‘Ring out the old by all means’

Maverick stars, revered trailblazers, illustrious managers, legendary trophy-winning sides, apocalyptic showdowns on the pitch, developments that changed the very fabric of the game – taken together, they make 1978 the most transformative 12 months of the league’s first century. 1978 is the axis, the year in which the sport turned – impressively and inevitably and for some, regrettably – from the grand old game to Moneyed Modern Football. Among the sport’s diehards, there was a growing awareness that the league was becoming an enormous corporate entity, not unlike Debenhams or British Steel, even as they vehemently supported their clubs and lost themselves in the sport’s scarcely diminished pleasures.

1978: The Birth of Moneyed Modern Football is the tumultuous yet captivating story of this magical year, when new clashed with old, madness gave way to genius, innovation collided with custom and a tiny Northumberland club achieved improbable cup glory.