Leicester City v Wimbledon, 1987
Leicester City welcomed Wimbledon for the first time in February 1987, as the two clubs met at Filbert Street. The Dons had been a league club for less than a decade, and were enjoying their debut season in English football’s top flight. Leicester were experimenting with a new management structure. Former Northern Ireland international Bryan…
Andy Leeder: Roots to the 92 Interview, Part Two
Andy Leeder continues our conversation around his book Roots to the 92, and the changes in English football that it documents – Part One is here. Part Two You saw the first hospitality boxes and corporate entertainment coming into football grounds – is this at the expense of so-called ‘legacy fans’? I don’t mind the…
Roots to the 92 Book Review & Interview with author Andy Leeder
Roots to the 92 charts five decades of travels to English football grounds. Before ‘groundhopping’ was even invented, Andy Leeder was groundhopping. Starting at his local side Southend United’s Roots Hall, he eventually covered the country. Over the decades it became a quest to ‘do the 92’, but with clubs moving grounds and promotion/relegation from…
Flamengo v Liverpool, 1981 Intercontinental Cup
Flamengo and Liverpool met in Tokyo in December 1981 as the champions of South America and Europe, competing for the Intercontinental Cup and the title of the best club team in the world. Liverpool, having lost their league title to Aston Villa the previous season, had won their third European Cup by beating Real Madrid…
Post-War London – Villains: The Football League on Film
London football grounds were an ideal location for post-War film and TV drama, their stands and terraces the perfect setting for crooks, spivs and villains. Orient’s Brisbane Road was used for a key scene in 1967’s Robbery. Based on the Great Train Robbery, Stanley Baker leads the gang planning an audacious armed robbery, who meet…
Chelsea v Stoke City, 1974
Chelsea and Stoke City were First Division rivals in the early 1970s, and took part in the 1972 League Cup final. At the end of October 1974, the clubs met four times in a matter of weeks. Their League Cup Third Round tie required two replays, and was eventually won 6-2 by Stoke at the…
NASL: The British Abroad (Football in North America, Part Three)
After the rise and fall of the American Soccer League in the 1920s – a competition featuring a strong British influence – the next attempt at a professional league in North America started with wholly imported teams. The United Soccer Association was launched in 1967, with Stoke, Sunderland, Wolves (plus Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hibs, Glentoran…
Swansea City v Monaco, 1991 European Cup Winners’ Cup
Swansea City entered the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the seventh and final time in 1991. The First Round draw gave them a tough test against Arsène Wenger’s Monaco side. They had first played in the competition in 1961, and had enjoyed a record 12-0 win over Malta’s Sliema Wanderers in 1982. This was the…
Everton v Liverpool, 1986 Charity Shield
The 1986 Charity Shield fixture captured Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool at the peak of their 1980s domestic dominance. At least one of the two appeared in nine of the ten Charity Shields during the decade (the only exception being Aston Villa-Spurs in 1981). Both clubs made regular Wembley appearances and met in the final…
Jock Wallace and Pre-Season Training
Jock Wallace was appointed as Leicester City manager in June 1978, a surprising move shortly after winning his second treble with Rangers in Scotland. Leicester had been relegated from the First Division, and Wallace soon introduced his players to a new training regime. Part One: Wanlip The first section of the film shows the recently…
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