SPOTLIGHT ON FOOTBALL

TITLE          Spotlight on Football
AUTHOR         Peter Doherty
PUBLISHER      Art and Educational Publishers Ltd.
ADDRESS        54 Bloomsbury Street,
               London WC1,
               UK.
DATE	       December 1947 (Reprinted 1948)
ISBN NUMBER    Not applicable (out of print)
PRICE          £3.00 (secondhand)

This book is the personal story of one of City's greatest talents and is written by him, rather than ghosted/edited. It takes us up to 1947 when Doherty was still playing, but by that time, with Huddersfield Town.

The book is hardback (dull green), and is missing its duskjacket (yet again!), so I'm afraid I can't describe what it might once have looked like. Compared to Frank Swift's autobiography - written at the same time - it's rather short at 118 pages (16 black and white photos) but has more depth.

The foreword is by Stanley Matthews, a contemporary of Doherty, and it's quite clear that Matthews rated Doherty very highly indeed - amongst the best inside forwards, and there were plenty. Some of the other pre-war sporting autobiographies that I've read have been introduced by peers of the football establishment (as a rubber stamp/blessing?); however, considering the content of this book, it's no surprise that Doherty elected to have a fellow footballer! Matthews' foreword warns us that what is to come "pulls no punches", and I imagine that many of Doherty's thoughts on the game and particularly the establishment were very controversial at the time this book was written.

Doherty begins with an 'Introduction' which is almost a plea to the young hopefuls of his day to beware the bitterness and unhappiness which a career in football can bring. It sets the scene for what is to come, which is the story of Doherty and the injustices he felt he experienced at the hands of the clubs which employed him.

The story starts in Coleraine in Northern Ireland where Doherty grew up, indeed his first break came with Coleraine (the club) but, as a youngster making his début, he was treated so badly by the officials and players that he swore he would never play for them again. He was subsequently signed by Glentoran of Belfast but here again he was to feel bitterness as they tried to pull a fast one on him by agreeing terms (verbally) but giving him much less when the contract turned up! He played for a couple of seasons for Glentoran before catching the eye of Blackpool, for whom he signed in 1933 for £2,000. He seems to have had a relatively happy time there, which culminated with the sad death of Blackpool's benefactor and Chairman, Sir Lindsay Parkinson. This spelt financial trouble for the club, and in 1936, Doherty was sold to Man City for the sum of £10,000.

At Maine Road, he soon slotted into a team which was destined to become one of the greatest City sides, certainly to that date. Amongst his team mates were the legendary Frank Swift, Eric Brook, Freddie Tilson and Matt Busby. In his first season, City finished 9th but were to win the title the following season (1937), playing much admired football. Doherty describes several of the key games in this campaign and the scenes at the end of the game at Maine Road against Sheffield Wednesday, when the the league was won. Doherty maintains that team spirit was the biggest single factor in this success, though the inate quality of the side must have had something to do with it!

In 'typical' City style, the team went on the next season to be relegated, despite scoring more goals than any other team in the first division! The goal average of the team was better than a dozen clubs above City but at the end of the day, the team had simply dropped too many points. Doherty modestly ascribes this disaster to a lack of form and indifferent displays, but this was definitely compounded by a crop of injuries.

Doherty was now in his prime, but was sadly to lose his best years to the war. At the outbreak in 1939, the league clubs scrapped all existing contracts and players were somehow expected to exist on the occasional match fee of 30 shillings; the only alternative was to find a job. Doherty applied in the Manchester area but failed to find work so ended up accepting a job in Greenock, Scotland, which a friend had found him. This would naturally have prevented him making regular appearances for City. Despite having scrapped his contract and having made no effort to help Doherty, the club was put out when he informed them that he couldn't play, and told him that they would not allow him to play for any club in Scotland, even though this would have been without being paid! This was relayed to Doherty by the Chairman during half-time in a game at Maine Road; Doherty was nothing if not forthright and told the Chairman (Mr Smith) exactly what he thought, tempers became frayed. After things had cooled down, Smith sent for Doherty and told him that he should reconsider going to Scotland as he was due a benefit - a thinly veiled threat! A City director found him a job as a chaffeur but he quickly gave this up and took a job at an ordnance factory in Risley, Warrington.

In 1940 he volunteered for the RAF and this resulted in him being transferred around the country. As with many other footballers, he became a PT (Physical Training) instructor and made guest appearances for numerous clubs during the war.

City however, seemed intent on dictating to Doherty exactly who he would play for and when! He was often approached by clubs who he would agree to turn out for, but would then receive a telegram from City, pre-emptorily telling him to travel to another club! It seems that Doherty was treated as chattle and was not even consulted about whether he could turn out for a particular team. Whatever the reasons for the club's attitude, all they succeeded in doing was alienating one of their best players.

Doherty was not a man to lie down and kow-tow to the establishment, so it was only a matter of time before he asked for a transfer which he eventually got, but not before more unpleasant exchanges. Just before mobilisation he was transferred to Derby County for £7,000. Doherty obviously felt that the transfer system that prevailed at that time was grossly unfair, the players received £150 for each years service; a player transferred for £10,000 after 2 years service would get £300 (3%). He clearly felt this keenly, and to understand his feelings, we have to remember that players were paid poorly yet were sold for comparatively huge amounts.

Doherty was at first lucky at Derby where he again slotted into a fine side, which lifted the FA Cup in 1946. He wished to settle in Derby and secure his future so, on the advice of the Chairman, applied for a pub licence in Derby. To Doherty's surprise, he was turned down but, when he asked a magistrate why, he told him that he had no knowledge of refusing his application! On inquiring further, Doherty was informed by the club that there was a clause in his contract that forbade him going into the licensing trade! Clearly the club had secretly and under-handedly sabotaged his application. Doherty was very bitter and after a meeting with the directors, felt that he had no alternative but to leave. There were three clubs interested in him, Blackpool, Huddersfield and City! Huddersfield finally won the day and he was transferred in 1946 for £10,000.

The book then goes on to describe Doherty's experiences abroad, playing both internationals and tour games. He then discusses outstanding personalities in his life, some of whom are not footballing related, as well as referees. In line with other sporting books of the era, Doherty then spends a couple of chapters teaching his readers how to train, take penalties and play the game. However, his last chapter concerns a scheme he put to the Northern Ireland authorities for introducing a structured coaching scheme with centres of excellence - way before its time. Naturally the powers that be turned it down, but I have to say that it was extremely far-sighted and could have turned Northern Ireland into a real football power.

Doherty was clearly a very talented player and perhaps unusually for his time, thought a lot about the game, and particularly the injustices and exploitation that seemed almost endemic. Bert Trautmann also suffered umpteen petty injustices perpetrated by the club so it certainly was part and parcel of being a footballer around the war years. However, I did get the feeling that Doherty, although principled, might have been quite a difficult character to get on with.

Although Doherty only played for City for a couple of years, there is plenty in this book for City fans who are interested in the Championship team of '37; not only a good sporting book but a good book full stop, written with conviction.