Real Madrid and all that: 1970/71, the season which defined Cardiff City for the rest of the twentieth century

My late dad first took me to watch Cardiff in the previous season but 70/71 was the first season that he took me regularly and it was such a pleasure to read reports of many of those games and players who had passed into the mists of memory. Not just a review of the Real Madrid game of course ( Dad couldn't take me as he was working shifts that night and aged 7 I was a bit young to go alone!) but also covers the sale of Toshack which broke my young heart and the defining defeat at Sheffield United though as Paul points out it was actually the home defeat to Watford a few games before that and a number of games earlier in the season where points were dropped that were what ultimately cost the club promotion to the First Division.I remember my dad had made me a wooden box to stand on at our spot on the Bob Bank - can you imagine trying to get that into the ground nowadays? Also nice to see plenty of appreciation for my all time favourite City player, the tenacious Scotsman Ian Gibson!Does what every great book about old times football does - transports you back to those times and in that aspect Paul's book is a great success. You can almost smell the onions and hotdogs outside the ground and it's always nice to be reminded of those days at Ninian Park which despite it's somewhat primitive facilities is still missed by many.Thoroughly recommended, A superb job done by Paul and if you are a City fan do yourself a favour and check out his mauve and yellow army blog which is equally excellent.

It wasn’t just the first Cardiff City match I went to, it was the first-ever football match I attended. So, when I heard of Paul Evans book - Real Madrid And All That - it was one of those ‘must read’ moments.And what a delightful read it is too.I was gripped from the very first pages describing his boyhood life as part of a football-loving, Cardiff family, to describing one of my own boyhood traumatic moments - the selling of Cardiff City idol, John Toshack. Not forgetting the amazing build-up and account of the night of Wednesday, 10th March 1971 at Ninian Park.It’s an intimate, brilliantly researched book.There’s no doubt in my mind that this book is so much more than a labour of love and would recommend it to not only Cardiff City fans of the 60s and 70s but any football fan because you’ll immediately recognise yourself in its pages in the same light as Paul Evans’ recollections and descriptions.Real Madrid And All That sits very comfortably alongside some of the great Cardiff City Football books and is an inspiration to football writers, fans and those of us who put our hearts and souls into following not only the club, but the game itself.

If you are an older supporter of the club and remembered the 1970/71 season or a younger fan who is interested in one of the most exciting past seasons in the history of the club, this is a great read for any true Cardiff City fan.I certainly won’t give anything away by saying that sadly the season didn’t end too well but can still be claimed a success in many other ways. (Typical Cardiff City) lol!!Paul Evans, who I follow on the “footy mad” website where he writes some great comments about Cardiff games has done a great job in capturing the excitement of the season along with some funny personal anecdotes.A great stocking filler for Christmas or a fun birthday gift, you will get lots of pleasure following all the games during the season and also highlighting the build up and matches against the mighty Real Madrid.Great memories Paul, thank you and I wish you every success with the book. BLUEBIRDS!!!

As the quintessential Blogmeister with his "Mauve and Yellow Army" Paul Evans has been producing comprehensive and incisive reports on Cardiff City performances for a number of years. His capacity for a staggering amount of hard work and constantly fair-minded comments which characterise his writings are equally apparent in this new book. It revives so many pleasant memories of times gone by and will inevitably appeal primarily to the nostalgia of an older generation. Yet it has much to interest not only Cardiff City supporters of all ages but also anyone with an interest in professional football in general -- including my wife whose favourite, back in the day, was John Toshack.

It was a year I will always remember not for the Real Madrid score but sitting on a cricket pitch watching Cardiff getting hammered at sheffield United and with it went any chance of promotion. There is no doubt that I had forgotten a lot of detail from the games but Paul refreshed a lot of that.A great book for the library. I can now explain to my grandchildren just how the other half lived, but at least I can tell them we have had more Wembley visits over the 12 years than their Tottenham teamOnward the mauve and yellow army