When Football Was Football

Book Review: When Football Was Football by Peter Hooton

This was love at first sight seeing that on the back cover there is reproduced one of my favourite Liverpool images. It does not show a famous game or triumph but simply Bob Paisley sat down sharing a joke with some of his old friends and with the Champions Cup in front of them. More than anything else, that image captures both his humility and how Liverpool never let success get to them.

That pictures easily sets the tone for the rest of the book which, with a title like 'When Football was Football' is only going to be nostalgia-fest. And, to be honest, we do need a bit of reminiscing of when Liverpool were great if we are to forget the mess that the current season is turning out to be.

There is, however, more to this book than that. Peter Hooton, the former front-man of The Farm and a well known red, has chosen from the thousands of photos that make up the archive of the Daily Mirror and has put together a collection of real gems.

As expected there isn't much to read here but, with the quality and choice of photos, you won't really mind. For this is a book to be enjoyed slowly, turning each page and then taking in the beauty of each shot in a manner that you never would with words.

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