1983/84: Manchester United v Ipswich

It sometimes feels as if we are only ever a minute away from a statistic appearing on our television screens during a live football match. You know the kind of thing. Most goals from a corner, every time Arsenal line up their next training ground routine. Possession in the last five minutes. Number of successful passes by a certain player on Tuesday nights since 2002.

But putting my cynicism aside for a brief moment, every now and then a fact appears that makes you sit up a take notice. A snippet of information that you had no idea about, something that you could possibly bore your friends with the next time you go to the pub. 

Watching Manchester United defeat Tottenham in the recent Premier League match at Old Trafford, TNT informed us that the last time United had led at half-time in a league match and went on to lose was back in May 1984. A distant time before football began - if you believe some - consisting of a staggering 329 games of half-time leads leading to 303 wins and 26 draws.

1986/87: Manchester United v Tottenham

Anyone associated with Manchester United must have been a little bit sick of Tottenham by the end of the 2024/25 season. Four times the clubs met, each time the north London club victorious, most memorably in the final of the Europa League. 

The final in Bilboa may have been rewarding to Tottenham supporters, their 16-year trophy drought finally ending. Yet to any neutrals who chose to watch that match, the entertainment was in short supply. Let us hope that the live Premier League match between the two clubs at Old Trafford this weekend is slightly more exciting.

A repeat of the corresponding league fixture 40 years ago would be more than acceptable. The live BBC match in December 1986 gave us goals, mistakes, moments of brilliance, comedy, bravery, and a welcome palate cleanser after the depressing EastEnders omnibus. As an armchair supporter, it was a very enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

1983: Brighton stun Liverpool

It was perceived by many as a bye. Another step for the red machine of Liverpool on their quest for an unprecedented quadruple. When the runaway Division One leaders drew rock bottom Brighton at Anfield in the last 16 of the 1983 FA Cup, the Seagulls road to Wembley was expected to hit a dead end.

Brighton's charismatic caretaker manager Jimmy Melia was trying his best to talk up his team's hopes. "There is no way this draw means the end of the line," the former Liverpool player protested. "We were the last side to win at Anfield, in March 1982." Yet not everyone shared his optimism.

1985: BBC Sports Review of the Year

This may be my last time, it may be my last time I don't know. Every year I ask myself the same question: should I bother watching the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme again? Yet every year I give it one last go. But maybe 2025 is the time to say goodbye.

I have been moaning about the demise of a once great show for too long now. Back in 2013, this article had me harking back to the good old days, complaining about an evening that has lost its way. Little has changed in the intervening period to persuade me that the situation is about to change for the good.

1983/84: Wolves

You fear for Wolves. A shocking start to the 2025/26 campaign has seen the club fail to win a league match in 11 attempts, manager Vitor Pereira shown the door, and the prospects of survival looking slim even at this relatively early stage of the season. It turns out that selling your best players and failing to replace them adequately is not a recipe for success.

A season to be fearful undoubtedly. But surely whatever happens to Wolves during this campaign cannot plumb the depths that supporters had to endure during the 1983/84 season and beyond. A decade that started so positively descended into despair as the club dropped like a stone.

1983: A Christmas football feast

It is a Christmas tradition up there with eating too much turkey, watching James Bond films, and numerous family rows. Football on Boxing Day may not have always been popular with players in the past, yet for supporters it has often provided the ideal palate cleanser.

So when news broke recently of a distinct lack of top-flight matches on Boxing Day, a gnashing of teeth could be heard up and down the country. Another brick removed from the wall of football tradition, the influence of television and a swelling calendar impacting the beautiful game. Never mind that there is a full Football League and National League fixtures that day, apparently it is the top table people want to feast at.

It hasn't always been this way. In fact there was a time when just like mince pies and chocolates, we overindulged in football at Christmas. The 1983/84 season was a prime example of this. The vast majority of clubs would play on both Boxing Day and December 27, players expected to be disciplined enough to forgo that extra glass of sherry and then perform twice in the space of 24 hours.

Golden goals: Ian Stewart (1982)

There have been worse home international debuts. As Ian Stewart collected a layoff from Billy Hamilton, the 21-year-old Northern Ireland winger cut inside as West German defenders retreated. Stewart drew back his right foot.

Despite their World Cup heroics, not many could see Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland beating the mighty West Germany as the two nations met at Windsor Park for a Euro 84 qualifier in November 1982. Northern Ireland had only won one match in their last ten - admittedly that one in ten was the memorable victory over Spain in Valencia - yet Jupp Derwall's West Germany looked an intimidating prospect.