Written by Ian Collis, published by Pitch Publishing 2023.
I bought the book after going to see Ian Collis do a talk about Shrovetide football in Derby and once I started it I couldn’t put it down. In fact the 237 pages disappeared in less than a week.
The book tells the story of the Shrovetide football game that was played in Derby and gained a notorious reputation for its violence and damage to property.
There is no definitive date for its start although it is believed to have been played for centuries before its demise in the mid 19th century.
The book goes into depth about some of its stars, supporters and detractors, especially the way it was killed off.
Other features of the book are a review of past and surviving festive football games, the most high profile being the still played Royal Ashbourne Shrovetide game.
There is some good analysis of why the current game was greatly influenced by the Sheffield and Derbyshire region and evidence that the ‘Derby Game’ was the inspiration for the term ‘Local Derby’.
The research that Gail Newsham has put into this book is phenomenal as she has bought to life the exploits of this amazing team, their unbelievable record, their shabby treatment by the FA but most of all the bringing to life of the ladies who made up the team.
The one thing that jumps out of this book and hugs you is love. Gail meets and makes everlasting friends with past players and brings to life those no longer with us. She does not duck the issue of where they used by others for financial gain.
If you read the book you will realise that some of these ladies were by far the best in the world and which men’s defence of then and now would not squirm if they had to stand up to the indomitable Lily Parr. Gail also chronicles the efforts, many of them hers, to get long term recognition for the team and carry on their memory up to today.
Having read the book you can only conclude that the FA put back the development of Women’s football by decades and hope that the current explosion in the game is nurtured properly.
This book is a treasure.
N.B. The FA again did a disservice to Women’s Football in 2013 when on April 26th they demoted Doncaster Belles from the top division to make way for a more high profile club in the WSL. Despite appeals by many involved in the game they were unsuccessful and the team that had been synonymous with the spirit and excellence of the game were cast adrift. Doncaster continue to fight on in lower divisions and we all hope that next season they can start to regain their status. They were a club who in just over a decade were never out of the top flight, won the FA Cup six times and the League title twice. Nowhere near the influence of the Dick Kerr Ladies but up there in the vanguard.
Fields. Of Dreams and Broken Fences (Delving into the world of Non-League Football) by Aaron Moore
Published in 2022 by Pitch Publishing
This book was an easy read about Aaron Moore’s recent football adventures either side and during Covid.
There are 13 chapters taking in the losers in the great covid cancellation sacandal, the journeys of players into Non League football, the growth and decline of clubs, finding a level in the woman’s game and individuals visions and passions.
Aaron’s book is mainly about the South East of England with occasional forays north in particular Vauxhall Motors on the Wirral. Non the less it covers the Non League game and fraternity very well and once started it is hard to put down.
I believe it to be his first book and I will look out for anymore in the future.
Das Reboot -How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World
Written by – Raphael Honigstein
Published by Yellow Jersey Press (Part of the Penguin Random House Group) 2015
With the impending World Cup it was luck I found this book in an Oxfam Shop in Stratford.
The book is well written and very detailed into how Germany won the 2014 World Cup not just on the field but in their preparation and organisation.
Having had a disastrous Euros in 2004 they turned to Jurgen Klinsmann who swept into the job with his own staff in controversial fasion. At the same time the German FA were reviewing their strategy to youth development and subsequently introduced an academy system that top clubs had to adopt, this was later cascaded down to lower divisions. They also implemented a wide ranging increase in professional coaches and coaching that could reach outlying football areas as well as those dominated by the top teams.
Klinsmann’s Germany out performed expectation in the 2006 World Cup and only went out in the semi final to Italy 2-0 with both Italy’s goals coming in the last few minutes of extra time. Klinsmann unexpectedly stood down and the job was taken up byJoachim Löw.
Low too was his own man and continually drew negativeness from some of the footballing community. His perseverance and benefit from the influx of new players on the scene steeped in the new teaching methods enabled him to lead a world conquering team in 2014.
The book is a great insight into Low’s strategies but also the developing football styles in Germany at the time. For me the description of the emergence of Ralf Rangnick and his pressing ideas is fascinating, I had no idea of the man’s influence on modern football and football managers. A recent spat by a well known European star seemed to query why he was used by Manchester United as an interim manager, Ralf Rangnick who!
I have not given away too much of the book but I would say that you should get past the first chapter and gain an insight in the game today and wander why German club teams do not win more European trophies. Alas I think the answer is money provided by external countries to Europe.
N.B. After Germany’s performance at this World Cup they may need a new Reeboot.
The book is a story of Britons who left our shores prior to 1914 and were greatly influential in inspiring the start of football in general or clubs that have gone on to master the game.
These Britons were at the dawn of football in Italy, Spain Brazil, Argentina, Hungary and other countries that have been at the pinnacle of the game in modern times. In the main they went abroad for business and to seek their fortune and took knowledge or a passion about a round leather ball and the new rules being established at home. It is interesting how because of the society they travelled in the game was initially for gentlemen but this was the catalyst for working class dominance that propelled the game to a mass sport.
The book is easy and quick to read and flows, because the chapters are not long it is a book you can easily read in bite size chunks. Thank you Keith for furthering my knowledge of the game.
As well as a few novels during my football sabbatical I read a book about cricket!
Penguins Stopped Play – eleven village cricketers take on the world.
Written By Harry Thompson Published by ‎ John Murray; 5th Reprint 2007 320 pages long.
I chose this book for its comedy not its cricket but soon found it was both and much more. Written by one of our best comedy show/script writers the comedy was assured and there had to be some cricket but what drew me in was the people interaction of the team and how they evolved and showed their true character. It was also about all of those teams up and down the country, whichever sport, who need that one pivot to cajole, chase, invent players to make sure the game happens and goes on. Some of the antics of the team are childlike but there is a seriousness to their existence and their final achievements.
You must read this book right to the end to fully appreciate it.
payonthegate 