1974 whisks you back half a century to discover the major matches, stories and controversies that lit up football in that momentous year.

From the author of 1923: Life in Football One Hundred Years Ago and 1953: Life in Football Seventy Years Ago.

Britain in 1974 was a land of strikes, electricity cuts, a three-day working week and the country’s first official recession for 50 years. Floodlit football matches were banned, Sunday football was established and attendances fell as cash-strapped fans couldn’t afford to watch live games.

This compelling book includes:



A chilling exploration of how football hooliganism began to spiral out of control and how the sport was shamed by the first murder on the terraces
The full story behind Brian Clough’s nightmare 44-day reign at Leeds United and its rancorous toxic fall-out
The sad tale of Bill Shankly’s retirement as Liverpool manager and how it all ended in tears and recrimination
Analysis of Manchester United’s nightmare season and their first relegation from the top flight for more than 30 years
How the FA finally ended the shameful 50-year ‘ban’ on women’s football
A revolution in amateur football as paid players are allowed, the league pyramid is totally reorganised and the national England amateur team disbanded
The story of how Leeds United and Umbro pioneered the multi-billion-pound replica kit industry and helped usher sponsorship into football

Read about all this and much more in this fascinating and exhaustively researched study of a special footballing year.