Lilywhite & Blue – book review

lilynew21When I bumped into award winning journalist, kit fanatic and all-round good bloke Jeff Maysh at England’s recent Wembley game against Bulgaria and he told me about his planned book on Spurs match worn shirts I couldn’t wait to see how it would turn out.

When my signed, editioned copy arrived last week I ripped open the package with eager hands and I have to say the beautifully designed book doesn’t disappoint.

Jeff has tracked down nearly all of the key Spurs home shirts (and a few aways) since 1950 – many of them draped with history and with a story to tell. Photographs of each shirt are accompanied by key facts and text explaining more about the shirt and how it relates to Spurs heritage. Its a fascinating read enlivened by Jeff’s superb writing thats packed with humour and anecdotes. We learn more about the ‘Holsten’ sponsorship faux pas from the 1987 FA Cup final and the one-off 2002 Worthington Cup final shirt that was never made into a replica and that apparently cost adidas more to produce than it would have done to manufacture 100,000 replicas!

021My only slight criticism would be that some of the photos of the shirts are a little on the a dark side, but that aside the book is essential reading for any football kit fan – especially if you follow Spurs! As I said when Jeff asked me for a quote for the back of the book (which seems to be have been replaced by some bloke called Steve Perryman, who’s he?!) “this incredible collection gets to the very fabric of the club’s history”.

Click here to buy – but hurry, this limited edition is being snapped up fast!

14 Replies to “Lilywhite & Blue – book review

  1. It was everything I hoped it would be, I am a very happy owner. Mind you I would have been over the moon had the mystery yellow shadow striped shirt from the Centenery Year made an appearance!

  2. Looks great. I wish there was a Manchester City equivalent, tracing all the way back to our 1930s Umbro association.

  3. Yes it would have been good if there were more away shirts. I’ve had a flick through Roy Reyland’s book Andrew and he doesn’t seem to mention that yellow shirt (and it was indirectly from him that I found out about it) although he doesn’t mention the problem of white and sky blue looking similar under certain lights which is why the shirt came about in the first place.

  4. I am reading that too right now. There are some odd bits I assume ther publishers have fiddled with, like referring to the 81 cup final replay as the 2nd leg!?!?

  5. Mine turned up yesterday…a very nice book indeed and great for the price…do agree some of the pics are quite dark though. The ’87 Cup Final one is very dark indeed; a shame as it was a great kit…in which to see them lose to the mighty CCFC!!!! 😉

  6. Looks like a great book and is something I am looking at doing in the future. I was at the 1987 cup final (mighty CCFC fan !!) and still have some great action shots in a photo album that shows the now you see it now you don’t Holsten sponsor!!

  7. Rich, I have started a draft and I have not quite decided on the way to go yet. My collection is Coventry City and Rangers (born in Cov half the family from Scotland!). I have finished the introduction which is my slant on football shirt collecting and design and have pretty much completed the Rangers section. I have every home Rangers shirt in a mix of replicas and player shirts from 1986 to date. CCFC not started yet & have a similar collection going back to 1977 but with some gaps. I can’t make my mind up whether to aim it at for example Rangers supporters, Cov supporters, or as a general interest to kit fanatics like us. It is pretty detailed in terms of my view on the design of each shirt with a little smattering of club history linked to the year in question.

    I am glad I started it as I have even found a Rangers shirt I didn’t even know existed and found some interesting photographs to back up why kits change for colour clashes.

    I also think I might have made a rod for my own back!

    Any thoughts would be appreciated!

  8. Mike do it as a general interest, both Gers and Cov fans will want one, as well as Saddo’s (sorry enthusiasts) like us.

  9. Mike, sounds really interesting and I’d echo Andrew’s point…Us kit afficionados (collectiver term, saddoes ;-P ) love reading about any sort of kits…I’ve recently bought the Spurs book and Burnley’s own…neither are teams I have a huge interest in, but am fascinated in their kit history as it serves as a history of general design.

    I too am from Cov with half the family from Scotland…though no-one was into football until me 🙂

    If you want to talk further, John can give you my email address 🙂

  10. Andrew/Rich – thanks for your input. Rich, I will ask John for your email and will let you know how its progressing.

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