Bring Back Masters Football

 Hi everyone, please enjoy this preview chapter of my upcoming book Remember The Name: Magic, Madness and Metatarsals, A Celebration of 2000s Football. The book will (hopefully) be out on Monday December 2nd and will be available on Amazon. 

Bring Back Masters Football

For some, the sound of Nick Berry crooning his way through the theme tune to Heartbeat was the signal that the weekend was over, for others it was Jeremy Clarkson dropping another bombshell at the end of Top Gear. For football fans in the 2000s however, it was the sight of ex-players donning their best Adidas Samba trainers and rolling back the years in the phenomenon that was Masters Football. 

Starting in 2000 and lasting until 2011, Masters Football was a six-a-side competition played at some of the UK’s biggest arenas which saw over-35s compete in a set of regional heats before a winner-takes-all finals night to decide the destiny of the championship. 

It was a wonderful sight as the likes of Phil Neal, Nigel Winterburn and Neville Southall turned out once again for Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton respectively and rekindled old rivalries with some Masters clashes having similar intensity to classic Merseyside or North London derbies of the past. It wasn’t uncommon to see some bona fide legends take to the famous blue carpet with Ally McCoist regularly finding the net for Rangers, Chris Waddle ending his penalty hoodoo by finally converting from the spot for Sheffield Wednesday and even Roy Keane pulling on the red shirt of Manchester United one final time. 

There was a bittersweet beauty in the shape of some of the more obscure players finally getting their moment in the sun for their chosen clubs as well, John Durnin might not be able to regale Liverpool fans with many tales of playing in front of The Kop but he can always cherish his two Golden Boot awards from Masters Football while Ian Selley can always say he scored for Arsenal in a heated North London derby against Tottenham, albeit on the Masters circuit. 

It wasn't just a case of old boys rattling round like the dad’s team at your local Leisure League or Goals centre either, just go on YouTube and search for some of the goals compilation videos, there are some genuinely stunning goals on show. 

Sadly, in 2011 in the wake of declining attendance figures and viewing numbers the plug was pulled on Masters Football and while there have been a few attempts to recapture the Masters magic (such as Star Sixes) and the growing number of clubs staging ‘legends’ matches during international breaks, somehow it’s not quite the same as seeing David Lee of Bolton beat two Oldham defenders and thump a shot past a despairing Jon Hallworth at the MEN Arena in Manchester. 

Come on Sky, think about it. Frank Lampard scoring for Chelsea one more time, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville jumping out of the commentary box to square up on the blue carpet. I’m sure Shola Ameobi is free to play for Newcastle as well. Surely it’s time to bring back Masters Football! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this preview of Remember The Name: Magic, Madness and Metatarsals, A Celebration of 2000s Football. Please follow me on Twitter/X @DanBarkerGray to stay updated about the project. 

Moving Pictures: Football On Film During The 2000s

The 1990s were heady days for football’s relationship with cinema with titles such as When Saturday Comes and Fever Pitch encouraging fans to possibly visit their local multiplex on the way home from a match. Could the halcyon days continue? Would a football film end up winning an Oscar? Which one was destined for the bargain bin at your local branch of Blockbuster? Read on as we choose some of the good, the bad and the ugly of 2000s football films. 

There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble (2000) 

Think Billy’s Boots for the PlayStation generation. Our hero is bullied schoolboy Jimmy who dreams of pulling on Manchester City’s famous sky-blue shirt but finds himself isolated in waters infested by Manchester United supporting sharks. After being gifted the boots of what he believes to be a Maine Road legend and being taken under the wing of his PE teacher, himself a former City player, Jimmy’s chances of becoming a pro start to advance until his boots are stolen on the eve of the big school cup final. After realising the talent was in him all along and not the boots (especially after it’s revealed they used to belong to City’s partially-sighted programme seller), his team recover from 2-0 down to win the tournament. After the match, Jimmy is offered the chance to sign for Manchester United but turns down Old Trafford in favour of his beloved Blues. 

Featuring a cast consisting of Ray Winstone (eschewing his usual hard-man role for a more wholesome, familial turn), Ben Miller, Gina McKee and Samia Ghadie (Maria off Coronation Street to you and me), TOJG is a passable affair, somewhat contrived towards the end but there are worse ways to pass an hour and a half. 

Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001)

Already familiar to many for his turns as feisty trade unionist Bobby Grant in Brookside or acerbic layabout Jim Royle in the seminal sitcom The Royle Family, Ricky Tomlinson made the jump to the big screen in this mock documentary (a genre all the rage at the time thanks to The Office). 

With England struggling to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil, the incumbent manager suffers a heart attack leaving the position vacant. With all of the Premier League’s top managers turning the job down, the FA’s top brass end up appointing Norwich City manager Mike Bassett (something of a journeyman both as a player and a manager with more than a passing resemblance to Sam Allardyce). After bumbling their way through the qualifiers, England do eventually reach the finals but are presented with several obstacles including not having any equipment to train with, star player Kevin Tonkinoon being caught with a transvestite in his hotel room, captain Gary Wackett being arrested for being a football hooligan and assistant Lonnie Urquhart being sacked after an altercation with Bassett. Eventually, England grab a priceless win over Argentina in the decisive group game and embark on a run to the semi-finals which sees Bassett and the team return home to a hero’s welcome. 

The film serves as a pastiche of the FA, football journalists and general English football culture at the time with definite cues coming from 1994’s ‘An Impossible Job’, the infamous documentary of Graham Taylor’s travails as England manager while characters Kevin Tonkinoon, Steve Harper and Gary Wackett serve as parodies of the likes of Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham and Stuart Pearce. One of the film’s strengths lies in it’s cameos with Pele, Ronaldo, Gabby Logan and even Barry Venison popping up during the picture. Guaranteed to raise a wry smile and a laugh from football fans but the humour is very much ‘if you know, you know’ which might prove prohibitive to casual viewers. 

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Gurinder Chadha’s light-hearted look at attitudes towards British Asian culture and women’s football won a number of awards and plaudits following it’s release in the spring of 2002 and after watching, it’s easy to see why. 

Our protagonist is Jess Bhamra, an 18-year-old football fanatic who idolises David Beckham who would much rather be down the park with her male friends than learning traditional Indian cookery, much to the dismay of her mother. After being spotted by Jules (Keira Knightley in her pre-Pirates of the Caribbean breakout role), Jess signs for her local women’s team against the wishes of her parents. After playing in secret and eventually being caught by her father, Jess is prevented from playing for the team, especially due to the final of the competition clashing with her sister’s wedding. After spending most of the day in a bad mood, Jess is eventually allowed to play in the match, arriving just in time to take the decisive free-kick. 

Bend It is a charming look at the social and cultural issues surrounding women’s football at the time as well as the struggles South Asian women may have faced when trying to integrate into something so engrained into British culture as our national game. A lot of the humour comes in the war of attrition between Keira Knightley’s character and her mother (played tremendously by Juliet Stevenson) who would rather her daughter become the same suburban wannabe social climber she became. Given the rise of popularity of women’s football in England following the Euro 2022 victory and run to the 2023 World Cup final, Bend It Like Beckham also serves as a fine time capsule of how far the women’s game has come in a relatively short space of time. 

The Goal! Trilogy (2005, 2006, 2009)

Possibly the most quintessential trilogy of football films ever made. If There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble was the Billy’s Boots of the 21st century, Goal! is Roy of the Rovers in the polished FIFA/Sky Sports/Premier League multiverse. Think ‘The Journey’ in FIFA 17, if Alex Hunter was a Mexican illegal immigrant. 

The first film, released in 2005, documents the journey of one Santiago Munez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who works in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant in California while playing amateur football and dreaming of one day making it as a professional. After catching the eye of an ex-Newcastle United hero, Santiago manages to bag a trial with The Magpies and after shaking off the derision of his father soon finds himself in the blood and thunder of English football. After overcoming the bullying and hazing of his reserve team captain (played by Kieran Maguire, probably best known these days for playing Jamie Tartt’s dad in Ted Lasso) and also gaining the affection of a local nurse (Anna Friel), Santiago’s improbable journey sees him break into Newcastle’s first team (cue a scene in which Munez sees the likes of Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy and, erm, Lee Bowyer in a hazy, awe-inspired gaze across the training ground) and culminates with scoring the winning goal to help The Magpies qualify for the Champions League. 

Be honest, you never thought you’d read the name Rutger Hauer in this book did you? Well here he is, playing Real Madrid’s manager in Goal! 2: Living The Dream which sees the action shift from Tyneside to the Spanish capital as Santiago and his pal from Newcastle, Gavin Harris, become the latest in the long line of 2000s Galacticos. As the pressures of representing arguably the biggest club in the world dovetail with the fame and fortune of being a football superstar, Santiago loses a bit of his likeable underdog charm as he cavorts with senoritas and falls out of favour with the gaffer after spending too many evenings drinking a little more than sangria. Fortunately, our hero recovers from his wobble just in time to help Real defeat Arsenal and win the Champions League. 

The trilogy came to end in 2009 with Goal! 3: Taking On The World, which played out against the backdrop (and I use that term literally as most of the action is either archive footage or rather obviously green screened) of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Our man Santiago is rather incredulously dropped from frontman to bit=part as the story focusses on two English players making their way to play at the tournament as part of Sven’s army, one of which is played by Leo Gregory of Green Street fame (don’t worry we’re getting to that). There are no far-fetched tales of English glory in this one (again possibly owing to the fact that archive footage is heavily used), England exit the tournament on penalties to Portugal as in real life, the ‘suspending belief’ (or jumping the shark, whichever way you look at it) comes in the shape of one of the main characters passing away in the dressing room after suffering a brain aneurysm. Some humour is retained in the shape of some ‘cheeky chappie’ Geordie supporters going on a lad’s holiday to Germany for the tournament, think Auf Wiedersehen, Pet but not as good. 

Each part of the trilogy was (probably quite rightly) panned by critics and football fans alike for the questionable acting and rather overblown plot devices but has retrospectively worked it’s way into the hearts of nostalgic fans, probably because you can class it as the cinematic embodiment of the phrase ‘Pure Barclays’. 

The Football Factory/Green Street (2004. 2005)

The football hooligan film is a strange breed, in the late 80s and 90s when films such as the brilliant The Firm (not the remake) and ID became cult classics, football hooliganism was still in the public consciousness and it felt believable that if you left your local multiplex on a Saturday afternoon and passed a football ground on your way home, it was entirely possible that you would see rival fans clashing on the high street. By the time the aforementioned two films came out in the polished, preening mid-2000s in which attending football became something akin to visiting the theatre or Royal Ascot, hooliganism seemed somewhat of a distant memory. 

Based on John King’s groundbreaking 1997 book, The Football Factory is played out through the eyes of Tommy Johnson (played by the finest actor of his generation, Sir Danny Dyer), a bored Chelsea supporting late-twentysomething who lived for the weekend and the brutal buzz of clashing with rival supporters. As the big FA Cup clash with Millwall beckons, Johnson is left questioning whether partaking in ‘mass offs’ (his words not mine) is really worth it and suffers chilling premonitions regarding the fate of himself and his fellow Headhunters. 

Green Street, released a year later, sees Elijah Wood go from hoping to become The Lord Of The Rings (never seen it, got no interest, sorry) to integrating with West Ham’s fearsome hooligan firm The Green Street Elite (a thinly veiled homage to the real-life Inter City Firm) after being expelled from Harvard, under the tutelage of Pete (played somewhat horrendously by Charlie ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Hunnam) who is the leader of the group. As the big FA Cup clash with Millwall beckons (there’s a theme emerging here), Elijah’s character Matt has to deal with the group turning on him for supposedly being a journalist and finding out his brother-in-law was once the leader of the group who was was responsible for the death of the leader of the Millwall firm’s son. The picture comes to a violent and bloody crescendo in the shadow of the Millennium Dome in which Millwall’s ‘top boy’ seemingly gets his revenge. 

I feel it’s important to note that I don’t like either of these films, probably because I’ve never been (or indeed harboured a desire to become) a football hooligan. The acting in both of them, especially Green Street is at best questionable (especially Hunnam’s attempt at a Cockney accent) with the plots of both films being depressingly formulaic and predictable. Perhaps unsurprisingly both films were overlooked by the Academy but it may surprise you to know that Green Street received not one, but two sequels (both of course straight-to-DVD). Hopefully, much like hooliganism itself, the sub-genre goes back to being a relic of the past. 

The Damned United (2009)

This is the best film about football, this was the best film about football, this is the best football film there ever will be. This is a hill i’m willing to die on and i’ll happily fight anyone who disagrees (maybe instead of a football hooligan, i’m a film hooligan). 

Derived from David Peace’s brilliant 2006 novel that took readers into the mind of the great Brian Clough, the film’s action flashes between taking Derby County from Second Division mediocrity to the brink of European glory and his disastrous 44-day spell at the helm of the all-conquering Leeds United of 1974. Clough is played tremendously by Michael Sheen with Timothy Spall as the perfect foil in the role of Peter Taylor. Stephen Graham portrays Leeds talismanic skipper Billy Bremner sneeringly while Colm Meaney as Don Revie allows for the infamous televised debate between the two managers after Clough’s dismissal from Leeds to be played faithfully and true to the source material. 

You may think my intro to this section of this chapter is nothing more than hyperbole but if I can borrow a famous phrase from the protagonist ‘I wouldn’t say it’s the best football film ever but it’s in the top one.’ 

Honourable Mentions

Ally McCoist wasn’t always getting excited at AC/DC being played at half-time of Champions League games, he was once part of Hollywood’s most unlikely partnership as he teamed up with Robert Duvall (and Batman himself, Michael Keaton) in A Shot At Glory (2001) in which Ally plays a Scottish striker returning north of the border to help a provincial lower-division side (who just happen to be managed by his former father-in-law) upset the odds and win the Scottish Cup. 

What happens if you mix the Burt Reynolds classic The Longest Yard with the likes of Snatch and Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels? You get Mean Machine (2001), Vinnie Jones stars as a disgraced former England captain who finds himself at Her Majesty’s Pleasure and tasked with coaching the inmates in a match against the guards. You probably already know the outcome but it’s worth a watch for the turns of Sir Danny Dyer and Jason Statham. 

As well as the aforementioned football hooligan romps, the 2000s also spawned another three notable entries into the genre. Cass (2008) tells the true story of Cass Pennant’s rise to becoming the leader of West Ham’s revered Inter-City Firm in the 1980s battling racism alongside rival fans. Staying in East London The Firm (2009) is a poor remake of the 1989 Gary Oldman classic which suffered from being released around the same time as crowd disorder in a big cup clash between West Ham and Millwall (there’s that theme again) while 2009 also saw the release of Awaydays. Based on the Kevin Sampson novel of the same name, the film at least earns the title of being my favourite film from the hooligan sub-genre, mainly due to a soundtrack containing the likes of Joy Division, The Cure and Echo and The Bunnymen. 

The final honourable mention goes to Looking For Eric (2009) in which Steve Evets (formerly of The Fall) overcomes the sight of his life falling apart around him thanks to the help of visions of his idol, Eric Cantona. Slowly, but surely our hero rebuilds his life and finds the purpose he’s been missing through the guidance of King Eric. Despite not necessarily being about football, it’s a film that stars Eric Cantona that is actually worth watching, which can’t be said too often. 

This is an excerpt from my written project Remember The Name: Magic, Madness & Metatarsals, A Celebration of 2000s Football. If you would like to keep up with the progress of the book, follow me on Twitter/X @DanBarkerGray. 

When Widnes Ruled The World

Please find below a preview chapter from my upcoming book War Of The Worlds: A History of Rugby League's World Club Challenge which I'm hoping to have out in June 2024 to mark 30 years since Wigan's ground-breaking win over Brisbane in 1994. 

In this passage, we're going back nearly 35 years to October 1989 and a time when Widnes defeated Australian champions Canberra to sit atop the Rugby League world. 

Widnes captain 'King' Kurt Sorenson holds aloft the World Club Challenge trophy following his team's 30-18 win over Canberra Raiders at Old Trafford in October 1989.

1989: A Chemical Reaction

Given the relative success of the 1987 clash between Wigan and Manly, the Rugby League international board decided that from 1989, the World Club Challenge would become an official fixture of the international calendar with Widnes and Canberra Raiders battling it out to become the first recognised World Club Champions. 

By 1989, Rugby League was changing. After Wigan’s 1987 triumph and Great Britain’s win over Australia in the third test of the 1988 Ashes series, the British game had seen a renewal of interest. In Australia, the NSWRL had pulled off a major coup to collaborate with legendary pop diva Tina Turner to produce a major advertising campaign that raised eyebrows on both sides of the world. The game had even attempted to expand globally when a crowd of over 18,000 witnessed a friendly between Wigan and Warrington at the County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

For Widnes it would be the pinnacle of the era of the ‘Cup Kings’ as the Cheshire side became one of the dominant forces in the British game. In the eleven previous calendar years leading up to the WCC, the Naughton Park side had claimed the league championship three times as well as notching the same number of Challenge Cups. Under the tutelage of coach Dougie Laughton, The Chemics had gained many admirers for their stylish, attacking brand of rugby as well as flexing their considerable financial muscle to bring some of the most established names in British rugby to the club, not just from other Rugby League clubs. Scottish international full-back Alan Tait had been persuaded to switch codes as had Welsh forward Paul Moriarty while the eyes of the sporting world had fallen on Cheshire in January 1989 when Wales rugby union captain Jonathan Davies became a rugby league player. 

It was another, slightly less-heralded union convert who was making most of the headlines for Widnes. Martin Offiah, a native of Hackney in East London, had played a handful of fifteen-a-side games for Rosslyn Park and quickly gained a reputation as a prolific, lightning fast winger. While many predicted Offiah to be a union superstar of the future, a rumoured England call-up was not forthcoming for the young winger. While the national team selectors shunned Offiah, many from rugby league had been alerted to him and initially had an admirer in Alex Murphy, then coach of St Helens but saw his interest ended when the Knowsley Road board dismissed the winger as an ‘uncoordinated clown’. St Helens’ loss was to be Widnes’ gain as Laughton swooped to bring Offiah north. The faith was repaid almost immediately as Offiah broke Frank Myler’s club record for most tries scored in a season ran in 42 tries in his debut season as The Chemics won the Championship and Premiership Ttophy at the end of the 1987-88 campaign. For his efforts, Offiah was capped by Great Britain in the summer of 1988 and also took home the Man Of Steel award for good measure. 

Rugby Union's loss was the 13-man code's gain as Martin Offiah lit up Rugby League, scoring a bucketload of tries in his first two seasons and winning the coveted Man Of Steel award in 1988. 

1988-89 was more of the same for Widnes. Offiah scored an astonishing 60 tries in a season that saw The Chemics win both the Championship and Premiership Trophy for the second year in succession. Only semi-final defeats to Wigan and St Helens in the Lancashire Cup and Challenge Cup respectively prevented Laughton’s men from taking out ‘all four cups’. 

Widnes’ opponents in the 1989 World Club Challenge would be Canberra. The club from Australia’s capital city had written history in just their eighth season. Prior to 1989 no club from outside of Sydney had ever won the NSWRL title and no team had ever done it after finishing the weekly rounds outside of the top three. Tim Sheens’ side rewrote the history books by doing the seemingly unthinkable and winning the title from fourth position. It’s an old adage, especially in play-off football that it isn’t how you start but how you finish and Canberra epitomised this after winning their final five regular season matches before downing Cronulla 31-10 in their qualifying play-off. After seeing off Penrith in the semi-final, the Raiders defied the odds and overcame minor premiers South Sydney 32-16 in the preliminary final. In one of (if not the) greatest Australian grand finals of all time, Canberra turned round a 12-2 half-time deficit to edge out Balmain 19-14 thanks to Steve Jackson’s dramatic extra-time try. 

Captained by the legendary Mal Meninga, Canberra’s 1989 side struck a perfect balance of youth and experience. As well as Meninga, The Raiders were also able to count on experienced heads such as Gary Belcher (1989’s top try-scorer with seventeen), Kiwi international prop forward Brent Todd and evergreen winger John Ferguson, a Challenge Cup winner in 1985 with Wigan. In addition to the seasoned professionals, Canberra boasted a number of exciting young players, many of whom would become established star Kangaroo players in the forthcoming 1990s such as Laurie Daley, Ricky Stuart, brothers Kevin and Steve Walters, Glenn Lazarus and 1989 Clive Churchill medal winner Bradley Clyde. 

Mal Meninga led Canberra to a historic NSWRL Grand Final win in 1989. Not only did his team become the first to win the title from outside of the top three, The Raiders became the first non-Sydney club to become champions. 

With the World Club Challenge recognised as a fully-fledged international fixture, a neutral referee officiated affairs, Frenchman Francois Desplas. With a bumper crowd expected, Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground was chosen to host the fixture while Fosters once again sponsored the event. After no British TV coverage two years earlier, the BBC covered the game with highlights being shown as part of Sportsnight and commentary coming from Ray French and Alex Murphy (the game was later released on video showing the full 80 minutes hosted by Keith Macklin). 

Widnes warmed up for the World Club Challenge by defeating Leigh 34-12 at Hilton Park in the Lancashire Cup. Alan Tait lined up at full-back with Andy Currier (who had played for Balmain against Canberra in the Grand Final) and Offiah on the wings. Jonathan Davies and Darren Wright played in the centres with Tony Myler and David Hulme in the halves. Former Leigh prop Derek Pyke was joined in the front row by imports Joe Grima and Phil McKenzie. The fearsome Kurt Sorenson captained the team from the second row alongside Paul Hulme while Richie Eyres played at loose forward. 

Canberra made just one change to the side that had beaten Balmain in the Grand Final with winning try-scorer Steve Jackson promoted from the bench to the front row in place of Brent Todd. 

It was Canberra who opened the scoring when Meninga barged over from close ranged to notch the first try of the evening following some clever passing, a smart combination between Gary Belcher and Laurie Daley fed Meninga who crashed through the Widnes defence to touch down. The game appeared to be in danger of escaping The Chemics a short time later when Canberra extended their lead through Chris O’Sullivan’s try. The Raiders shifted the ball from the midfield area out to Meninga who fired a short ball to winger Matthew Wood. After Wood surged forward and evaded the tackle of Darren Wright he fed a simple pass to O’Sullivan who completed the formality of touching the ball down under the posts. Canberra’s passing game appeared to mesmerise Widnes with BBC commentator French likening it to ‘basketball’ and only a forward pass from Bradley Clyde to Daley prevented Canberra extending their lead further. 

For all of Canberra’s pressure, it was Widnes who notched the next points to get themselves back into the game thanks to a Paul Hulme try. Prop forward Joe Grima managed to hurdle a tackle and fire an offload to scrum-half David Hulme who offloaded to his younger brother who crossed to reduce Widnes’ arrears. Martin Offiah then got his name on the scoresheet as the tide began to turn in The Chemics’ favour. From the play-the-ball, hooker Phil McKenzie passed to Derek Pyke and then scampered forward to receive a short pass from his fellow front-rower. The former Illawarra hooker then fired a pass into the grateful hands of the onrushing Offiah who grounded in the corner. Jonathan Davies then kicked the conversion to ensure that Widnes were only two points down at the interval as Canberra went into the sheds with a slender 12-10 lead. 

Paul Hulme sparked the Widnes comeback when he crossed for a try after receiving a pass from brother David. 

In the second half, Widnes displayed the sort of rugby that had earned them the plaudits and the trophies as they went ahead for the first time through a Davies try. While the game wasn’t played in the same spiky atmosphere as Wigan vs Manly two years earlier, Laurie Daley was sin-binned in the second period when he unleashed what could only be described as a ‘clothes-line’ that was more akin to the WWF than Rugby League on Davies as he was about to touch the ball down in the corner, a feat the Welshman did manage to complete. The try was eventually awarded but only after referee Desplas had sent Daley from the field for ten minutes. 

Now in the ascendancy, Widnes turned the screw on the Australian premiers and scored again through Offiah. Joe Grima shot a short ball to Andy Currier and the centre, possibly spurred on by being on the losing side against Canberra in the Grand Final, burst forward before shooting the ball out on to the wing to Offiah who evaded and outpaced Gary Belcher to touch down his second try of the evening in the corner in front of the Stretford End. Offiah then went from poacher to provider for Widnes’ fourth try of the evening when he provided a pass for Richie Eyres to weave in and out of the Canberra defence and then turn Steve Walters inside out to add his name to the scoresheet. 

Laurie Daley looked to atone for his earlier misdemeanour but as he crossed the line, seemingly to score he knocked the ball on. From the resultant tap back on the 20-metre line, substitute Barry Dowd exploited the tiring Canberra defence and surged forward leaving centre Darren Wright unmarked. Wright, who would play all of his career with Widnes save for brief spells with North Sydney and Doncaster, was able to charge forward unchallenged and touch down under the sticks to put a bow on the result and seal the World Club Challenge for The Chemics, Davies added the extras and even a late consolation try from Walters couldn’t dampen Widnesian spirits. The final score of 30-18 confirmed what had begun to become obvious, Widnes were on top of the world. 

The forthcoming years and the dawn of summer rugby put an end to the era of success for Widnes especially amid a number of financial problems, their last appearance in a major final came in 1993 when they were defeated by the dominant Wigan team of the period. While The Chemics, or The Vikings as they are now known, are currently in the backwaters of the second-tier Championship, one thing that will never be taken away from the Widnes trophy cabinet will be their world title, a fitting title for the former ‘Cup Kings’. 

Widnes players celebrate with the trophy following their World Club Challenge win. It would be the last hurrah for the heralded 'Cup Kings'. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this sample from 'War Of The Worlds: A History Of Rugby League's World Club Challenge'. To stay up to date with developments of the book, please drop me a follow on Twitter/X @DanBarkerGray. 

Dom Young: The Key To Solving Rugby League's Identity Crisis

I was recently listening to an episode of the Hyper-Thetic RL Podcast in which author and Labour historian Anthony Broxton talked about the 1992 Rugby League World Cup and how the marketing machine used Martin Offiah as the saleable commodity to entice people to Wembley Stadium for the showpiece final and how it appeared to work as over 60,000 gathered under the twin towers to see The Lions come agonising close to grabbing a first World Cup for twenty years. 

It got me thinking about how (as a Rugby League mad child) in the 1990s, Martin Offiah was almost unavoidable during the decade. The Wigan winger featured regularly in the papers, on the cover of magazines, as a panel member on A Question Of Sport. He even had a guest spot in Emmerdale. Nowadays, us in the Rugby League fraternity would kill for someone of such stature within our game. Thankfully we may just have found one, Dom Young. 

For those unaware, Dewsbury-bonn Young has been tearing the NRL apart scoring tries for fun and setting new club records for Newcastle Knights as well as lighting up last year's World Cup for England. Young's star is set to shine brighter in 2024 when he begins a four year contract at Sydney Roosters. The fact he's based in Australia shouldn't deter the Rugby League authorities in Blighty from utilising his potential to put bums on seats and shift (yet more) replica shirts. Think of Jude Bellingham, arguably England's best footballer at the moment, he plies his trade with Real Madrid but that doesn't seem to prevent him from being destined to adorn the walls of Sports Direct to shift boots and be on the cover of EA Sports FIFA FC (whatever they're calling it) for years to come. 

We're very much in the digital age, there's no longer need for fans of 13-man football to head down to their local video rental shop to watch highlights of the antipodean action. All you need to do these days to watch NRL highlights and tries is turn on your Sky TV or head to Twitter as the tries are uploaded within minutes of them happening. This is where the advantage lies in maximising the potential to shift tickets to this year's test series against Tonga. 

While it may not be the Ashes or the Baskeville Shield, this year's international series still should pique enough interest to near enough sell out each of the three tests but with Young featuring on the poster campaigns and viral social media marketing, the game once again might just have their own ready-made marketing tool especially with IMG looking at ways to get the game further into the public consciousness. If it's high octane speed and breathtaking tries the public want, here's your man. 

Get him behind the bar of the Woolpack before the Union crowd get hold of him!  

From The Dock Tower To The Twin Towers, Preview 2: BonettiMania Runs Wild

Hello everyone and welcome to another exclusive titbit from my new book From The Dock Tower To The Twin Towers: Grimsby Town In The 1990s. In this passage we're going to take a look at when Ivano Bonetti breezed into Cleethorpes and how Town supporters were left dreaming of the Premier League with a fine run of form towards late 1995. 

Shockwaves were sent through English football when news broke that Town had offered a trial to Italian winger Ivano Bonetti. After the Italian, a Serie A champion with Juventus in 1986 and again with Sampdoria in 1991, met Brian Laws and Kenny Swain in a chance encounter at an Aston Villa reserve game a trial period in Cleethorpes was quickly organised for the man who had played in a European Cup final at Wembley as recently as 1992. Such was interest in Bonetti that a crowd of just short of 2000 were in attendance to see the opening match of his trial, a 4-0 reserve team defeat to Middlesbrough’s second string. 

It was quickly announced that Town had signed Bonetti on a short-term deal although there were complications. The Italian’s contract actually belonged to an American consultancy firm who were demanding £100,000 to release him and make the winger a Mariner on a permanent basis. To further complicate matters, as the consultancy firm were unrecognised by FIFA, Town were unable to finance the deal themselves. Bonetti initially pledged to stump up £50k himself while the fans mobilised to raise the other half themselves, echoing the funds raised by the Town faithful almost twenty years earlier to permanently sign Joe Waters. 

Bonetti’s league debut came against Charlton Athletic at The Valley in early October and his league bow coincided with the final game of another loanee’s short spell with Town as striker Paul Jewell signed off with the winning goal to deliver a 1-0 win for The Mariners. A draw at home to Oldham and a defeat away at Birmingham City followed but they were mere dropped stitches as Town were about to embark on a rollercoaster run that may have resulted in one or two nosebleeds for those involved! 

The unbeaten run began with a 1-0 win over Stoke City at Blundell Park in late October thanks to a fine goal from Paul Groves that was the culmination of a smart passing move that harked back to the prime Buckley era of the start of the 90s. A 2-2 draw away at recently relegated Ipswich Town displayed The Mariners’ fighting spirit as they battled back from 2-0 down to secure a share of the points thanks to headed efforts from Neil Woods and Jim Dobbin. The Mariners had to come from behind in their next outing, at home to Barnsley, as Bonetti-Mania began to run wild at Blundell Park with the Italian tricolore becoming commonplace on the terraces. After Steve Davis had pocketed the opening goal for the visitors, Grimsby rallied and levelled affairs with a rare goal from Mark Lever from a fine pinpoint cross from the Italian. Town soon led when Arjan de Zeeuw planted a fine header into his own net before they made sure of the spoils when Steve Livingstone converted another Bonetti cross to wrap up the 3-1 win. 

18th November 1995 will forever be a day etched into the memory of Mariners fans as Alan Buckley brought his West Bromwich Albion side to Blundell Park for a real grudge match. The Baggies squad was packed with players who either once played for Town (Paul Reece, Shaun Cunnington, Tony Rees et al) or would go on to play for The Mariners (Stacy Coldicott, Dave Smith and Kevin Donovan to name a few). In front of a large crowd of over 8000 who provided an electric atmosphere, Town served up arguably their best performance of the season as they overwhelmed their opponents from the Midlands. Ivano Bonetti saw his early shot gobbled up by ex-Mariners ‘keeper Reece while Jamie Forrester went close on a couple of occasions as he pressed for his first goal since his permanent transfer from Leeds in October 1995 before Jim Dobbin’s long range lobbed effort only just evaded the WBA goal. Mark Lever thought he’d opened the scoring when his header left Paul Reece stranded only to see the ball ricochet off the post. The game’s iconic moment came with ten minutes of the second period played. After exchanging passes with Bonetti in midfield, Gary Childs inadvertently received the ball on the left wing and played a low ball into the Albion penalty area, Bonetti gratefully received the ball and controlled it with his right foot before unleashing a vicious shot with his left that evaded Reece and nestled in the bottom corner of the Pontoon net. The goal sparked rapturous celebrations around Blundell Park, the sort rarely seen since the promotion of 1991. Bonetti set sail to celebrate in the Town dugout. 

Bonetti wasn’t in the side for the midweek trip to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United but his absence was irrelevant as The Mariners, playing at the absolute top of their game, came away from South Yorkshire with all three points following a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Nicky Southall and Gary Childs. It got even better for Town on the following Saturday with a 1-0 win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park, Bonetti’s second goal in a week enough to raise Town to the heady heights of second in Division One, just a point behind leaders Millwall. It was the highest Town had been in the football ladder for a decade when they briefly topped the same division (under it’s previous guise of the Second Division). After flirting with the play-off spots on a couple of occasions during previous seasons, were Grimsby Town now serious promotion contenders? Could the fans dare to dream of playing in the top flight for the first time since the club’s heyday of the 1930s? 

Thank you for taking the time to read this preview passage of 'From The Dock Tower To The Twin Towers: Grimsby Town In The 1990s', for more information about the book please drop me a follow on Twitter @DanBarkerGray. 

UP THE MARINERS!!