Answered Prayers cover art

Answered Prayers

England and the 1966 World Cup

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Answered Prayers

By: Duncan Hamilton
Narrated by: Jonathan Firth
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About this listen

Written by our greatest sportswriter, three time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, Duncan Hamilton.

Answered Prayers is a definitive history of the most famous event in British sporting, the triumph of the 1966 England world cup football team and the disastrous effect that victory had on the game.

©2023 Duncan Hamilton (P)2023 Quercus Editions Limited Football (Soccer) Sports Sports History Football England

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Critic reviews

"Hamilton has a perceptively humane understanding of men for whom football was never just a game" (Guardian)

"A marriage of prose and detail so fine and fastidious that it takes the breath away." (Independent)

"Justifiably prize-winning." (Mail on Sunday)
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Most relevant  
A really interesting sports book that synchs brilliantly with the time it covers. Thought the narration really added to it - was v well suited to what is a
pretty sad story

Exceptional Book

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A really brilliant book that looks at our national football team’s greatest success and in particular the contribution of the mastermind of that triumph, Sir Alf Ramsey.

It is quite poignant in parts - particularly how badly Ramsey and the players were treated by the FA afterwards.

A great story which is well told and well read.

A fantastic insight into England’s 1966 World Cup win

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Enjoyable account of the build up, to the day of this epic encounter and the aftermath, beautifully written. What a sad way we treated these hero’s of ours and the man that masterminded the whole operation. This is the definitive story, detailed and told with feeling, it beggars belief just how little they were rewarded by The FA, which is what they got sweet FA compared to what they would have earned today, not the money, but the celebrity status, the sponsorship deals and PR opportunities, not to mention the knighthoods.
Instead the were treated shabbily by the powers to be, certain individuals and the government at that time. Can you imagine what they would be worth today after winning the World Cup, made for life! It was not to be, wrong time, wrong place.
Alf Ramsey would be called upon by the corporates to show us how to build a winning team, and he did, with utter conviction and belief, a disciplinarian with his players, his masters and the press, the various players all play a part obviously, some more then others, but Duncan Hamiltons account is excellent and a must listen to story that led the way to that famous day in July 1966 and then the sad fallout that followed.
This is a must listen to experience of history, how sport can bring a nation together, the economic benefits and that wonderful sense of satisfaction of being the best in the World…I wonder if history will repeat itself?

What a sad way to treat your hero’s.

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Really the story of Sir Alf Ramsay’s time as England manager insightfully told in great detail. A must for anybody interested in that era. The Football Association does not come out of it well.
Let down by the narration which wasn’t suitable - a hoarse almost-whisper. Far worse was the narrator’s mispronunciation of well know figures in British football eg Jock Stein pronounced as Stine, not Steen. So many of them it undermined the book’s authority.

1966, Sir Alf and all that.

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This was a great read for someone born after 1966 and gave a great perspective on the game back then

Great read

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As a mad West Ham fan, Moore, Hurst and Peters have been at centre of what of it means to Hammer. When I started this book I nievly thought it would just be about the 1966 final. What I got was a thorough and compelling history of the game that I have loved all my life. Told through the lives of those who took part especially Alf Ramsey, I found my self both wonderful in formed, but often very moved. If you truly love the game, this wil be a treasure for you.

My Football World Explained

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Really enjoyed.., Brought back memories of a golden era, I loved the game in the’60’s and ‘70’s.

Great listen

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Wow, we’ve been waiting a long time for this narrative of the 66 World Cup win. A fascinating profile of Alf Ramsey, the players, and the FA council.
A must read for those interested in English football history and how it was run.
Well done Mr Hamilton, another fantastic book and an award on the way I hope.

Must read / listen

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Beautifully written and narrated. Wonderful in depth book of a period that I thought I knew all about. Contextualises the 1966 World Cup and Sir Alf Ramsey perfectly.

Great Sports Book

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As expected from Hamilton, this is a fine book, but the reader frustratingly mispronounces many names. It reveals he does not, unlike the author who deserves better, know his football. Poor from the production team for selecting him and also not knowing that he got Stein, Molineux, Lytham, Lymn, Astle and, initially, Cullis all wrong.

Excellent book somewhat let down by the audio

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