Norwich History Festival - 'Cutting the Mustard'

What an absolute treat to be invited to speak at the Norwich History Festival at The Forum in July. I was in excellent company and the Festival organisers had done a brilliant job in putting a fascinating programme together featuring a wide range of speakers in 11 venues spread across the city.

I love the figure with a fine ‘tache and smartly-parted head of hair, wearing a fabulous green and yellow long-sleeved shirt, which was used to promote my talk – on checking back, it is pretty similar to Norwich City’s strip of 1920-1923 (minus the red socks haha) so that hairstyle is about right.

My talk only reached back to 1972 however, when City were first promoted to Division One. Exactly the time when I arrived at Norwich City College to study for my A-levels and, by complete coincidence, the year that Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones bought their original season tickets at Carrow Road.

I had intended to make my leisurely way in my presentation through the 50-year events covered in my book, ‘Cutting the Mustard’. But, as often happens on these occasions, I probably dallied too much in the first three decades including the launch of the Premier League. That being said, if you do want to understand how football has been commercialised, you really do need to reach back in history. For example, if you were appalled by the antics of Gianni Infantino and FIFA at the World Cup this year, you can find the beginnings of FIFA’s endless attempts to ring every bit of money that they can out of their tournament, with the appointment of João Havelange as FIFA president back in 1974. And, if you want to appreciate the origins of the Premier League, you have to face up to the appalling tragedies of the 1980s which led directly to the setting up of a new elite football competition in England in 1992.

Thanks to book designer and publisher, Alan Ward, ‘Cutting the Mustard’ is full of beautiful images showing how football has changed over the last 50 years and my talk was able to draw on many of them.

I ended asking exactly what we wanted our football to look like in the future. We now have our own American owners, we are continually developing Carrow Road to maximise revenues, and we all hope to be in the Premier League next season. But at what cost?

Dr Richard Mills, a Norwich City supporter, but chairing the event expertly in his role of associate professor in modern European history at the University of East Anglia, was then able to open up to the floor and invite questions. The audience had already proved themselves to be extremely well-informed and there were a series of excellent contributions ranging from how did the Premier League profit so much when Serie A and La Liga had not been as successful? How long would it be for a match to be played in four quarters like the World Cup? And was future coverage likely to be digital and based on streaming?

I had a brilliant time, and it was a huge pleasure to meet so many people afterwards from old friends who I had gone to Carrow Road with so many years ago, to former Norwich City physio, Tim Sheppard. Thanks so much again to the kind folks at the Norwich History Festival and The Forum who made me feel very welcome on the day.