Red Shirts and Roses : The Tale of the Two Old Traffords

For generations the two Old Traffords - the famous homes of Manchester United and Lancashire County Cricket Club - have been the arenas for important and exciting sporting events and their reputations are international in compass.

Here is a parallel biography of the two grounds and the two clubs, narrating the story of how both came to be developed close by one another and how they have provided Manchester, indeed Britain and the world, with glittering sporting entertainment.

This study is part the fascinating tale of great teams, with acute profiles of leading players and personalities; part social and cultural history, describing the intriguing context in which the two venues and their famed clubs grew in ascendancy; and part the personal memoir of an enthusiastic fan, born close to the two Old Traffords and drawing on 70 years of memories.From the time when Lancashire made its home on the then rural fields of the de Trafford estate and Manchester United found its base close to the engineering complex of Trafford Park, to the rapturous days of Andy Flintoff and Wayne Rooney, this is the first concerted attempt to trace the two famous clubs side by side, pointing up the vivid contrasts as well as the telling comparisons.

All in all, it provides a compelling analysis of how and why top-class professional cricket and football has developed in modern society, so that, as well as being a certain 'read' for supporters of both the 'red shirts' and the 'red rose', there is much to savour for all sports-lovers about the growth of these two great games