Expertly researched and exquisitely written, this long overdue book profiles the life of an unsung pioneer without whose ambition, influence, and financial support Everton enthusiasts would still be playing in Stanley Park and Liverpool Football Club would not exist. Under his stewardship, both Merseyside clubs captured the League title and reshaped the second city of the British Empire into the capital of British football. This fascinating biography deserves a prominent place on the bookshelves of both Blues and Reds as well as those of other football devotees.— David France, OBE, Founder of the EFC Heritage Society
John Houlding was the key figure that created two of the most significant clubs in world football, Everton F.C. and Liverpool. In this book, David Kennedy pioneers by undertaking an in-depth historiography of John Holding to show how his actions led to the emergence of both football clubs. Work of the intellectual precision Kennedy offers here deserves the accolades it will receive as a new reference point in the social history of association football.— Peter Millward, Professor of Contemporary Sociology, Liverpool John Moores University
This is a fascinating, stimulating and much needed biography of the most important—and most controversial—figure in the early histories of Liverpool and Everton football clubs. David Kennedy breathes fresh life into the complex story of John Houlding not only from a football perspective, but also his humble beginnings, his rise up the social ladder through his brewing business to his wider role in the city of Liverpool and its civic culture.
— Neil Carter, International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University
The early history of Everton and Liverpool, and Everton’s famous split from Anfield, are some of the most remarkable and fascinating events in the foundations of English football. It is immensely valuable to have such a thorough and comprehensive telling of that history by David Kennedy, through the life of John Houlding, the dominant and controversial Victorian magnate who founded Liverpool after Everton’s bitter exit
— David Conn, The Guardian
A riveting story, beautifully researched, about a man at the very heart of the nineteenth century nexus of politics, drink, religion and football in Liverpool, that helped to shape its contemporary form, but also impacted on the future of the ‘people's game’ and its clubs in one of the sport’s greatest northern strongholds.
— John Williams, University of Leicester
David Kennedy has produced a biography of Everton and Liverpool’s founding father John Houlding that breaks new ground by addressing the important role of football club ownership in the early history of the game. This book will be of interest to football fans, social historians and readers interested in how the connections between sport, business and politics played out in one of the hubs of the English game.
— Aaron Gourley, Editor, FCBusiness Magazine