Publication: Daily Sport (newspaper)
Date: 10th January 2008
Reviewed by: Jon Wise

Publication: Football Historian
Reviewed by: Brian Ellis

Play up Corinth by Rob Cavallini

Corinthians existed in their own right for fifty-six years; years that saw football evolve from gentlemen challenge matches to hard fought FA Cup games played against professionals who trained regularly during the week as a team and were guided by the phenomenon of the football manager who devised tactics that were to lead to the off side law being changed before the First World War. Throughout all those changes an elite group of former public schoolboys and varsity men played with a style and in such away that the term ‘Corinthian Sprit’ is still in use. Coined as an embodiment of fair play, bravery and consideration towards others on the playing field.

Their story is written as comprehensively as possible examining events through club minutes, personnel memories, and newspaper articles describing various matches and tours; illustrated with some fine photographs. The book pose’s several questions; how did gentlemen players who if they were chosen to be a Corinthian; paid a subscription of £2 per year, manage to keep fit enough and maintain their slick level of passing and dribbling skills, that their founder ‘Pa’ Jackson devised; combining the dribbling game of the old boy’s teams with the team play of Queens Park; with such a small body of players who seldom trained together. Jackson’s reign was comparatively short; his non-playing successors continued to follow those principles right up to the end. How did those gentlemen players afford to travel the world on their long tours? Tours that caught the imagination of people in countries they visited, to adopt football as their national sport.

The book does come up with answers to some of these questions particularly on the various allegations that were made during their lifetime. Leaving those unanswered questions aside the book is well researched with only forty games out of the hundreds played could Cavialini not find a line-up; most of them coming in their later years when they fielded A Teams. Published by Tempus who are developing a considerable stable of books on an historical football theme.