Grandson Charlie attending a Championship game at Hillsborough prompts Richard Crooks to transport himself back to the 1970s and recall what football was really like in that decade.

Crooks provides an engaging and comprehensive narrative on all things football in the 1970s, and successfully evokes the social context of the time. He reflects on what it was like getting to a game; the grounds, the crowds, the clubs; the managers, the players and referees – and those unforgettable World Cups. He describes everything from the era’s growing commercialism and changes in football reporting to the rising spectre of hooliganism and racism.

In Grandad, What Was Football Like in the 1970s? you will discover:

• The identity of the ‘Club of the 70s’ – according to Richard’s consolidated First Division table
• How attendances declined over the decade, while admission prices rose
• What the brand-new Watney Cup and Texaco Cup competitions were really all about
• The challenges of being a turnstile operator – according to Richard’s personal recollections
• The commercial changes taking place in the game – including the introduction of shirt sponsorship, and the BBC’s difficulties with tracksuit advertising at the 1976 FA Cup Final
• How England international Tony Currie travelled to Elland Road with his club’s Senior Executive without knowing what was going on – only to be sold to Leeds United
• What it was like to visit Wembley for the first time for the 1975 League Cup Final – witnessing the aftermath of the previous day’s Moorgate tube train disaster
• A focus on Sheffield rivalry – including the Third Division’s match of the decade on Boxing Day 1979, which had a major impact on the two clubs and their supporters
• A passionate recollection of Derek Dooley, the only man who could bridge the ‘Sheffield Divide’

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Grandad, What Was Football Like in the 1970s?