A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE FOR FOOTY FANS

The Got, Not Got Football Gift Book, by Derek Hammond and Gary Silke, published by Conker Editions Ltd, Price: £16

OPEN UP The Got, Not Got Football Gift Book and you immediately feel like you’re being transported back in time.

In the publicity for the book, it says that it’s ‘crammed with all the most desirable stuff of the past 50 years – not to mention a liberal sprinkling of delightful old rubbish that was once flogged to wide-eyed soccer kids’.

To be fair, it lives up to the boast with a huge coverage of all things football.

It covers video games and football stickers to iconic kits and boots.

You can dip in and out at your heart’s content and be reminded of all those things that you used to collect. Personally, I loved the section on programmes. They were full of colour and variety back in the day. They might be slick and glossy now, but you can’t beat those old ones, can you?

Indeed, the latter part of the last century was a more innocent time before everything became more polished and professional, though duller for it.

The section on football stickers will give you a few chuckles. The players’ changing hairstyles and looks make for brilliant nostalgia.

What about the old kits, too? That Liverpool Hitachi one and the Admiral shirts of the likes of Coventry and Wales are classics. The late 80s and early 90s shirts were also pretty colourful, including Arsenal’s ‘bruised banana’ top.

It’s difficult to sum up this colourful book because there’s so much in it. But it’s a lot of fun looking through it and authors Derek Hammond and Gary Silke have come up trumps.

A cracking Christmas present for the mature fan, this will also get the young ones smiling. A superb trip down memory lane.

Rating out of 10: 7