Taking a break from considering the highbrow works of The Clitheroe Kid, magazine editor Andy Lyons, writer Harry Pearson and host Daniel Gray discuss Old-Fashioned Wingers – or ‘offensive laterals’ – from low-socked loco Rene Houseman to scuttling Leighton James via Eddie Gray’s pineapple arms. Magazine Deputy Editor Ffion Thomas previews WSC issue 435, Record Breakers brings us a banger from Bremen, and we continue our sprightly feature The Final Third, in which a guest contributes a match, a player and an object to the WSC Museum of Football. Joining Dan as our visiting curator this time is Jon Harvey, comedy writer, producer and performer, and author of the new book A Fan For All Seasons: A Journey Through Life and Sport.
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Stories
Avoiding a ticking off from a kid in a referee’s kit, magazine editor Andy Lyons, writer Harry Pearson and host Daniel Gray discuss Unexpected Promotions and Relegations, from Torquay United dog bites to Eddie Large the dugout Jonah via Wiggy Threlfall’s Morecambe and Don Scrimgeour MacKay’s Coventry. WSC Deputy Editor Tom Hocking talks us through the pages of magazine edition 421 and Record Breakers brings Grecian glamour. We continue our rapidly maturing feature, The Final Third, in which a guest contributes a match, a player and an object to the WSC Museum of Football. Joining Dan as our visiting curator this time is author and broadcaster Ned Boulting.
A cautionary tale of foiled ambition, financial crisis and battles with several authorities. Gary Andrews explains where it all went wrong
Plenty of non-League clubs have gone from play-off contenders to penniless relegation fodder in recent years, but Grays Athletic are one of the most extreme cases. Four years ago they came close to promotion to the Football League with one of the best Conference teams of the past decade. But what followed was a mix of managerial instability, stadium issues and, ultimately, near-extinction.
Revie Revered And Reviled
by Richard Sutcliffe
Great Northern Books, £16.99
Reviewed by Duncan Young
From WSC 291 May 2011
Keep Fighting The Billy Bremner Story
by Paul Harrison
Black and White, £14.99
Reviewed by Duncan Young
From WSC 291 May 2011
Don Revie and Billy Bremner, manager and captain of the triumphant Leeds Utd team of the 1960s and 1970s, are inseparable in the public consciousness. There's also the idea of an unshakeable bond between them and, not far under the service, the suggestion that their success was sinister and tainted. The Damned United reanimated their pantomime villain incarnations, but feelings of injustice have inspired some authors to try to counter these perceptions and highlight what was good about both men.
Some are wild cards, some club stalwarts. Jon Spurling looks at the life of the acting manager
Newcastle and Sunderland rarely admit to having anything in common, yet the clubs’ recent moves to formalise the positions of Joe Kinnear and Ricky Sbragia represents a rare moment of triumph for caretaker managers. The fact that both clubs hankered after bigger names suggests that neither man’s position is secure, but at least they are likely to emerge with their self respect intact, unlike many hapless interim appointments.