Mud, Blood and Leather. British Football 1959 to 1969
The 1966 World Cup dominates the popular consciousness where British football in the 1960s is concerned. In reality, however, this was just the most visible part of a decade of deep and momentous change that would, after many false starts and stalls over the ensuing decades, eventually lead to the modern game we now enjoy.
Much of what we take for granted these days found its early form during those years, as Britain finally shook off the greyness of post war austerity and embraced newness with a gusto that was symbolised by Harold Wilson’s famous White Heat of Technology speech in 1963.
This book will celebrate those years of challenge and change, from 1959 to 1970, when mud, blood and leather were still the order of the day and the game in England was utterly transformed. Off the pitch it was floodlights, full colour match day programmes and better facilities for fans; all brought in as the game struggled to win back the faithful in the face of a new world of cosy homes and tv soaps. On the pitch hitherto unseen levels of professionalism emerged as new rules, tactics and greater fitness led to a game that was as competitive as it was brutal.
This was the decade that the game began to leave behind its rough and ready, take it or leave it roots and took the first tentative steps towards the product we both love and hate today. It was chaotic, messy and often absurd, but its spirit was unquenchable and legacy unparalleled. There was mud, there was blood and someone stole the ball. This is football in the 1960s.
