2015/16 in context

[kushiro]

What exactly did we achieve when we won the title? How many of us know the history of the title race? Well, I thought I had a fairly good grasp of the subject until I read this amazing book.

 

 

I normally put stuff about books in the thread on the general page, but this is so good and so relevant to us that it deserves to be flagged up prominently. I'm actually only half way through it, but I already know it's one of those books I'll be coming back to again and again. And I wanted to put this up now to give people a chance to buy it for a Xmas present. 

 

Where has this book been all my life? He goes through the title race season by season, telling you the key moments in a really gripping way. There's a 'wow - I never knew that' moment on almost every page. For some reason the story has never been told like this before. People who profess familiarity with the history of the league (like me) know that Huddersfield won it three times in the twenties, that Arsenal were dominant in the 1930s, and that ipswich won it in 1962 straight after promotion. But those are just facts. What Murray gives you is stories - the thing you can't get by looking at Rothmans Football Yearbook, and the thing that has never been done properly in any book I've read on the subject. One thing he does is to make a very convincing argument that the precedent for our title win was not Forest 1978, nor Ipswich 1962, but The Wednesday in 1929. (Ironically, of course, that's the year we came closest to the title before 2016).  

 

So - there you are - buy this for a friend or buy this for yourself - it's truly a wonderful read, and as you make your way through chapter by chapter you have that warm feeling inside knowing what's coming later in the tale. In a week when football books have been in the news for the saddest of reasons, it's great to come across one that can take its place alongside 'Fossils and Foxes' on the 'truly essential' shelf.

 

 

Edited 14 December 2017 by kushiro

[Buce]

1 hour ago, kushiro said:

What exactly did we achieve when we won the title? How many of us know the history of the title race? Well, I thought I had a fairly good grasp of the subject until I read this amazing book.

 

 

I normally put stuff about books in the thread on the general page, but this is so good and so relevant to us that it deserves to be flagged up prominently. I'm actually only half way through it, but I already know it's one of those books I'll be coming back to again and again. And I wanted to put this up now to give people a chance to buy it for a Xmas present. 

 

Where has this book been all my life? He goes through the title race season by season, telling you the key moments in a really gripping way. There's a 'wow - I never knew that' moment on almost every page. For some reason the story has never been told like this before. People who profess familiarity with the history of the league (like me) know that Huddersfield won it three times in the twenties, that Arsenal were dominant in the 1930s, and that ipswich won it in 1962 straight after promotion. But those are just facts. What Murray gives you is stories - the thing you can't get by looking at Rothmans Football Yearbook, and the thing that has never been done properly in any book I've read on the subject. One thing he does is to make a very convincing argument that the precedent for our title win was not Forest 1978, nor Ipswich 1962, but The Wednesday in 1929. (Ironically, of course, that's the year we came closest to the title before 2016).  

 

So - there you are - buy this for a friend or buy this for yourself - it's truly a wonderful read, and as you make your way through chapter by chapter you have that warm feeling inside knowing what's coming later in the tale. In a week when football books have been in the news for the saddest of reasons, it's great to come across one that can take it's place alongside 'Fossils and Foxes' on the 'truly essential' shelf.

 

 

 

Thanks, Scott.

[kushiro]

On ‎2017‎年‎12‎月‎14‎日 at 15:49, Buce said:

 

Thanks, Scott.

 

I wish!   I'd love to have his writing ability - he does the live commentaries on the golf majors for the Guardian, and he sees the same patterns in the drama of a four day golf tournament as he does in a nine month league season. Three shots ahead coming to the 16th green on the final day holds the same tantalising possibilities as five points ahead with four games of the season remaining.

 

Anyway - here's a sample of his writing in the book I'm raving about here:

 

Thanks to his daily regime of a mug of breakfast tea, 90 minutes jogging along the beach, a light salad and a piece of fruit for lunch, and another brew in the afternoon, Stanley Matthews was still going strong aged 46. In October 1961, he rejoined Stoke, who were now in the second division. "If he does not double our  average attendance of 10,000 I shall be surprised", said Stoke chairman Albert Henshall.

 

For his comeback game against Huddersfield, 35, 974 clicked through the turnstiles. The old magic was still there. His dribbles were beguiling enough to send the left back he faced, future World Cup winner Ray Wilson, sliding around haplessly on his backside. Matthews had a hand in all the goals of a 3-0 qwin.

 

Matthews and Stoke went for promotion the following season, and in the run-in they visited fellow promotion chasers Chelsea. Tommy Docherty's young side were too wound up for the big occasion, and Matthews - now 48 - was twice dumped over the hoardings and into the stands.  The needlessly robust challenges had the strange effect of turning a 66,000 crowd against their own team, in support of a legendary figure being roughed-up in his dotage. Stoke prevailed by a single goal and then secured the Second Division title.

 

 

That's what he does throughout the book - picking out little narrative gems, mostly (but not, as this example shows, exclusively) in relation to the title race.

 

Edit - after reading @Finnegan's narrative gem about the climax to this season I can safely say this book is written in a similar spirit - always looking for the moments when the season jumps the shark.

 

[DB11]

Burnley being 4th for one night in December has eclipsed it though, apparently

[Vardinio'sCat]

 

 I got given a book called The History of Football when I left Stokes Wood as a nipper. I was the school goalie and the first page was a double page spread of Shilton at full stretch.

 

This book told the story of the various world cup tournaments in detail, along with the development of the game in general. I clearly remember marvelling at the simplicity of Ipswich 62, aided by lovely diagrams and artwork. I found out about why Yashin, Sindelar and Garrincha were true greats, and how tactics changed over time.

 

Appreciating football history adds a richness to our understanding of the less colourful modern day game, and books like the one Kushiro recommends tell some fantastic stories which any fan will enjoy.

 

I tried to find the book that taught me so much, and I ran into an interesting modern equivalent by a guy called David Goldblatt, called The Ball Is Round. 977 pages!

 

Other honourable mentions should go to Inverting the Pyramid and The Numbers Game. Some modern football writing is really superb.

 

Edited 16 December 2017 by Vardinio'sCat

[weller54]

1 hour ago, DB11 said:

Burnley being 4th for one night in December has eclipsed it though, apparently

There must also be a top selling book titled... 

'Spuds... How we were top of the Premier League for 8 minutes in 2016 '...Volume 1.

[urban.spaceman]

24 minutes ago, weller54 said:

There must also be a top selling book titled... 

'Spuds... How we were top of the Premier League for 8 minutes in 2016 '...Volume 1.

Don't short change them!

It was 13 minutes and 45 seconds.

 

Epic.

[Guest seanfox778]

34 minutes ago, Vardinio'sCat said:

 

 I got given a book called The History of Football when I left Stokes Wood as a nipper. I was the school goalie and the first page was a double page spread of Shilton.

 

This book told the story of the various world cup tournaments in detail, along with the development of the game in general. I clearly remember marvelling at the simplicity of Ipswich 62, aided by lovely diagrams and artwork. I found out about why Yashin, Sindelar and Garrincha were true greats, and how tactics changed over time.

 

Appreciating football history adds a richness to our understanding of the less colourful modern day game, and books like the one Kushiro recommends tell some fantastic stories which any fan will enjoy.

 

I tried to find the book that taught me so much, and I ran into an interesting modern equivalent by a guy called David Goldblatt, called The Ball Is Round. 977 pages!

 

Other honourable mentions should go to Inverting the Pyramid and The Numbers Game. Some modern football writing is really superb.

 

That just sounds disturbing.

[Vardinio'sCat]

4 hours ago, seanfox778 said:

That just sounds disturbing.

 

I've edited it for your comfort.

[Vacamion]

6 hours ago, seanfox778 said:

That just sounds disturbing.

 

Yeah.... thanks a million for THAT mental image...  

[weller54]

9 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Don't short change them!

It was 13 minutes and 45 seconds.

 

Epic.

I bow to your superior knowledge on the history of the Spuds.... 

You should compile a book and call it 'of bottles and bottlers '?

[urban.spaceman]

46 minutes ago, weller54 said:

I bow to your superior knowledge on the history of practically everything about the 2015/16 season in top flight English football.... 

You should compile a book and call it 'of bottles and bottlers '?

Surely this being Spurs it should be in DVD form?

[Jimothy]

On 14/12/2017 at 05:40, kushiro said:

What exactly did we achieve when we won the title? How many of us know the history of the title race? Well, I thought I had a fairly good grasp of the subject until I read this amazing book.

 

 

I normally put stuff about books in the thread on the general page, but this is so good and so relevant to us that it deserves to be flagged up prominently. I'm actually only half way through it, but I already know it's one of those books I'll be coming back to again and again. And I wanted to put this up now to give people a chance to buy it for a Xmas present. 

 

Where has this book been all my life? He goes through the title race season by season, telling you the key moments in a really gripping way. There's a 'wow - I never knew that' moment on almost every page. For some reason the story has never been told like this before. People who profess familiarity with the history of the league (like me) know that Huddersfield won it three times in the twenties, that Arsenal were dominant in the 1930s, and that ipswich won it in 1962 straight after promotion. But those are just facts. What Murray gives you is stories - the thing you can't get by looking at Rothmans Football Yearbook, and the thing that has never been done properly in any book I've read on the subject. One thing he does is to make a very convincing argument that the precedent for our title win was not Forest 1978, nor Ipswich 1962, but The Wednesday in 1929. (Ironically, of course, that's the year we came closest to the title before 2016).  

 

So - there you are - buy this for a friend or buy this for yourself - it's truly a wonderful read, and as you make your way through chapter by chapter you have that warm feeling inside knowing what's coming later in the tale. In a week when football books have been in the news for the saddest of reasons, it's great to come across one that can take its place alongside 'Fossils and Foxes' on the 'truly essential' shelf.

 

 

Just got this, and I will read it, but just to warn anyone the comment about making your way through looking forward to what's coming up, ie our title winning season, it doesn't. This book is the story of the first division and is exactly that, it stop at 1992.

 

Unless I've got a dodgy copy 

[kushiro]

3 hours ago, Facecloth said:

Just got this, and I will read it, but just to warn anyone the comment about making your way through looking forward to what's coming up, ie our title winning season, it doesn't. This book is the story of the first division and is exactly that, it stop at 1992.

 

Unless I've got a dodgy copy 

Cheers - I can see how misleading my comment was. 

 

Hope you enjoy the book anyway.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

5 hours ago, Facecloth said:

Just got this, and I will read it, but just to warn anyone the comment about making your way through looking forward to what's coming up, ie our title winning season, it doesn't. This book is the story of the first division and is exactly that, it stop at 1992.

 

Unless I've got a dodgy copy 

 

That’s strange, I thought football didn’t exist pre 1992? 

[Jimothy]

7 hours ago, kushiro said:

Cheers - I can see how misleading my comment was. 

 

Hope you enjoy the book anyway.

Tbf you wouldn't buy it if you weren't interested in reading about the previous seasons, so it's still an interesting book.

[Nalis]

Typical international break weekend post/ramble alert :

 

Watching some videos on youtube regarding the title winning season and it still seem part surreal. 

 

We were all too nervous / sleep deprived, etc to possibly notice but we really were an unstoppable juggernaut that season and can really enjoy watching those clips.

 

Football is funny, you want to enjoy the ride but when you know you are close to something you know you probably wont even get close to again in your lifetime, you dont enjoy the moment as much as you should as you think of what you have to lose. It became an unhealthy, exhausting obession at times. But I wouldnt have changed it for the world 

[fuchsntf]

8 minutes ago, Nalis said:

Typical international break weekend post/ramble alert :

 

Watching some videos on youtube regarding the title winning season and it still seem part surreal. 

 

We were all too nervous / sleep deprived, etc to possibly notice but we really were an unstoppable juggernaut that season and can really enjoy watching those clips.

 

Football is funny, you want to enjoy the ride but when you know you are close to something you know you probably wont even get close to again in your lifetime, you dont enjoy the moment as much as you should as you think of what you have to lose. It became an unhealthy, exhausting obession at times. But I wouldnt have changed it for the world 

Agree..plus there are still some great YouTube videos on that season,out there..

[Out Foxed]

On 21/12/2017 at 01:36, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

That’s strange, I thought football didn’t exist pre 1992? 

It died in 92. Now we have zombie football that is only interested in brains(money)

[winteriscoming]

On 15/12/2017 at 23:48, urban.spaceman said:

Don't short change them!

It was 13 minutes and 45 seconds.

 

Epic.

Don't forget the 72% possession against real madrid in the cl. That alone is worth a trophy.