Yugoslavia: Foreign Players in the Football League
Yugoslavia provided a surprising number of imports to English football in the wave that followed the summer of 1978. While Ardiles and Villa, Mühren and Thijssen took the headlines, apart from the Netherlands no overseas country provided more players to the Football League in the immediate post-1978 period than Yugoslavia. 14 players moved to England…
Argentina: Foreign Players in the Football League
Argentina provided the impetus for the first wave of foreign imports to the Football League from 1978. Though the PFA’s secretary Cliff Lloyd had warned, “I don’t think we would stand for a big influx of Argentinians to this country”, there was indeed a short-lived trend of English clubs tapping Argentine talent. Before the end…
South Americans in the Football League 1978-92 – Appendix
A brief overview of the South American footballers who played in the Football League between 1978 and 1992. * Osvaldo ‘Ossie’ Ardiles Born: 03.08.1952 Córdoba, Argentina Signed from: Huracán (Argentina), July 1978 [£325,000] Football League Career: Tottenham Hotspur 1978-87 – 221 appearance (16 sub), 16 goals; Blackburn (loan) 1987-88 – 5 apps; QPR 1988-89 –…
South America: Foreign Players in the Football League
South America reinforced its credentials as the strongest footballing continent when Argentina lifted the World Cup for the first time on 25 June 1978 at the Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires. By beating the Netherlands 3-1 to win the tournament they had hosted, Argentina joined neighbours Brazil (three times winners) and Uruguay (twice) as World Champions…
Foreign Players in the Football League: Introduction
The Football League was made in England and founded by a Scot, William McGregor. The world’s first professional league flourished from 1888 with the contribution of Scottish, Welsh and Irish talent. While Britain exported the game worldwide, for much of its history foreign players in the Football League were a rarity. That changed permanently in…
Greg Lansdowne: Football Collectors Interview
Greg Lansdowne is a leading authority on football sticker collecting in the UK, and especially the history of the iconic Panini brand. He also has a keen interest in (and an extensive collection of) football magazines, the major source of information about the game for fans growing up from the 1960s to the 80s. The…
Panini Official Celebration: Book Review & Interview with author Greg Lansdowne
Panini football stickers are a worldwide phenomenon. Greg Lansdowne is the author of Stuck on You: The Rise & Fall… & Rise of Panini Stickers (Pitch Publishing, 2015) and Panini Football Stickers: The Official Celebration (Bloomsbury, 2021). As a long-term collector and enthusiast, Greg Lansdowne is perfectly positioned to tell the story of one of…
David Snowdon: Give Us Tomorrow Now Interview, Part Two
David Snowdon continues to discuss his book Give Us Tomorrow Now, charting Alan Durban’s time in charge of Sunderland, and English football of the day – Part One is here. The area was renowned for producing players – you mention Kevin Dillon, Mick Harford and Mike Hazard, and Nigel Gleghorn was another, a Sunderland fan…
Give Us Tomorrow Now: Book Review & Interview with author David Snowdon
Give Us Tomorrow Now: Alan Durban’s Mission Impossible (Pitch Publishing, 2018) by David Snowdon reconstructs Alan Durban’s managerial reign at Sunderland with a wealth of detail, from his appointment in the summer of 1981 to his untimely sacking in March 1984. The background to the book is a very different era of English football, with…
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…
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