Match 2

Here a detail of a pencil and crayon drawing of one of the earlier books, showing one of the brothers’ clubs, Newcastle United (the other was Gateshead FC, then playing in the Football League). My father really should have kept up his talent as a draftsman.

My father and my uncles requisitioned Felling Labour Party branch’s minute books (on which my granda was Chair) in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in order to keep a record of their Subbuteo leagues. In the current climate of mistrust and self-righteousness, I find this an oddly comforting thought. How much fun football seemed back then, channelling the same nerdy impulses into something creative and throwaway, not phone ins or blogs ranting on about stats. My father really should have kept up his talent as a draftsman.