I always knew that the FA relied heavily on the army during the early years of football in the UK, mainly because if you were serving in the army you were at least at a certain physical standard. I mean not at the standard of today because these days we have so much technology and medical advancement to help players perform better, plus back in the early days it was really seen that you could make a living from football or playing most sports. I must admit that when starting this book I thought it would be a bit of a stuffy read, but I was quite wrong in that the book was quite lively, well written and entertaining. The fact that the chapters and stories are written with a season per chapter helped the story flow and you could see the progression of the teams through the competition. I do wonder sometimes if they could see how big football would become that more and bigger investment would have improved the game when you think that if you had got the Navy involved and some of the big industry business which eventually did happen, there could have been more competition. A really good read indeed, which I would happily recommend to others. I should also say having also just read the other Pen & Sword footballing book The History of Women’s Football, these two show that Pen & Sword are producing some great sporting books.

Read the full review here

UK Historian

As featured in: 'Chichester's link to first Cup Final

Chichester Observer

As featured in

Evergreen

The Early Years of the FA Cup is an incredibly detailed account of the early days of the most famous trophy in world football. It is a brilliant account of some of the earliest pioneers of the beautiful game.
Brilliantly portrayed in fine detail with some astoundingly well-preserved photographs, it is a marvellous piece of literature. It is a fascinating insight into the heroes who played the game. How the teams were formed and managed.
The book gives the reader a running commentary of many of the early cup finals. Those who played, the scores and the managers. Even preliminary rounds are mentioned. It is all fascinating stuff.
I doubt that without the intervention of the army and especially the Royal Engineers, the Football Association Cup may never have been the success as we know it today.
The FA Cup has been a staple of my diet since the early sixties. I have had the privilege of being there twice. The occasion is unbelievable and is a far cry from the 1870s. But we should never forget where it all started.
I highly recommend this book, and every football fan should read it.

NetGalley, John Derek