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Search: ' Tony Banks'

Stories

Tony Waddington: Director of a working man’s ballet by John Leonard

 384 Waddington

Pitch Publishing, £16.99
Reviewed by Andy Thorley
From WSC 384, March 2019
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Boys Of 66

352 BoysThe unseen story behind England’s World Cup glory
by John Rowlinson
Virgin Books, £20
Reviewed by David Stubbs
From WSC 352 June 2016

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One of the recurring themes of this volume to commemorate the 50th anniversary of England’s sole international triumph is how relatively little was made of it at the time. Kenneth Wolstenholme’s famous “They think it’s all over; it is now” line epitomises the phlegmatic, English reserve that prevented too much of the sort of histrionic reaction that would prevail nowadays. Were England to win the World Cup today, you suspect Jonathan Pearce’s head would, literally, explode. Not then.

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Stoke City 1946-47

Jonathan Paxton recalls how an almost famous season for Stoke was ruined by manager and star player falling out

“All teams have their era,” my Grandad often tells me. “It’s just that Stoke’s came between 1939 and 1945.” Most biographies of Adolf Hitler focus on stronger crimes against humanity ahead of denying Stoke City their chance of winning silverware but few in the Potteries would argue that the club’s golden generation lost their best years to the war. In 1938-39 the team managed by former player Bob McGrory finished seventh playing some of the finest football in the country. Freddie Steele scored 26 goals at centre-forward, centre-half Neil Franklin was just out of the youth team and, on the right wing, the Potters had Hanley-born England superstar Stanley Matthews who made his debut aged 17 in 1932. Fans were rightly optimistic.

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Fitness test

Administration has hit Bournemouth hard, making relagtion secondary to financial survival, writes Steve Menary

Many Bournemouth fans will have mixed feelings when Harry Redknapp leads out Portsmouth at the FA Cup final. In 1986-87 Redknapp won the Cherries’ first ever promotion to Division Two, but the club he left behind four years later have never been in such a state. Bournemouth fans were braced for a grim 2007-08 when the team took just two points from their first nine games. After sinking into administration, a ten-point deduction made staying up almost impossible – despite a remarkable revival under Kevin Bond, who had won six games in a row as WSC went to press. But just staying afloat is the main target.

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Letters, WSC 246

Dear WSC
As a born cynic (and Northerner) this is very hard for me, but with regards to Colin Smith’s letter in WSC 245 I feel I must write in defence of the new Wembley. I wanted to hate it, I really did, but after attending the Blackpool v Yeovil play-off final I, or should I say we, as the friends I went with felt the same, just couldn’t find anything to complain about. OK, maybe that’s hyperbole – the empty ring of Club Wembley seats was a bit annoying on the eye, as was the over-exaggeration of the stewards when a nearby bloke pulled a cigarette, and not an Uzi, out of his pocket. But outrageously priced food and drink? I don’t know where Mr Smith got his hotdog from, but I paid £5 for the most edible burger I’ve ever had inside a football ground, and as for £3.50 a pint being extortionate even for London, I take it that he didn’t sample the delights of Soho after the match. It seems we’ve turned into a nation of whingers who will complain just for the sake of it – take the furore over the 2012 Olympic logo. For once, let’s just give credit where it’s due. Yes, it was vastly over time and even more over budget; yes, I’ll miss the internationals being played around the country; and an even bigger yes, I’ll miss falling out of a pub and being in my seat within ten minutes à la Cardiff. But the new Wembley is a fantastic stadium, unrecognisable from the eyesore it replaced. And things could be worse – I’m going to have to go to Deepdale and Turf Moor next season.
Jason Taylor, Hadfield

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