern Counties East League only to have dropped back to the East Midlands Counties premier Division in recent times.

Borrowash Victoria can trace their history back to 1911 and their current football level is the highest they have achieved.

Clipstone FC 4 Borrowash Victoria AFC 0

The game was soon competitive with the home side having most of the attacking play although Monty Parkes in goal for Clipstone made a great diving save to tip the ball over the bar.

Just two minutes later Charlie Dawes received the ball on the left with plenty of time to attack the Borrowash goal and score high into the net. He was on hand again 8 minutes later when from the left touchline he cut in field to make it two nil placing his shot into the corner of the net to the goalkeepers right.

Although Monty Parkes made another great save similar to his first, Borrowash did not threaten further and it was the home side who went in two goals up at half time.

Borrowash Victoria came out early for the second half and after a team chat and a huddle looked set to take the game to their opponents. However this resolve soon gave way as a ball to Josh Pickering allowed him to rush past the defender and hit an inch perfect pass from the right for Jack Warwick to stab into the net.

Clipstone dominated play and a corner from the left with 10 minutes left was met by Lewis Warwick who headed an unopposed ball into the net for a comprehensive victory.

The 106 who attended went home having seen good value for their money

A new era for Football in Handsworth

I have seen Handsworth F.C. play at home before when they played at Sandy Lane in Worksop and I wrote before about their journey under the blog ‘Metamorphosis of a Football club ‘., August 2019

Now they have returned home to Oliver’s Mount where they have installed a new artificial pitch, new changing rooms and other facilities that are nearly finished. The newly revamped ground is top quality with a tarmac path around the perimeter. A new entrance will finish the works.

You reach the ground by turning off the Sheffield Parkway (the link road between Sheffield Centre and the M1) and taking the Darnnal turning off the roundabout. A right hand turn roughly half a mile down the road and a further right brings you to Oliver’s Mount a steep suburban road which you have to climb to the end to find the ground and the football complex. You have driven in a huge U from leaving the Parkway and now the traffic of the evening thunders past one side of the pitch. There are large car parks for use for the senior club and also the many children’s and youth teams that play here. This is one of the best football development set ups in Yorkshire.

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Although the very catchy sign says Handsworth ‘Real Football Made in Sheffield’ this is right on the Rotherham Sheffield border. Rotherham centre is one side of the M1 and Sheffield the other but Rotherham’s boundary stretches half the way down the 8.9 km Sheffield Parkway and you will see the Handsworth ground behind the trees where the boundary signs are. It’s also noticeable that the road here is Rotherham Council and needs re-surfacing whereas the Sheffield end is tidy and reflects their welcome to their city.

It was great to go to my first evening match of the season which I always find more atmospheric and exciting. The rain of the day had stopped leaving a cloudy but still evening and the new surface glistened with water droplets. The new era of artificial pitches looks like being the new standard. The teams warmed up in the goal area not needing to move away from that area so that the pitch doesn’t cut up and there were numerous mobile goals and nets on the pitch perimeter so that training and youth games can be played on the surface all week 24/7 if needed.

Both teams were playing in yellow tops which was confusing but the officials obviously felt that they could cope. Handsworth were at home to Bottesford Town who are based on the southern edges of Scunthorpe with the game being a Northern Counties East Premier Division league fixture. Bottesford Town were started in 1974 and have steadily progressed through various leagues reaching the Northern Counties East Division One in 2006 and gained promotion to the Premier Division only 4 years ago.

Handsworth F C 5 Bottesford Town F C 1

Handsworth were off to a flying start and within 2 minutes Hobson was clear through and should have done better but for the outstretched boot of the goalkeeper which resulted in a corner. From the short corner it was swung in and headed back across goal for Parkin to easily tap in to give the home side the lead. The flood gates did not open for Handsworth and there were chances for both sides and it was Bottesford who went in at half time with the forward momentum, having been on top for the last ten minutes of the half.

As with the first half within two minutes there was a goal, this time for Bottesford when a low pass into the box was met by the diminutive number eleven, Hutson, who calmly guided it home, this was due reward for the away teams best player.

Another two minutes and Handsworth re-took the lead when what appeared to be a speculative cross found Smith who was able to squeeze it into the net by the post from a deflection. Bottesford did not give up and continued to make chances but Handsworth were out of sight 5 minutes later when Radford received the ball outside the penalty area, alluded three away defenders and hit a stunning shot high into the Bottesford goal net. At 3-1 it was all over and made worse by a questionable penalty decision when Mackie and a defender collided going for a high ball and a penalty was awarded which Howarth tucked away.

Still Bottesford made chances and two were created by substitute Cross who could not make his efforts decisive. This seemed to sap the Poachers and they were pressed back and not surprisingly with 2 minutes left Handsworth made it 5 when Howarth found himself with acres of space and fairly cracked the ball into the net.

A great win and display from Handsworth but Bottesford lying second from bottom in the league table look to have enough skill the climb higher.

The chips from a well presented club house were fried, very hot, tasty and only £1.80, There actually seemed too many but that may have been because I had eaten some ‘tea’ a few hours earlier. A score of 75.