Okay, better get this clear straight away. Here I am doing a review of a book by Phil Whalley. Now, not only do I know Phil, and not only is he a member of the London Clarets, and further, not only is he the editor of the London Clarets magazine, but when he took over the running of that magazine from me, I was delighted. So objectively, this review has a deeply fishy smell about it. I’m not going to slag his book off now, am I? But at least we can be up front about it. The entire Sunday broadsheet book pages work on a similar basis, only without the honesty.
Anyway, that said, it really is a very enjoyable book. No, really. And I say this as someone with not the slightest interest in Accrington Stanley. I don’t care about them at all. I know lots of Burnley supporters carry a torch for them. Some come from there, and were brought up following Stanley, or alternating between Stanley and Burnley matches. Some supporters of Stanley switched to Burnley once their first love bit the dust. Well, good for them. For me, it’s Burnley, and that’s it. Still, I enjoyed this.
I should explain what this book is. It’s one of those collections of archive photos. Tempus publish a great deal of these, and they do them well. You may recall Ray Simpson did one for Burnley the other year, which is doubtless still available in shops. This book covers, in photographs, cartoons and other bits and pieces from the archives, all of Stanley’s history, from the early days, through their rise to the league, then oblivion - and beyond. The book is simply called ‘Accrington Stanley Football Club’. Phil admits he spent a lot of time trying to come up with a clever pun centring on the acorns that Accrington apparently takes its name from, but failed.
It’s very well put together. The photos are excellent, and Phil betrays his Claret affiliations a number of times. See, for example, the evocative front cover shot with Massey’s Burnley Ales prominently advertised. There are enough connections between Burnley and Stanley to maintain the Claret interest. I loved the photo of some fat bad bloke called Phil Collins receiving the honour of meeting Ashley Hoskin. There’s also quite a bit on John Haworth, who of course went on to become the first great Burnley manager.
Not that Burnley come out of this tale particularly well. Bob Lord’s murky involvement in the events that led to Stanley’s decision to withdraw from the Football League will never be forgiven in some circles.
As you’d expect with a book written by Phil, not only are the photos good, but the writing’s up to scratch to.
The words are not mere captions to the photos. The analysis and insight are as sharp as you’d expect, and it’s all
underpinned by an understanding of the importance of football clubs in expressing the identity of their communities.
The events that led to Stanley’s departure from the league are covered well, but the book doesn’t stop there. Quite a bit of it is given over to the successful attempts to get a new Stanley football club up and running. Don’t take Stanley’s presence on today’s fixture list for granted. As the book makes clear, it has taken hard work and personal sacrifice in the face of adversity and indifference to get Stanley going again. The book finishes with a heartfelt plea to the people of Accrington to get behind their club as they attempt to complete the long journey back to the Football League.
So, as a non-Stanley fan, and indeed as someone with only a general interest in football beyond Burnley, I enjoyed the book. Stanley’s story is one with many twists and turns, one of disappointment, despair, but unlikely endurance. It’s a story of against the odds resurrection, and continued survival. In this tale, hope triumphs. This makes it a football everyman story. When it’s as well told as this, even the neutral can’t help taking an interest. From now on, a small part of me will be hoping they make it all the way back to the League one day.
Accrington Stanley Football Club is published by Tempus Publishing. Visit their website at www.tempus-publishing.com.
You can buy the book online at the Sportspages website.
Click here to do so.
