England v Argentina, 1980
England welcomed Argentina to Wembley for a prestigious friendly in May 1980. The home team were preparing for the summer’s European Championships, their first international tournament finals since the Mexico World Cup a decade earlier. The visitors were the reigning World Champions, having triumphed on home soil two years earlier. Manager César Luis Menotti had…
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…
Wrexham v Anderlecht, 1975-76 Cup Winners’ Cup
Wrexham Association Football Club was founded 1864 as Wales’ first professional club – making them the third oldest professional club in the world. They have played at the Racecourse Ground ever since, the venue for Wales’ first international match in 1877. Elected to the Football League in 1921, Wrexham first experienced European football in the…
Orient v Chelsea, 1972 FA Cup
Orient hosted their illustrious London rivals Chelsea in 1972 hoping to add to a number of FA Cup upsets in the early 1970s. Among the spectacular results were Don Revie’s mighty Leeds United humbled at Colchester in 1971, and Southern League Hereford’s defeat of First Division Newcastle a year later – perhaps the most famous…
Arsenal v Newcastle United, 1976
Arsenal and England striker Malcolm ‘Supermac’ MacDonald was the centre of attention at Highbury on the 4th December 1976. MacDonald came up against his former club Newcastle United, who he had left for a record fee of £333,333 that summer, for the first time in this game. Arsenal were in transition from the double-winning side…
Bolton Wanderers v Bristol City, 1969
This Second Division fixture at Burnden Park on 1st November 1969, captured on film by an unknown cameraman, saw a 3-1 win for the home side. Bolton Wanderers, founder members of the Football League and FA Cup winners in 1958, had been a First Division side from 1935 until relegation in 1964. Under club legend…
Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest, 1979
The visit of European Cup holders Nottingham Forest to Tottenham Hotspur for a First Division fixture in October 1979 saw one of the goals of the season at White Hart Lane. Glenn Hoddle, the young Spurs midfielder earning a reputation for spectacular strikes, scored a masterpiece on his 22nd birthday to beat England goalkeeper Peter…
Watford v Kaiserslautern, 1983 UEFA Cup
Watford completed a meteoric rise from the Fourth Division to the First between 1978 and 1982, under future England manager Graham Taylor. The Hertfordshire club then finished second behind Liverpool in 1982-83, and embarked on their first-ever European campaign the following season. They drew tough opponents in the First Round, Kaiserslautern, founder members of the…
Manchester City v Oldham Athletic, 1988
It’s hard to imagine the hugely successful global brand that is modern-day Manchester City being troubled by their impoverished neighbours Oldham Athletic, currently languishing in the bottom division of the Football League. Yet a look at their head-to-head record suggests they were once evenly matched, and the Latics occasionally held the upper hand. In their…
England v Uruguay, 1966 World Cup
After the excitement of the preparations and build-up, the 1966 World Cup Finals kicked off at 7.30 p.m. on Monday 11 July 1966 at Wembley. After the low-key opening ceremony, hosts England took on Uruguay, twice winners of the tournament, in front of an expectant crowd of over 87,000 at Wembley. Alf Ramsey, England manager…
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