THE BIG FREEZE
BY Vince Cooper As football suffers it’s longest enforced shutdown since the 2nd World War and with no end in sight, let’s look back to 1962-63 when...
CLAPHAM – THE FIRST ROVERS
In its early days the FA Cup was an almost exclusively southern affair, with the notable exception of the mighty Queen’s Park team from Scotland A...
THE PRINCE OF WINGERS
BY Vince Cooper WHEN Billy Meredith made his final appearance he was less than four months short of his 50th birthday. He had won the F.A. Cup with...
THE BRITISH TRANSFER RECORD BREAKERS – ALLAN CLARKE
BY Vince Cooper THE previous British transfer record holder broke the record twice as Denis Law set new marks when both joining and leaving Torino....
ONE-CLUB, TWO-COUNTRY MAN
By Vince Cooper England’s Home International Championship match with Scotland at Wembley on 2 April 1955 was memorable for a number of reasons. It...
RENAISSANCE MAN
By Vince Cooper There are many tales of sporting polymaths (a person skilled in many subjects) who graced the football pitch. The likes of C.B. Fry,...
GAY GORDON
BY Vince Cooper IT is hard to imagine these days but there was a time when Scottish football wasn’t dominated by Celtic or even by the big two from...
FA CUP 1893. THE FALLOWFIELD FOLLY
By Vince Cooper Since it’s inception in 1872 the Football Association initially decided to keep final of the FA Cup in the south. Kennington Oval...
HAPPY HARRY
By Vince Cooper Many great players can look back and wonder how their career might have panned out were it not for the two great conflicts of the...
1947. ADDICKS GAIN REDEMPTION
By Vince Cooper The 1947 FA Cup final saw Charlton Athletic return to Wembley just a year after the heartbreak of an extra-time defeat to Derby...
GONE GROUNDS – ANNFIELD
BY Vince Cooper Prior to the 2nd World War, football fans in Stirling were served by the Kings Park club who played their home games at Forthbank...
The Wizard
When Chelsea were first admitted into the Football League the marquee signing was, of course, the £50 purchase of Willie Foulke from Sheffield...
The Man In Brogues
One of the first great footballers never wore boots when playing, preferring to ply his trade in his daily footwear. When league football started in...
Jack of All Trades
There was a time when one of the country’s leading centre-forwards was just as big a star treading the music hall boards and also turned his hand to...
Liquidator by Mark Worrall
Liquidator by Mark Worrall With the large number of football books now on the market it is increasingly difficult to find one that looks at the game...
Blue Army
I am proud and pleased to announce the publication of my first book, Blue Army. The book covers the history of Chelsea as told through the stories...