DESPAIRING of the vast number of z-list celebrities currently gracing our TV screens, skating; singing; dancing and generally making complete fools of themselves in the name of getting on the ol' goggle box, I decided to channel hop recently and while doing so I had the pleasure of stumbling across The Big Match Revisited - hidden away on ITV4. The LWT produced programme presented by the late, great Brian Moore (he whose head looked uncannily like London planetarium, according to indie popsters Half Man Half Biscuit), immediately evoked memories of lazy Sunday afternoons, post roast beef 'n Yorkshire pud, spent watching back in the 1970s. Halcyon days from an altogether innocent age. The iconic theme tune, retro graphics and less than lavish studio sets were just as I remembered them, as were the commentators of the time, the legendary Moore himself, plus the unforgettable staccato delivery of Hugh 'one nothing!' Johns, Gerald Sinstadt, Elton Welsby (where is he nowadays?) and a youthful Martin Tyler. The match highlights of the time were usually tremendously entertaining fare, with goals galore and plenty of skill on show, as the players paraded around in daft kits, with dodgy perms and sideburns that put Elvis Presley to shame - and that was just the Liverpool team! The foreign invasion that we take for granted in 2009 had just begun 30 years ago, following Argentina's 1978 World Cup success, but there were no overpaid prima donnas on display, plying their trade in the soulless, identikit all seater stadiums we are force fed circa 21st century. The winter of 1979 saw arctic conditions, far worse than we have suffered recently, but many matches still went ahead, and there wasn't a pair of gloves to be seen in the sub-zero temperatures. The pitches were, in the main, snow covered and bone hard - which is once again, a total contrast to this day and age, when fixtures are postponed at the drop of a hat if the field doesn't resemble a billiard table. Back then, it was out with the orange 'penny floater' ball and the 'keepers would don their tracksuit bottoms. Arsenal's Pat Jennings was famously pelted with snowballs by Wednesday fans during a cup tie at Hillsborough. The referee's whistle was seldom heard, save for the obligatory blast at the start and end of each half - there was no diving, cheating or rolling around like a bunch of toddlers in a soft play area, for the stars of the Seventies. On the terraces, fans sported bobble hats, scarves, bell bottomed flares and a gallon of Brut 45, as they enjoyed their half-time snack, a staple diet of Bovril and Wagon Wheels. The prawn sandwich brigade so beloved of Roy Keane had yet to be invented then, of course. Post match, sheepskin coat clad managers would give awkward interviews, and then it was back to the gaffer tape assisted set to receive a cheery goodbye from good old Mooro himself. There were one or two negatives though, such as the booing of black players, particularly during WBA matches - featuring Regis, Cunningham & Batson, dubbed by the media back in the day, as 'The Three Degrees'. Albion's manager at that time was, ironically, Ron Atkinson. It was also a winter of economic discontent (no change there then) in the UK, as Britain prepared for the Thatcher era and the hooligan culture that would grip football for much of the next decade, had just started to rear its ugly head. Not that this was too much in evidence on TBM, the one pitch invasion screened was by a man immaculately dressed in a brown three piece suit, who drew the ref's attention to a rare bad decision, was patted on the back by agreeing players from both sides and then made a grinning return to the stands, without the presence of the local constabulary or a high-visibility steward's jacket in sight. Who says that nostalgia's not what it used to be? Matt Bailey (Barnsley World)
Excellent artice mate, well written (Y) (Y) We used to get 'Football Special' in the 70s - A 'regional' Sunday Soccer programme where Leeds was the main match virtually every week.....ah, those long lost days of 'impartial' soccer coverage!!
Remember all those things. I started watching them in the days of Holley, Henderson and Harper. The spot kick wizard of those early days was Ernest Hine who you had to see to believe. Stiff back, two steps and the ball in the back of the net before the 'keeper could blink. The hardest kicker of a ball that I have ever seen. Must commend Matt1575 on a very well written article, enjoyed the bit of time travel.
