Brazil and their numbering maze
A few months ago, we attempted to ascertain the origins of the Brazil numbering system. While large parts of that article were correct, recently reader Alexander Howells got in touch …
Liverpool’s beautiful imperfections
Regular readers of the blog will know that we have a fondness for the numbering system used by Liverpool in their glory days of the 1970s and 80s. It’s something …
West Brom’s venture into the past
For Saturday’s Premier League game against Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion honoured the late Jeff Astle by wearing a replica of the kit worn in the 1968 FA Cup final …
The History of Numbers
We’ve already looked at how the British numbering system came into force but haven’t really examined the origins of how numbers came to be on players’ shirts. To do such a …
Just in case you thought we always gave the impression it was better in the past
We never thought that we’d become one of those ‘everything were better in my day’ merchants, but the truth of it is that we have, especially when it comes to …
The History of Numbers: Brazil
A break from Premier League 1-11s as we return to another series, charting the way numbering systems came to be common in various parts of the world. Having already looked …
The History of Numbers: Eastern Europe
The memory is still fresh in our minds of seeing the Czech Republic squad for Euro 96. The first-choice centre-backs, Jan Suchoparek and Miroslav Kadlec, were numbers 3 and 5 …
How it all began
In the course of a conversation with a friend (hard to believe, we accept, that running a blog like this is not a complete impediment to positive human interaction) last week, …