Exiles in Liguria

Two Englishmen and the Birth of Genoa’s Footballing Soul

In the long and distinguished chronicle of Genoa Cricket and Football Club, the oldest football institution in Italy, two Englishmen rise above the passage of time to stand as its twin pillars of identity and inspiration. They are James Richardson Spensley, the London-born doctor and pioneer known to Genoese supporters as ‘U’ Megö Ingléize’ (‘The Good Englishman’), and William Thomas Garbutt, the Stockport native affectionately immortalised across Italy as ‘Mister’.

Though separated by a generation, both men left indelible marks upon the fabric of the club, the city, and the game itself. Spensley and Garbutt represent two defining epochs in Genoa’s

footballing story - the club’s genesis and its rebirth. Spensley, born on 17 May 1867 in Stoke Newington, arrived in Liguria as a young physician with a passion for sport. He soon became Genoa’s first player-manager, goalkeeper, and tactician, guiding the team through

its formative years between 1898 and 1906. Under his stewardship, Genoa captured six of the first nine Italian championships and laid the foundation for Italy’s footballing culture. Yet Spensley’s influence transcended the pitch: he embodied the ideals of sportsmanship, civic

duty, and international fellowship, becoming as much a cultural bridge

as a footballing pioneer.

Nearly sixteen years his junior, William Garbutt was born on 9 January 1883 in Hazel Grove, Stockport, a product of England’s industrial heartland. When he arrived in Genoa in 1912, the club was entering a period of transformation, and Garbutt proved to be its visionary architect. Across seventeen seasons, he led Genoa to three Scudetti (1915, 1923, and 1924), modernised training regimes, and introduced tactical methods that anticipated the professionalism of the twentieth century. His insistence on discipline, fitness, and precision reshaped Italian football, influencing generations of managers from Vittorio Pozzo to Arrigo Sacchi.Together, Spensley and Garbutt encapsulate the story of how a foreign game became an Italian passion, and how two English exiles became Genoa’s adopted sons.

Their legacies converge in a shared devotion to football’s higher values: community, integrity, and innovate on. This book seeks to trace their journeys, from the cobbled streets of Victorian London and Stockport to the sunlit terraces of Liguria, revealing how their contrasting lives intertwined through one extraordinary club. 

Exiles in Liguria is, at its heart, the story of Genoa’s soul: how a doctor and a dockworker, two ordinary Englishmen, helped to shape not only a team but an entire nation’s understanding of the beautiful game

 'Exiles in Liguria' is now available via the link  https://books.by/philb1883/exiles-in-liguria 

Lost - Football in the 1980s is a fascinating collection of images from a bygone time in the beautiful game. Capturing the stadiums, fans and players that defined the era.

Before the start of the 1982/83 season keen Photographer and football fan David Featherstone decided to combine both of his passions and hatched a plan to visit all 92 football league grounds. His project started in Division Four but due to his decision to see each visiting team just once away from home, it would take him almost five years to complete the task.  After completing his project, David answered a request from a football nostalgia magazine who were seeking photos of football grounds and agreed to send his photos for inclusion. His early submissions were published but unfortunately, three issues later the magazine ceased publication and sadly despite attempts in trying to retrieve his photos they were gone forever, including his personal photographic records of several league grounds.  Fortunately, we have been able to produce this book from the remaining images, along with match details of the vast majority of the games he had attended, providing the reader with a fantastic trip down memory lane. 

Following on from the success of ‘The Non-League Groundhopper’s Diary’ keen amateur photographer and Cambridge United fan Alan Burge has delved into his personal archives to produce another volume of his memoirs. 

For many years Alan has combined his two passions by visiting non-league grounds up and down the country, taking photographs whilst watching football and collecting badges, programmes and other bits of nostalgia. 

As with his first collection Alan has written a few words to accompany the photos from his visit. 

Again there are some grounds that are sadly no longer with us, and some grounds that he just happened to discover whilst on his travels, and like any self-respecting ‘groundhopper’ no matter that there wasn’t a game on, he took photos anyway. 

In this book there is an added bonus as Alan has grasped new technology with both hands and invested in a ‘drone’ which sees his photography moving to a new level.

Book available here https://books.by/philb1883/non-league-groundhoppers-dia-zynye1

During lockdown and the suspension of the majority of non-league football, I spent my spare time looking through my vast collection of photographs of football grounds, matches and people at games with a view to putting together another collection to share with fans.

Once again I am indebted to the army of non-league supporters that have allowed me to use their photographs in putting this book together.

This is a reflection of a day out at a non-league game.

From going through the turnstile, to getting a brew and a pie, to taking up your place in the ground, on the terrace or in the stand.

It’s not just a day out for the fans as there are press and media people at most every game, and staff and players taking part.

There are games played at night, in indifferent weather and of course sometimes games get called off because of severe weather.

As with our other non-league books we pay a visit to some of those grounds that are sadly ‘Gone but not forgotten’ as well as showcasing some former non-league clubs that are now plying their trade in The Football League.

Book available here https://books.by/philb1883/proper-football

Stockport County Football Club are currently plying their trade as a non-league outfit with aspirations to reclaim the place in the Football League that they surrendered in May 2011.

The Hatters are similar to many lower league football clubs, in that their history does not include much in the way of ‘major trophies’, albeit they do count three Football League Titles and a Football League ‘Play-off Final’ win during their time in The Football League.

Long-time County supporters Phil Brennan and Richard Harnwell wrote the original book which was published after Richard’s death in 2005. 

This new book has been updated to include images and information unused previously.  

From the club’s humble beginnings as Heaton Norris Rovers in 1883, to four Wembley appearances, unfortunately all ending in defeat, and the high flying days as a ‘Championship’ club. 

From surviving the drop into non-league football on the last day of the 2005/06 season, to setting Football League records and finally winning at Wembley in May 2008. 

From the desperate days of the club being forced into ‘administration’ to those dramatic days towards the end of the 2010/11 season, when just three seasons after clinching a place in the third tier of English football, Stockport County would lose their Football League status after a proud 106 year stay. 

This is the story of Stockport County Football Club from 1883 through to that fateful day in May 2011.