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161 pages

English

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The Great Uncrowned: Football's Most Celebrated Losers is the story of football's ultimate bridesmaids, those clubs that were good enough to win the major prizes but, for various reasons, didn't. In an age when victory is all too often viewed as the be all and end all, this book celebrates the teams that were beaten by bad luck, limited resources or an outstanding set of players. From early 20th-century runners-up from Lancashire and Wales to flamboyant teams from Europe and South America, near-misses can be found anywhere in the world. Some have been forgotten, pushed aside by the elitist nature of modern football. Others have passed into history and are rarely revisited. As well as reviving the exploits of great players and impressive teams, The Great Uncrowned also provides context around the development and social position of each side and asks if football needs a structure that provides more winners and fewer losers.

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Publié par	Distributed by eBookpartnership
Date de parution	26 septembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781801503358
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
© Neil Jensen, 2022
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright.
Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801501774
eBook ISBN 9781801503358
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eBook Conversion by www.eBookPartnership.com
Contents
1. No disgrace in almost being champions
2. Oldham Athletic 1915: The forgotten runners-up
3. Cardiff City 1924: Beaten by the law of averages
4. Argentina 1930: The second best team in the world
5. Austria 1934: The end of Das Wunderteam
6. Brazil 1950: The men of Maracanazo
7. Hungary 1954: And the world wept
8. Burnley 1962: Homegrown heroes run out of steam
9. Chelsea 1965: Docherty s flawed diamonds
10. Rangers 1968: In any other year
11. Leeds United 1972: Trying too hard
12. Poland 1974: No tears for the clown
13. QPR 1976: Total football in the Bush
14. Netherlands 1978: D j vu in Buenos Aires
15. Ipswich Town 1981: Suffolk comes to the party
16. France 1982: Les Bleus denied
17. Brazil 1982: The last cavaliers
18. Everton 1986: Heartbreak at the double
19. Hearts 1986: Marooned at the peak
20. Newcastle United 1996: Everyone s second favourites
21. Schalke 04 2001: The four-minute heroes
22. England 2021: Trying to get football to come home
Bibliography
Photos
The author: Neil Fredrik Jensen
Neil Jensen is a football and business writer who was previously editorial director with a major European investment bank. Neil has been a magazine and website editor, speech-writer and advertising copywriter. He is a member of the Football Writers Association and the Football Collective, and a Freeman of the City of London. He has written for many publications, including The Economist, The New European, World Soccer, Football Weekends and The Blizzard . He has also written on football finance for Brand Finance, World Football Summit and Soccerex, among others. A Chelsea supporter since 1967, he now considers himself a portfolio fan and follows a range of clubs, including FC K benhavn and Hitchin Town. He is also the creator and editor of the award-winning website, Game of the People.
Dedicated to Carter Jensen, our little lad in Yokohama, a child of the pandemic.
1
No disgrace in almost being champions
IN 1974, I predicted the Netherlands would win the World Cup in Germany. It wasn t a brave forecast in my opinion; I had watched Ajax Amsterdam win three consecutive European Cups, delighted in the way they played and even persuaded my mother to doctor a white football shirt with a red band to create an improvised Ajax top. I wanted the Dutch to win the competition because I felt they represented the future of football, a game I had lived and breathed for most of my life. When Johan Cruyff and his pals were beaten 2-1 by West Germany in the final in Munich, I was devastated and felt the football-watching public had been deprived. I wasn t Dutch, but I was an adopted son of the Netherlands for many years. If countries were clubs, I was a fan.
The Dutch were unlucky - unlucky to come up against the host nation, unlucky to have run out of steam after charming the world in the World Cup, unlucky to have scored early in that final, unlucky to have had the burden of history on their orange-clad shoulders. In any other World Cup, with the possible exception of 1970 in Mexico, they would surely have been worthy winners. This was an exceptional team, a golden generation of players marshalled by one of the most influential figures in 20th-century football, but ultimately, a side that failed when it truly mattered. Four years on the Dutch still had the makings of a great team, but once more they were beaten by the host nation. Although their margin of defeat in the final was two goals in Buenos Aires, they were actually closer to victory than many might recall. If Robbie Rensenbrink s tame prod in the dying seconds of normal time had been an inch or two to the right, Argentina would have been beaten and the Netherlands would have had to work out how to get home in one piece.
Sadly the Dutch dream went unfulfilled across two World Cups; they really were nearly men. Their best was not quite good enough, but nobody would have minded if they had won at least one World Cup, Germans and Argentinians excepted of course. That they managed to reach two consecutive finals - four years apart - says a lot about their underlying quality.
More recently, when Liverpool went through the 2018/19 season losing just one game and finishing just one point behind Manchester City, you could sympathise with J rgen Klopp and his team for producing a spectacular campaign but still being denied the title by an even more proficient side.
The battle for top spot had produced two teams at the height of their game; City won 32 of their 38 games, Liverpool 30. The Reds were 25 points clear of third-placed Chelsea and their only defeat was on New Year s Day at City s Etihad Stadium. Furthermore, both teams scored goals proficiently and swept up the major trophies. City won all three domestic prizes in England while Liverpool were European champions for the sixth time. It is difficult to call Liverpool unlucky, but it was their misfortune that they came up against an allconquering Manchester City team.
However, it has to be remembered that Liverpool, themselves, were in that exact position in the late 1970s and 1980s and their machine-like run of success denied some very good teams their moment of triumph, such as Queens Park Rangers in 1976, arguably the most continental of English sides in the 1970s. Although Rangers entertained with their flowing, thoughtful style, there was a sense of the inevitable about Liverpool s eventual victory in 1975/76. They had, after all, been there before, while QPR had a team for the moment that had a limited life span. Three years later, Rangers were relegated to the old Second Division.
Similarly, Ipswich Town under Bobby Robson were frequently in the mix when it came to major silverware, but found that their small-club status prevented a level of sustainability that would guarantee success. Quite simply, a lack of resources, be it squad size or financial clout, has prevented some very good line-ups from become winners rather than unfortunate losers.
Not that this has always consigned smaller clubs to a life in the shadows; Ipswich won the league in 1962, but this was largely attributable to the methods of Alf (later Sir Alf) Ramsey, who took a journeyman team to unprecedented success, overcoming the challenge of the great Tottenham double-winners of 1960/61. The only comparable situation could well be Brian Clough and Nottingham Forest in 1977/78, although Forest did sustain their golden period for a few seasons, while Ipswich were soon back in the second tier of the English game. In both cases, the genius of their respective managers was the catalyst for a period of high achievement. In Ipswich s case, in 1962 they benefitted from being an unknown quantity in what was their first season in the First Division, while Forest s title, while well deserved, also took advantage of changes at Liverpool, notably the transition from Kevin Keegan to Kenny Dalglish. They were soon back in the saddle and more rampant than ever, although for a few years, Forest chased them hard.
In some ways, the tale of Leeds United also owes itself to a lack of strength in depth. Anyone who witnessed the period between 1969 and 1973 will be only too aware of how the Yorkshire club failed at the final hurdle all too frequently. Between 1967/68 and 1973/74 Leeds won six major prizes, but in the period from 1964/65 to 1974/75 they were runners-up or finalists eight times. On three occasions, they finished second in the Football League by the narrowest of margins. There was little doubt that Leeds were the best team unit around at that time, but their trophy haul doesn t necessarily bear that out. Why did they lose out so often?
A psychologist would make a good living out of analysing Leeds, but their high level of intensity and rather insular outlook of us against the world made for a lot of drama. They were a wonderful team, but beyond the first-choice 11 or 12 their resources were certainly stretched. They were also Don Revie s team, so when he went the impetus gradually faded. In truth, Leeds should have been champions half a dozen times in the 1970s, but they created the frenetic cup-tie mentality that seemed to accompany every game and when they lost, their critics rejoiced. They also tried to fight battles on many fronts, exhausting their team physically and mentally. It was no coincidence that when they were champions, in 1969 and 1974, their focus was purely on finishing top rather than winning everything in sight.
Intensity and focus has its place and can certainly be exercised over the course of a World Cup or European Championship campaign, which usually comprises half a dozen or so matches. Even the most limited teams can conjure up the concentration and purpose required to be successful. Likewise, a team can lose its momentum just as easily and become underachievers. In some ways, the Netherlands of 1974 did just that, allowing themselves t