1974

1974 whisks you back half a century to discover the major matches, stories and controversies that lit up football in that momentous year.

From the author of 1923: Life in Football One Hundred Years Ago and 1953: Life in Football Seventy Years Ago.

Britain in 1974 was a land of strikes, electricity cuts, a three-day working week and the country’s first official recession for 50 years. Floodlit football matches were banned, Sunday football was established and attendances fell as cash-strapped fans couldn’t afford to watch live games.

This compelling book includes:

• A chilling exploration of how football hooliganism began to spiral out of control and how the sport was shamed by the first murder on the terraces • The full story behind Brian Clough’s nightmare 44-day reign at Leeds United and its rancorous toxic fall-out • The sad tale of Bill Shankly’s retirement as Liverpool manager and how it all ended in tears and recrimination • Analysis of Manchester United’s nightmare season and their first relegation from the top flight for more than 30 years • How the FA finally ended the shameful 50-year ‘ban’ on women’s football • A revolution in amateur football as paid players are allowed, the league pyramid is totally reorganised and the national England amateur team disbanded • The story of how Leeds United and Umbro pioneered the multi-billion-pound replica kit industry and helped usher sponsorship into football

Read about all this and much more in this fascinating and exhaustively researched study of a special footballing year.

© 2025 Pitch Publishing (Ebook): 9781836800606

Release date

Ebook: 19 May 2025