As the 1970s progressed, it seemed that the star of Italian forward Paolo Rossi would continue to shine brightly. Top scorer in Serie B for Vicenza in the 1976/77 season, Rossi became the first man to repeat the feat in Serie A the following season. And then came the 1978 World Cup.
Scoring three goals as Italy finished fourth, Rossi claimed the Silver Ball award for the second-best player in the tournament.
Arsenal's recent loss to Wolves condemned them to their worst start in the league since the opening ten matches of the 1981/82 season. Before the current campaign, the news of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang renewing his contract was met with relief by Arsenal supporters. Back in 1981, the actions of their star centre forward was not as positive.
The summer of 1981 was tough for Arsenal fans. Losing Frank Stapleton to Manchester United for £900,000, manager Terry Neill had been linked with a number of centre forwards to replace the departing Irish international. Trevor Francis, Tony Woodcock and Justin Fashanu were amongst the names mentioned; none of these would arrive, although Woodcock did come a year later.
Part of me wondered whether this was worth it. So many words have been written in tribute to Diego Armando Maradona since the announcement of his death, and these pieces have been created by writers with a lot more talent than me. But I simply had to pen something about the greatest footballer I have ever seen.
Naturally my mind immediately rewinds back to 1986. When a man at the peak of his powers completely shapes a World Cup finals tournament in his image then it is hard not to start at this point. Undoubtedly the greatest player in the world at the time, Maradona decided to confirm this status at Mexico '86.
This is an edited version of my original article that appeared in issue 283 of The Gooner.
Arsenal played their first match at the new White Hart Lane during Project Restart, losing 2-1 to a late Toby Alderweireld header, continuing a poor run of league form at the home of their rivals. Without a league win in N17 since 2014 – Tomas Rosicky’s screamer separating the teams – at least Arsenal fans have the consolation of winning three trophies in that period.
You can’t beat the feeling of winning at the home of your rivals. Therefore, you can understand just how high Arsenal fans must have felt in 1987. In the space of ten months during this memorable year, Arsenal left White Hart Lane with four 2-1 wins, each demonstrating the newfound spirit sweeping through the club.
It is reassuring to occasionally catch a glimpse of the human side of sporting superstars. When Tiger Woods carded a septuple-bogey 10 on the par 3 12th hole at Augusta in the final round of the rescheduled 2020 US Masters, thousands of golfers throughout the world could immediately relate to the 15-time major winner.
"This sport is awfully lonely sometimes," Woods revealed after his abberation. "You have to fight through it. That’s what makes this game so unique and so difficult mentally. We’ve all been there, unfortunately. Unfortunately I’ve been there and you just have to turn around and figure out the next shot and I was able to do that coming home."
Liverpool's recent 2-1 win over West Ham extended their unbeaten league run at Anfield to 63 matches, consisting of 52 wins and 11 draws. Jurgen Klopp's men have a long way to go to surpass Chelsea's top flight record of 86 league matches undefeated at home between March 2004-October 2008. But avoid defeat against Leicester on November 22, and the German will have broken a 40-year old club record in the league.
Between January 1978 and January 1981, Bob Paisley's Liverpool went 85 matches in all competitions without tasting defeat at Anfield. 63 league matches (W50 D13), six FA Cup, nine League Cup, six European Cup fixtures and a solitary European Super Cup match had seen teams from England, Scotland, Portugal, West Germany, Belgium and the USSR attempt and fail to win at Fortress Anfield.
As the tributes flooded in for Jack Charlton after the recent news of his death, his achievements as Republic of Ireland manager were rightly lauded. Prior to his appointment, Ireland's national team had never qualified for a major tournament. Under Charlton, that situation was about to change.
Charlton's reign of almost ten years saw him lead Ireland to the finals of Euro 88 and two World Cups, and narrowly miss out on qualification for two European Championships tournaments. Creating memories for supporters, boosting the national economy, and becoming a national hero in the process, Charlton squeezed in a lot during his tenure.
October 1984 were exciting times for Everton fans. Having beaten Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in 14 years, the momentum behind Howard Kendall's team rolled on as they went to Czechoslovakia and defeated Inter Bratislava 1-0 in the first leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup second round.
Many felt that the win across Stanley Park was confirmation that Everton were bona fide title contenders. But another examination of their credentials was just around the corner. Manchester United had only conceded nine goals in their eleven league matches before arriving at Goodison Park, and with Liverpool struggling, Ron Atkinson's outfit were seen as title favourites.
This article first appeared in issue 284 of The Gooner.
Understandably many clubs have struggled when visiting Old Trafford in the Premier League era. But it’s a slight irritation to Arsenal fans that their record at this ground has been so poor. FA Cup wins in 2003 and 2015 were delicious, as were the league victories during the double winning campaigns of 97/98 and 01/02. But it’s a full 14 years since Arsenal last left Old Trafford with three points.
Despite the claims of Sky, football did actually exist before 1992, and digging a little deeper into the record books reveals that Arsenal’s league record at Old Trafford leaves a lot to be desired. The famous 1990 Battle of Old Trafford win aside – another gained during a title winning season – a league visit to M16 has often been coupled with disappointment.
As news of Project Big Picture broke recently, EFL chairman Rick Parry tried to calm down the understandable fears that the so-called Big Six - don't get me started on that - are basically trying to increase their power in the game. "They care about the pyramid. This will come out, the truth will come out, their passion for the pyramid will come out." Stop laughing at the back.
Timing is everything. At a time when a lot of EFL clubs are desperately trying to make ends meet, the promise of money from this proposal will undoubtedly be backed by many. It's almost as if those behind the scheme are taking advantage of a global pandemic to try and place their greedy hands on the steering wheel of the sport.
Every sports team needs that belief-affirming victory, the win that makes them feel like they belong. For England's rugby union squad, the backs to the wall win in New Zealand in June 2003 was a vital step along the path to World Cup glory. In 2005, that nail-biting win at Edgbaston saved a summer and made Ashes heroes out of those involved.
Football has produced a few examples of this. Manchester United edging past Sheffield Wednesday during Fergie Time in 1993; Arsenal winning at the same ground in 1998; Chelsea finally defeating Arsenal in the 2004 Champions League quarter final.
When the draw was made for the third round of the 1988/89 Littlewoods Cup, it was not difficult to spot the standout tie. Champions Liverpool, winners of the League Cup four times in the 1980s, were paired with a resurgent Arsenal, in a repeat of the 1987 final that George Graham's team had famously won.
As England clinched an unlikely win in the second one day international of their recent series against Australia, an interesting opinion was expressed by a number of experts: Should Eoin Morgan have been handed the man of the match award due to his superb captaincy skills displayed at the back end of the Australian innings?
Sometimes a captain leads by example - Gerrard at Istanbul, Beckham against Greece in 2001, Atherton at Johannesburg in 1995 - yet in the case of Morgan at Old Trafford, it was his ability as a tactician that attracted praise. The idea of a captain earning the player of the match due to their leadership display is an interesting concept.
Inevitably perhaps, the name of John Abrahams cropped up as soon as this subject arose. In fairness to Morgan, he had top scored in England's innings. But this certainly did not apply in the curious case involving Lancashire skipper Abrahams in the 1984 Benson and Hedges Cup final. Even now, it is a decision that leaves you scratching your head.
Throughout the elongated 2019/20 Premier League season there seemed to be four words that were never far away from live reports, match commentary and social media updates: penalty to Manchester United. Awarded a record 14 penalties for a Premier League campaign - I've put feelers out to try and see if this is an all-time top-flight record - people will no doubt be scrambling to get Bruno Fernandes into their Fantasy Football teams.
The rising star of Mark Hughes showed no signs of fading as the 1984/85 season progressed. Establishing himself as a Manchester United regular, the Welsh forward scored 24 goals in all competitions, as he helped the club win the FA Cup. Awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year, Hughes had gained recognition for his aggressive and committed style.
England are about to take on Iceland in the UEFA Nations League. The first time the two countries met was under unusual circumstances.
As the World Cup finals neared in May 1982, England manager Ron Greenwood named a squad of 30 players from which he was expected to choose his final 22 for the tournament in Spain. A further ten players were placed on a standby list, yet realistically none of these players were expected to feature in the preparation matches prior to England's first World Cup finals appearance since 1970.
Recent news relating to the financial state of Charlton Athletic has left the future of the club up in the air, the #SaveCAFC hashtag trending on Twitter providing a chilling warning about the prospect of the Addicks ceasing to exist as a member of the Football League.
It is not the first time the south east London club have found themselves in this position. In 1984, the Division Two outfit, managed by Lennie Lawrence, may have been challenging for promotion, but off the field the story was completely different. Charlton Athletic were fighting for their very existence.
The 1970s had not been kind to the English national team. That 1970 World Cup quarter final defeat; failure to qualify for Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup, as Alf Ramsey vacated the managerial hotseat; the debacle of the Don Revie years, as again England missed out on qualification for the next two major championships.
Clearing up the mess of what had gone before would eventually fall on the shoulders of Ron Greenwood, despite many justifiably pointing to the fact that Brian Clough should have been the man to replace Revie, hopefully with better results than he experienced at Leeds United in 1974.
