"There was something unjust and hard to explain about about John Atyeo's international career. He earned, with justification, half a dozen England caps. Even if a little overawed on occasions in that notable company, he scored five times and was never on the losing side. Yet the call didn't come again.
The trouble, we imagine, was that by choice he was a part-timer. e was richly endowed as a professional footballer - in physique, instinct, balance, two-footed prowess. In fact he was one of the finest players ever to emerge from the West Country....."
For more of the above you will have to buy the excellent new publication BACKPASS.
Issue 3 is currently available for £2.50 via the website. As well as the double-page spread featuring "Bristol Giant John Atyeo" it contains an article entitled "Friends Electric" which describes the events of Thursday May 19th 1977, when Bristol City and Coventry City played out a 2-2 draw which ensured top flight survival for both. The word "Electronic" in the title refers to the fact that Coventry chairman Jimmy Hill insisted that "Final Score: Everton 1 Sunderland 0" was displayed on Highfield Road's state of the art electronic scoreboard thus ensuring the players and crowd all knew that a draw was good enough for both teams.
This is a 44 page A4 size magazine crammed full of articles that made me nostalgic for Atyeo, and I wasn't even born when he finished playing! It is well worth a read, and I will be subscribing. Check it out. The website has a lot of info but the true value is contained in hardcopy.
Features in the latest edition, which grab the eye, include:
The one and only - Denis Law
Legends - Coventry legends Gordon Taylor and Fabio Capello
Memories -Alan Birchenall and Dick Kzywicki, Alan A'Court and Adrian Heath
Insight - The '69 FA Cup Final by Man City's Colin Bell
Team Shot - Everton, Bury and Sunderland
The Management - Curious Cornelius and Don Revie
The Great Escapes - 4 last day relegation deciders including Coventry and Bristol City
Programme Collector - West Ham v Chelsea 1966
Reporting for Duty - The remarkable Malcolm Huntington who spent 40 years at York City and 36 at Wimbledon!
Your Say - letters page with readers views on the Anglo-Italian Cup, and Don Rogers
Non-League - Hereford c.1972
Journeymen - David McVay and Tony Currie discuss Jimmy Sirrel
Great TV Goals - Chris Nicholls pile driver in the 1977 League Cup Final
Obituaries - Derek Dooley, John Doherty, Jimmy Langley, Brian Harris, Ray Goddard and Paul Aimson
Season in Focus - Leeds Utd so near and yet so far in 1964-65
http://www.backpassmagazine.co.uk/
"Bored rigid by overpaid ballerinas mincing about in the Premier League? Fed up with smarmy Lineker and Co patting each other on the back? Feel like swinging for Abramovich? If you sometimes find your mind drifting back to that half-remembered time when the ghosting runs of George Best put the finest defenders in the land on their backsides, or when gobby Brian Clough ruled supreme at the Baseball Ground, a new magazine called Backpass might just get your sap rising again."
BARROW EVENING MAIL
Legends - Coventry legends Gordon Taylor and Fabio Capello
Memories -Alan Birchenall and Dick Kzywicki, Alan A'Court and Adrian Heath
Insight - The '69 FA Cup Final by Man City's Colin Bell
Team Shot - Everton, Bury and Sunderland
The Management - Curious Cornelius and Don Revie
The Great Escapes - 4 last day relegation deciders including Coventry and Bristol City
Programme Collector - West Ham v Chelsea 1966
Reporting for Duty - The remarkable Malcolm Huntington who spent 40 years at York City and 36 at Wimbledon!
Your Say - letters page with readers views on the Anglo-Italian Cup, and Don Rogers
Non-League - Hereford c.1972
Journeymen - David McVay and Tony Currie discuss Jimmy Sirrel
Great TV Goals - Chris Nicholls pile driver in the 1977 League Cup Final
Obituaries - Derek Dooley, John Doherty, Jimmy Langley, Brian Harris, Ray Goddard and Paul Aimson
Season in Focus - Leeds Utd so near and yet so far in 1964-65
http://www.backpassmagazine.co.uk/
"Bored rigid by overpaid ballerinas mincing about in the Premier League? Fed up with smarmy Lineker and Co patting each other on the back? Feel like swinging for Abramovich? If you sometimes find your mind drifting back to that half-remembered time when the ghosting runs of George Best put the finest defenders in the land on their backsides, or when gobby Brian Clough ruled supreme at the Baseball Ground, a new magazine called Backpass might just get your sap rising again."
BARROW EVENING MAIL
"Many fans might believe that English football is racing down a super highway. But like all sports supporters, they still enjoy little detours down Amnesia Lane, which is why one welcomes the launch of a new magazine called Backpass, dedicated to football in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. "
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
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