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1978: The Birth of Moneyed Modern Football
1978: The Birth of Moneyed Modern Football is the tumultuous yet captivating story of a year when new clashed with old, madness gave way to genius and innovation collided with custom.
It’s a story of two remarkable matches – one blackened by violence, the other a landmark victory – but just as importantly of everything that happened in between.
Maverick stars, revered trailblazers, famed managers, legendary trophy-winning sides, apocalyptic showdowns and developments that changed the fabric of the game all from Britain’s first black footballing icons, to the signing of World Cup-winning Argentineans, to England’s TV channels fighting for the rights to matches, to the European Economic Community announcing that footballers would have the freedom to play in whichever of the nine member countries they wished.
1978 heralded the dawn of a new age, with football plotting a course towards becoming the global behemoth it is today.
It’s a story of two remarkable matches – one blackened by violence, the other a landmark victory – but just as importantly of everything that happened in between.
Maverick stars, revered trailblazers, famed managers, legendary trophy-winning sides, apocalyptic showdowns and developments that changed the fabric of the game all from Britain’s first black footballing icons, to the signing of World Cup-winning Argentineans, to England’s TV channels fighting for the rights to matches, to the European Economic Community announcing that footballers would have the freedom to play in whichever of the nine member countries they wished.
1978 heralded the dawn of a new age, with football plotting a course towards becoming the global behemoth it is today.
- GenresSports
320 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2025
About the author
Ryan Foley
20 books1 followerBorn in 1974 in Toms River, New Jersey, USA, Ryan Foley's obsession with comic books began during his childhood. He was first introduced to characters like Spider-Man and Batman during trips to the grocery store with his mother.
In 2004, Ryan achieved a lifelong goal when his first comic book was published. Ryan cites the works of novelist RA Salvatore; comic book author, J Michael Straczynski; comic artist, Jim Lee; and filmmakers, James Cameron and George Lucas as his biggest creative influences. He claims that RA Salvatore's The Crystal Shard (and his character, Drizzt Do'Urden) is the book that has had the greatest impact on his life. It drew him into the world of fantasy, and inspired him to become a writer.
When not writing comics, Ryan enjoys all kinds of movies, especially fantasy and sci-fi films, such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. He is a great fan of games consoles and is an avid player of the Tomb Raider series, and the Guitar Hero franchise.
Ryan lives in the small rural community of Adair, Oklahoma. There he graduated from Adair High School and attended the nearby Rogers State University. Still happily residing in the Green Country area, he lives with his wife, Amy; and their three children, Alex, Jason, and Lauren.
Ryan has worked with Image Comics and Arcana Studios on comic book series, including Masters of the Universe and Dragon's Lair. Motivated by the memory of his late mother, who bought so many comics for him as a kid, Ryan has written several graphic novel scripts for Campfire.
In 2004, Ryan achieved a lifelong goal when his first comic book was published. Ryan cites the works of novelist RA Salvatore; comic book author, J Michael Straczynski; comic artist, Jim Lee; and filmmakers, James Cameron and George Lucas as his biggest creative influences. He claims that RA Salvatore's The Crystal Shard (and his character, Drizzt Do'Urden) is the book that has had the greatest impact on his life. It drew him into the world of fantasy, and inspired him to become a writer.
When not writing comics, Ryan enjoys all kinds of movies, especially fantasy and sci-fi films, such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. He is a great fan of games consoles and is an avid player of the Tomb Raider series, and the Guitar Hero franchise.
Ryan lives in the small rural community of Adair, Oklahoma. There he graduated from Adair High School and attended the nearby Rogers State University. Still happily residing in the Green Country area, he lives with his wife, Amy; and their three children, Alex, Jason, and Lauren.
Ryan has worked with Image Comics and Arcana Studios on comic book series, including Masters of the Universe and Dragon's Lair. Motivated by the memory of his late mother, who bought so many comics for him as a kid, Ryan has written several graphic novel scripts for Campfire.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 23, 2025
Soccer has been called “the beautiful game” and if you’re a fan, there’s a million reasons why that’s true. But at some point professional soccer (or football as it’s called everywhere but the US) went from a collection of professional clubs to the big-money spectacle that it is today.
Learn about that in the book “1978” by Ryan Foley.
The his second book Foley posits that the dawn of the big money era occurred in 1978. The book is split into 12 chapters, one for each month of this tumultuous year and Foley delves deep into the upper echelon of English soccer but also makes stops in the second, third (if you like “Welcome to Wrexham”, the forefathers of that team are well represented here) and fourth divisions as well. Character sketches on the most intriguing and important characters of 1978 are sprinkled through out the book too.
Soccer doesn’t exist in a bubble and Foley understands this as he also expertly writes about the country’s politics and the music scene (most notably punk music) that had influences on the game. The rising hooliganism problem also gets plenty of ink as the league and country spend a lot of time trying to understand and solve this new trend that was sweeping poor and young English fans.
Whether you’re a die-hard soccer fan or a newbie looking for a gateway into understanding football mad UK, “1978” is a great read filled with as many interesting stories as there are days in the year.
Note: I have a personal relationship with the author and was gifted a book for review. This in no way clouds my perception of the book.
Learn about that in the book “1978” by Ryan Foley.
The his second book Foley posits that the dawn of the big money era occurred in 1978. The book is split into 12 chapters, one for each month of this tumultuous year and Foley delves deep into the upper echelon of English soccer but also makes stops in the second, third (if you like “Welcome to Wrexham”, the forefathers of that team are well represented here) and fourth divisions as well. Character sketches on the most intriguing and important characters of 1978 are sprinkled through out the book too.
Soccer doesn’t exist in a bubble and Foley understands this as he also expertly writes about the country’s politics and the music scene (most notably punk music) that had influences on the game. The rising hooliganism problem also gets plenty of ink as the league and country spend a lot of time trying to understand and solve this new trend that was sweeping poor and young English fans.
Whether you’re a die-hard soccer fan or a newbie looking for a gateway into understanding football mad UK, “1978” is a great read filled with as many interesting stories as there are days in the year.
Note: I have a personal relationship with the author and was gifted a book for review. This in no way clouds my perception of the book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review