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Two Football Gems from Amberley Publishing

Amberley Publishing has started the fall publishing season with a bang thanks to a slew of incredible football titles.

The first is Graham Moody’s AFC Wimbledon: A Pictorial History, which chronicles an amazing story of AFC Wimbledon and its fans.  It is quite a relationship, a family so to speak, where players and supporters came together to embark on a promising, but uncertain journey.  Like the blockbuster story of Rangers in Scotland, the football authorities were of little help.

The incredible pictures frame the story of a club that rose from the ashes.  It’s the story of a team stolen from a community and its supporters, then rebuilt from the ground up the right way.  The supporters did it themselves with great players, managers, and leaders that blazed a path forward.

It is a narrative of miracles, the final one showing Wimbledon’s return to the Football League, their rightful place in the English football pyramid.   

The writing was absolutely superb, tracing the long journey of AFC Wimbledon from disaster to resurgence, from devastation to jubilation.  It wasn’t an easy or short journey, but it was one that was certainly worth the effort.  This book is a football masterpiece, one that gives supporters hope and guidance when looking at their own clubs.

Tony Bluff and Steve Uttley came up with Doncaster Rovers: A Pictorial History, another great read from the world of English football.  This one takes the more traditional route since Doncaster Rovers is a legendary and classic club, far removed from the phoenix-like AFC Wimbledon.

This title is yet another joy to read, taking the audience back to the early days of the beautiful game.  The story of Doncaster is long, but not free of highs and lows along the way.  It is an incredible and lengthy history full of great moments and in this case, some fantastic and exclusive photographs.  You get content right from the source, from two people that work at the club.

You won’t find a better Doncaster Rovers book anywhere.

Simply put, these are two special books about two special clubs coming from a great publisher.  Amberley is certainly making their case as one of the top football publishers around.

Borough Chase Weekend Points

An Eastbourne Borough side unbeaten in three matches chase more points over the Bank Holiday weekend with two attractive fixtures, at home to second-placed AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and at former Football League club Cambridge United on Monday (3 pm kickoffs).

Garry Wilson’s side won both those matches last season and will be looking to build on a good start which has seen them earn seven points from the first four games to sit third in the Blue Square Bet Premier table. They were on course for another victory when leading 1-0 at Histon on Tuesday night, only for an unstoppable 87th minute free-kick to deny them maximum points.

Last year’s home match with AFC Wimbledon attracted the biggest-ever league crowd at Priory Lane (3,108) and another sizeable attendance is anticipated with the match all-ticket for AWAY supporters only. Terry Brown’s side, in only their second season in non-league’s top flight, have made an impressive start to the campaign and lie second, with three wins in four matches. They suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday, however, going down 1-0 at Rushden & Diamonds.

Tickets are priced at £14 for adults, £10 concessions and £4 for children. Stand tickets will cost an extra £2. Free car parking for around 400 vehicles is available at the ground. For more information on Priory Lane and the match, visit www.eastbourneboroughfc.co.uk.

Two days later – and six days after their jaunt to Histon – Borough’s part-timers will journey back to Cambridgeshire for the match with Cambridge United. Borough took the spoils at the R Costings Abbey Stadium in January thanks to a Jamie Taylor header and will be hoping for a similar result against the U’s who, ahead of this weekend, have yet to win, having drawn three games and lost one. The Eastbourne Borough Supporters’ Club coach will be leaving Priory Lane at 10.45am – ring Les Baker on 01323 735378 for information on joining the supporters club and travelling away.

Speaking to the BBC this week ahead of this weekend’s matches, Borough boss Garry Wilson said: “It’s two big games for us but that’s what we’re in the Conference for, that’s where we want to be playing our football. We will pull in a big crowd on Saturday for AFC Wimbledon and then we’ll look forward to going to Cambridge on Monday.”