Wednesday 31 May 2023

Golden goals: Steve MacKenzie (1981)

There are moments in sporting history that are often forgotten. For all Kevin Pietersen's heroics, the contribution of Andrew Strauss on the first day of the final Ashes Test in 2005 should not be underestimated. Ian Poulter may have stolen the headlines late on Saturday during the 2012 Ryder Cup, but please remember the role played by Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald in the previous match. And then there is Gordon Smith.

Smith deserves a lot more than being the man remembered for spurning a golden opportunity to win the 1983 FA Cup for Brighton. Scoring a goal in an FA Cup final - the opener at Wembley against Manchester United - should have been the standout moment in Smith's career. Yet subsequent events will always overshadow this.

Tuesday 9 May 2023

Book review: Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Some of you that may have read this blog in the past will possibly have come to the conclusion that I have a slight obsession about sport in the 1980s. So when an opportunity came to review a book on the subject then I jumped at the chance, in true Carl Lewis style.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Roger Domeneghetti looks back at Britain, Sport and the 1980s, providing a fascinating review of a turbulent decade from numerous angles. Split into four distinct sections - Culture, Identity, Conflict, Politics - the book dives deep into a number of key topics.

Tuesday 2 May 2023

1983 European Cup Winners' Cup final: Aberdeen v Real Madrid

Forty years is a long time in football. Cast your mind back to 1983 and there are events that happened that simply could not be repeated. Unless the oil wells dry up then it is hard to see Manchester City being relegated. If they cannot find a nation to fund them then Hamburg winning the Champions League seems unlikely.

Just look at the landscape of Scottish football four decades ago. Dundee United held off the challenge of Celtic and Aberdeen to land their one and only Premier League title, with Rangers languishing in fourth. But the story of Dundee United's triumph was not the only feelgood chapter the New Firm penned during the 1982/83 campaign.