Another early bath*

The blues are still blue

Two iconic photographs appeared on my Twitter feed today. The first is a timely reminder that we're only a couple of weeks away from the World Cup kicking off in the former USSR. England, as per usual, haven't got the slightest chance of getting anywhere near the finals; unlike in 1970 when Alf Ramsey took his squad to Mexico as defending champions - 1966 and all that. And though we came close, we weren't close enough. But I just love this photo - everything, the sky, the lads' tracksuits, even the curtains on the coach, is a shimmering blue. With the exception of Alan Ball's red shirt; there's always one.

The green green grass

Exhibit B is that rare thing - a bunch of thugs looking almost wistful. Leeds Utd were, for much of the seventies, known as Dirty Leeds. They would knock seven bells out any opposition they played on a Saturday afternoon. Bar none. Yet, for five minutes on the training ground they quite literally stood like statues long enough for a team photo like no other. And, just for that literal snapshot in time, they looked like butter wouldn't melt. Who needs Photoshop?

Miles Davis - Blue in Green

* In case you're wondering, here's the original early bath

Early bath

 Beats sharing a bath with Terry Venables

The best football stories generally happen away from the field of play: the stolen '66 World Cup, Bobby Moore and the missing bracelet in Bogota and Cloughie's burning of Don Revie's desk, to name but three.

And so in 1976 when lothario and part-time football manager Malcolm Allison invited glamour model Fiona Richmond to Crystal Palace's training ground for a photo shoot, the resulting News of The World snap had a certain inevitability about it.