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| Image via Wikipedia |
Image via Wikipedia
Inevitably and almost reluctantly the time has come for me to write a few words about football. Am I unusual in the fact that within my immediate family I am the only one who watches the game? I am therefore deprived of the opportunity of discussing the relative merits, or otherwise, of the latest match or wonder goal or refereeing incident that covers the back pages of every national newspaper because nobody around me is interested.It was a very different game when I started out as a boy in the early fifties when players were still on the minimum wage and the terraces were packed with fans escaping from the drudge of work to watch their team for a few shillings. In those days there was no sponsorship and no top four and whilst you might be able to buy a badge or a scarf from the local supporters club you could certainly never obtain a replica shirt to show your loyalties. What's more in those days you supported your local team regardless of the fact of whether it was Stockport, Kidderminster, Hartlepool or Birmingham. The very thought of of the citizens and children of those areas sporting the shirts of Manchester United or Chelsea or any other team from the far ends of the country would not only have been laughed at but also seen as a betrayal of your local roots. And the only game ever to be watched on TV, if you were lucky enough to own a set, was the F. A. Cup Final in May.
Two finals remain in my memory from that time - the so called "Matthews" final of 1953 and the Birmingham City V Manchester City final of 1956. The former I remember as I had to cycle six miles, as a nine year old, to watch my first final at a farm which had the only set in the area and the latter because my team - Birmingham - had made it into the final. We lost. Next Sunday, on 27 February we return to Wembley to play Arsenal in the League Cup Final.
As a Blues supporter I am expecting the worst of course but for my friends, who have been fortunate enough to get a ticket for the match, being there is enough. Regardless of the result they are determined to enjoy the day and the occasion. The difference between 1956 and now is stark. Every player who steps out onto the pitch on Sunday will be a very rich man, in money terms, whereas those who trod Wembley's turf in 1956 were employees, on the minimum wage, and were treated much the same as you and I are today. They were usually contracted for the season and a major injury could mean a lifetime of penury unless they had another trade to fall back on. Those talented or lucky enough might be transferred to a bigger club but for the majority they waited anxiously for the end of the season to see if they were on the "retained list" and were to be employed for another season.
One of Birmingham's players from those days was Eddie Brown, a centre forward, who throughout his career managed almost a goal every other match. The current Birmingham team are so bereft of the ability to score goals in the Premiership that a goal a match is considered to be a major achievement, despite the fact that we currently have five forwards or "strikers" on our books. Had Eddie been around today there is no doubt that with his enormous talent he would have been a multi millionaire and the papers would have been full of his antics for he was a character in the finest sense of the word. He was self educated and after his career in professional football ended he continued to contribute to the game and went on to get a degree so that he could teach.
Apart from a lengthy spell at Birmingham he played for four other league clubs but he only stayed two years at each. Unlike now, in those days, it was very unusual for a player to move around as much as he did. When asked about this he replied, "I've only got two tricks and I show them one the first season and the other the next and then it's time for me to move on".
I don't know who penned his Wikipedia entry but for those who walk out at Wembley on Sunday for the Blues it would be an education and an inspiration for them to take a few moments of their time to read about his life and times. Keep Right on Eddie
