When Footballers Were Skint: A Journey in Search of the Soul of Football

by Jon Henderson

Shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2019 Long before perma-tanned football agents and TV mega-rights ushered in the age of the multimillionaire player, footballers wages were capped even the game's biggest names earned barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends such as Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews shared a bond of borderline penury with the huge crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were a world away from the pristine lawns of the game's modern era. Instead of the gleaming sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes every bit as modest as those of their supporters. Players and fans would even sometimes be next-door neighbours in a street of working-class terraced houses. Based on the first-hand accounts of players from a fast-disappearing generation, When Footballers Were Skint delves into the game's rich heritage and relates the fascinating story of a truly great sporting era.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction, Sports, History

336 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2019

Reviews

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought Gary Imlach’s haunting and touching memoir of his father’s career as a professional footballer in the bad old days was the benchmark to judge all such historical accounts of footballers in the days before the abolition of the maximum wage but now there is a new book that is just as good - which is high praise indeed.

Experienced sports journalist Jon Henderson spent four years seeking out the memories and views of what is quite literally a dying breed comprised of professional footballers who played the game between the end of the Second World War and 1961, which saw the previous maximum wage of £20 per week scrapped as well as the end of the slave-like retain and transfer system which allowed clubs to hang onto unwanted or recalcitrant players, refuse to pay them and also not allow them to play for anyone else - a clear restraint of trade. The efforts of Jimmy Hill and then George Eastham and the ironically and highly appropriately named Lord Justice Wilberforce did away with these iniquities and paved the way for the riches that can now be earned by footballers today.

Henderson knows exactly when to interject with a pithy and well timed comment and when to let the players speak for themselves. He gives them the freedom and space to tell their stories of the difficulties they faced, the appalling way they were treated by directors and management, perceived as they were as easily and cheaply replaceable assets.

What shines through is their pride and sheer love of the game and the dignity with which they made ends meet, played through appalling injuries and always gave of their best. The book contains a plethora of stories some of which I had heard before but most were fresh, amusing and wonderful to read, others made me deeply angry at the way gifted professionals were taken for granted and treated so appallingly.

Henderson picks a Stellar Paupers x1 made up of players who played in the First Division between 1945 and 1961 who would now be worth and be paid millions but were forced to scrimp a living because of the way the dice were loaded against professional players at that time.

Perhaps the tables have been turned too much nowadays, but every modern millionaire footballer should be urged to read this book and give fervent thanks to the players who came before them and whose efforts helped pave the way for the riches that can be earned today.

This is both an important historical record as well as an immensely entertaining book.

Highly recommended.

[Mahlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jon Henderson has assembled a wonderful compendium of stories from an era that seems so long ago it’s almost alien to any football fan or player today. A time when footballers did not make much more than the national average and their wage was capped at 20 pounds per week, therefore their financial situation was usually a lot closer to the fan that paid to see them play every week as opposed to their club chairman or boardmember. They often lived in club owned housing in neighborhoods close to the ground. If they didn’t their transportation options were pretty much limited to the bus or the tube. Special attention should be paid to the chapters on the rudimentary medical care players of this era received it was downright harrowing.

I’ve read a lot of biographies of footballers from this area so the stories were familiar to me. However it’s helpful to have them all in one place like this… Collectively they have a lot more weight. Having read the story of how hard these players worked to abolish the maximum wage I will never again complain footballers make too much money. However, I do wish they would fight as hard for the shirt as the gentleman chronicled in this book did.

[Andrei Vylinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about the long-gone, pre-EPL English football, and a nice portrait of the post-war UK, if not exactly as delightful as its first 10% where most of the anecdotes I liked best are clustered. And anecdotes, mostly about football but also life, attitudes, and mindset of the 1950s, are its most memorable and insightful part - well, they should be, shouldn't they, it's oral history after all! The stories grow somewhat repetitive by the end of the book, and the parts about the game as it was played in the 1940-1950s in England and Scotland are quite often more informative than interesting (though interesting they are if that is what you are looking for, and I was looking for it, and also if you are ready to memorize a lot of names and a lot of teams, all playing and managed in a more or less similar manner). Oh, and the last chapter is a beautiful coda which shows why the book was written in the first place and gives a fine view on the modern game with its money-driven oddities, high technologies and next to no spirit of communal entertainment.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea for an article, but becomes repetitive with most interviewees saying much the same thing.

[John Garlington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I have watched football for over sixty years and mostly agree with the sentiments of this book, which is a treasure trove of research. I found the first half harder going than the second half and wondered if the author was ever going to mention Sir Tom Finney, that working class genius. His play embodies the state of football in his era, tough uncompromising and unrewarded. The second half covered attitudes to the game, success and the players themselves. I was fascinated to read that the winning FA Cup manager would apologise to his counterpart on the losing side. The thing which stood out - football is not work. Finney, remember was a working plumber.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sobering read when you consider the wages players earn at the top level in this day and age. Granted footballers before the wage cap was lifted earned more than your average working man but not much more and this was a reflective look back at this era covering just before the second world war up to the early sixties. Most of the interviewees look back with fondness, tinged with some regret, and mostly agree that modern football is rubbish.

Ray Smillie

[Kevin]

Henderson has worked hard to bring a lot of different voices into this history, covering the transition of football into the modern game. As expected, it can often borderline on the nostalgic.

While I see the appeal of working-class footballers and could agree that the amount of money in the game now is a challenge... it was very difficult to buy into the narrative that football was better when players made a basic wage and played on broken legs.

[Mrs E Wetherall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Football is great. The players chose it over long days, graft and early death. They earned more than their dads and often had a proper job as well but the author bangs on about their being skint. Flawed argument but a nice enough book. It's badly organised and repeats the few people he sites as references especially in the first half. Minimal research Is suggest and a leaning towards confirmatory bias.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressively researched collection of facts and anecdotes from the 1940s 50s and into the sixties. Excellent for anyone interested in English football and its history; and if you can actually remember watching Terry Neil, Danny Blanchflower and Bobby Tambling it is a real treat. Nicely written, perfect tone for the subject matter and just enough of the “in my day” to delight us bogies and piss off the overly ardent.

[Eurwyn Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read.

I don't usually leave reviews, but this book is brilliant a proper walk through the years and an understanding of where the modern game is headed towards. Please read it.

[Harry Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read for anybody interested in football

Great read. The only problem is I saw most of the players including Matthews, Finney, Tommy Banks play in the flesh makes me feel my age. But they have me far more enjoyment than most current day players.

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Percipient hark back to the days when fans in the terraces were on a par with, if not better off than, the players kicking lumps out of each other, and occasionally the ball, on the pitch. Henderson whisks us off in a time machine via interviews and quips from larger-than-life football characters such as Dave Whelan, Terry Neil and the Messi and Ronaldo of the time - Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews. Bravery, innocence and camaraderie amongst the players, teams and local areas abound. In steep contrast to the game today, some might say. Well worth the read if you want to remember what made the game beautiful in the first place.

[Stacey Keeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and eye-opening for a modern-day football fan.

[Duncan Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs an editor - more than once the same anecdote is repeated in different chapters.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look back at times before professional footballers were paid utterly ridiculous sums of money for being skilled at kicking a ball around.

[Tom Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant, shows how far football has came (for better or worse)

[Steve Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many memories of football before the English Premier League changed everything. Good interviews with quite a few ex-footballers, but it does jump around a bit. Recommended if the history of football interests you. Also an interesting social document which compares the living standards of then and now.

[rogril · Rating 4 out of 5]

A football journey from sport to big business

So many memories of the great game before the English Premier League. Clear and concise interviews with ex-footballers. Strongly recommended.