Andrew Kirkham's book on the county cup

[Revolution]

Bring Back the Birch

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Bring Back the Birch

Well done, Rev! Thought it was a crap read, by the way!

 

[Darren]

Well done, Rev! Thought it was a crap read, by the way!

And Frank Worthington called his AB "one hump or two".

When I was a lad football AB's had such titles as "My Life for City" or some such and told the tale of how two minutes aftre being born the player was practicising with a tennis ball down the back alley of the slum he grew up in and thereafter how he practiced 16 hours a day and never so much as looked at a woman or a pint before being signed as an apprentice by City for 2/6 a week.

 

[Revolution]

The Birchenall book has its moments. I've read worse. One thing to say is that it's certainly his voice coming through loud and clear.

Alan Ball's first autobiography was called "It's all about A Ball".

 

[Gabsblade]

I have quite a few of the ones mentioned here, as well as Ronnie Sharpe`s - Sharpe as Blade 2, which I read this month. When I asked him about sending me vol 1 out here to Botswana, he told me the following:

"I had 1,000 copies of the first book, same with the second and i've sold around 600, in 6 months. Looked into doing a reprint for the first, but the least the printers will do is 100 copies and don't know if I could shift that many. The plan was to do a trilogy, 60s, 70s, and 80s and i've started doing the 80s, but i might shelf it for a while .I'm thinking of re-writing the first two books, putting them together as one volume and trying to get a publisher as I published the others myself"

Also unless I missed it here, I also have one called "Blades Tales - Memories of Supporting Sheffield United" with a brilliant back cover of a supporter with a jean jacket on with the badge and embroidered above and below are the words "Mel Rees - Super Blade"...nice touch!

 

[Willie Carlin]

3rd November 1970 Barnsley 3 v 2 United County Cup Semi Final Replay, Barnsley scorer Loyden 3

That's the man.

 

[super_pig]

heh.. i went to school with 'ayatollah' kirkham.. top lad

 

[JJ Sefton]

The Birchenall book has its moments. I've read worse. One thing to say is that it's certainly his voice coming through loud and clear.

Alan Ball's first autobiography was called "It's all about A Ball".

My dad never liked Birchenall for some reason. When I told him Id bought the book and described the cover (Birchenall dressed as a schoolteacher brandishing a cane - birch, gedditt???!!??!) he said "Sounds like summat the flash twat would do"

 

[jockdodds]

The Colossus - A book by Graham Phythian about William 'Fatty' Foulke. Good reading

I've also got the United Quiz book that Warnock supposedly did with a couple of others.

Yes, excellent book is Colossus. Also "Association Football" by Ernest Needham. Fascinating insight into football at the turn of the 19th century.

---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------

In Needham's book I particularly like Needham's description of how he, as captain, changed the formation to 1-1-8 (ie eight forwards!) when the Blades were 4-2 down with eight minutes left in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, which ended in a 4-4 draw as a result.

 

[Pedro Verde]

Yes, excellent book is Colossus. Also "Association Football" by Ernest Needham. Fascinating insight into football at the turn of the 19th century.

---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------

In Needham's book I particularly like Needham's description of how he, as captain, changed the formation to 1-1-8 (ie eight forwards!) when the Blades were 4-2 down with eight minutes left in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, which ended in a 4-4 draw as a result.

1-1-8 that is the future

 

[Darren]

My dad never liked Birchenall for some reason. When I told him Id bought the book and described the cover (Birchenall dressed as a schoolteacher brandishing a cane - birch, gedditt???!!??!) he said "Sounds like summat the flash twat would do"

I've just read a book called "Beastly Fury" which, whilst not specifically about Sheffield, deals with the early history of the game in England, puts paid to the myth that it was public schoolboys who started organised football and emphasises Sheffield's pivotal role in the game's origin. It's worth a read.

Although there is one hilariously dodgy bit where the author reckons that England's hanging on to a charging around rather than passing game in early internationals against the Scots (which resulted in the passing Scots winning most of them) was due to the England players (ex public schoolboys to a man) being repressed due to Victorian anti-masturbation propaganda and thus having to run off their frustration on the football field!

 

[DuncDisorderly]

Although there is one hilariously dodgy bit where the author reckons that England's hanging on to a charging around rather than passing game in early internationals against the Scots (which resulted in the passing Scots winning most of them) was due to the England players (ex public schoolboys to a man) being repressed due to Victorian anti-masturbation propaganda and thus having to run off their frustration on the football field!

So, it is true then. Silky passing football is for wankers...

 

[blade too long]

remember the 9-0 win , but didnt we clobber doncaster by something similar in that period
remember getting bricked at Barnsley railway station after a 3-2 win county cup game at Oakwell

had the word LONDON backwards on my forehead for a while

 

[Silent Blade]

I don't think Farnsworth did the 48 book - he isn't that old!

written by R A Sparling or Fred Walters. There is a copy at the Sheffield Central Library

 

[torridon]

Also unless I missed it here, I also have one called "Blades Tales - Memories of Supporting Sheffield United" with a brilliant back cover of a supporter with a jean jacket on with the badge and embroidered above and below are the words "Mel Rees - Super Blade"...nice touch!

I'm in a photograph with lots of other Blades outside a boozer in Charlton in that book. :beer:

 

[JJ Sefton]

written by R A Sparling or Fred Walters. There is a copy at the Sheffield Central Library

Sparling, thats the one!

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Went to the Doncaster 4-2 CC game on 8th December 1980 - the day John Lennon was shot.

Some other Blades books that haven't been mentioned yet:-

A history of Sheffield United (from 1912) - Daily Mirror match reports
Sheffield United Illustrating the Greats - Liversidge & Mackender
BBC2 / Divide of the Steel City books by Cowens (the United part of the latter was basically a reprint of BBC2)
Barmy Army - Alsop
Blades Trivia 1 & 2 - Holmes
Pele at the Lane
Blades Quiz book
Sheffield United Miscellany

Cricket books about the Lane:-
A Centrury of Cricket at Bramall Lane 1855-1955 - Marston
The Story of Cricket at Bramall Lane - Farnsworth - 1973
Before & after Bramall Lane - Farnsworth - 1988
150 Years of Bramall Lane - 2005

Club handbooks:-
53-4, 60-1, 64-5, 74-5, 83, 84,
Supporters Club Handbooks:-
1939 Promotion special, 57-8, 58-9, 59-60, 67-8, 68-9, 69-70
Blades Revival Diary/Handbooks:-
1986, 88-9, 89-90, 90-1, 91-2, 92-3

Other biogs/auto-biogs where United get a chapter or two:-
Joe Mercer (2 books), Jimmy Johnstone (2 books), Martin Peters, Hand of God: The Life of Diego Maradona, Fred Eyre (scout-coach at the Lane in 97-8), Dean Windass, Paul Holland, John Burridge

 

[FlyingFjortoft]

Theres one book thats always eluded me, came out circa 2004 and I think it went through each season year by year. I think it had a grid on the left hand pages with all our results from that season with some text on the right hand pages.
It was sold in the club shop but I'd just bought that A-Z book and I couldnt justify buying that too, by the time I went back for it they'd stopped selling it.
Been keeping my eye out ever since, its probably already been mentioned in this thread, anyone know?

 

[programmeman]

remember the 9-0 win , but didnt we clobber doncaster by something similar in that period
remember getting bricked at Barnsley railway station after a 3-2 win county cup game at Oakwell

had the word LONDON backwards on my forehead for a while

1/05/67 6-1 County Cup semi final.


Big part of my collection is the County Cup. It wasn't until I read the book I realised exactly how far off complete the collection is always going to be! Won't be many programmes from 1921 knocking about!!!!

 

[cahill]

There is a bookshop in the south of France, closed for the last 5 years, with the Currie-Birchenall cosy up photo on the front cover in the shop window It's weird as you can see all the books inside as it deteriorates by the day.

 

[super_pig]

>So, it is true then. Silky passing football is for wankers...
noone told guardiola then? :/

 

[Wapping Blade]

I can't see mention of Nick Udall's "Thirty Memorable Games from the Seventies" that I just saw on display in Retford Library (!) and of course borrowed,

 

[Longtime Blade]

I just bought this and would recommend it for any other saddos who like to know about the most obscure United games. As you would expect it is full of stats but also has a detailed season by season account of the cup itself.

It brings back memories fror old farts like me - I was there for United's last ever game in the competition when our reserves beat Wednesday's reserves 3-2 at the Lane in the final in May 1982.

It's usually thought that United have played more games against Blackburn Rovers than any other club but doesn't this exclude County Cup games? If so, I think they've played more games against Wednesday than any other club - about 160.

 

[Darren]

It's usually thought that United have played more games against Blackburn Rovers than any other club but doesn't this exclude County Cup games? If so, I think they've played more games against Wednesday than any other club - about 160.

The Blackburn figure is just for league games.

 

[sitwell]

We must have played the pigs at home between 87 and 92 ,night match. cant remember the game but the pigs took the kop and 10 of us ended just behind the net keeping quiet. One lad , Dunky, decided enough was enough and started singing ,it kicked off big time once one had dared to boot one of us ,Blades helped from all over but we hugely outnumbered and ended up surrounded by coppers for the rest of the game. No mobiles in those days but word must have got out and Blades were running them all over on Shoreham St after. That sadly is my County cup memory .

 

[JJ Sefton]

We must have played the pigs at home between 87 and 92 ,night match. cant remember the game but the pigs took the kop and 10 of us ended just behind the net keeping quiet. One lad , Dunky, decided enough was enough and started singing ,it kicked off big time once one had dared to boot one of us ,Blades helped from all over but we hugely outnumbered and ended up surrounded by coppers for the rest of the game. No mobiles in those days but word must have got out and Blades were running them all over on Shoreham St after. That sadly is my County cup memory .

Was that not the Zenith Data Systems Cup?

 

[Darren]

Was that not the Zenith Data Systems Cup?

Nope, because that was at Hillsborough. It wasn't the County Cup either because our last game in that was in 1982. It may have been Kenworthy's testimonial in May 86 or Morris' testimonial in Sept 88. I think those were the only two night matches at the Lane in that period. It's most likely to be the Kenworthy game as there was about 10,000 at that with a fair few Wednesday fans (they won 4-3).

 

[Silent Blade]

Nope, because that was at Hillsborough. It wasn't the County Cup either because our last game in that was in 1982. It may have been Kenworthy's testimonial in May 86 or Morris' testimonial in Sept 88. I think those were the only two night matches at the Lane in that period. It's most likely to be the Kenworthy game as there was about 10,000 at that with a fair few Wednesday fans (they won 4-3).

what about the friendly match when we lost 3-0 before the start of the 1987-88 season?

 

[Darren]

what about the friendly match when we lost 3-0 before the start of the 1987-88 season?

Ah yes, you have me there. It could have been that one

 

[sitwell]

Im sure it was before that ,late 70s I reckon ,I will ask my mates later. Kin Alzheimers