The Football History Podcast

Duncan Hamilton watched England beat West Germany as an eight-year-old boy in the company of his father and grandfather. He recalls 'Wembley, spread out in the sun; the waving flags; the delirious, joy-of-all-joys moment of the final whistle; the trophy sparkling in the late afternoon light'.But, seeing the whole game again during the misery of the first Covid lockdown, finally made him realise what Alf Ramsey and his players had no inkling of, which was what came next for them. How, for many of those boys of summer, almost everything after that shimmering moment amounted to an anti-climax or a setback. How '66 was not a beginning, a guaranteed path towards more success, but a slow decline and fall, and also a disproportionate number of disappointments. And how the triumph of '66 was dulled through constant repetition, the same images always flashed before us.Hamilton recognised, too, how many myths and misconceptions had grown around the match.He decided to revisit '66, tracing the very roots of a story - as well as the hidden figures within it - that really began during the era of post-War austerity.Answered Prayers provides, at last, a full account of English football's greatest achievement and the failures that followed it. We see the institutional inability to appreciate Ramsey and his players, who were taken for granted; the political machinations of the blazered fools who ran the Football Association; the short-sighted blunderers of the Football League.To buy - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Answered-Prayers-England-1966-World-ebook/dp/B0BRS88NXY

Featuring When Saturday Comes writer Neil Andrews and yours truly. In a nutshell, this is a conversation between two middle-aged men (ahem in my case), that starts and finishes with the LWT Sunday afternoon show 'The Big Match', whilst taking a long walk through some 1970s nostalgia ...CheersNick

Shoot, Goal ... Charles Buchan, for many kids growing up in the 50s, 60s and 70s these famous football annuals provided a gateway to the magic of the sport. In this edition of the Football History podcast, show regular Neil Andrews reminisce about the golden era of these wonderful productions.Nickachtungmillwall@gmail.com

Joining this edition of the show is Phil O'Rourke, author of 'Forgotten Football Clubs - 50 teams across the world, gone but never forgotten'. Followed by some windy location recordings of yours truly walking the streets of Prince Regent in search of Thames AFC.To pick up a copy of Phil's book, please visit pitchpublishimg.co.uk Nick

Portrayed as slightly 'clownish' figures at the time, the story of the 1974 Zaire side that took part in the West German World Cup is fascinating. In this interview author Neil Andrews discusses his new book 'Zaire'74 - the rise and fall of Mobutu's Leopards', which is now available via Amazon.

Featuring When Saturday Comes writer Neil Andrews ... YEnrIwmU5lxI1AAHOFKd