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Tim Quelch takes a nostalgic look back on a 60s childhood and early
adulthood immersed in Sussex sport. Hastings United, Brighton &
Hove Albion and Sussex County Cricket Club were his three great
loves, his passion for football ignited by United's plucky 1953/54
giant-killing side that came tantalisingly close to a fifth-round
FA Cup clash with Arsenal. Later, Brighton secured Tim's lasting
loyalty when he witnessed their brave 1961 FA Cup battle with First
Division champions Burnley. That same year, Tim was captivated by
explosive Sussex batsman Ted Dexter and mesmerised by West Indian
fast bowler Wes Hall. Good Old Sussex by the Sea takes us on a
whirlwind tour of the highs and lows of Sussex football and cricket
in the 1960s, a time when local allegiances counted and
expectations of success were more modest. But it was hardly an age
of innocence as Hastings United's involvement in a major police
corruption scandal shows. The book recalls a rollercoaster ride of
triumphs and woes, bringing to life many local heroes of
yesteryear.
Jimmy Greaves was England's most prodigious goalscorer of the 1950s
and 1960s. In his autobiography, Greavsie, he writes that the
1959/60 English football season was the final year of football's
age of innocence. He saw the open, attacking football of the 1950s
give way to a much more defensively minded game. It was an era
which also saw the advent of the tracksuit manager and specialist
coaches. An End of Innocence examines English football in the 1950s
and a transition through the 1960s; looking at the international
and domestic landscape, through the lens of a selection of teams.
It considers different managerial styles, team formations, coaching
and training methods, and the developments in tactics, diet and
health care; as well as a significant change in footballers'
lifestyles, that came after the abolition of the maximum wage in
1961. Set against a backdrop of social and political change, An End
of Innocence reflects a changing nation and a game that was
evolving, and the lasting impact that has had upon English
football, its players and supporters.
Burnley's league title victory of 1960 remains one of the most
remarkable feats in the history of English football, the club the
smallest ever to win its premier title. Despite spending far less
than other champions and drawing more modest crowds, Burnley beat
the likes of Manchester United, Spurs and Wolves by playing
exciting, fluid, continental-style football that won many admirers.
'I wanted to applaud their artistry,' Jimmy Greaves commented. 'In
an era when quite a few teams believed in the big boot, they were a
league of gentlemen.' Former player Brian Miller described how
grounded the team were at the time: 'Several of us worked at Bank
Hall pit all day and then played First Division football. Spurs'
players didn't do that.' Never Had It So Good reveals how Burnley's
amazing title triumph was achieved - and how very different life
was for a footballer in those bygone days.
When Andrew Strauss's team seized the world title in the summer of
2011 they finally recovered what had been lost at the Adelaide Oval
in 1959. This tale of England's preceding triumph and loss is
recounted through the memoirs of many of the star players when
England had last been top of the world. Bent Arms and Dodgy Wickets
tells the story of English cricket's slow recovery from the Second
World War, of its brief time of triumph and of its undignified fall
from grace - a tale of fluctuating fortunes reflected upon by great
names including Hutton, Compton and Trueman, Lindwall and Miller,
McGlew and Weekes. The title refers to the sporting controversies
of the time - suspect bowling actions and poor pitches - as Britain
declined as an imperial power, and English cricket was hampered by
class snobbery, anachronistic fixations and an uncompetitive
domestic game.
This is the story of Burnley Football Club's remarkable recovery
from the brink of oblivion, made without the help of ultra-rich
benefactors. It concerns the fall and rise of a small-town club,
once renowned for its advanced playing style, tactical and coaching
innovations and flourishing youth policy. From Orient to the
Emirates tells how this former leading club was brought to its
knees during the mid-80s by adverse economic circumstances and
imprudent management, how it narrowly escaped relegation to the
Vauxhall Conference in 1987 - and with it probable liquidation - to
once again become a force at the top of English football. The story
is largely told in the words of those who took part in this
incredible 30-year journey - the directors, managers, players,
support staff and supporters. It is an uplifting account of success
achieved very much against the odds, founded on indomitable spirit,
canny planning and, above all, hard graft. As Burnley's brilliant
manager, Sean Dyche, puts it: "Maximum effort is the minimum
requirement."
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