<p>Duncan Hamilton watched England beat West Germany as an eight-year-old boy in the company of his father and grandfather. He recalls 'Wembley, spread out in the sun; the waving flags; the delirious, joy-of-all-joys moment of the final whistle; the trophy sparkling in the late afternoon light'.</p><br><p>But, seeing the whole game again during the misery of the first Covid lockdown, finally made him realise what Alf Ramsey and his players had no inkling of, which was what came next for them. How, for many of those boys of summer, almost everything after that shimmering moment amounted to an anti-climax or a setback. How '66 was not a beginning, a guaranteed path towards more success, but a slow decline and fall, and also a disproportionate number of disappointments. And how the triumph of '66 was dulled through constant repetition, the same images always flashed before us.</p><br><p>Hamilton recognised, too, how many myths and misconceptions had grown around the match.</p><p>He decided to revisit '66, tracing the very roots of a story - as well as the hidden figures within it - that really began during the era of post-War austerity.</p><br><p>Answered Prayers provides, at last, a full account of English football's greatest achievement and the failures that followed it. We see the institutional inability to appreciate Ramsey and his players, who were taken for granted; the political machinations of the blazered fools who ran the Football Association; the short-sighted blunderers of the Football League.</p><br><p>To buy 'Answered Prayers' please visit - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Answered-Prayers-England-1966-World-ebook/dp/B0BRS88NXY</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>More conversation on yesterday's high level axeings at The Den with Harry Warren @block45lion plus 'the voicemails' ...</p><br><p>Arrivederci Millwall</p><br><p>Nick</p><p>@AchtungMillwall</p><p>achtungmillwall@gmail.com</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Today's breaking news at John Berylson Way, chewed over with Neil Fissler...<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>A historic day for the Dockers, as Erith defeat Corinthian FC 4-2 in a tense penalty shoot out and so enter the Step 4 Isthmian League for the first time since formation in 1959. Relive the drama, heartbreak and ecstasy of the afternoon with show host Michael Avery, plus an array of the personalities that make this such a wonderful club.</p><br><p>Up the (Isthmian) Dockers!</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>