‘A history of football’ Archives
Football was better in the past: 1971-72
1971-72 was quite a season for young Brian Clough who, at the tender age of 37, won the first major trophy of his managerial career by guiding Derby County to their first ever league championship. This was no ordinary title triumph but the mother of all four-way battles. They overcame not only the mighty Leeds United to win the four-horse race but [...]
2008-09 in retrospect: the Kinnear press conference
In October of last year, Newcastle made Joe Kinnear their interim manager. In his first official press conference, he did this... JK Which one is Simon Bird ? SB Me. JK You're a cunt. SB Thank you. JK Which one is Hickman ? You are out of order. Absolutely fucking out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you you can fuck [...]
Sven… you bastard
Dear Sven, my team Bradford City have had a tough enough decade as it is without you turning up and ruining the opening day of the season for us. Don't do it again. Bradford? The less said the better. Their manager, Stuart McCall, tendered his resignation at the end of last season, when they blew promotion and finished ninth. The board talked [...]
When Man Utd were crap: Ipswich 6-0 Man Utd
My brother was born in 1982 and was eleven when Man Utd won their first modern-era championship. Consequently, he doesn't believe me when I say that, for the majority of the 1980s, they defined the term mid-table also-rans. They even occasionally took an absolute hiding. To be fair, this match, which dates back to 1980 I believe, featured an [...]
Panini Legends #13: Espana 82
As a bloke who went through his teenage years in the 1980s, I got used to the idea of loads of the UK appearing in any given World Cup. Bloody hell, Wales even nearly made it in 1986. The zenith of this era was 1982, when England and Scotland were joined by a genuinely good Northern Ireland team. Panini, as ever, commorated the occasion with a [...]
Football was better in the past: 1970-71
Leeds United were the predominant team of the era, although Everton had finished the previous season ahead of them as League champions and Chelsea had beaten them in the Cup final. England had, of course, handed over the World Cup to Brazil despite being the best team in Mexico. Man Utd were already in rapid decline, but give George Best the ball [...]
Panini legends #12: Poshest bloke ever
.JPG "Panini legends #12: Poshest bloke ever")
Forbes Phillipson-Masters. No, really, that's his name. Despite what you make think, bleeding obvious actually from the picture, this isn't the 'all good friends and jolly good company' era of the 1930s but actually the beginning of the 1980s. How a bloke named Forbes Phillipson-Masters managed to survive the enormous amount of heckling his name [...]
Pele takes a right kicking at the 1966 World Cup
The 1966 tournament was, despite England's triumph, far from the best, being remembered for its excessive physical play, and Pelé was one of the players most affected. After becoming the first player ever to score in three World Cups, with a direct free kick against Bulgaria, he had to rest, due to being knackered, for the match against Hungary, [...]
