Notts County v Mansfield Town, 1987
Notts County met Mansfield Town in a rare Nottinghamshire derby in October 1987. County had spent the early part of the decade in the First Division, before successive relegations. Mansfield were in the Fourth Division until promotion in 1985-86. When the clubs met in the Third Division on Boxing Day 1986, it was their first…
Stoke City v Luton Town, 1982
Stoke City welcomed Luton Town to the Victoria Ground in September 1982. It was a high-scoring day in the First Division – results included Coventry 4 Everton 2, Notts County 0 Ipswich 6, Spurs 4 Forest 1, Watford 8 Sunderland 0, and West Ham 4 Manchester City 1. The game at the Victoria Ground matched…
Portsmouth v Southampton, 1987
Portsmouth hosted Southampton at Fratton Park in August 1987 in the first-ever meeting of the two clubs in the top division of English football. The former Southern League rivals had first met in the Football League in September 1920 as members of the newly-formed Third Division. Promoted in May 1987, Pompey were returning to the…
Sunderland v Brighton & Hove Albion, 1982
Sunderland went into this First Division fixture at Roker Park needing a win near the end of Alan Durban’s first season in charge. His side were struggling just outside the relegation zone, while visitors Brighton were comfortably in mid-table under manager Mike Bailey, also enjoying his first season at the South Coast club. David Snowdon’s…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Bologna v Blackpool, 1971 Anglo-Italian Cup Final
Blackpool prepared for the 1971 Anglo-Italian Cup Final in Bologna’s Stadio Comunale six weeks after finishing bottom of the First Division. Their opponents had just finished 5th in Serie A and qualified for the following season’s UEFA Cup. 1971 was the second year of the Anglo-Italian Cup, played post-season, which lasted until 1973 in its…
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