Things that have disappeared from football matches

[w7 bee]

(In the light of the present fuss over iFollow etc) Almost no live football matches on TV.

It's not that long since the only live televised games each season were the FA Cup Final and England v Scotland - both guaranteed to sell out - plus the European Cup Final, at least if an English team was involved, which it often was in the 70's.

Also they used to televise an England Schoolboys game at the end of each season (against West Germany?), since that came under the ESFA and The FA couldn't stop them.

Brian Clough was one of the most vocal against televising live games, on the basis that no-one would ever go out to see a game if they could watch it in the comfort of their own home. So he didn't get everything right.

Maybe he had an extra comfortable home and a very understanding wife? Plus a TV, obviously.

Meanwhle, mention of Eng v Scot brings back memories of the British Championships, more commonly known as the Home Championshps.

Re Clough , that was very much a different era, there was an impact on attendances in the very early days of live matches and in Cloughs time clubs were very paranoid in the leaking of the schedule for Match of the Day or the Big Match due to crowd impact.

 

[lowercase_h]

TV commentators actually commenting on the match that we're watching!!

 

[Pixelator]

Mrs Janorak. She hasn’t been to a game since we got married. (44+ years.)

When you said you went to school with Pete Townshend's brother, I assumed you meant Simon, and that we went to the same school. But that would have you getting married at 16-ish!

Back to topic - me having to put on a Brummie accent to get out of stadiums alive when I was a student, though mentioning Steve Phillips also worked at St Andrews.

 

[TW3Bee]

TV commentators actually commenting on the match that we're watching!!

American sport, and especially Baseball have the annoying habit of interviewing players, or managers, on the bench while the game is going on.

 

[JANORAK]

When you said you went to school with Pete Townshend's brother, I assumed you meant Simon, and that we went to the same school. But that would have you getting married at 16-ish!

Back to topic - me having to put on a Brummie accent to get out of stadiums alive when I was a student, though mentioning Steve Phillips also worked at St Andrews.

Married at 20! (Times were different..)
Simon T was 2yrs below me st school.

 

[HaylingBee74]

American sport, and especially Baseball have the annoying habit of interviewing players, or managers, on the bench while the game is going on.

I know how Tommy Lasorda would have reacted to a reporter trying that in his day and it would have kept the guy doing the bleeeeps very busy

 

[horshambees]

How do you get these , my erm mate wants to know

Shoot league ladders 20/21 are on eBay at 6.99 free postage and click and collect so you don't have to lie to the missus.
They even have the Scottish ones too.

 

[TW3Bee]

Shoot league ladders 20/21 are on eBay at 6.99 free postage and click and collect so you don't have to lie to the missus.
They even have the Scottish ones too.

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Still miss Shoot! League Ladders? Try ours! Scottish Football League 2020/21 CE | eBay

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[beesbees_bfc]

Fans celebrating goals on the pitch and then running back into the terraces without fear of being thrown out.

Fans in terraces at all.

 

[beesbees_bfc]

Something which appeared a while back, then disappeared nearly as quickly: football on 3D TV.

In years to come when you tell the grandkids that you used to traipse to the pub and put on a tacky pair of 3D plastic sunglasses, to watch Jose Mourinho poke Arsene Wenger in the eye just like they were standing beside you, they won't believe it.

"What's a pub Grampa?"

Sky makes 3D history

I remember watching some premier league game with the glasses on down in Bristol before an away game at Bristol Rovers in 30+ degree heat, massive pub with quite a few pool tables and everyone in there killing awkwardly around them as they tried to navigate ‘real’ life whilst watching the game on telly.

Wasnt surprised at all that it faded out as a concept

 

[horshambees]

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Every year without fail I had these from 1970 all the way to the mid 80s.
I remember going all over West London trying to find one copy of Shoot because I missed it on the day it came out.
Would have been 77/78.
From Whitton to Kensington on me bike.
Every newsagents.
Luckily I found one.
I could have used the year before, but I would have had to write Wimbledon on the back of Southport.

 

[TW1Bee]

Every year without fail I had these from 1970 all the way to the mid 80s.
I remember going all over West London trying to find one copy of Shoot because I missed it on the day it came out.
Would have been 77/78.
From Whitton to Kensington on me bike.
Every newsagents.
Luckily I found one.
I could have used the year before, but I would have had to write Wimbledon on the back of Southport.

Doing your own FA cup draw. Teams scibbbled on a tiny bit of paper and screwed up into a carrier bag. If Bees got a sh*t draw I'd do it again.

 

[Wise old Bee]

Mrs Janorak. She hasn’t been to a game since we got married. (44+ years.)

The thrill of seeing us beat Torquay 1-0 (Sweetzer) in 1976 was too much for Mrs Bee and that, and our Kent Cup final defeat to Luton remain her only visits to BFC. She was in the Nelson after the Preston game in 2014 though and asked why we only sang the same two songs?

 

[boatmonkey]

the orange ball if it snowed.
Close thread.

 

[Ealing Bee]

the orange ball if it snowed.
Close thread.

Re-open the thread, quick:

All right to start with, then 1 min 30 secs in.

 

[TW3Bee]

Fulham's defence, seems to have dissappeared.

 

[horshambees]

Doing your own FA cup draw. Teams scibbbled on a tiny bit of paper and screwed up into a carrier bag. If Bees got a sh*t draw I'd do it again.

Or....... Randomly picking out the 4th division and creating a final league table.
Brentford always, always came out last.
Do the same with div 3, 2 and 1.
Promote the top 4/2 and relegate those that finished in the relegation places and go again.
With a little bit of a hand we ended up getting promoted and win the league on the way.
It was amazing how the first division ended up.
We could win the first division with Stockport being runners up.

 

[Kingston Bee]

Drinking Bovril drinks that got stronger as you went on because they hadn't been stirred properly.

 

[TW3Bee]

Ramshackle old grounds that were horrible to go to at the time, The old Den for example, but now they are gone I kind of miss them.

 

[grutter]

Ramshackle old grounds that were horrible to go to at the time, The old Den for example, but now they are gone I kind of miss them.

It's all about people clinging onto the past for a bit of tradition and memories of perceived better times, particularly as the number of these types of grounds become fewer in number. Most away fans said Griffin Park was their favourite away day. We all know that GP in the modern era was really an impractical dump and not fit for purpose,, but because of all the memories it holds, it remained dear to people.

 

[Stanley]

It's all about people clinging onto the past for a bit of tradition and memories of perceived better times, particularly as the number of these types of grounds become fewer in number. Most away fans said Griffin Park was their favourite away day. We all know that GP in the modern era was really an impractical dump and not fit for purpose,, but because of all the memories it holds, it remained dear to people.

True but I think it is a bit more than just memories but also about character, so many modern stadiums are just soulless bowls on out of town retail parks. Going to a football match was never about plush facilities and the in house food etc.

 

[jlove]

It's all about people clinging onto the past for a bit of tradition and memories of perceived better times, particularly as the number of these types of grounds become fewer in number. Most away fans said Griffin Park was their favourite away day. We all know that GP in the modern era was really an impractical dump and not fit for purpose,, but because of all the memories it holds, it remained dear to people.

That's because they only came once a season and the reputation of "a pub on each corner" made it a must visit experience. Having made full use of the pubs, the must visit inside the ground would not have enhanced their experience.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Something which has disappeared is crappy 12 page match programmes in black and white for cup games and replays etc i.e. where the printers didn't get the 7(?) days notice they normally required to produce the usual full page colour version.

Particularly prevalent for when it was lower/non-league opposition i.e. very low print run anyhow.

 

[Kingston Bee]

It's all about people clinging onto the past for a bit of tradition and memories of perceived better times, particularly as the number of these types of grounds become fewer in number. Most away fans said Griffin Park was their favourite away day. We all know that GP in the modern era was really an impractical dump and not fit for purpose,, but because of all the memories it holds, it remained dear to people.

Rightly or wrongly a lot of these memories will gradually dilute over time. Not that GP will ever be forgotten it won't, but in 10 or 20 years time we will have made many new memories at LR, and a fair percentage of the older fan base will have passed on. Kids visiting Brentford now for the first time will only know LR, life moves on.

 

[TW1Bee]

Looking at some Youtube clips of various games in the 70's and 80's fat, bald and unfit referees though Jon Moss might qualify now

 

[Castleview]

Looking at some Youtube clips of various games in the 70's and 80's fat, bald and unfit referees though Jon Moss might qualify now

My view of Jon Moss is he should never have qualified in the first place.

 

[Castleview]

When I began watching Brentford regularly (late 1950s early 1960s) the team lineup hardly changed from one match to the next unless there was a serious injury. Bit different now with squads of 30 odd players. I'm pretty sure even the England side that won the '66 world cup stayed pretty well together for a while as well.

 

[Wise old Bee]

Team lineups with no double-barrelled names on either side.

 

[johndub]

Team lineups with no double-barrelled names on either side.

Denis Law-King?

 

[Ealing Bee]

When I began watching Brentford regularly (late 1950s early 1960s) the team lineup hardly changed from one match to the next unless there was a serious injury. Bit different now with squads of 30 odd players. I'm pretty sure even the England side that won the '66 world cup stayed pretty well together for a while as well.

The game must have been slower back then and the players less fit, meaning that they could eg carry an injury without it being too detrimental to the team's performance. (Remember substitutions didn't come in until the mid-60's and then only 1 per game)

To take a famous example, the Liverpool team which won the 1st Division in 1965/66 only used 14 players over a 42 game season*, with one of those players appearing just once and another only 5 times!
Five players were ever-presents (42), two played 41, two played 40, another 37, one 28 and one 22. This was from an 18 x man 1st team squad.
Full List here

No wonder when Bill Shankly used to give his pre-match Press Conferences on, I think, the Saturday morning, he would step into the room, take a sheet of paper from his pocket and announce:
"Right lads, it's the same team as last year!"
(I should add that for all his good humour and affection for his players, Shankly was notoriously intolerant of injured players. If he heard that a player wasn't fit to appear, he completely blanked him, no excuses, no reasoning - you stayed well out of his way.)

Which also highlights something else which has disappeared from the game: a manager announcing his team well before the kick-off.



* - Btw, although Liverpool went out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round and didn't enter the League Cup, they got to the Final of the European Cup Winners' Cup that season, which took up another 9 games (plus a Charity Shield game). Pretty much the same dozen players played all those games too.

 

[HantsBee]

Griffin Park

 

[Delbee]

Team lineups with no double-barrelled names on either side.

Yes Owen Tudor Jones

 

[TW1Bee]

Goalkeepers not wearing gloves.

 

[nick logan]

The fantastic gents who looked after me at far flung aways as a kid shooting round to see Derek to get the train tickets after home games.

 

[pompeybee]

When I began watching Brentford regularly (late 1950s early 1960s) the team lineup hardly changed from one match to the next unless there was a serious injury. Bit different now with squads of 30 odd players. I'm pretty sure even the England side that won the '66 world cup stayed pretty well together for a while as well.

Sometime in the late 60s/early 70s, Carlisle abolished their reserve team to save money and operated with a squad of about 18. Only one sub on the bench in those days, and I went to a game at Fratton Park when their regular keeper, Alan Ross, who had a hand injury, was named on the bench.
I tried to check this out online and couldn't find details, but there was a reference to Ross coming on as sub for an outfield player in a game around this period.

 

[South Acton Bee]

Fans

 

[Wise old Bee]

Sometime in the late 60s/early 70s, Carlisle abolished their reserve team to save money and operated with a squad of about 18. Only one sub on the bench in those days, and I went to a game at Fratton Park when their regular keeper, Alan Ross, who had a hand injury, was named on the bench.
I tried to check this out online and couldn't find details, but there was a reference to Ross coming on as sub for an outfield player in a game around this period.

Didn't this happen to us once in the late 60s when we had a squad of about 15 players? It would have involved Chic Brodie on the bench I think but, whilst it was being talked about in local press as likely, I'm not sure it actually happened.

 

[Babbelfish]

View attachment 22658

As a young kid, skinheads in DMs looked proper scary. The shoe brand of hooligan choice is disempowered now. Probably no bad thing!

 

[The Hairy One]

Didn't this happen to us once in the late 60s when we had a squad of about 15 players? It would have involved Chic Brodie on the bench I think but, whilst it was being talked about in local press as likely, I'm not sure it actually happened.

I can remember a Jimmy Sirell squad of 14 players who finished 6th in the old Div 4, were reduced to Gordon Philips on the subs bench away, I think, to Rochdale, in a nil nil draw. Don't think he came on.

 

[wibs]

Doing your own FA cup draw. Teams scibbbled on a tiny bit of paper and screwed up into a carrier bag. If Bees got a sh*t draw I'd do it again.

I bet you had an imaginary friend as well you freak.

 

[Wise old Bee]

I can remember a Jimmy Sirell squad of 14 players who finished 6th in the old Div 4, were reduced to Gordon Philips on the subs bench away, I think, to Rochdale, in a nil nil draw. Don't think he came on.

Thanks for that. I'm usually pretty good on remembering stuff from that era but couldn't be certain.

 

[ruislip bee]

I can remember a Jimmy Sirell squad of 14 players who finished 6th in the old Div 4, were reduced to Gordon Philips on the subs bench away, I think, to Rochdale, in a nil nil draw. Don't think he came on.

I remember that too. Dont think he did come on.

 

[Wise old Bee]

I remember that too. Dont think he did come on.

Weren't we so short of players that we played Brian Caterer, who we loaned from Sutton (?), in that game.

 

[staverleyroadbee]

Never collected them personally, the vouchers on the back of football programmes for getting tickets at sell out games. Don't think Brentford ever got into a position to Warren their use!

 

[Wise old Bee]

Never collected them personally, the vouchers on the back of football programmes for getting tickets at sell out games. Don't think Brentford ever got into a position to Warren their use!

Wasn't there some sort of raffle which, if you were lucky, enabled you to buy one of the club's allocation of Cup Final tickets? I remember entering this around 67-68.

 

[horshambees]

When I began watching Brentford regularly (late 1950s early 1960s) the team lineup hardly changed from one match to the next unless there was a serious injury. Bit different now with squads of 30 odd players. I'm pretty sure even the England side that won the '66 world cup stayed pretty well together for a while as well.

A year I think.

 

[JANORAK]

A bit longer, I think. It could withstand the defeat to Scotland (‘67) being a Home Nation, but once foreign teams got wins at Wembley (Czechoslovakia?), parts were replaced.

 

[JANORAK]

Police patrolling the pitch perimeter..

Referees wearing longer shorts than the players....

 

[horshambees]

When I began watching Brentford regularly (late 1950s early 1960s) the team lineup hardly changed from one match to the next unless there was a serious injury. Bit different now with squads of 30 odd players. I'm pretty sure even the England side that won the '66 world cup stayed pretty well together for a while as well.

The 66 side stayed together for the next 3 games.
A home International vs Northern Ireland.
A friendly v Czechoslovakia and in November 66 a home international vs Wales.
In April 67 vs Scotland, Jimmy Greaves replaced Roger Hunt.
The other 10 were all World Cup winners and then the changes happened.

 

[Wise old Bee]

I saw England play Spain in May 1967 with Bonetti, Labone, Newton, Hollins, Mullery playing, plus Greaves who scored his last England goal.