Description
Book SynopsisArtfully combining sports journalism with social history and sharp pop culture references, The Mavericks explores 1970s football when a cult group of footballers delivered flair on the pitch and flamboyance off of it.
Cocky, coiffured strikers meet David Bowie and Alvin Stardust; Gola boots exchange kicks with A Clockwork Orange and The Likely Lads; Admiral sock tags, platform heels and kipper ties mingle with cod wars, Harrods bombings and three-day weeks. In this, Steen recreates the early Seventies, the era when football joined the vanguard of English youth culture. This personal account revolves around seven Englishmen who followed in the trail blazed by football''s first tabloid star, George Best--Stan Bowles, Tony Currie, Charlie George, Alan Hudson, Rodney Marsh, Peter Osgood and Frank Worthington. Proud individuals amid an increasingly corporate environment, their invention and artistry were matched only by a disdain for authority and conv
Trade Review
Quite splendid... just delicious – and brilliantly researched. * The Times *
A lovely read, the kind in which you constantly annoy people by reading the funny bits out loud * Irish Post *
A great book * Henry Winter *
If you enjoyed The Damned United you will savour Rob Steen's The Mavericks, an evocative look at football when the game was enhanced by genuinely edgy entertainers rather than overpaid characterless robots. * Waterstones.com *
The Mavericks is irresistible, artfully combining sports journalism with social history and sharp pop-culture references. * Impact *
In an era of PR-bleaching and PC-niceties, The Mavericks is an oasis of flair, hair and devil-may-care attitude. Yet beneath Rob Steen also highlights with real poignancy the sometimes grim and earthy reality behind the curtain. This brilliant book remains essential reading for anyone who likes social history with a nice backheel. -- Rick Broadbent * The Times *
An evocative work which is given its cutting edge by the author’s success in uncovering the idiosyncrasies that set the fancy dans apart from each other as their mutual non-conformism. * The Independent *
Great to see The Mavericks back in print. Wonderful evocation of the early 70s, an era when players weren't afraid to express themselves - on the pitch or in the bar. -- Kevin Mitchell * The Guardian *
One of the conundrums of football in the Seventies, now perceived as a golden age by a certain generation, is why did England fail to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 World Cup when a decade before they had been world champions? One of the main reasons is that managers Ramsey then Revie shunned a group of hugely gifted 'Rock and Roll' players - Marsh, Currie, Bowles, Osgood, George, Hudson and Worthington. Rob Steen's book brilliantly gets under the skin of the era both on and off the pitch when the game was more about passion than pound notes. -- Rob Shepherd * talkSPORT *
An irreverent and unflinching look back at football in the Seventies * Choice Magazine *
For that missing element in a decent football book, the confessional Rob Steen has this down to his customary fine writer's art with The Mavericks. -- Mark Perryman * Philosophy Football *
Table of Contents
Introduction (2020) Introduction (1994) edition 1 Sucking in the Seventies 2 Chairman Alf and the Godfather 3 Gunning for Trouble 4 Blue Was the Cover 5 I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea 6 Queen's Park Arrangers (i) The Jean Genie (ii) The Bookie's Favourites (iii) Dr Heckle and Mr Jive 7 It's Not All Never Afterword Acknowledgements Bibliography By the same author Index About the author
