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MICHAEL CHATWIN (pictured) has published a book
about Nantwich
Town
Football Club, "Proud to
 be The Dabbers"
(centre column).
A press release when the book
was launched said: " 'Proud to be The Dabbers' charts the fortunes of the UniBond
Premier League club since it was founded in 1884. (‘Town’
was officially added to the club’s title in 1973).
"Written by former club
President Michael Chatwin, the 128-page full-colour book is lavishly
illustrated and pays tribute to its Victorian pioneers, the characters
who have served the club with such dedication over the years and, of
course, the players who have worn the club colours with such pride.
"Nantwich Football Club kicked
off its first season in 1884/85 and from hosting Liverpool's first-ever
F.A. Cup tie back in 1892 to lifting the F.A. Vase in 2006, most of
those 125 years have been filled with incidents and tales.
"Over
the years, the Dabbers have crossed paths with England World Cup winners
Alan Ball
and Roger Hunt, the legendary Duncan Edwards and pre-war international
stars such as Dixie Dean and Alex
Jackson. From thrilling F.A. Cup encounters with Crewe Alexandra and
Port Vale to a hat-trick of Cheshire Senior Cup
successes, ‘Proud to be The Dabbers’ brings to life the |
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club’s colourful
and chequered history. “Michael says: 'Writing the book has been something
of a labour of love. So much of the history of the club has been lost or
f
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orgotten over the years.
"Nantwich
Football Club has been around longer than the likes of Arsenal or Real
Madrid - so it’s been nice to revive memories and achievements that span
a century and a quarter.'
l THE
book, priced at £14, is available from the Club Shop at the Weaver
Stadium (off The Waterlode in the centre of Nantwich), and Nantwich
Bookshop, The Square, Nantwich.
"Proud to be The Dabbers" can
also be posted to you. Check with Michael on
admin@nantwiochtownfc.co.uk
for the latest cost. Then - as you will be told - cheques,
payable to Nantwich Town FC, should be sent to: M.Chatwin, Nantwich Town FC, Weaver
Stadium, Waterlode, Nantwich CW5 5BS.
More about the book
can be found on Michael's website:
www.proudtobethedabbers.co.uk
(ignore the date of the last update. It is fine) or the club's website:
http://www.nantwichtownfc.co.uk.
Select
"History" and then "Club History"
from the links at the top of the page.
lMichael, a Dabber born and bred, has been a supporter of the
club for more than 30 years. He first edited the club programme in 1979
and published the club's centenary book, "Centenary Dabbers" in 1984.
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THE Saltmen, The Wychers, The Lily Whites,
The Dabbers. All nicknames for Nantwich Football Club over the years.
The first two mark the town's salt industry, the third was inspired by
the white jerseys which were part of the club's strip after the Second
World War, and the last is after the name used for all people born
within the old Nantwich boundaries.
This is just one set of facts
that pepper Michael Chatwin's very readable 125-year history of the
club. A double-page spread illustrates the range of club colours worn by
the players - "virtually every colour under the sun," says Michael, up
to the present-day green.
Featured on one page is a
letter from The Football Association, dated 10 December, 1973, telling
the then Secretary, Jack Lindop, that the club could change its name from Nantwich F.C. to Nantwich Town F.C.
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They had been using that name
for a number of years, but now it was official.
Reading the 128 pages of
the book can leave your head reeling with all the facts Michael has
unearthed - and if that is not enough he includes links to websites where
the reader can find out more. In his introduction to the book, Michael
writes: "I have attempted to present a flavour of the club over the
years. I have tried to avoid getting bogged down in statistics and
records." He succeeds admirably in the both aims as his easy style of
writing shows. But the facts are still there. And fortunately for those
who like them - and which football fans don't - there are lists and
tables covering such things as top scorers for the clubs, which players
went where after playing for Nantwich, etc.
While telling the story of the
club chronologically |
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from 1884, Michael drops in mini features on players or
supporters - such as Jim Kettle, who
was 90 in February 2010, and
who started following the team at the age of nine. Other well-known
names drop neatly into the story as it unfolds.
But research and writing is not
all Michael brings to the book. He was also responsible for the "book
design and origination" and shows a flair for that side of the
publication, too.
Even so, he told me: "To be
honest, writing it was fairly straight forward - it was the design and
origination that was tough going!"
Well, it doesn't show. He can truly be proud to be a
football writer and designer.
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