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Black Boots and Football Pinks Daniel Gray

Black Boots and Football Pinks By Daniel Gray

Black Boots and Football Pinks by Daniel Gray


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Black Boots and Football Pinks Summary

Black Boots and Football Pinks: 50 Lost Wonders of the Beautiful Game by Daniel Gray

Goalkeepers in trousers, proper division names, turf patterns, pixelated scoreboards and, of course, Saturday evening pink newspapers... They were the gritty stardust that made football sparkle. Here, 50 such wonders are drawn together with evocative charm before they slip from memory forever. Dedicating a chapter to each wonder, Daniel Gray's pieces read more like love letters than essays. Here is a sentimental meander beneath main-stand clocks and through streets where children still play football. Written in the same wistful and whimsical style as Gray's much-admired previous book, Saturday, 3pm, the unashamedly nostalgic Black Boots and Football Pinks will warm the heart and prompt fond sighs of recognition. Gray's words preserve on paper the relics and minutiae of a shared obsession and identity. They make yesterday's football feel within touching distance, and offer cosy refuge from a boisterous game and world.

Black Boots and Football Pinks Reviews

A heartwarming, occasionally emotional and often very funny meander down Memory Lane... A book of considerable charm, worth the price of admission for the phrase "hair wax applied methodically and in a style that considered Charles Buchan's Football Weekly a mirror" alone. * The Observer *
A funny, affectionate and nostalgic celebration of quirks ... It would be easy to get the tone wrong but Gray's touch is exquisite. A book with so much warmth you could slip it into your pocket for games in winter. * The Times *
The perfect stocking filler...a wonderful little book. * Sunday Sport *
[Gray] effortlessly paints pictures that transport you to a place and time ... both clever and endearing * The Football Pink *
Often funny and absolutely authentic. * The Herald, Sports Books of the Year *
Fifty taken-for-granted gems of Britain's footballing past have been preserved for posterity...an unabashed love letter to the beautiful game. Back of the net. * The Sunday Post, Books of the Year *
[Gray's] poetic prose makes him the John Cheever of the penalty spot and the Joan Didion of the halfway line. * Ian McMillan *
Wistful and affecting. * Michael Calvin *
[Daniel Gray] is a very fine writer ... funny, warm and, sheesh, this lad can turn a phrase in the way Juninho would Samba his way past a defender for his beloved Boro. -- Nick Cameron * Glasgow Herald *
An affectionate, tongue-not-quite-in-cheek lamentation for all that's been lost from the game... Slight yet robust like a winger of the old school, this book jinks, charms and scores * When Saturday Comes *
Brilliant writing. * Jonathan Northcroft *

About Daniel Gray

Daniel Gray is the author of Saturday, 3pm: 50 Eternal Delights of Modern Football and Scribbles in the Margins: 50 Eternal Delights of Books. He has written five other books on football, politics, history and travel. His recent work has included screenwriting for the BBC, presenting social history on television and radio, and writing across a number of national titles.

Table of Contents

1. Multiple cup replays 2. Spontaneous atmosphere 3. Proper division names 4. Black boots 5. Ramshackle dugouts 6. Disorganised warm-ups 7. Knowing the names of grounds 8. Goalkeepers in trousers and hats 9. Local shirt and hoarding sponsors 10. Football Pinks 11. Queuing for tickets 12. Big man/little man up front 13. Player jobs after retirement 14. Matches played in fog 15. Shirt etiquette 16. Kids playing in the street 17. Checks, tartans and other turf patterns 18. Small men marking the post 19. Old-fashioned wingers 20. Sharing the scores from elsewhere 21. Ceefax and Teletext 22. Terrible goal kicks and foul throws 23. Club season-highlight videos 24. Abandoned matches 25. Home away, home away 26. Referee occupations and hometowns 27. Players running onto the pitch 28. Loan moves being rare 29. Choosing who you're next to 30. Main-stand clocks 31. One-club men 32. Beams and imperfect views 33. Sponsored players' cars 34. Homes with views into the ground 35. Turnstile operators 36. Shabby training grounds 37. Characterful captains' armbands 38. Provincial businessman owners 39. Caretaker managers 40. Paper tickets 41. Player brawls 42. Pixelated scoreboards 43. Huts on stand roofs 44. Regional highlights programmes 45. Luxury, superfluous players 46. Bald players 47. Goal nets with personality 48. The many scents of matchday 49. Understated goal celebrations 50. Heroes

Additional information

CIN1472958861VG
9781472958860
1472958861
Black Boots and Football Pinks: 50 Lost Wonders of the Beautiful Game by Daniel Gray
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
2018-10-04
160
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Black Boots and Football Pinks