Book reviews

Mark Winter announces his appreciation for a lavatory with a view

Canal Street is not a ground that receives many accolades. Prior to Runcorn’s relegation in 1996, it was widely regarded by many pundits as the worst in the Vauxhall Conference. Not being a ground snob myself, this is not a view I share, seldom being aware of my surroundings once the game starts. Yet while Canal Street is surrounded by industrial Cheshire and much carping negativity, nothing has ever been mentioned of Runcorn’s outstanding contribution to stadium architecture – the open plan breeze block toilet.

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Mansley Allen chronicles Brentford's darkest hours as personified by two players

With the exception of this season and a handful of others, following Brentford for thirty years has pretty much been a matter of perpetual struggle. Two seasons in particular stand out: 1983-84, when we just avoided returning to the basement division we’d left in 1978, and 1992-3, our only season out of the lower two divisions since the invention of skiffle.

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John Tandy takes a look at Birmingham's ineffectual midfield linchpin

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. No, OK, it was the worst of times. The Birmingham City chairman Ken Wheldon had just about kept the club in existence after years of financial mismanagement, but he’d done it by cutting every corner known to man: we’re talking amputation here, not chemotherapy.

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Graham McColl delves into the lowest – and perhaps slowest – point in Celtic's long history

Jock Stein’s first signing for Celtic was Joe McBride, a consummate striker who, in 1966-67, was Scotland’s leading scorer with 35 goals despite missing the second half of the season. In 1980, Billy McNeill gave a debut to a much talked-about goalscorer with the newest of New Wave hairstyles who looked exciting, fresh and eager when first seen warming up on the Celtic Park touchline – Charlie Nicholas.

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Mike Ticher reminisces about Chelsea's man who turned down the chance to play Brazil

Alan Hudson played his last game for Chelsea in a 1-0 home defeat by Liverpool in December 1973. That match also led to the departure of Peter Osgood as Dave Sexton’s team self-destructed in a welter of bruised egos, booze-ups and squandered talent.

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