Liverpool appeared unusually vulnerable as they made the visit to White Hart Lane on Sunday March 3, 1986. After losing 2-0 to Everton at Anfield the week before, Kenny Dalglish�s team were grimly trying to stay in the title race, trailing their Merseyside rivals by eight points with twelve matches remaining.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Monday, September 3, 2018
1986: Ron Atkinson leaves Manchester United
If a week is a long time in politics, then a year must have seemed like an eternity to Ron Atkinson as he contemplated his lot in November 1986. Just twelve months before Atkinson had looked destined to become the first Manchester United manager to win the Division One title since 1967. By November 1986 he was out of the door.
Monday, August 27, 2018
1987: Rangers 2 Celtic 2
There are some football matches from the distant past that still leave you breathless when you watch them on YouTube. Matches played out in front of packed terraces, the atmosphere incomprehensible in relation to the sanitised experience of today, with both sets of players flying into tackles, as if their lives depended on it.
The 1985 FA Cup semi-final clashes between Manchester United and Liverpool are a prime example of this. Another is the Old Firm derby of October 17, 1987. An afternoon dripping in tension, the match alone was full of drama, passion, and controversy. Yet for four men involved, the consequences of their actions on that famous Saturday would rumble on for months to come.
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Saturday, August 18, 2018
1981: City documentary
There is a strong possibility that the All or Nothing documentary covering Manchester City�s record-breaking season will make interesting viewing. Catching a glimpse of Pep Guardiola�s training methods and philosophies will no doubt be revealing. But as an outsider, I�m not all that bothered about watching something that charts the success of another club.
Give me a documentary on a turbulent football club, then you are in business. An insightful view into a football team struggling in the top flight, with uncharted access to the dressing room and Boardroom; now you are talking. I don�t want All or Nothing; I want City!
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
1987: Manchester City 10 Huddersfield Town 1
The warning signs had been there for Huddersfield fans during the 1986-87 season. Former player Steve Smith had just about managed to keep the Terriers� heads above water, with three consecutive wins in May preventing relegation to Division Three.
There would be no such escape during the following campaign, though. In fact, the 1987-88 season for Huddersfield would go down in history as their worst ever. The bare statistics of just six wins in 44 league matches paints the picture; but it was one of the 28 defeats that is still talked about to this day.
Monday, May 14, 2018
1987/88 play-offs: Chelsea v Middlesbrough
It hasn�t always been a case of winning titles and triumphing in Europe for Chelsea. There was a time when the club were playing in a rundown stadium, with property developers lurking, and just staying in the top flight was a challenge in its own right. The 1987/88 season was a prime example of the down side of supporting the West London club. And people say Chelsea have no history.
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Sunday, April 29, 2018
1987/88: Dave Bassett - A season to forget
There is a chance that Mark Hughes may be involved with two relegated clubs this season. Dave Bassett knows how that feels after his terrible 1987/88 campaign.
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If 1992 was the annus horribilis for Queen Elizabeth II, then there can be no doubting the comparable period of time for Dave Bassett. Leading Wimbledon from the basement of the Football League to sixth place in Division One in six years, Bassett�s star was rising. But all that was about to change.
Monday, April 16, 2018
1982/83: Fulham despair
Sometimes it can be a struggle to explain to an outsider just how hard it is to be a supporter of a football club. The emotional roller coaster we all board when we nail our specific colours to the mast can leave you drained. We all love the highs, but the crushing lows often take a long time to flush out the system. Indeed, they sometimes never leave us.
Take the example of Fulham in the 1982/83 season. Promoted to the Second Division during the previous campaign, the club were flying under the management of Malcolm Macdonald. A team full of quality � keeper Gerry Payton, defenders Tony Gale, Roger Brown, Jeff Hopkins, midfielders Ray Houghton, Robert Wilson, Sean O�Driscoll, and Ray Lewington, along with strikers Gordon Davies and Dean Coney � it appeared as if back-to-back promotions was a serious possibility.
Monday, March 19, 2018
1985/86: West Bromwich Albion
On the whole, the 1985/86 football season was a pretty sorry affair for clubs in the Midlands. Aston Villa, Coventry, and Leicester hovered dangerously close to the Division One drop zone throughout the campaign, but nothing could prevent Birmingham City from the fate of relegation. The demise of Wolves continued, as they fell into the league basement. Although fans of rivals West Bromwich Albion may have found this amusing, they had enough of their own problems to consider.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
1982 FA Cup Sixth Round: Leicester v Shrewsbury
The last time Leicester City won an FA Cup Sixth round match, they had to do it the hard way, using three different keepers on an afternoon of gripping drama.
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After suffering relegation to Division Two at the end of the 1980/81 season, Leicester City initially struggled for consistency at the start of the next campaign. But come the start of a very wintry 1982, the team turned the corner. The combination of a memorable FA Cup run, and an upturn in league form, made for exciting times.
Friday, March 2, 2018
1986: The Miracle of the Grotenburg
Basel, Porto, and Besiktas will have their work cut out to overturn first leg deficits in the Champions League. If they need inspiration, they should take a look at the Miracle of the Grotenburg in 1986.
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With just 32 minutes remaining in the second leg of their 1985/86 European Cup Winners� Cup quarter final match, you could have forgiven many Bayer Uerdingen fans for taking a glance towards the exits. Losing 5-1 on aggregate to East German rivals Dynamo Dresden, Uerdingen needed a miracle to score the five goals required to make it through to the last four of the competition. They needed the Miracle of the Grotenburg.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
1988 League Cup final: Arsenal v Luton
Not many gave Luton a chance of winning the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final against Arsenal. But in one of the greatest League Cup finals ever, the underdogs would prevail.
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The warning signs were there for Arsenal prior to the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final. Predicted by many to easily dispose of Luton Town in the Wembley showpiece, George Graham�s team were expected to maintain their grip on the trophy that they had won the year before against Liverpool. But history had proved that Arsenal had often not coped well with the tag of favourites.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
The rise and fall of Swansea City
There is a possibility that Swansea City will be relegated from the top flight this season. But surely the situation will not be as dire as the last time they suffered this fate.
Swansea City Football Club lived the dream at the end of the 70s and the early part of the 80s. Their rise from the Football League basement to the top table between 1978 and 1981 was rapid, and their debut season in Division One was a thing of joy to their supporters. But the fall from grace was just as quick. The demise of Swansea City after their party with the A-listers was the stuff of nightmares.
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Swansea City Football Club lived the dream at the end of the 70s and the early part of the 80s. Their rise from the Football League basement to the top table between 1978 and 1981 was rapid, and their debut season in Division One was a thing of joy to their supporters. But the fall from grace was just as quick. The demise of Swansea City after their party with the A-listers was the stuff of nightmares.
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Monday, January 8, 2018
1988/89: Bristol City's Littlewoods Cup run
Bristol City will have their work cut out to beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. But in 1989 they came within a whisker of making it to Wembley.
After 180 minutes of their gripping Littlewoods Cup semi-finals, it looked as if extra time would be needed to separate Bristol City and Nottingham Forest. But there would be one final chance for Joe Jordan's Division Three team. As the black and white cue mark flickered on the screens of ITV viewers, a corner dropped on the left foot of City's Alan Walsh, a little over twelve yards out from goal. Opportunity knocked.
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After 180 minutes of their gripping Littlewoods Cup semi-finals, it looked as if extra time would be needed to separate Bristol City and Nottingham Forest. But there would be one final chance for Joe Jordan's Division Three team. As the black and white cue mark flickered on the screens of ITV viewers, a corner dropped on the left foot of City's Alan Walsh, a little over twelve yards out from goal. Opportunity knocked.
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Tuesday, January 2, 2018
1989: Crystal Palace v Brighton
Brighton meet Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Third round this weekend, but the match will have to go a long way to beat the drama surrounding their Easter Monday clash at Selhurst Park in 1989.
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
1989: When Cloughie attacked
It really should have been Lee Chapman making the headlines after Nottingham Forest's 5-2 win over Queens Park Rangers in the Littlewoods Cup quarter final. Scoring a hat-trick by half-time, and later adding a fourth goal, Chapman had helped Nottingham Forest progress to the last four. Yet it was manager Brian Clough who would dominate the front and back pages, not only the day after, but for days to come.
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Thursday, November 9, 2017
89 The Film
As a 13-year-old Arsenal fan watching the 1988/89 Liverpool-Arsenal title decider at home with my dad, I think I knew at the time that nothing would ever beat the explosion of elation and joy that I experienced when Michael Thomas calmly slotted home past Bruce Grobbelaar, on May 26, 1989.
So, when I first started writing this blog a little over five years ago, I made a pact with myself; Arsenal winning the title at Anfield would be the last ever piece I compiled before hanging my keyboard up.
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So, when I first started writing this blog a little over five years ago, I made a pact with myself; Arsenal winning the title at Anfield would be the last ever piece I compiled before hanging my keyboard up.
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Sunday, October 29, 2017
1984/85 UEFA Cup: Tottenham v Real Madrid
With Tottenham and Real Madrid going head-to-head in the 2017/18 Champions League, this week I am taking a look back to their 1985 UEFA Cup quarter final, and two particularly harrowing games for Steve Perryman.
It said a lot regarding the recent fortunes of Real Madrid that, in the eyes of many, they went into their 1985 UEFA Cup quarter final with Tottenham as underdogs. A recent run of just one win in ten matches had seen the club slip out of the race for La Liga, something not made easier by the fact that Terry Venables' Barcelona were on their way to the title. Manager Amancio Amaro was under heaps of pressure, especially with President Luis de Carlos standing down, and Ramon Mendoza expected to take his place in the summer of '85.
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It said a lot regarding the recent fortunes of Real Madrid that, in the eyes of many, they went into their 1985 UEFA Cup quarter final with Tottenham as underdogs. A recent run of just one win in ten matches had seen the club slip out of the race for La Liga, something not made easier by the fact that Terry Venables' Barcelona were on their way to the title. Manager Amancio Amaro was under heaps of pressure, especially with President Luis de Carlos standing down, and Ramon Mendoza expected to take his place in the summer of '85.
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Monday, October 23, 2017
1983/84: Aston Villa v Birmingham City
The Second City derby is still a passionate affair, but it is unlikely that any fixture in the modern era can match the one contested between Aston Villa and Birmingham City in October 1983.
It was never likely to be a quiet affair. When ex-Aston Villa manager Ron Saunders took his Birmingham City team to Villa Park on October 15, 1983, he wasn't taking many shrinking violets with him. Tony Coton, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Noel Blake, Robert Hopkins, Howard Gayle, and Mick Harford are individuals that are often mentioned in a Who's Who of football's bad boys. But it wasn't all one way traffic. Colin Gibson and Steve McMahon would give as good as they got.
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It was never likely to be a quiet affair. When ex-Aston Villa manager Ron Saunders took his Birmingham City team to Villa Park on October 15, 1983, he wasn't taking many shrinking violets with him. Tony Coton, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Noel Blake, Robert Hopkins, Howard Gayle, and Mick Harford are individuals that are often mentioned in a Who's Who of football's bad boys. But it wasn't all one way traffic. Colin Gibson and Steve McMahon would give as good as they got.
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Thursday, September 21, 2017
1986: Full Members' Cup
Chelsea and Manchester City are now contesting for major honours domestically and in Europe, but in 1986 things were a lot different.
English football in 1985 was constantly hitting new levels of rock bottom. Violence and decaying stadia combined to make the match day experience an often unpleasant occasion, and with deaths at Birmingham, Bradford, and Brussels in May, the sport had seemingly reached the point of no return. It was little wonder that attendances were dropping across the country, and you didn't need to be Bergerac to deduce that Margaret Thatcher and her Government would have been quite happy if the problem child faded into obscurity.
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English football in 1985 was constantly hitting new levels of rock bottom. Violence and decaying stadia combined to make the match day experience an often unpleasant occasion, and with deaths at Birmingham, Bradford, and Brussels in May, the sport had seemingly reached the point of no return. It was little wonder that attendances were dropping across the country, and you didn't need to be Bergerac to deduce that Margaret Thatcher and her Government would have been quite happy if the problem child faded into obscurity.
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