The Football History Boys

Last week saw Scotland host England at Celtic Park in front of almost 50,000 fans. It was a fixture played north of the border for the first time in 15 years, but one which is like no other in international football. In a new series of blogs, The Football History Boys are going to look deeper into the rivalries which make football the sport we all know and love. There is perhaps no place better to start than with England vs Scotland - the oldest fixture in international football and one steeped in political, social and cultural history. From 1872 there has been no shortage of stories in a match which continues to make history to this very day.

England vs Scotland of course is not just a fixture which has shaped football history, but one which has encompassed almost every sport. From rugby and the Calcutta Cup to the various sports of the Commonwealth Games, it is a rivalry which has forged national identities, controversy and often political tensions. Just two months ago, the very fut…

Way back in February 2013, I wrote one of my first pieces for The Football History Boys - "Footballers At War: 1939-1945." Within the article I briefly skirted around the edges of a topic which had the potential to be explored in more depth. Since we began we have attempted to continue exploring and discovering the ways in which football has affected more than just those in attendance every Saturday afternoon. In 1939, war once more came to Britain, the horrors of the First World War ready to be performed again in the theatre of conflict. What World War II was to provide was 'total war' - everyone had to play their part - including footballers. 

Before diving straight into the role footballers played in history's most deadly conflict, it is useful to understand just how the Second World War began. In hindsight it is easy to point the finger at Germany and the fascist dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, but a number of wider causes can be found. In the 1930s, Europe was…

The Football History Boys were founded in February 2013 in Gareth's bedroom of our University house in Swansea. We first set out to compile a list of the top 50 players of all time but this grew to 100, 150 and 200 before we settled on the "Top 250" shortlist. Our website then developed into us making the most of our history degrees and combining it with our love of football, The Football History Boys as we know it were born!

One of our aims became to receive a nomination for the Football Blogging Awards, something that honoured casual football writing from across the globe. It was an event that much like our site had grown from almost nothing into a major national award each year and we were privileged to receive our nomination for "Best New Football Blog" in October 2014. With our website now raking up views of over 200,000 we just wanted to say thank you for the votes and support over the past 20 months!


Ben and Gareth headed up to the Manchester National Foot…

Thane Macdonald examines the incredible story of a young lad who grew up in a war-torn Russia working in a factory as a 12 year old before becoming arguably the greatest goalkeeper to ever play the game. Yashin was voted as the #27  in our Top 250 countdown earlier this year - the highest goalkeeper on the list. Astoundingly he is a name which although respected and revered by his peers, is often forgotten by many modern writings and publications. So just who was the 'Black Spider' and what legacy has he left? 

Lev Ivanovich Yashin was born in Moscow in October 1929. He was from a family of industrial workers and was only twelve when he was required to support the war effort by working in a munitions factory. Fortunately, this afforded Yashin the opportunity to play for the factory football team. Playing here, he was spotted by Dynamo Moscow and was invited to play for the youth team on the spot.

It took Yashin until 1950 to break into the first team. He played poorly in a fri…

Here at The Football History Boys we like to give special mention to many of football's 'unsung heroes'. One of these is Jimmy Case. Now, to many Liverpool fans this name is rightly held among the greats of the club, but is often forgotten in wider British football culture, - so why is this? With the release of his autobiography, published by John Blake, we can look deeper into the career of one Merseyside's greatest talents. From the opening page, Case offers us an intriguing look at his playing days from Liverpool and Brighton to Southampton and Halifax. 

When people think of the great Liverpool sides of the 1970s and 1980s it is easy to get lost in a wave of nostalgia surrounding the likes of Keegan, Rush and Dalglish. But what Jimmy Case offers for Liverpool fans is a homegrown academy product who rose to very pinnacle of European Football. Growing up in Allerton - the same neighbourhood of Paul McCartney and my Dad - Case can be seen as a true representative of no…