The Glory Game

Product Information

The Glory Game is a book that provides an in-depth account of the inner workings of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club during the 1971-72 season, including the players, managers, and board members. Conn is no nostalgic who believes the ’80s were a golden period – to him Wimbledon’s FA Cup triumph in 1988 was not so much a wonderful fairy tale as a victory for thuggery – but he is appalled by the descent of the game into rampant, barely regulated commercialism. “I think the end of the sharing of gate receipts in 1983 was the first break,” he says.

And to celebrate the 50th anniversary since The Glory Game came out, Well Offside photographer Mark Leech delves into the Offside Sports Photography Archive to dig out the pictures taken for the book. What makes The Glory Game so special is not just the access that Davies had but also his writing style. He is a masterful storyteller, able to bring to life the sights, sounds, and emotions of the football pitch. His prose is lyrical, evocative, and at times poetic, capturing the drama and passion of the game in a way that few other writers have been able to match. This book was insufferable. I wanted to hurl it across the room. Shame on the publishers who let this go to the printing press. Seriously, I am amazed this got released.

Select a format:

The pictures. Especially the ones of Alan Gilzean who was indeed as odd looking for a footballer - surely an undertaker in his forties or a seedy bank manager - as I remembered.** Despite its age, The Glory Game remains relevant today. Football has changed significantly since the early 1970s, but the human drama that plays out on the pitch is eternal. The book is a timeless reminder of the passion, dedication, and sacrifice that goes into being a professional footballer. The team in question is Tottenham Hotspur, who Davies followed closely for a season during the late 1970s. Hunter Davies, author of the only authorized biography of The Beatles, wrote in his introduction to the 2011 edition of T he Glory Game about a concern he had when the book first appeared in 1973. He hoped that it would appeal to an audience larger than Tottenham Hotspur fans. Through the unprecedented access Mr. Davies was granted by Tottenham, he was able to examine the club from all sides, to give a complete look at the inner workings of a top division team, and write a story that transcends the lines of fandom, and the hands of time. The book is not just a chronicle of the team's on-field exploits but also a portrait of the people who make up the club. Davies delves into the personalities and motivations of the players, coaches, and staff, revealing the complex dynamics of a football team and the challenges that come with managing egos and personalities.

Davies also delves into the personal lives of the players and the challenges they face both on and off the field. McDonagh, Melanie (12 February 2016). "Hunter Davies: 'As long as I live she'll be with me' ". London Evening Standard . Retrieved 18 January 2017. The 1970s were a tumultuous time for Tottenham Hotspur. The club had won the FA Cup in 1967, but had struggled to maintain its success in the years that followed. However, this all changed in the late 1970s, when the team was revitalized under the leadership of manager Keith Burkinshaw. Davies was there to witness it all, and his book provides a fascinating insight into the inner workings of a successful football team. One of the most striking aspects of Davies' writing is his ability to humanize the players. He doesn't portray them as larger-than-life figures, but rather as regular people with families, personal struggles, and insecurities. For example, he writes about the pressure that star player Jimmy Greaves faced to perform on the field, as well as his battles with alcoholism and depression off the field. Davies has also written a biography of the fell walker Alfred Wainwright, and many works about the topography and history of the Lake District.But The Glory Game is more than just a book about football. It's a book about the culture and politics of football in the early 1970s. Davies provides insight into the changing attitudes towards football and the role of the media in shaping public opinion. He also delves into the complex relationships between players, coaches, and fans, and the impact that these relationships have on the success of a team. The Glory Game by Hunter Davies is a timeless masterpiece of sports literature that continues to be popular among readers. Staggeringly raw and uncompromisingly revealing. I was expecting some unconvenient truths about the game to be shown, but the ammount of darkness that this book portrays still surprised me. I know that you're not supposed to apply your own moral standars on past times, and the 70's had things our time doesn't but still: the energy around Spurs in '72 comes across as outright destructive. Davies mercilessly shows how the players suffer not only from their own fears and prejudices, but also from the reactionary, judgemental and emotionally arid culture around them. As a Spurs fan I've learned to consider Bill Nicholson a "club legend", but after reading Davies' depiction of his almost pathological criticism of people around him, and his contempt of weakness and vulnerability, I feel less inclined to do so. I don't know if things have gotten better since then at Spurs and clubs like them, but in any case I'm glad I wasn't there. Hunter Davies' book is based on the free access he was given to players and staff at Tottenham Hotspur in the early 1970's. There are no startling revelations - apart from one of the leading striker's devotion to the drink - but it is a fascinating insight into how a top team prepares for games and how it copes with the various triumphs and disasters of a league season - as it turned out a season that proved to be a particularly successful one for Spurs. I’d originally been told that as a club, Spurs would be completely unapproachable, and that Nicholson would be dour and difficult,” recalled Davies. “He was completely cooperative though, and when I informed the players that I would keep 50% of the royalties and split the other half equally between them, they were happy too. It wasn’t a huge amount of money though!”

It is a place that Hunter Davies has known for a very long time. He was born in Scotland, but his home for the past six decades has been within walking distance of the Heath. This book, set over a year of life on the Heath and during the pandemic, is both a love letter and a eulogy to the place that he loves deeply. I bought ‘ A Life in the Day' on a whim when it came up as an Audible deal of the day. The only other book I have read by Hunter Davies is ' The Glory Game', a brilliant study of a season embedded with Tottenham Hotspur FC in the early 1970s.

The Glory Game: Davies' Spurs Season '70s

Davies joined the sixth form at Carlisle Grammar School and was awarded a place at University College, Durham to read for an honours degree in History, but after his first year he switched to a general arts course. He gained his first writing experience as a student, contributing to the university newspaper, Palatinate, where one of his fellow student journalists was the future fashion writer Colin McDowell. [2] After completing his degree course he stayed on at Durham for another year to gain a teaching diploma and avoid National Service. [3] Writing career [ edit ]