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The Magic of the FA Cup!

More Than 150 Years of the World's Greatest Cup Competition

Bob Bond author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Pitch Publishing Ltd

Published:1st Jan '24

Should be back in stock very soon

The Magic of the FA Cup! cover

Bob Bond takes us on a nostalgic journey through FA Cup history, telling the story of football's oldest competition through captivating match cartoons.

For a century and a half the FA Cup's power to excite and fascinate fans the world over has never ceased. Every year we wait for the balls to fall out of the velvet bag to see where 'our team' will be travelling to, and as always, we'll be hoping and believing that this year will be 'our year'.

This book recalls not only the cup finals, but some of the great matches, players, goals, upsets and infamous moments in FA Cup history. In days gone by, the match cartoon was a regular newspaper feature. But now, with instant TV coverage and endless replaying of incidents, it is a thing of the past. So, take a trip down memory lane with the history of one of the world's greatest football competitions elegantly depicted in illustrated form, from Victorian times to the present day.

"Vibrant football art brought to life… Key FA Cup ties (and Finals), since the competition began, are drawn and described in colourful fashion. A real treat for the eyes. Even my home club, Reading, are featured in a 3-3 draw with Preston North End (who first won the Cup in 1938) and I particularly love the ‘strictly’ diving David Seaman on page 239. It’s a great, fun way to bring soccer statistics to life with FA Cup magic in all the cartoons and caricatures. Rating: 9/10."

-- Mark Watkins * Dare Radio *

"As well as bringing new life to some classic Cup ties, Bob Bond's superbly crafted work offers a nostalgic reminder of an era when story-telling through cartoons and caricatures was at its peak, and every popular magazine or newspaper had an illustrator on its payroll. Bond started out telling comic-strip football stories more than 60 years ago, and remains a master of the art."

* Backpass magazi

ISBN: 9781801506618

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

256 pages