Agony & The Ecstasy

Richard Foster

Description

A comprehensive history of the Football League Play-Offs from their relatively troubled conception to the current day boom. Born in English football's darkest hour, it has now become home to the richest match in sport. From the exquisite agony of losing to the unadulterated high of success, this is the Agony & the Ecstasy.

Informations

• Publié par: Ockley Books
• Date de parution: 24 novembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783018451
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Published by:
Ockley Books Ltd www.ockleybooks.co.uk
First published 2015
All text copyright of the author, Richard Foster.
All photos copyright and courtesy of Colorsport unless otherwise stated. Back cover image courtesy of The Football League.
The moral right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted. All chapters written by Richard Foster.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the author and publisher Ockley Books.
ISBN 978-1-910906-00-2 ISBN 978-1-783018-45-1 (eBook)
Front Cover, layout and illustrations by Michael Kinlan
Printed bound in Scotland by: Bell Bain, Glasgow, www.bell-bain.com

To Y
Thanks for your unswerving and invaluable support throughout.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
ORIGINS
MARCH-MAY 1985: ENGLISH FOOTBALL S DARKEST DAYS
BACK FROM THE BRINK: 1985-87
LIFE ON THE ROLLERCOASTER: FANS AND THE PLAY-OFFS
LIFT-OFF
THE EARLY YEARS: 1988-90
WEMBLEY WAY 1990
THE PLAYERS
MANAGERS AND THE PLAY-OFFS
CHAMPIONING THE UNDERDOG
MIND THE GAP
ABROAD AND BEYOND
PLAY-OFFS RANKING: 1987-2015
THE CLUBS: THE CURSED, THE BLESSED, THE UNFORTUNATE AND THE BLIGHTED
THE RESULTS
INDEX
INFOGRPAHICS
PHOTOGRAPHS

After my first book, The A-Z of Football Hates , which was clearly centred on the negative aspects of football, The Agony The Ecstasy is much more balanced between dark and light. Exploring the history of the Play-Offs has been a project that has been with me for so, and quite possibly too, many years and I fear that many worthy people will slip through the net that is my failing memory. If that is the case please forgive me and let s have a pint to compensate.
As I have mentioned in the book I have been overwhelmed by the universally positive responses I have received from my many requests for interviews and I have only stumbled across one or two refuseniks along the way, so that is a testament to the enduring appeal and interest of the Play-Offs. Everyone has an opinion on their value and their standing and there was barely a whiff of dissension amongst those I interviewed. It has been a pleasure talking to so many advocates and I appreciate the time and effort of the following in giving freely of their time: Dan Abrahams, Phil Alexander, Gavin Barber, Bobby Barnes, Stephen Browett, Adam Bull, Alastair Campbell, Clarke Carlisle, Tony Cascarino, Steve Claridge, Mark Clemmit, Olly Dawes, Kevin Day, Terry Heilbron, Ian Holloway, Ritchie Humphreys, Laura Jones, Dave Lane, Martin Lange, Martin McFadden, Roger Maslin, Alan Marriott, Grant McCann, Pat Nevin, Ian Rands, Lee Richardson, David Sheepshanks, Gary Simpson, Daniel Storey, Neil Warnock, Mark Watson and Andy Williamson.
A couple of people deserve a separate mention for their continuing support over the last few years. One source of reference, which stands out from the others, is Simon Inglis s authoritative and comprehensive book, A History of League Football and The Men Who Made It . John Nagle at the Football League has been a rock throughout and he has always encouraged and assisted whenever asked. Mick Kinlan, who designed the book, has done a superb job in making it visually stunning and never over-complicating the process. No author can survive the lonely process of book writing without an enthusiastic publisher and Dave Hartrick of Ockley Books has always been there with words of encouragement and sage advice. Considering our respective allegiances to Crystal Palace and Brighton, it is even more extraordinary that we have such an excellent working relationship.
As ever, my family have had to suffer the obsessive nature of a writer, putting up with my endless wittering, and I owe them all masses of gratitude for their forbearance and good humour. My wife Yvonne has worked incredibly hard in allowing me to indulge myself, for which I am eternally grateful. And to my equally long-suffering children Jessica, Amelia and Tristram - thanks for your patience and I promise not to mention the Play-Offs again for a little while.

FOREWORD
It is a rare and much-treasured luxury to go to a football match as a complete neutral. To be able to enjoy a game from an objective viewpoint, to not be overly concerned or exercised about the result, to be stress-free whilst all around are having kittens, is delicious and a moment to be savoured. It represents an opportunity not to be missed. And so when given the chance I jumped at the prospect of going to Wembley to watch QPR take on Derby County courtesy of my local youth football club which had kindly donated a ticket to the match as gratitude for me running a quiz night for them.
My pleasure was enhanced because this was the Championship Play-Offs Final and I am ever so slightly obsessed by the Play-Offs, as you will discover during the course of reading this book. For the ultimate in nerve-shredding, gut-wrenching tension this match is a must-see. When the stakes are so high that the difference between winning and losing is by far the widest of any sporting contest anywhere in the world, let alone in English football, this is an experience I recommend for anyone interested in sport at its most elemental.
Normally I would have been amongst the committed and the faithful, desperate for my team to win and even more desperate for them not to lose. I have been in that position of nauseous anticipation as the build-up drags on interminably and wishing the whole thing would just get started. Then to suffer the game s ebbs and flows with that uncertainty gnawing away at your chest and your head throbbing, one wonders why we go through it much of the time.
This was the seventh Play-Offs Final I have attended, having been to four with my club, Crystal Palace, stretching over four different decades and all the way back to 1989. The late 1980s seem so far removed from today s football that it feels like so much more than twenty-five years ago. Football has changed more dramatically over this period than any other corresponding twenty-five years and the Play-Offs exemplify this. They have become a totally different beast almost unrecognisable from its original incarnation and this book will reflect on all those seismic shifts and changes.
I feel extremely fortunate to have experienced a 75 per cent success rate over those four Palace Finals and have greatly enjoyed and been thrilled by my club s ultimately positive relationship with the Play-Offs. Mind you the one, solitary loss still burns and churns my inner self, but much more of that later. Success in this match is as sweet as it gets for many, but failure is correspondingly as deflating as any feeling in football. The massive chasm between winning and losing is what makes the Play-Offs such compelling viewing. Much of modern football is sanitised to the point of anaemia but the Play-Offs are characterised by the contrasting fortunes of the protagonists. The rawness of the emotions exposed harks back to a time pretty much forgotten and generally unloved. The mid-1980s was an awful period for English football when passion turned into violence but out of this nadir came the germ of the idea for the Play-Offs and the foundation blocks for the rebuilding of the national game emerged, tentatively at first, but subsequently with increasing confidence and even a hint of swagger.
So this was my third non-Palace Final and I was determined to enjoy it. As I made my way from Wembley Central along the grim, grey, soulless high street I watched the fans closely to see if I could detect the tell-tale signs of tension etched into their faces. Most were in a buoyant mood; after all they had reached Wembley, on the other hand, which was cause enough to celebrate and a day at the national stadium is not to be sniffed at. Considering QPR s last visit was over thirty years ago in the 1982 FA Cup Final against Tottenham, probably more than 50 per cent of their fans would not have been alive to witness that so this was a new, exciting experience for the majority of them. Derby s last appearance at Wembley was when they tasted success in the 2007 Championship Play-Offs Final after defeating West Brom, so they were furnished with a relatively fresh memory; their excitement was nonetheless also palpable.
But underneath the cheery disposition of those wending their merry way to the ground there was surely the undeniable trace of tension and potential trauma. Some seemed oblivious and that worried me. Did they not know the history? I became fatalistic and increasingly concerned for whoever was going to lose, as they were about to suffer, horribly. They needed to be made aware of the many desperate tales of utter dejection that lie strewn over the course of the last twenty-seven years; that this could potentially be one of the very bleakest days of their lives. But on they went with jaunty step, full of bravado and good cheer, reminiscent of the unknowing marching to battle with not a care in the world, blind to the catastrophe that lay in wait.
How many of this crowd would know that the very first Play-Offs took place in the 1986/87 season. Less than 1 per cent, if my instant straw poll was anything to go by, and this concerned me as most football fans lap up the history of the game, revel in the detail and are thirsty for more. So clearly there was a gap that needed to be filled and hence I was doubly determined to right this wrong and give everybody the chance to learn more by finally writing this book, which has been gestating for many years. Since 2006, I have been yearning to chart the various trials and tribulations, as well as the triumphs, of the Play-Offs. I was also determined to uncover the lessons that can be learned about how they prevailed despite their inauspicious and tentative beginning. And then there is the wider significance of the changing fortunes of English league football that warranted a thorough exam