From the publisher:
Flat Caps & Tangerine Scarves is author Roy Calley’s long-awaited follow-up to his updated classic, Blackpool: The Complete Record. This brilliantly original, fully illustrated biography of the club is set for publication in April.
Hampson, Matthews, Mortensen, Suddick, Green, Armfield, Ellis and Adam. Smith, Stokoe, Ayre, Grayson and Holloway. Atomic Boys, hooligans, boycotts and homecoming. 1953 and 2010. ‘The best trip’. Blackpool Football Club.
Every fan knows that supporting this club is the much-used cliché ‘rollercoaster ride’. Every success is followed by failure, every moment of hope followed by despair and every dream becomes a nightmare. It’s what being a Blackpool fan is all about. Blackpool supporters are not that different from any others, and the club is not that different either, but there’s something in the fabric of its identity that says that nothing will ever come easily.
Flat Caps & Tangerine Scarves isn’t a history. It’s a biography. A manic dash around the seasons like a stream of consciousness. Getting into the minds of the players, the managers and the supporters of the club that defies normality and embraces controversy and crisis. Quotes, interviews, opinions and unusual stories. Like the Golden Mile, it’s brash and unexpected. Read, recall, argue and agree, but identify as a fan… because We Are Blackpool.
The author:
Roy Calley was a BBC sports journalist for 26 years, but far more importantly has followed Blackpool FC for twice that long. Despite the regular failings, under-achievement and annual crises, he has stuck by them, even when moving to the south of France. This is his 13th book, ranging from Mary, Queen of Scots and North Korea to James Hunt and Niki Lauda and everything in between. Flat Caps & Tangerine Scarves is a work of passion. An ambition finally realised. For Roy, there’s always something about Blackpool…
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