TESTING THE THINGS THEY TRY TO SELL YOU
YOU COULD BE FORGIVEN for thinking that the history of Manchester United — Meredith, Busby, Munich, Bobby, Bestie, Eric, Becks and all — is so extensively chronicled that any new books would merely be raking over old ground. You might think that, but you would be wrong. Two sparkling new volumes from Desert Island Books — always innovative publishers — explore different facets of the story of England’s simultaneously most admired and reviled club.
First is Manchester United’s Golden Age 1903-1914: The Life and Times of Dick Duckworth, which will surely win any contest for the longest football book title of the year. The author is Thomas Taw, who burst onto the scene last year with the superb Football’s War & Peace: The Tumultuous Season of 1946-47. Aside from the curious title — surely first golden age would have been more accurate? — this is the fascinating and expertly told story of the years in which United first came to prominence, winning two championships and the first of a record 11 FA Cups.
Taw uses the career of Dick Duckworth, a local lad and one of the key members of the team, to weave the story of an era in which the public flocked to football in greater numbers than ever before and there was genuine disquiet among politicians about the intensity with which the working classes followed the sport.
Advertisement
Also from Desert Island is The Matt Busby Chronicles: Manchester United 1946-69 match by match by Jim Brown, an author and historian known previously for his works on Coventry City and Huddersfield Town. The book looks at the 23-year managerial career of the man who, more than any other, shaped what is modern-day Manchester United.
The joy of this book is less in the text — lively and informative though it is — than in the match-by-match section at the back where every game played by the club under Busby is lovingly listed with goalscorers, attendances, referees and line-ups for both teams.
Hard to tell whether Thierry Henry is affecting a stern, focused, “44 games unbeaten and I still want more” pose in the publicity shot for Arsenal’s new away kit, or whether he is just bored at having to model yet another shirt. There’s certainly not that much to get excited about in the sensible strip, which is out on September 2 (£39). Made by Nike, it’s dark blue with a yellow-and-red trim.
Better buy it quick, since it will, much like Giovanni van Bronckhorst, have only a brief period in the limelight before being quietly removed from view. It is only the first-choice away kit for this season and in May it will become the second-choice change strip. Chelsea’s new away kit, meanwhile, is a special one: a sleek black-and-silver effort (Umbro, £39.99), though you can’t help thinking gold might have been more apt.