What Was Football Like in the 1980s?

Richard Crooks

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• eBook ISBN:
  9781785317132
• Year: 2020

What Was Football Like in the 1980s? provides a fascinating and insightful perspective on the game in a decade when football faced major challenges on and off the field. The author's own memories and experiences are augmented by a wealth of research to bring you the definitive account of the clubs, players, managers, referees, grounds, crowds and competitions that defined '80s football. The book examines the Hillsborough, Heysel and Bradford fire tragedies, along with the increasingly commercialised aspects of the game and the evolution of televised football. The scourge of hooliganism - which reached its height in the 1980s - is also given due consideration. What Was Football Like in the 1980s? is an enthralling and illuminating account of a truly remarkable decade for the beautiful game, penned by a respected football author and journalist. How different was the sport 30 to 40 years ago? Richard Crooks gives you the answer, leaving no stone unturned.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Foreword
• 1. Four Decades Later – The Wasps, The Jags, The Gers
• 2. On the Rise … and Then
• 3. Shrimpers and Shots …
• 4. Mascots
• 5. Grounds
• 6. Crowds
• 7. Hooliganism – The Spectre Fully Formed
• 8. Racism
• 9. The Bradford Fire
• 10. Heysel
• 11. Hillsborough
• 12. Players
• 13. Managers
• 14. Referees
• 15. Control of the Game and Economics
• 16. Clubs and The League Competition
• 17. FA Cup
• 18. The League Cup
• 19. Other Competitions
• 20. Sponsorship
• 21. Commercially
• 22. Football in Scotland
• 23. European Club Competitions
• 24. European Championships
• 25. Frankfurt
• 26. World Cup
• 27. Television
• 28. Radio and Newspapers
• 29. Programmes and Fanzines
• 30. It Happened in the 1980s
• Afterword
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Appendix 4
• Appendix 5
• Appendix 6
• Bibliography
• Photos