- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Just to out myself as an old fogey (and not responding to anything particular above), someone needs to tell the young 'uns that football did not begin with the introduction of the Premier League.
I am currently watching a 40 year old edition of "The Big Match". Among other games, the main feature match that has just finished was a 2nd Division match from 1977 between Fulham and Charlton Athletic. Remember when they used to mix some big matches from lower leagues into the highlights shows? (For real football fans who understood their significance). Nowadays if you are not in the Prem you get sidelined to a separate show, never to taint the sacred franchise.
In the Fulham team that day were, among others, Bobby Moore, Rodney Marsh, and a certain George Best. Very muddy pitch and it was said that neither team was near their best, but I found it surprisingly watchable - even without a back-pass rule or a bus full of substitutes. End of match interviews featured moustachioed, sheepskin-coated players saying things like "The lads worked very, very hard and we realise we've got to work very hard to get out of it". Makes you all misty-eyed with nostalgia.
Them was the days when tackles were tackles and sports science was all about which ale was best as a pre-match tipple.