The Title: The Story of the First Division

by Scott Murray

Some folk will tell you the FA Premier League is the greatest show on earth. They may even have a point. But to build something so successful, so popular, so inescapable, you've got to have mighty strong foundations.

Prior to 1992, the old First Division was England's premier prize. Its rich tapestry winds back to 1888 and the formation of the Football League. A grand century-long tradition in danger of being lost in the wake of Premier League year zero.

No more! In The Title Scott Murray tells the lively, cherry-picked story of English football through the prism of the First Division. Rich with humour yet underpinned with solid research, this is a glorious meander across our national sport's varied terrain.

With as much about Burnley, Wolves, West Brom and Portsmouth as the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, we learn the less well-known stories the sport has to tell, such as the plight of Glossop, the smallest club to ever play top-flight football, and final day drama involving Huddersfield and Cardiff that knocks Michael Thomas into a cocked hat. We bask in the managerial genius of Tom Watson, the bowler-hatted Victorian Mourinho; celebrate the joy of the Busby Babes; discover the shameless showmanship of George Allison; embark on righteous escapades with Hughie Gallacher; and meet some old favourites in Don Revie, Bill Shankly, Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough.

At turns exciting, surprising, witty and bittersweet, The Title is a highly informed, fresh and affectionate love-letter to the English game, and a delight for any football fan.

Genres: Football, Sports, Soccer, History, Nonfiction, British Literature

352 pages, Hardcover

Published November 14, 2017

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed book looking at the first division from the start with the founder members to the start of the premiership when the first division resigned from the football league. some interesting stories along the hey day of the league with some different characters.

[Alex Abboud · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun overview of the 100+ year history of the old First Division in the Football League (the precursor to England’s Premier League). Fans of the sport will enjoy learning about the famous players, teams, and characters that defined different eras of English football.

[David Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an utterly fascinating book from beginning to end. It tells the story of the First Division from its inception to the greed of the big clubs that set up the Premier League. Its the era of proper football played by men who could still relate to their fans. Every page contained a funny, sad or fascinating anecdote and the statistics were central to my enjoyment of the book. My favourite stat was that Liverpool lost 11 times at Anfield in the league during the WHOLE of the 1970s!!! Scott Murray is a terrific writer who frequently makes the book very funny to read as he raises an eyebrow at the foibles of the managers, boards and players of the past. For anyone who wants to return to a simpler and more authentic age of football, this is definitely the book for you.

[Glyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent record of England's top division

I am really glad I bought this book. The author has a wonderfully light style of writing that makes this 104 year Odyssey a joy to read.

The anecdotes are well chosen and although seasons can be raced through, you never feel short changed by it. He covers the eccentrics of the early game. Aston Villa played one game in a storm so bad that a Central defender donned an overcoat & their star winger borrowed an umbrella for while he was playing! This is all lightly hablndled but when he deals with the tragedies of Bradford, Hillsbrough & the muchly forgotten Burnden Park crush, the tone is appropriately sombre.

An excellent take on a fine subject. Highly recommended.

[Peter K · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and illuminating read for any football fan with a few miles on the clock who will remember some of the years here recounted, or even for the younger fan wanting an insight into English football before the behemoth that is the premier league ( I refuse to capitalise the name on petty grounds ) rolled into town.

As a fifty something football fan I really enjoyed this book - it reminded me of things I already knew as well as enlightening me on matters before my time. This is not a book full of statistics and numbers so any fans seeking that will be disappointed but the breezy summary of each season that picks out the human interest stories makes for a good read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the history of the First Division in English football which lasted from 1888-1992, when the Premier League began. I learnt a lot about the history of English football and was able through this book to relive or experience those classic moments in English domestic football such as Forrest winning the League in the 1970s and as an Arsenal fan, my particular favourite part of the book was the golden era in the 1920s and 1930s when they were managed by Herbert Chapman.

I also found the early history of the Division to be fascinating, and I firmly believe that greed and a thirst for money ended a golden era in English football.

[Anirban · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crisply written, fun to read account of the old First division. If you are a history-cum-football nerd and have an unhealthy interest in English football then this is the book.
One star deducted as on the cover and in the plates within the pages we don't get a single shot of Bob Paisley who won the League a blisteringly six times, but instead we have a pic of Brian Clough on the cover who won only one. Not fair at all.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book better than the book itself. There are some good anecdotes and a few stories I’d not heard before but they get rather lost in a long catalogue of individual match results. There’s still, therefore, a great history of the first division to be written about the key characters that shaped it.

[Jordi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ample, but contains some errors, such as the fact that it is stated that the European Cup Final of 1982 was played in Amsterdam, whereas it was actually played in Rotterdam. This is quite a stretch to those who follow Dutch football even marginally.

The anecdotes are often witty and detailed. However, I do sense some Liverpool-based bias in the later chapters (covering the 1980s).

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one should have been better. I picked it up only to put it down again before forcing myself to finish. It gave me a decent insight into the great teams of the old English Football League but there’s not enough meat on the bone to go deeper into what made the league special; it’s just a recapping of champions and great teams, occasionally with some interesting anecdotes thrown in.

[Paul Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written belt-and-braces history of the pre-Premiership First Division, full of anecdotes and tarnished only (on the Audiobook version) by the constant mis-pronounciations of narrator Piers Hampton. Peter WHYthe? Are you mad?

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting rather than entertaining. A stats filled look back at the top division before Sky entered the arena thus creating a thought process that anything that happened pre-Sky is invalid. Faint praise I know, but it comes over as an extended football fanzine article.

Ray Smillie

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account of the life of the First Division pre Premier League. A little rushed towards the end-i'd like to read a follow up to impact the Premier League has made on the rest of the football league.

[Fritzov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm suppose to love a book like this. But for some reason i didn't. It has great a great story to a most excellent subject but still never got to me. Could be as simple as the narrator.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strictly for fans of the round ball game, this is an easy to read history of the 1888 - 1992 First Division, a predecessor of today's Premier League

[Kevin Coaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trawl through pre-Premier League history. Entertaining and funny at times. Some seasons get greater detail, but it mostly works.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating.

[Peter Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an American, the English Premier League didn't really register with me until the turn of the century when I got digital cable and henceforth, Fox Soccer Channel. But not even Michelle Lissell nor Bobby McMahon could clue me in about the dark ages before the Premier League started in 1992. My knowledge was limited to the odd reference heard on Monty Python (I always thought Coventry City had never won the FA Cup but apparently that changed in 1987) and the odd news story that made it to these shores which unfortunately was usually about hooliganism or other disastrous events. Thankfully, Scott Murray has written this book to enlighten us Yanks and, frankly, probably a lot of other nationalities too. It's comprehensive starting from the forming of the league in the late 19th century and goes all the way to the last season before the Premier League started. He covers the rises and falls of multiple teams and always plugs in a good anecdote to keep things humorous. This is a great book to read if you want to learn about the pre-Premier League days.

[Dan Stapleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining as all hell. Ridiculous anecdotes from 1930s football are my absolute favourite thing now.