English Winners of the European Cup
Manchester United became the first English winners of the European Cup when they defeated Portuguese champions Benfica 4-1 at Wembley in May 1968. It was an emotional triumph for manager Matt Busby and players Bill Foulkes and Bobby Charlton, all survivors of the Munich air disaster of 1958, which had robbed English football and United…
Burnden Park, Bolton: The Football League on Film
Delving into the Football League’s past through film and television, this occasional series features football grounds caught on camera. Following last week’s look at a match from Bolton Wanderers’ history, I start at their former home of Burnden Park. Mitchell and Kenyon, Blackburn-based early film pioneers of the late Victorian era, had begun shooting scenes…
The Days of Cricketing Footballers
On the eve of the 2019 Ashes series, I look back at the days of cricketing footballers, today a rare breed but a phenomenon which enjoyed a ‘golden age’ from the late nineteenth century. The giant of Victorian cricket, Dr W.G. Grace, was also a keen footballer who appeared for the Wanderers; Grace later became…
Trevor Brooking and One-Club Men
On May 14, 1984, Trevor Brooking played his final game for West Ham United, the club he represented for his entire Football League career. Signed as an apprentice by manager Ron Greenwood on the recommendation of legendary scout Wally St Pier, he made his debut in August 1967 and ended up with a total of…
John Sitton – A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
John Sitton’s autobiography is a compelling, at times painfully honest, account of life at the sharp end of the Football League, in an era completely removed from today’s multi-million-pound business. If you’re familiar with his name, it’s more than likely through the YouTube clips taken from a 1995 Channel 4 documentary on Leyton Orient, where…
Denis Law and FA Cup Goalscorers
In a January 1961 FA Cup Third Round tie, Denis Law scored six goals for Manchester City against Luton Town. It would have set a record for the competition, but unfortunately the game was abandoned after 69 minutes, with City leading 6-2. Luton won the re-arranged game 3-1, though Law scored again for City. There…
Tony Ford, Football League Record-Breaker
Tony Ford made his Football League debut as a 16 year-old for his hometown club Grimsby Town in 1975. His final League appearance came 26 years later, on the 3rd November 2001, as a midfielder for Rochdale in their 2-0 Third Division victory over Torquay United at Spotland. In the intervening years Ford played for…
Freedom of Contract – Gary Collier and the Ashton Gate Eight
In 1978, between the momentous abolition of the maximum wage in 1961 and the present post-Bosman era of player power and unrestricted movement, came a decisive shift in football’s transfer market. Players were entitled to turn down new contract offers at the end of their term, and given the right to negotiate directly with a…
The FA Cup (Second Half)
The credibility of the competition was undermined in 2000 by the Football Association’s decision to encourage holders Manchester United to withdraw from the FA Cup – they opted to take part in the inaugural World Club Championship in Brazil which, it was believed, would help England’s ill-fated 2006 World Cup bid. Then-United manager Alex Ferguson…
FA Cup (The First Half)
The 2018 FA Cup Final took place last weekend, with Chelsea beating Manchester United in a tedious match between familiar opponents. Chelsea (who had won a single Cup, in 1970, before 1992) have now reached 10 Finals since the Premier League began, winning 7; Manchester United have appeared in 9 and won 5 of those.…
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