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SIDELINES TV WATCH THIS MONTH’S SCREEN REVIEW Now in its seventh series, the Salford City documentary Class of 92: Full Time (Sky) continues to ask important questions about lower league football. Questions like “Who is still watching Class of 92: Full Time?” Insomniacs? Serial killers? Nicky Butt superfans? Becalmed in League Two for six seasons, the project has clearly stalled. With losses reportedly standing at £23 million, and billionaire backer Peter Lim newly departed, the situation is fraught. The latest series begins at the start of the 2023-24 campaign with Salford nursing a severe hangover from their play-off semi-final defeat to Stockport. Following a brutal 5-1 home defeat by Tranmere on Boxing Day, gloriously uncharismatic manager Neil Wood refuses to conduct any post-match interviews and is sacked in real time – a series of hushed mobile phone calls confirming his exit. Like all soap operas, Class of 92 understands the value of a good villain. The appointment of Karl Robinson as Wood’s replacement isn’t quite Dirty Den returning to EastEnders to boost ratings but there are similarities. The former Queen Vic landlord came back from the dead after apparently being murdered on a canal towpath, while Karl Robinson spent six years at MK Dons. Constantly checking where the cameras are, Robinson cheerfully introduces himself to his players as an “arrogant prick” before being sent off ten minutes into his first game. A traditional sitcom would never have two David Brents, but with Robinson in charge and Gary Neville still the boardroom figurehead, Class of 92 doesn’t have that luxury. Rarely seen with his former team-mates, Neville sits alone in a private box to watch games. When Salford score, he opens a door to celebrate noisily above the stand before returning to his room, gently closing the door behind him. The input of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Butt is less obvious, and there’s a danger that, more than ever, Salford looks like a project designed to give millionaire ex-footballers something to do during retirement. Constant cutaways to Scholes and Butt playing darts at the training ground don’t help, though footage of Scholes limping around a corporate five-a-side game at Old Trafford in front of a handful of fans introduces genuine pathos. Salford finish 20th – one place better off than when Wood was sacked. B R A D F O R D T I M A recent article in the Guardian argued that “the age of perpetual content is upon us, and it is viciously uninteresting”. The author was referring to the slew of club-sanctioned documentaries commissioned by streaming platforms in recent years, but you could argue the same is true of the game itself. It certainly helps to explain dismal decisions like starting the FA Cup third round on a Thursday night. But it also led to a bizarre furore around one of those Thursday games – Peterborough’s trip to Everton (BBC iPlayer). The match pitted Ashley Young against his 18-year-old son Tyler. Or it would have done if Posh manager Darren Ferguson had brought Young Jr off the bench. Losing 1-0, it would have been a strange decision to introduce an inexperienced defender for the sake of sentiment. Yet the vitriolic response online tells us much about what certain viewers want from football these days: neatly packaged narratives that can be told in 30 seconds or less. Peterborough’s defeat was part of a disappointing FA Cup third round for would-be giantkillers, with Premier League sides winning 14 of the 15 ties against EFL opposition by an aggregate score of 52-7. By the time National League Tamworth hosted Tottenham on the Sunday, ITV commentator Sam Matterface clearly felt it prudent to tick off everything on his “Romance of the Cup” checklist ahead of kick-off. “We’ve got a sloping 3G pitch, a changed team, long throws, a souped-up Portakabin for the changing rooms, cold showers… it’s got all the ingredients!” The start was delayed by ten minutes while a Tamworth player got on a team-mate’s shoulders NUMBERS GAME The figures behind the facts £530,000 10 21 Erling Haaland’s new weekly wage at Manchester City after he signed a contract extension until 2034 The number of AFC Fylde fans who attended their midweek National League match at Southend. Each received a free pie Clean sheets James Trafford has kept in 30 league appearances for Burnley so far this season – a club record I M A G E S G E T T Y ( 2 ) , A L A M Y 6 WSC
page 7
to mend one of the goal nets with some gaffer tape. Matterface couldn’t believe his luck. The only thing missing was a centre-half smoking a roll-up and a final sweep of the six-yard box for dogshit. The score remained 0-0. “No replays, remember!” parped Mark Pougatch, trying to make it sound like a positive. Spurs won 3-0 in extra time, bringing on a few hundred million quid’s worth of talent for another 30 minutes that tilts the balance even further away from the havenots. It’s a strange kind of romance when there’s no possibility of a second date. Tom Lines A L A M Y , CO L O R S P O RT Solid brick TONY BOOK When 33-year-old Tony Book captained Manchester City to the 1967-68 League title, it was with a team assembled mainly from a younger generation. The likes of Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee, Colin Bell, Neil Young, Alan Oakes and Glyn Pardoe were all in their early or mid-20s, too young to remember the war – which Book spent mainly in India after his father was posted there – and too young for National Service. They had also generally taken the conventional route to football stardom: talent-spotted as kids, professionals by 20, earning more than their parents. “Skip” had taken a different path. In the summer of 1964 Book was still a bricklayer by trade, playing right-back for non-League Bath City in his spare time. A trial at Chelsea had come to nothing, and he could be forgiven for accepting he’d found his level. In fact, his football story was only just beginning. Malcolm Allison had been appointed Bath manager the previous year and had quickly spotted Book’s leadership qualities. Their careers would become closely intertwined over the next decade, including a stint together in Canada after Allison was offered some summer coaching work with Toronto City. The flashy playboy and the lowmaintenance footsoldier may seem an unlikely pairing but behind Allison’s good-time image lay a brilliant football mind, and he knew that Book’s attributes were vital for a team’s success. And so when Allison was hired by Division Two Plymouth Argyle for the 1964-65 season he took his captain with him, though only after he’d convinced Book to shave two years off his age to make him a slightly more attractive proposition to the Argyle board. Book was a full-time professional footballer at last. Left Tony Book pictured at a Manchester City photocall in 1971; celebrating his 90th birthday as City host Brentford in September 2024 Allison moved on to become Joe Mercer’s assistant at Manchester City, and he convinced his boss that Book – solid, dependable and surprisingly quick – was just the man they needed to anchor their exciting young team. He was made captain in his second season and what followed was a golden age, bringing not just the League title but also an FA Cup, a League Cup and the European CupWinners Cup. There would be no international recognition, but in 1969, just five years after he’d laid his last brick, he was named joint Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year with Derby County’s Dave Mackay. Allison’s switch to manager in 1971 would ultimately prove ill-fated and his replacement, Johnny Hart, another loyal and honourable club servant, was forced by illness to retire after just six months. Book was appointed caretaker, before announcing his retirement from playing to become assistant to new manager Ron Saunders in November 1973. The likes of Summerbee, Rodney Marsh and the newly returned Denis Law were never likely to be inspired by Saunders’ brand of grim realism, and in mid-April the team were still in the SCENES FROM FOOTBALL HISTORY No 395 D AV E RO B I N S O N WSC 7

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SIDELINES

TV WATCH THIS MONTH’S SCREEN REVIEW

Now in its seventh series, the Salford City documentary Class of 92: Full Time (Sky) continues to ask important questions about lower league football. Questions like “Who is still watching Class of 92: Full Time?” Insomniacs? Serial killers? Nicky Butt superfans?

Becalmed in League Two for six seasons, the project has clearly stalled. With losses reportedly standing at £23 million, and billionaire backer Peter Lim newly departed, the situation is fraught. The latest series begins at the start of the 2023-24 campaign with Salford nursing a severe hangover from their play-off semi-final defeat to Stockport. Following a brutal 5-1 home defeat by Tranmere on Boxing Day, gloriously uncharismatic manager Neil Wood refuses to conduct any post-match interviews and is sacked in real time – a series of hushed mobile phone calls confirming his exit.

Like all soap operas, Class of 92 understands the value of a good villain. The appointment of Karl Robinson as Wood’s replacement isn’t quite Dirty Den returning to EastEnders to boost ratings but there are similarities. The former Queen Vic landlord came back from the dead after apparently being murdered on a canal towpath, while Karl Robinson spent six years at MK Dons. Constantly checking where the cameras are, Robinson cheerfully introduces himself to his players as an “arrogant prick” before being sent off ten minutes into his first game.

A traditional sitcom would never have two David Brents, but with Robinson in charge and Gary Neville still the boardroom figurehead, Class of 92 doesn’t have that luxury. Rarely seen with his former team-mates, Neville sits alone in a private box to watch games. When Salford score, he opens a door to celebrate noisily above the stand before returning to his room, gently closing the door behind him.

The input of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Butt is less obvious, and there’s a danger that, more than ever, Salford looks like a project designed to give millionaire ex-footballers something to do during retirement. Constant cutaways to Scholes and Butt playing darts at the training ground don’t help, though footage of Scholes limping around a corporate five-a-side game at Old Trafford in front of a handful of fans introduces genuine pathos. Salford finish 20th – one place better off than when Wood was sacked.

B R A D F O R D

T I M

A recent article in the Guardian argued that “the age of perpetual content is upon us, and it is viciously uninteresting”. The author was referring to the slew of club-sanctioned documentaries commissioned by streaming platforms in recent years, but you could argue the same is true of the game itself. It certainly helps to explain dismal decisions like starting the FA Cup third round on a Thursday night. But it also led to a bizarre furore around one of those Thursday games – Peterborough’s trip to Everton (BBC iPlayer). The match pitted Ashley Young against his 18-year-old son Tyler. Or it would have done if Posh manager Darren Ferguson had brought Young Jr off the bench. Losing 1-0, it would have been a strange decision to introduce an inexperienced defender for the sake of sentiment. Yet the vitriolic response online tells us much about what certain viewers want from football these days: neatly packaged narratives that can be told in 30 seconds or less.

Peterborough’s defeat was part of a disappointing FA Cup third round for would-be giantkillers, with Premier League sides winning 14 of the 15 ties against EFL opposition by an aggregate score of 52-7. By the time National League Tamworth hosted Tottenham on the Sunday, ITV commentator Sam Matterface clearly felt it prudent to tick off everything on his “Romance of the Cup” checklist ahead of kick-off. “We’ve got a sloping 3G pitch, a changed team, long throws, a souped-up Portakabin for the changing rooms, cold showers… it’s got all the ingredients!” The start was delayed by ten minutes while a Tamworth player got on a team-mate’s shoulders

NUMBERS GAME The figures behind the facts

£530,000

10

21

Erling Haaland’s new weekly wage at Manchester City after he signed a contract extension until 2034

The number of AFC Fylde fans who attended their midweek National League match at Southend. Each received a free pie

Clean sheets James Trafford has kept in 30 league appearances for Burnley so far this season – a club record

I M A G E S

G E T T Y

( 2 ) ,

A L A M Y

6 WSC

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