Book Reviews

[LaticsPete]

The Forgotten Brothers
Ian Davidson
Blue Army Published 2022 
Hardback 256pp £20

Nearly 1200 appearances and 697 goals make the impact of Jack and Arthur Rowley on English football brightly apparent from the statistics alone. That was just tier playing career: as Managers they clocked up an even greater number of matches. The two men from Wolverhampton were s tars at every level of domestic football for almost thirty years, yet, other than in and around their former clubs and localities, are rarely mentioned nowadays. 
They weren’t the only brothers in the family, eldest son Albert was regarded as the most talented of the three but an accident as a teenager damaged both knees beyond repair. Jack was next, born in 1918, and his football career started at age 17 as an amateur with his hometown club although a hernia operation led to him being let go to Bournemouth. It was from there that he was spotted by the owner of Manchester United, who had a property in the seaside town, and it was at United that he made his name. Like many players of the period, the Second World War robbed Jack of seasons after becoming an established Div 1 player, but his Army service in the South Staffs regiment (including Normandy in 1944 and being wounded) did allow for matches whilst on leave, a total of 78 wartime games and 101 goals. It was after demobilisation that Jack's career really took off. From then until 1955, “The Hammer” as he was known because of his power, he dominated scoring charts both locally and nationally.  Winner of an FAC Cup final with United in 1948, scoring twice, he 211 goals for them in 424 matches, and this is before League Cup or European competitions were around. Another 80 matches and 27 goals for Plymouth and Bournemouth contributed to a magnificent playing career. His managerial career took him to Plymouth Argyle, Bradford Park Avenue, Ajax in Amsterdam, and Oldham Athletic, and included two promotions. Jack died near Oldham, just a few minutes from where I lived, and he was held in great respect through to his death in 1998.
Whilst Jack got six caps for England, Arthur, amazingly got none. This despite scoring 459 goals in 659 appearances, the second most goals scored in Football League history, He’s been at school when war broke out, signed amateur forms with West Bromwich Albion in 1944 when 18, but moved to Fulham and Div 1 in 1948. A decent record (27 goals in 56) saw him off to Leicester in 1950, and that’s where he first became a legend. Ever more goals, 265, and matches ,303, but then off to Shrewsbury Town, as Player-Manager, and a legend again, this tie in Shropshire. Where he notched 152 times in 236 games. Managerially he went on to Sheffield United and Southend, and a career as a boss that got two promotions, one whilst still playing. A fine cricketer too (Minor Counties standard) Arthur passed away in 2002.
Statistics of records broken and held seem to be never-ending for both of them. Yet statistics do not do their careers justice, and the inscription on Arthur’s headstone should apply to both of them - “record breaking football hero”. 
 

[LaticsPete]

Mr Corinthian

Llew Walker

Pitch Publishing 2023

Hardback  336pp £18.99

 

 

Corinthian Casuals is a name that exists, for many people, at the edge of football knowledge. Probably thought of as one of those teams that flourished in the early years of the game, chalked up an FA Cup win or two, but then vanished not only from the mainstream but, in some cases, completely. In fact, a team called thus has only existed since 1939 when a merger of Corinthians and Casuals took place, never won the Cup,  and this book focusses on the former, its impact on Victorian football, and its “founding father” Nicholas Lane (“Pa”) Walker.

The achievements of Corinthians shouldn’t be underestimated , although much of their early reputation was built on the writings of club associates. Nonetheless, they were one of the driving forces behind the evolution of football, an amateur club that stimulated the professional game, and regarded as espousing noble virtues of good sporting behaviour. It was Walker who founded the club in 1882, not his first venture, originating and captaining Finchley FC a few years earlier, and it his story that dominates the book , as his influence not only on Corinthians but football and other sports grew.

There’s no doubt that “Pa” was what might nowadays be called a climber, whether social or professional. He came from a family that had run pubs (his father a violent alcoholic), but his education remains a mystery – his autobiography claimed he went to a school that has no record of him. In his twenties that is evidence he played a little football for Upton Park and Casuals before the Finchley venture, apparently starting a football section of the cricket club, becoming an Umpire (football not cricket), and involving himself in administration . He became a member of the FA committee, and also began writing as a journalist and magazine publisher. He was fast becoming “established” in the football establishment, and active in the debate about professionalism.  Even though he was arranging for matches for his Corinthian team against Northern professionals he strenuously opposed their growing influence, chairing, in 1884, a committee that made several anti-professional recommendations. Yet , a year later he backed a motion that “it is expedient” to legalise professionalism.

There can be little doubt that his networking and hard work made him massively influential. Even during his time as a bastion of amateurism, he would build contacts with the Northern clubs, and the impression that one gets from this book is that his energy, personal ambition, and, it must be said, his love of sport, made him a real force. In yet another twist, and a reminder of his amateur preferences, he railed against a proposal that made it compulsory for local FAs to accept professional teams and other ideas, culminating in his resignation from the FA in 1897. The intervening years had seen him continue to progress Corinthian FC,  two England teams for matches against Wales in 1894 and 1895 comprising players from the club alone, beating FA Cup winners Blackburn Rovers and Bury , and being the first English club to tour outside Europe, to South Africa in 1897.

By the turn of the century, having left the FA , Jackson developed his interests in other sports (he had helped found the Lawn Tennis Association), setting up three golf clubs, as well as donating a trophy for curling. At a distance of over 100 years, Jackson comes across as a mixture of Stanley Rous, Bernie Ecclestone, and Sepp Blatter. A man of great impact, a self-publicist and aggrandiser, and someone who steered his beloved sport for better and worse.

[LaticsPete]

What If?

Rob Mason

Pitch Publishing   2023

Hardback 254pp £16.99

 

So, if Brian Clough, Jock Stein, Don Revie, or Bobby Robson, had become Manager of Sunderland, would the club’s history have taken a different path? Maybe, if Fabio Borini had scored from the chance he had  in the 2014 League Cup Final, and made it 2-0, Sunderland would have beaten Manchester City. In 1977, the Black Cats made an offer for a 17 -yr.-old Diego Maradona – he apparently said, “if they don’t sell me to Sunderland, I’m retiring”. He didn’t sign, he didn’t retire, but what would a future at Roker Park have held for him and the club?

 Life is full of ifs, buts, and maybes, and so is this book, subtitled “Turning Points in the History of Sunderland AFC”.  The author is the official club historian  so knows a good deal about its ins and outs , privy to information that the general supporting public may not be. As a consequence, the stories on the background to the aforementioned managerial possibilities have a credibility ad robustness. Approaches to, or from, these names are credibly documented : Clough apparently was in the running three times, Stein was keen to go to Roker in 1965 , the job went to George Hardwick, and it was the history of Celtic that was rewritten not that of the Wearsiders.

There is a sense of injustice that Rob Mason attaches to some of the scenarios – understandable from such a committed supporter although an outsider might raise an eyebrow even if  every supporter carries the torch of unjust decisions against his/her own team.  In 1977 such an incident has led to bitterness between fans of Sunderland and Coventry City.  The book devotes 32 pages to the story but , in a nutshell, it was about a relegation struggle for both teams who were playing on the same night. Sunderland lost 1-0 at Everton which meant that Coventry and their opponents Bristol City each needed one point for safety. The kick-off at Highfield Road was delayed 10 minutes because of traffic holding up away supporters and the Coventry scoreboard flashed up the result from Goodison Park. A final 10 minutes was played out with each team passing it around , holding on to the draw , and sending Sunderland down from the topflight. The conspiracy theories abound – should  the score have been shown and did Coventry press for the delayed start?  Another , what if.

There are a lot of “Had this happened then…” scenarios, occasionally with a double dose as in if Sunderland had kept Sam Allardyce as Manager , and had kept Younas Kaboul, then it was possible that the club would have stayed in the Premier League in 2017.  
It’s an entertaining set of stories , non-Wearsiders may scoff at some of the possibilities, but locals will have plenty to chew over and imagine the glories that might have been  “if only”.

[LaticsPete]

The Lion Who Never Roared

Matt Tiller

Pitch Publishing  2023

Hardback  240pp  £19.99

 

The first black player to be selected for England was an East Ender, turning out for a West Country team in the Third Division. John “Jack” Leslie was named in the squad of thirteen for the match against Ireland on 24^th October 1925. End of story? No, because although his name was printed in newspapers on 6^th October , the day after the International Selection Committee met, less than two weeks later it had been removed and the Football Association denied that he had ever been chosen. No injury, nor suspension, but Walker of Aston Villa had replaced him.

Ther has never been an official reason given but this book suggests plausibly and strongly that it was due both to some of the selectors belatedly realising Jack was black and external pressure being placed on them as a group. At the time , players weren’t necessarily seen by selectors, photographs of many seldom appeared in national newspapers and, most damning of all, there was rampant racism amongst much of British society. This was not long after the Great War, when some recruiting offices refused to let non-whites sign up and the Manual of Military Law stated that black people could not be promoted to officer status. So, Jack’s selection was “a mistake,” not because of overestimation of his footballing ability but because of the colour of his skin. There is some uncomfortable language in the book , lifted from newspapers of the period , which exemplifies how Jack was regarded. A great talent but often with the qualification that he was black.

The author skilfully tells a bigger story than “just” the international selection disgrace. It is that of a boilermaker and talented footballer making a journey from kickabouts to amateur level, notably with Barking, then to Essex County level, and on to the professional game with Plymouth Argyle. Why Plymouth ? All wages subject to a maximum  regardless but Argyle offered 50p a week more (not insignificant when even the top players could only earn £10 during the season), and their Manager Bob Jack visited the home of Jack and his parents and produced postcards of Plymouth and the sea and countryside . It looked very attractive to someone whose holidays had consisted of f a day trip to Southend.

He wasn’t an outstanding young talent  a la Duncan Edwards or Wayne Rooney but a player who made his way at a period when transfer mobility was limited and footballers from outside the topflight were not immediately written off. He stayed at Home Park until 1935, on the way becoming the first black layer to captain a Football League club, becoming a publican. That wasn’t the wisest of choices as he liked to “take a drink” and he and his wife returned to London, and Jack to being a boilermaker. His final, post-retirement, role was looking after the boots at West Ham United, tending to those of World Cup winners and all the players’ , black and white, until 1982. Six years later, Jack passed away –“Boiler Maker Retired” on his death certificate.

An excellent narrative has been created by the author, Jack’s life, warts and all, racism in football and society, the life of footballers in the inter-war years, and a shameful injustice from the FA. A very good read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LaticsPete]

The African Cup of Nations

Ben Jackson

Pitch Publishing  2023

Softback 318pp £14.99

 

It’s ironic that it has taken the development of European football to build the importance of what the author calls an “unappreciated tournament”. It’s fair to say that, without the reliance of clubs in the UK and the European mainland upon African talent, then the significance of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) would be far less than it is. The departure of players from their clubs to play in AFCON may have irritated managers and supporters but it emphasised the fact that the tournament is an established and respected part of the international football calendar, and as long as we call it “the global game” , then it must be worked with and around.

It’s been a journey of over 60 years to the recent hosting of, and victory by, the Cote d’Ivoire. From an initial four countries that set about launching a tournament was almost immediately whittled down to three. South Africa, and its encompassing apartheid policy, refused to send a team of mixed races; either an all-black or an all-white team was its stance. Unsurprisingly the other nations - Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia – said no , and the last was drawn a bye into the Final. The very first AFCON match saw Egypt win 2-1 in Cairo and the Pharaohs then trounced Ethiopia 5-0 to win the first tournament . It was the first of their seven triumphs.

Probably even more so than elsewhere in the world, AFCON has been influenced by politics. It was the rise of decolonisation in the 1960s that saw many African nations become independent states, keen to demonstrate that identity in many ways including sport. National football teams became symbols of progress and, in some instances, were personally backed by Heads of State.  Kwame Nkrumah, who led the Gold Coast to independence as Ghana, was instrumental in the country’s footballing progress, from a colonial state to AFCON winners in 1963. For those of us who enjoy a derby match then the “Jolloff” one should be remembered; it’s named after a spicy rice dish cooked in different ways in Nigeria and Ghana

Wars between Egypt and Israel  also led to disruption but there was steady and irresistible expansion of AFCON.  Now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zaire evolved as a dominant force in the 1970s, and in 1974, had become the first sub-Saharan nation to qualify for the World Cup Finals, Zambia came strongly , whilst the North Africans remained competitive. A decade later  the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon won the trophy twice, in 1984 and 1988 (as well as on three later occasions), and, in 1996 a multi-racial South Africa were victorious on home soil. Despite the efforts of Hollywood to portray the 1995 Rugby world Cup as the major sporting victory of the period, it is accepted the triumph of “Bafana Bafana” had a much more widespread impact upon South African society.

Ben Jackson has written an excellently researched book, telling the story of AFCON with keen analysis and understanding of African history; cultures, and football. There is a comprehensive narrative about what is a still growing tournament, one that will exert an ever-larger influence over the rest if international football, and, if there is possibly a shortage of photographs from the earlier years, which is amply compensated by the detailed story.