Football in the 80s and before...

Just curious. I know it was different but was it better? Was it a better atmosphere. When I look at old highlights I’m sat here wishing I was there. Take the football casuals out of it obviously I’m on about football itself...

one for you old gits

 

If you're an old git everything's better in the past!

 

We had good and bad

Good - atmosphere decent.
Late 70's early 80's we had a fantastic team
Money hadn't ruined the game - game that could be afforded by working man with a family
Quite liked the lack of constant information - vidi printer was fun

Bad
Horrible atmosphere at some games - hooliganism was rife
Difficult to see some games - just saw heads for Liverpool home game in the cup
Miner's strike was particularly grim for attendances - we had around 3k for Wimbledon Game

 

It was a bit more rudimentary in the old days. Give it to the full back, hoof it forwards so a big man could get a head on it. No tactical overthinking.
Men were men. Tackles could be brutal. Less player protection. Only one sub allowed (I wasn't born when there were 0 subs).
I remember when Ipswich won the FA Cup in 1978, one of their players lit up a cig at the end. Football is more technical now. Players play more like European clubs have always played. Technically I think players are much better now, better nutrition and fitness. But that has taken something away from the football I remember. I think the full-blooded nature of the old game and standing rather than sitting meant the atmosphere in the old days was far superior, but overspilled into violence and hooliganism hence the changes in the later years.

 

Used to prefer the actual football, 70’s /80’s ‘proper tackles N all that.

Yes you had to walk to some grounds with your head on a swivel with some of the likely lads n lasses that were about .Really can’t understand folk complaining about not being able to see though , I often used to hear folk complaining in the ground, course me and my mates are 6ft plus but sure that’s not got owt to do with it. ........
Seriously though we always tried to stand at the back or with other tall folk or somewhere where we didn’t block anyone’s view.​

 

For me, the quality of the players was just as high as today. The pace of the game was slower, allowing skilful players to show off their talents. However, to balance that out, tackling from behind was legal, brutal and common place. The quality of football pitches was much worse (ironically, Barnsley's was always top notch). This meant, though, players would show their techniques by instantly trapping the ball in what could, at times, be appalling conditions.
Football grounds were far, far poorer with wooden seating (if any at all), uncovered crumbling terracing was the norm.
Due to hooliganism, all fans were treat like animals.
Despite all the problems at that time, I still got to watch the best Barnsley team, in my opinion, it's ever been my pleasure to see, under Norman Hunter. In that side was also the best Barnsley player I've seen play for us, Ronnie Glavin.

 

I agree about that team - such a pleasure to watch!

 

79 to 83 what magical times, brought all the memories back....marvellous.

 

Good summaries by many on this thread. Have to agree with this.

Football was nearly socially unacceptable at the time. Police & fans were unpredictable in equal measures.

Across the game there was more competition. Now success is bought & retained by staying in the top division, or failing that the championship. Beyond that quality looks poor & players have no loyalty.

I'd rather go back to the old days, but we can't. The days of the last 20 years are over too. This is post apocalypse football.

 

Do you know what i loved that side.
I thought that football was much worse prior to the 80s.
Recently i watched the re run of the 1966 world cup final.
The first time i watched it all.
Bobby Moore playing out from the back .
Alan Ball brilliant energy and pressing.
What an all round team performance by both teams going for it in extra time.

 

We've had more success in terms of trophies in the 00's and 10's and 97 but that team from 78-83 was quite special. Must have been great for all those that had watched us underperform for so long - I don't know what it was like before 78 but feel really lucky to start my Oakwell journey when I did

 

Take the casuals out of it I’m not even sure what that means sorry.

Standing. Some of the older grounds appeared to be better re atmosphere. (wendies apart, still crap)
Oakwell. Derby. Maine rd. Boro. Etc.
Oakwell ringing out “come on yooo reddds” mainly from the ponty and paddock. Stood on the terrace was amazing. Clarke/Hunter eras special mention. Football/atmosphere better than at any other time watching em for me.

Hated the skinhead era. Going away was more fearful than enjoyable. None of this arranged meet ups. Wrong colours you were having it.

For that reason I believe it’s more sociable going away and meeting other fans in pubs.
If your not looking for Trouble then it tends to be safer.

Would I go back to the old Stadia. Difficult to say I much prefer sitting now. But would welcome standing areas for those that can choose.

 

Without a doubt safer now.
I enjoy a beer with the away fans and chat about football.
That was impossible in the 80s

 

Agree with many comments on here, Clarke/Hunter days were brill..Glavin and co ...oh yes
Sadly the threat of it kicking off was a distraction from the football
The pitches were dire at times
Opposition kicking our football playing team off the pitch was annoying ( We did dish some at time tho)

Hooky's rite about meeting other fans now. been with Hoyland reds and had some brill days out in pubs and clubs

Think the current seating at grounds lets everyone see ( I'm over 6'1") and the lads and lasses I know who sit round me have become footy friends, so that's good

I think "Raw" would describe the feeling of 70s/80's footy and that's deffo gone


.

 

Ronnie Glavin once got the ball in centre circle and ran through 2/3rds of Peterborough team and scored in League cup,what a player we won 6 nil,we had some great songs too,your going home in a Barnsley ambulance,the ——— sing I don’t know why cos after the match your going to die(fill in blank with away team of day),your going to get your fecking heads kicked in and if you needed a number 2 you had to bring your own bog roll as the clubs all ended up on pitch after we scored first goal,pies were 90p and had meat in them to top,what a time to be alive if you not run over an uneven cinder car park with a green in in your hand you have not lived

 

11 against 11. Jumpers for goals. Marvellous.

Lots of great comments above. Some aspects better today. Others no different e.g. the attitude of South Yorkshire’s finest, to Reds fans in particular, hasn’t changed. Today they carry video cameras and semi-automatic weapons.

But the players did seem much more connected to the fans. And I don’t remember superstars being more interested in their non-football activities than in playing.

Echo the points above regarding skill and ball control on much more difficult pitches - and the side we had then.

Oh, and how good was it taking between 5,000 and 10,000 fans to so many away games.

COYR.

 

Great question to ask. I was a child in the 80s, started going around 87/88, so my comparison is a reflection of that. Some great replies above.

The things I remember as definitely better back then are being able to move about the ground and a feeling that the whole stand was yours, rather than a little squashed-in seat. I know a lot of fans have mentioned the view not being as good, but as a Barnsley supporter there weren't many games where the ground was full and I don't remember that being a problem. Bog roll thrown at goals. When the ground WAS full, the atmosphere was absolutely amazing and incomparable. You would get surges forward and be part of a huge wave of a crowd which was also a bit scary, especially at grounds which still had cages separating fans from the pitch, like Stoke away did , and Ewood park . my dad and my uncles would have a chosen stanchion (?) At Oakwell they would lean against and if the game got really boring I would be playing a game of football with a drinks can or whatever at the bottom of the stand with whichever kids were around. Another big difference was that people were a lot less self conscious about singing / chanting because you would be stood up in gangs rather than sat still, so it would be rare to have that eerie quiet you often get in dull games at Oakwell today.

As others have said, the biggest difference for me, although Barnsley have always been a selling club, was the chance to form an affinity with players over a number of years. You really felt closer to the team, and they were more likely to be living in a nice new estate in Oxspring than a swanky canal-side pad in Leeds.

Tickets were a fair price and things were looser. As small children my sister and i.used to get lifted over the turnstiles . Football was also less about gambling- less advertising, and where people gambled it was in the pools, or on bits of paper they had to wait until the end of the match to see if they had won. We were sponsored by cake makers.

I preferred the toughness and physicality of the game in terms of tackles, and way fewer examples of gamesmanship, rolling around on the floor etc. Men were men. Mustachioed and mulleted.

Although I don't smoke , the smell of pipe smoke drifting on the breeze is a wonderful reminder of that era. A time when commercialisation would amount to some bloke pushing a trolley cart with Bovril and wagon wheel biscuits around the edge of the pitch to sell. It would be very exciting as a kid if the club bought new floodlights, or something like that. There was a lot less football about to watch away from the park with me mates and the subbuteo mat and with little live TV and realistic computer simulations the thing itself became a bit more sacred.

Seeing the away fans of big teams get rained on in the kop was enjoyable too.

Things that were worse:

Racism- although it still hasn't disappeared, I remember monkey noises and bananas being thrown on the pitch when Brian Deane and Tony Agana came with Sheff Utd.

I actually think the technical quality of the game is far superior now. It's faster, more skilful- even defenders are skilful which was rare back then. There were some skilful players- don't get me wrong- but they really stood out. If you look back at old games you can see it's slower in my opinion- the only good side of how professional / monied football Is now that the 'product' itself is more entertaining. But the fact it's a product for entertainment rather than the gutsier , physical and heartfelt game I remember says a lot.

 

One very positive change was the introduction of 3 points for a win in the early eighties. Prior to that, mid table sides’ seasons were over by Christmas and away sides frequently played for the draw. 3 points for a win plus the introduction of play offs has kept interest going in the season for much longer. Most sides have something to play for until the end of March. String 4/5 wins together and it can have a dramatic effect on league position.