The semi-finals of the European Cup, Uefa Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup all featured a British team in 1983-84By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog of the Sport NetworkWhen the semi-finals for the European Cup, European Cup, Uefa Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup…
Larry Mize spent his childhood around Augusta National, won a green jacket in 1987 and is now playing his 35th straight MastersBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports BlogYou can understand why Larry Mize feels so excited when he returns home to the Master…
With 10 minutes to go in the 1988 final, Arsenal were coasting. Then Nigel Winterburn missed a penalty and it all went wrongBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports BlogThe warning signs were there for Arsenal before the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final. George G…
Michel Platini thought playing a ‘very British’ Arsenal team at Highbury would prepare France for a World Cup qualifier in Scotland, but the plan backfired. France lost both matches 2-0By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports BlogIt’s hard to imagine Arsena…
Arsenal thumped Spurs on 13 August 1988 and then returned to Wembley the very next day to see off Bayern Munich 3-0 By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog of the Sport NetworkIf you ask a football fan to name the first time Arsenal played Tottenham a…
Bristol City will have to overcome Pep Guardiola to reach the final this season. In 1989 they nearly humbled Brian CloughBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog of the Sport NetworkAfter a few years of turmoil in the early 1980s – three relegations, b…
Northern Ireland started their qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup by losing to part-timers in Finland but they ended it by triumphing at WembleyBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport NetworkWhen the draw was made f…
Real Madrid were underdogs when they came to London for the Uefa Cup quarter-finals in 1985 but they slipped through and ended up lifting the trophyBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport NetworkReal Madrid were underdogs w…
Real Madrid were underdogs when they came to London for the Uefa Cup quarter-finals in 1985 but they slipped through and ended up lifting the trophyBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport NetworkReal Madrid were underdogs w…
Arsenal didn’t have the happiest Easter in 1986. In the space of a week they lost their manager, lost a north London derby and lost twice to Watford in two daysBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport NetworkIn this modern w…
Chelsea beat Southampton in the league on the Saturday and then went to Wembley on the Sunday for a nine-goal thriller with Manchester City
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
English football was constantly hitting new levels of rock bottom in 1985. Fans were violent, stadiums were decaying and attendances were dropping across the country. The European ban imposed was the inevitable conclusion to the spreading English disease that had swept the continent. Slightly less football during the 1985-86 season might not have been a bad thing but the Football League and club chairmen had different ideas; greed was good, so two new competitions were introduced to the calendar.
Step forward the Screen Sport Super Cup and the Full Members’ Cup. The former was set up as a consolation competition for the six teams that had qualified for Europe but could not participate due to the ban. Look deep enough and you can see some logic in offering an alternative event for European qualifiers. But the Full Members’ Cup was a complete mystery.
Frank de Boer didn’t win a league game in his short tenure at Selhurst Park. Back in 1984, Dave Bassett didn’t stick around long enough to see the team play
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
Dave Bassett’s stock was on the rise in the summer of 1984. After guiding Wimbledon to the Fourth Division title with 98 points in the 1982-83 season, he had just led them to a second consecutive promotion. His style of play may not have been to the taste of the football purists but, with the club jumping up to the Second Division, the ends definitely justified the means.
Attention from Football League clubs up and down the country was inevitable and in May 1984 a vacancy opened up that tested Bassett’s loyalty to the Dons. Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades thought his squad was “good enough to have finished in the top eight” but he had just watched manager Alan Mullery produce 15th- and 18th-placed finishes in the Second Division. With average attendances dropping, Noades decided to wield the axe.
So far this season Newcastle have played twice, lost twice and failed to score twice. If only Rafa Benítez could sign a player with Micky Quinn’s eye for goal
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
It was hardly the welcome Micky Quinn dreamed of when he signed for Newcastle United in the summer of 1989. Walking through the city with his girlfriend after agreeing terms with the club, Quinn was understandably cock-a-hoop. “I turned to Sheila and said: ‘Darling, this is one of the proudest moments of my life. It’s what I’ve been struggling to achieve since I practised kicking a tennis ball against a wall every night.’”
But he was soon brought down to earth as he stumbled upon a protest group called the Boardbusters, who, as their name would suggest, were not best pleased with the Newcastle directors. The club had just been relegated from Division One and many fans were prepared to boycott matches at St James’ Park to get their views across to the club hierarchy. Quinn’s move from Portsmouth had apparently not improved their mood.
Brighton have not played in the top division of English football since 1982-83, the most topsy-turvy season in their historyBy Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport NetworkAfter gaining promotion under Alan Mullery in the 19…
Arsenal fans did not turn on their team or manager after their 5-2 defeat to Spartak Moscow in 1982 – they stayed to the end to pay tribute to the winners
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
There are times in the life of a football fan when you have to simply take defeat on the chin. You can’t always blame the referee, manager, board or players for your team being on the receiving end of a tonking. One such example for Arsenal fans was the visit of Spartak Moscow to Highbury on 29 September 1982. The visitors’ performance on that early autumn evening was terrific and terrifying, scintillating and shocking, entertaining and eye-opening, as they crushed Arsenal’s hopes in the Uefa Cup.
In this internet age of ours, there is no longer an air of mystery surrounding European teams or players. Not so in 1982. We were still a few months away from the launch of the UK’s fourth TV channel when the draw for the Uefa Cup first round was made. Some fans would have known of Rinat Dasayev, who had gained a reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers, and midfielder Yuri Gavrilov, who was seen as the danger man, but Spartak largely came to London as an unknown quantity.
Arsenal fans did not turn on their team or manager after their 5-2 defeat to Spartak Moscow in 1982 – they stayed to the end to pay tribute to the winners
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
There are times in the life of a football fan when you have to simply take defeat on the chin. You can’t always blame the referee, manager, board or players for your team being on the receiving end of a tonking. One such example for Arsenal fans was the visit of Spartak Moscow to Highbury on 29 September 1982. The visitors’ performance on that early autumn evening was terrific and terrifying, scintillating and shocking, entertaining and eye-opening, as they crushed Arsenal’s hopes in the Uefa Cup.
In this internet age of ours, there is no longer an air of mystery surrounding European teams or players. Not so in 1982. We were still a few months away from the launch of the UK’s fourth TV channel when the draw for the Uefa Cup first round was made. Some fans would have known of Rinat Dasayev, who had gained a reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers, and midfielder Yuri Gavrilov, who was seen as the danger man, but Spartak largely came to London as an unknown quantity.
QPR won the first leg – which was played at Highbury as they couldn’t use the plastic pitch at Loftus Road – but lost 4-0 in Belgrade and went out on away goals
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
The early 1980s were an exciting time for QPR supporters. Under the management of Terry Venables the club went to the FA Cup final in 1982, won Division Two in 1983 and secured a fifth-place finish in the top flight in 1984, earning them a place in the Uefa Cup for the 1984-85 season. But there was trouble ahead.
Venables departed for Barcelona, with Alan Mullery arriving from Crystal Palace for an ill-fated spell at Selhurst Park. Lasting only six months, Mullery was frank in blaming the “moaning, groaning bunch of players who treated me, themselves and their profession with contempt”. Mullery crammed a lot into his time in West London – including a 5-5 draw with Newcastle and away thrashings at Tottenham, Sunderland and Leicester – but QPR’s adventures in Europe grabbed most of the headlines in the early part of the season, but not for the right reasons.
Australia are currently in India for a four-Test series, but it is hard to imagine any of their matches being as dramatic as their meeting in Madras in 1986
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
It seems that the debate relating to the future of Test cricket is not just a recent trend. Back in 1986, Richard Streeton wrote in the Times about the growth of limited overs cricket and the impact it was having on the longer form of the game, especially in India. “The simple reason is that, in common with the worldwide trend, Indian spectators are now fully converted to limited-overs cricket.” The lack of interest in Test cricket was a major concern.
Streeton’s article made it to press just a couple of days after a match that had done its best to provide Test cricket with a much needed boost. The nerve-wracking tied Test in Madras between India and Australia had been fairly standard-fare for large parts, although there were a few notable personal achievements during the first four days. But it exploded into life on a final day that showed off the beauty of Test cricket, proving that all things come to those who wait.
Sutton United’s players became heroes when they beat top-flight Coventry in the third round in 1989 but they didn’t fare so well against Norwich City
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
Mention Sutton United to football fans and many will recall the day in January 1989 when Coventry City, winners of the FA Cup just two years before, went to Gander Green Lane and were beaten by the Conference team. But how many remember the following act in Sutton’s FA Cup story that year, the difficult second album, if you like? If beating Coventry had been Sutton’s successful debut, then their visit Norwich City away was their Neither Fish Nor Flesh moment.
In fairness, Sutton were more than one-hit wonders. Even before their exploits against Coventry, Barrie Williams’ team had made some ripples in the FA Cup in 1988, knocking out league opposition in Aldershot and Peterborough, before taking Second Division Middlesbrough to a replay at Ayresome Park. The 1-0 defeat against a Boro side that would gain promotion to the top flight highlighted Sutton’s capabilities, but the Coventry match put the club firmly on the map.
Blackburn were on the up when they last hosted Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round in 1985, but Mick Rathbone’s dreadful mistake proved pivotal. United won the game – and the Cup – and Blackburn’s season never recovered
By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog, part of the Guardian Sport Network
Back in winter 1985, no one kicked up much of a fuss when it was announced that Manchester United’s FA Cup fifth round match away at Blackburn Rovers would be screened live on BBC1. Firstly, it wasn’t the 57th time in a row that TV executives had decided to screen Manchester United in the Cup; and secondly, the match between the Division Two leaders and Ron Atkinson’s unreliable United team looked to have all the ingredients of a potential FA Cup giantkilling.
For one man, though, the night would not turn out as he would have hoped. Blackburn’s Mick Rathbone had experienced a few highs and lows in his career before 7.21pm on Friday 15 February 1985, yet, at that precise moment, he probably wanted the frozen Ewood Park pitch to swallow him up. For his very public mistake would prove costly, allowing Manchester United to clear a tricky obstacle on their ultimately glorious Cup run.
