Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest, 1979

Match of the Month

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…

By Paul W October 27, 2019 0
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Atlantic Crossings (Football in North America, Part Two)

International

When today’s top football clubs routinely jet around the world for pre-season tours and lucrative friendlies in North America and beyond, it’s hard to imagine what an undertaking trans-continental travel was in the days before passenger flights. In the nineteenth century an Atlantic crossing in bad weather could stretch into weeks, though by the early…

By Paul W October 5, 2019 2
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Watford v Kaiserslautern, 1983 UEFA Cup

Match of the Month

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…

By Paul W September 28, 2019 2
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Shahan Petrossian: An Interview

Interview

This interview is a new development for the 1888 Letter, and I hope the first of many. In the course of my research for this blog over the last 18 months, I kept finding useful links to the site Soccer Nostalgia, and videos posted on YouTube by ‘sp1873’. The site contained a wealth of detail…

By Paul W September 7, 2019 0
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Football Magazines: A Collaborative Project

Uncategorized

Introducing a collaborative series between the 1888 Letter and Soccer Nostalgia, exploring the experiences of football magazine readers. We will be posting contributions from fans worldwide on both blogs, over the coming months. Soccer Nostalgia (@sp1873): When one becomes a serious Soccer (Football) fan, the next step in the evolution is to read about it…

By Paul W August 31, 2019 2
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Manchester City v Oldham Athletic, 1988

Match of the Month

Manchester City today are multiple Premier League winners, a hugely successful global brand and very, very wealthy. It’s hard to imagine them competing against their impoverished neighbours Oldham Athletic, currently languishing in the fifth tier of English football, the National League – let alone struggling to beat them. Yet a look at their head-to-head record…

By Paul W August 24, 2019 2
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France in the 1980s: The British Abroad

International

The 1980s saw a number of high-profile transfers of players from the Football League to the wealthier Italian and Spanish sides, a trend which gathered pace when English clubs were banned from European competition after the Heysel Stadium tragedy of 1985. Among these were Liam Brady, Joe Jordan, Trevor Francis, Graeme Souness, Ray Wilkins, Steve…

By Paul W August 10, 2019 0
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The Days of Cricketing Footballers

Changing Times

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…

By Paul W July 31, 2019 2
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Football in North America: The Background

International

Football in North America, or soccer as our trans-Atlantic cousins prefer to call it, has a longer history than many people imagine. Canada and the USA contested the first international fixture outside the British Isles, at Newark, New Jersey, in 1885, where a group of British expatriates had established the American Football Association, the world’s…

By Paul W July 20, 2019 2
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England v Uruguay, 1966 World Cup

Match of the Month

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, described as “colourful but simple”, the Finals were officially declared open by the Queen. Hosts England took on Uruguay, twice winners of the tournament, in…

By Paul W July 11, 2019 1
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