Football in the Seventies – 1974 by Marvin Close – Book Review
By Karl Hornsey
Marvin Close has continued his nostalgic look back at the yesteryear of football with the third in a series of books focusing on a specific year, following his reviews of 1923 and 1953 with his latest and, in my opinion, the best – 1974. It certainly helps that Close has chosen the year I was born, but even though it’s much closer to the modern day than the previous offerings, it still magically depicts a time and a society that might as well be a million years from the one we currently inhabit.
It’s also clear why the author has honed in on 1974 – there really was an awful lot going on even in a period when British football, particularly for the English national team, was going through a pretty dismal time. There are many things I love about this book, which I swiftly demolished, but it’s particularly great how Close sets football into the societal context, which is especially relevant given how rife the ‘English disease’ of hooliganism was proving to be. This wasn’t a good time to attend matches, with stadia crumbling and the threat of violence heavy in the air, but there were still plenty of ‘entertainers’ on the field although, arguably, the greatest entertainment of all came from a Who’s Who of managers off the field.
Naturally, Brian Clough receives maximum exposure, given that his remarkable 44-day spell at Leeds United is one of the most bizarre appointments of any year, never mind just 1974, but when you add in the likes of Jock Stein, Bill Shankly, Don Revie and Sir Alf Ramsay, there’s enough source material for a book on its own. Close’s meticulous research shines through, meaning there are seldom-told stories in here, as well as the more familiar ones, and there was a real feeling of change in the air, with Ramsay sacked by England, Shankly barred from Liverpool’s training ground and Clough being, well, Clough.
“Warm glow”
Another key winning aspect of this book is the focus on everything happening in the sport on these isles, not just in the top flight and with the national side. The current obsession with the Premier League at the expense of all else is one of the major turn-offs in the sport and, as a fan of and volunteer at non-league Beverley Town myself, it was great to read a chapter on the non-league game at the time, as well as the lower divisions of the Football League. That’s how things used to be, and it ignited a welcome feeling of nostalgia. There are also chapters on the women’s game, Scottish football at all levels, a very different media to that of today, and even one on the development of kits at the time.
It would also be remiss of me not to mention the World Cup, even if only Scotland of the home nations qualified, and the chapters on that tournament and the Home Nations Championship also remind me of an era that, while ‘only’ 50 years ago, seemed so much simpler. Despite the, sometimes, serious and troubling subject matter included, reading this account gave me that fuzzy, warm glow associated with happier times, and certainly more simple ones, and Close deserves great credit for not pulling his punches at times, but clearly revelling in the events and characters of a remarkable year.
‘Football in the Seventies – 1974’ by Marvin Close is published by Pitch Publishing
