Kicking Off Again

The powerful, evocative story of the Football League's return after the Second World War.From acclaimed sportswriter Brian Halford - author of The Real Jeeves: The Cricketer Who Gave His Life For His Country and His Name to a Legend, among other titles.After seven years of makeshift, regional competitions, almost a million people poured through the turnstiles on 31 August 1946 - a momentous day not just for football, but for a nation taking its first tentative steps towards normality after years of hardship and horror.This enthralling and moving book includes: Chapters on each of the 44 matches from 31 August 1946, the day the Football League resumed after the Second World War Exhaustively researched accounts of every game, alongside vivid portraits of the clubs and communities they represented in a turbulent post-war Britain Stories of the many great managerial and playing careers that were launched on that historic day Insight into how clubs, supporters and local communities found the strength and resilience to survive the war's tragedy and hardship and move forward into a new era Humorous - and sometime wonderfully surreal - stories drawn from newspapers of the timeA must-read for lovers of football and social history, Kicking Off Again is a tribute to the fortitude of the people who rose to the many challenges of life in late-1940s Britain.