West Ham United v Ipswich Town, 1986
West Ham United remained in contention for the First Division title going into the final week of the 1985-86 season, ahead of their last home game against relegation-threatened Ipswich Town. The clubs were meeting for the fifth time that season, after their FA Cup Fourth Round tie needed two replays. The biggest crowd of the…
Derek Goodier: An Interview (Part Two)
The second part of my interview with Derek Goodier moves onto football from the 1960s onwards, and explores some of the main differences between ‘then and now’. Over the years from the fifties into the sixties, my impression is that there were less goals scored, the game became a bit more tactical and defensive. Was…
Derek Goodier: An Interview (Part One)
I have had many football conversations over the years with my father-in-law, Derek Goodier, who was playing and watching the game as early as the Second World War. When I started the blog, I decided to interview Derek, to capture his wealth of knowledge and experience. He kindly shared his memories of Stanley Matthews, Stoke…
The Football Alliance: Teams Who Didn’t Make the League
The Football Alliance was the most successful of the short-lived rivals to the Football League. The League’s founder, William McGregor, had ensured it would be an exclusive institution from its formation in 1888. McGregor issued his famous letter to invite only a select group of clubs to join the proposed new competition. The number of…
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