WSC - Bob Lord biography review

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Pimlico_Claret
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WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:26 pm

As a 25 year subscriber to When Saturday Comes, and having just read Paul Rees's review of Bob Lord of Burnley, I'm absolutely fuming. Clearly setting out with an agenda of not liking Burnley, this ill -educated half-wit says things like "fleeting challenges for the league title" and "as silverware remained ever exclusive".
So 59/60 1st Division champions, 1960 Charity shield, 72/73 Division 2 champions, 73 Charity shield and 78/79 Anglo Scottish Cup are figments of my imagination.
Thanks Paul Rees, maybe stick to tending your horses at Ewood in future.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by mikeS » Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:16 pm

Thanks for posting Pimlico. Not seen the review but I've passed your post onto Dave T who I think may have.
Mike

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rowls » Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:23 pm

Can anyone post a copy of the review here?

I used to love WSC but it just became too party political for me to stomach which is a great shame because it was the best football writing out there.

I didn't want articles about Brentford Town's ground, or Sunderland's '73 cup win -or anything else for that matter- coming with a side order of anti-Thatcher vitriole (decades after she fell from power).

It had always been present and tolerable but in the 2010s the political asides became ubiquitous.

Their distasteful treatment of the late Jimmy HIll after his death, based on little more than his political allegiance, was the final straw.
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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:49 pm

No not seen it. If it is a poor review, it will be the very first.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by FCBurnley » Tue Mar 24, 2020 4:16 pm

Up el Arse........Paul Rees

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:02 pm

nudge anyone know any more about this review.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:08 pm

Sorry I'm a bit crap at posting links, how would I be able to post a photo of it?

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:10 pm

Rodleydave wrote:
Tue Mar 24, 2020 3:49 pm
No not seen it. If it is a poor review, it will be the very first.
That's what I thought, always enjoy reading it but truly shocked by this particular biased opinion.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by aggi » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:11 pm

Not a great picture but here it is

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by aggi » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:12 pm

No it isn't, I forgot how bad this site was at uploading images.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by aggi » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:13 pm

Maybe this:

Image

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:28 pm

aggi wrote:
Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:13 pm
Maybe this:

Image
Great, thank you, was just trying to do that myself.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by LeadBelly » Tue Mar 24, 2020 11:36 pm

I've taken WSC since it first came out (still got a few of the very old copies but I don't hoard so not kept lots). I've been a subscriber for at least 20 years.
I generally like their book reviews and have used this section in the past to base purchases on.

As mentioned by Rowls above, it's become overtly (left) political in recent months (+ the standard of journalism has dropped a lot) and I'm toying with discontinuing. Around the time of the recent General Election, they had a very pro-Labour edition, featuring an article by a prominent Labour politician (McDonnell if I remember correctly) with no representation of other political parties. Their left-agenda is not subtle at all.

Ive discontinued one of the music magazines (R2) that I used to really like reading and subscribed to for a long time for the same reason. I really dont want to read a record review and have a reviewer (Burnley's own Boff Whalley in at least one case) start getting on a high horse about their own political views when it's a complete diversion from anything on the record.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by claretblue » Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:55 am

Lord would have banned Rees from Turf Moor! :D

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Corky » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:29 am

Is he the Guardian reporter.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by CleggHall » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:39 am

Paul Rees is a Welsh rugby union writer......and it shows!

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:08 am

CleggHall wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:39 am
Paul Rees is a Welsh rugby union writer......and it shows!
Doesn't it just, why on earth did he feel qualified to write such drivel. Sorely tempted to cancel my subscription after all these years.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:09 am

Smith and Thomas tie themselves in knots re his anti Semitism... what a load of ********.
Suspect he skimmed the book and has no basic knowledge on which to base his assertions.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by claretblue » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:22 am

Rodleydave wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:09 am
Smith and Thomas tie themselves in knots re his anti Semitism... what a load of ********.
Suspect he skimmed the book and has no basic knowledge on which to base his assertions.
you've spelt ******** wrong dave! ;)

:D

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:32 am

When last seen.. rugby correspondent of the Grauniad... couldn't quite make it out but seems he thinks we have the bare bones of a story.
Controversy at a premium... he can't possibly have read it properly.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Lord Beamish » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:37 am

The assertion that Jimmy McIlroy was sold to “ballancw the books” shows a distinct lack of insight.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:40 am

"Managers came and went"..... really, who'd have thought it. Players too probably. Half - wit, still annoyed about it today.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by aggi » Wed Mar 25, 2020 10:55 am

CleggHall wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:39 am
Paul Rees is a Welsh rugby union writer......and it shows!
Not sure whether it's that Paul Rees or the one who has written a few football books (or they're the same person):

Image

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:15 pm

Yes I think it is same chap. I re read the section on the McIlroy sale. His comment that he was sold to balance the books is ample indication that he has simply not read the book thoroughly. The whole range of poss reasons is given why he was sold... and as often been said it is highly unlikely the real reason will ever come out.
Judging from pics of the guy its reasonable to think he is of an age that would have no real knowledge of the impact that Lord had on football.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 2:21 pm

Rodleydave wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:15 pm
Yes I think it is same chap. I re read the section on the McIlroy sale. His comment that he was sold to balance the books is ample indication that he has simply not read the book thoroughly. The whole range of poss reasons is given why he was sold... and as often been said it is highly unlikely the real reason will ever come out.
Judging from pics of the guy its reasonable to think he is of an age that would have no real knowledge of the impact that Lord had on football.
Presumably thinks football started with the Premier league given his ignorance of our silverware during Lord's tenure.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by jamesisaburyfan » Wed Mar 25, 2020 3:21 pm

CleggHall wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:39 am
Paul Rees is a Welsh rugby union writer......and it shows!
I thought he was the former editor of Q magazine. Are they one and the same or two separate people?

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:02 pm

The same.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by jamesisaburyfan » Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:12 pm

I'm not sure they are, going off the thumbnail pictures:

RUGBY: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/paulrees

WEST BROM: https://twitter.com/paulreesQ

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Oshkoshclaret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:20 pm

I thought it was a pretty good book review, TBH.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:21 pm

jamesisaburyfan wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:12 pm
I'm not sure they are, going off the thumbnail pictures:

RUGBY: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/paulrees

WEST BROM: https://twitter.com/paulreesQ
Bloody hope not, the only 2 magazines I read!

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rowls » Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:11 pm

Oshkoshclaret wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 4:20 pm
I thought it was a pretty good book review, TBH.
It's not as unfair as I'd originally feared but it has the read of a review that has been "phoned-in" so to speak. It would be of no surprise if he'd only skim-read the book at best.

His main gripe does appear to be that he isn't interested in Bob Lord.

Well guess what? Us Burnley fans are.

Sadly "It's a decent book but will only appeal to fans of XXXX Football Club" would be honest reviews for most football books that get released but it doesn't always make for interesting copy for a national football magazine.

Dave Thomas writes extremely well - you only have to read the recent "41,000 Feet" to know that.

The review seems harsh.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Corky » Wed Mar 25, 2020 6:00 pm

It is what it is. People of a certain generation will have a different view about Bob Lord than those who are younger. Various elements of what he thought could happen, have happened. He always maintained that he did not sell to survive, he sold to remain in Division 1. Clearly, it is a niche book that will interest primarily Burnley FC fans and those interested in the history of football. Times change rapidly. To put a bit of context on it, my daughters school took a party of secondary school children to Dorset for a week. One day they were in Sandbank and one of the Teachers pointed and said "over there is where Harry Rednapp lives". Who's he, was the universal response.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:19 pm

Oshkosh send me your email address to beehive thomas at aol dot com and I'll send you the email I sent him.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Pimlico_Claret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:46 pm

Corky wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 6:00 pm
It is what it is. People of a certain generation will have a different view about Bob Lord than those who are younger. Various elements of what he thought could happen, have happened. He always maintained that he did not sell to survive, he sold to remain in Division 1. Clearly, it is a niche book that will interest primarily Burnley FC fans and those interested in the history of football. Times change rapidly. To put a bit of context on it, my daughters school took a party of secondary school children to Dorset for a week. One day they were in Sandbank and one of the Teachers pointed and said "over there is where Harry Rednapp lives". Who's he, was the universal response.
Sorry, but you have missed the point completely. I was criticising the review, not the book.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Stalbansclaret » Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:06 pm

I agree the review is not great reading from our Burnley fan perspective but just wanted to say that WSC is still a cracking football magazine which I have subscribed too for a long time. Yes there is political bias..stemming from Margaret Thatcher's ID card scheme plans which were poison to genuine football fans, which WSC generally does a good job of representing.The recent pre-election airtime given to Corbyn and McDonell reflected WSCs supporting the Labour manifesto policies around greater fan involvement with the running of football clubs.
One thing is for sure and that is that in every edition of WSC there will be a number of really well written and insightful articles, some updates on what is going on around the world in some interesting corners of the football globe and a number of things which make you smile/laugh. Harry Pearson, for instance, is a very witty writer..a couple of months ago his column featured the following description of Leighton James "scuttling running style" : "like a man carrying a sack of coal on his back after banging his head on an overhead beam. Opponents were mesmerised by his crab-like shuffling".

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rowls » Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:31 pm

Stalbansclaret wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 11:06 pm
Yes there is political bias..stemming from Margaret Thatcher's ID card scheme plans which were poison to genuine football fans, which WSC generally does a good job of representing.The recent pre-election airtime given to Corbyn and McDonell reflected WSCs supporting the Labour manifesto policies around greater fan involvement with the running of football clubs.
One thing is for sure and that is that in every edition of WSC there will be a number of really well written and insightful articles, some updates on what is going on around the world in some interesting corners of the football globe and a number of things which make you smile/laugh. Harry Pearson, for instance, is a very witty writer..a couple of months ago his column featured the following description of Leighton James "scuttling running style" : "like a man carrying a sack of coal on his back after banging his head on an overhead beam. Opponents were mesmerised by his crab-like shuffling".
Yes I miss a lot of the writing - Pearson is one of the finest.

But the quality of the writing had dipped when I stopped reading it (3 or 4 years ago now) and there was something which had disappeared almost entirely from the mag - humour.

THere was a regular column which was a TalkSport spoof. It was one of the unfunniest things I've ever read and it appeared every week.

I read the magazine from the early 90s up until 2016 and although the party politics of the staff had always been clear (it featured, for example, an article by Blair's shadow Sport's Minister in '97, can't recall his name) but these opinions were kept to articles pertaining to politics.

Things changed significantly ~ 2005 and the political references grew and grew and would pop up anywhere like moles in a lawn.

I'd wager that Thatcher is still the most heavily referenced politician in the magazine despite being dead for a number of years, and out of power for many, many more.

The fight against ID Cards was won back in the 80s and yet it was/is still being dragged up. In the end, it was too much and it interferred with the quality of their journalism. It permeated nearly every page of the magazine when I stopped reading.

A shame, a real shame.

I miss that vibrant, well-written, articulate and witty football magazine which knew how to be incisive and opinionated, wasn't afraid of making a political statement but knew also that football came first. It was funny too, and a joy to read.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Thu Mar 26, 2020 5:40 am

Can someone in possession of WSC let me have name of editor and the address.
beehive thomas at aol dot com
Points this guy makes...controversy is at a premium... he can't have read it properly... its on every page of parts 3 and 4 and much of part 2 where even his business is mired in controversy and is fully covered by Mike.
The bare bones of a rise and fall story...what planet is this guy from... it's a hugely detailed and fully fleshed out account. 378 pages of it.
The glib reference to McIlroy...
the authors tie themselves in knots re his anti Semitism and reach no conclusion... the conclusion is there in black and white.
I've written some turkeys in my time... but this one isn't.

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Stalbansclaret » Thu Mar 26, 2020 5:51 am

I’ve emailed you the details Dave

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Rodleydave » Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:05 am

Thanks got it StAlbans…

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Re: WSC - Bob Lord biography review

Post by Corky » Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:44 am

Pimlico_Claret wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:46 pm
Sorry, but you have missed the point completely. I was criticising the review, not the book.
No I didn't, I just chose to ignore it :lol:
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