clivewolves
Just doesn't shut up
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If anybody is looking for something Wolves related to read in the spare time the current break has given us I can highly recommend Stan Cullis' autobiography. I'm not usually one for reading autobiographies or football books but I came across it and couldn't miss the opportunity to learn more about the man who more than most shaped the club. I'm guessing some of you must have already read it.
It's mostly filled with Cullis' thoughts on the game as a whole rather just Wolves. He covers a wide range of topics including tactics, style of play, money in football, stadium development, player development, the press, referees, fixture congestion, plus many more areas of the game.
What I found most interesting is how we often talk about how much the game as changed, but reading the book which was written in 1960 it's amazing how little the game has changed. Many discussions in the book are still widely talked about today, even on this very forum quite often.
To give you one extract to show how he could have contributed to the Molineux Redevelopment thread he talks about the issues of stadium redevelopment -
'Grounds which were built on the fringes of towns and cities forty years ago now find that the town has expanded around them and they are closer to the centre than to the boundary. Some clubs, like Port Vale and Southend, have solved their problems in recent years by moving to fresh grounds where space is available. But today there are often powerful arguments against the removal of a football club, lock, stock and barrel, to the outskirts of a city where land is more plentiful. Apart from the considerations of finance, clubs must remember that transport facilities are the arteries which keep them in a healthy financial state. There is no point in having a fine, modern stadium if people cannot reach it by bus, train or tram without too much bother.'
I have generally two conclusions after reading the book.
1. Football has been having the same old arguments/discussions for decades.
2. There aren't many new ideas in football, just old ideas repackaged as something new. For example the recent idea of building a stadium for the under-23 team. Stan Cullis convinced the Wolves board in the '50s to build the Castlecroft stadium for the Wolves youth and reserve teams, something I never knew. So if we do build a purpose-built ground for the under-23s and Man City fans say we are copying them, we can rightly argue we are reclaiming our legacy
It's mostly filled with Cullis' thoughts on the game as a whole rather just Wolves. He covers a wide range of topics including tactics, style of play, money in football, stadium development, player development, the press, referees, fixture congestion, plus many more areas of the game.
What I found most interesting is how we often talk about how much the game as changed, but reading the book which was written in 1960 it's amazing how little the game has changed. Many discussions in the book are still widely talked about today, even on this very forum quite often.
To give you one extract to show how he could have contributed to the Molineux Redevelopment thread he talks about the issues of stadium redevelopment -
'Grounds which were built on the fringes of towns and cities forty years ago now find that the town has expanded around them and they are closer to the centre than to the boundary. Some clubs, like Port Vale and Southend, have solved their problems in recent years by moving to fresh grounds where space is available. But today there are often powerful arguments against the removal of a football club, lock, stock and barrel, to the outskirts of a city where land is more plentiful. Apart from the considerations of finance, clubs must remember that transport facilities are the arteries which keep them in a healthy financial state. There is no point in having a fine, modern stadium if people cannot reach it by bus, train or tram without too much bother.'
I have generally two conclusions after reading the book.
1. Football has been having the same old arguments/discussions for decades.
2. There aren't many new ideas in football, just old ideas repackaged as something new. For example the recent idea of building a stadium for the under-23 team. Stan Cullis convinced the Wolves board in the '50s to build the Castlecroft stadium for the Wolves youth and reserve teams, something I never knew. So if we do build a purpose-built ground for the under-23s and Man City fans say we are copying them, we can rightly argue we are reclaiming our legacy