1985: The Chris Whyte experiment

You didn't need to be a genius to work out what was coming. Two transfer windows without purchasing a centre forward was always going to be a gamble for Arsenal, especially when you consider that their one remaining option was clearly out on his feet in recent weeks. The injury to Kai Havertz was depressingly inevitable.

Already discussions have been rife about how Mikel Arteta copes with this crisis. Using Leandro Trossard through the middle seems the obvious answer, yet browsing social media - dangerous, I know - has thrown up various suggestions ranging from playing Raheem Sterling as a false nine, getting Mikel Merino to evolve into Havertz Mark II, to throwing defender Riccardo Calafiori up front and getting it in the mixer.

Playing Calafiori as a centre forward seems a long shot to say the least. Yet if Arteta did take this unusual step he would not be the first Arsenal manager to follow this path. Arsenal fans of a certain vintage will remember the Chris Whyte experiment in 1985, not a band plugged by John Peel on Radio One, rather the brainchild of Don Howe and John Cartwright.

1985/86: Chelsea v West Ham

Football may have been in the doldrums in England during a troubled time for the sport, but there could be no doubting that on the pitch the excitement provided by the 1985/86 title race was a welcome distraction. A glance at the Division One table at the end of March reveals that six clubs still held hopes of claiming championship glory.

Two of the contenders would meet during the Easter weekend as squeaky bum time neared. Chelsea and West Ham were enjoying fine seasons and, along with Arsenal, were trying to bring the title back to the capital for the first time in 15 years. Their clash at Stamford Bridge was a potential title eliminator, especially for the visitors.

1985/86: Ipswich v Liverpool

The Challenger Space Shuttle disaster had shocked the world; A-Ha were about to be knocked off the number one spot by Billy Ocean; England had started their Caribbean tour that would take a route from bad to worse; and the UK was experiencing a cold snap that would see large parts of the country covered in snow. Welcome to the winter of 1986.

Admittedly the clubs have not played each other much since, but you have to go back to February 1986 for the last time Ipswich defeated Liverpool at Portman Road. Even Kieran McKenna was not born, although is it just me or are more football managers looking younger now? 

Handed a tough opening match on their return to the Premier League, McKenna will be hoping his Ipswich team improve ever so slightly on the previous meeting between the two clubs in Suffolk: Ipswich 0 Liverpool 6.

Golden goals: Johnny Metgod (1986)

Thunderbastard. A football goal scored usually from long-range with high degrees of velocity and power. Think Davie Cooper in the 1987 Scottish League Cup final. Steven Reid for Blackburn against Wigan. Roughly 93% of Tony Yeboah's goals for Leeds. You can volley your xG into the stands. Here is a football term that should be celebrated.

Helpfully the Urban Dictionary definition in the opening sentence above gives an example of a memorable goal that happens to be the subject of this piece: "Metgod's free kick against West Ham in 1986 was an absolute thunderbastard of a strike. Probably the thunderbastard of all thunderbastards." Phil Parkes would probably agree.

1986 FA Cup Third Round: Birmingham v Altrincham

It was a fitting chapter in the shambolic story of Birmingham City's 1985/86 season. When Gola League Altrincham visited St Andrew's in the 1986 FA Cup Third Round and left victorious, it says a lot about the state of the First Division side that it was not a huge shock. On and off the pitch, Birmingham City were spiralling out of control.

Manager Ron Saunders had predicted the trouble ahead. After leading the club to promotion in the previous campaign, the former Aston Villa boss urged chairman Keith Coombs to spend some money, otherwise the club faced an instant return to the Second Division. 

1985/86: Manchester United v Chelsea

It's a marathon, not a sprint. An oft-used phrase in sport that sadly for those involved has proved to be correct on many occasions. Think Crisp in the 1973 Grand National, Rory McIlroy at the 2011 Masters, and Steve Davis in that black ball final. Timing in sport is everything.

It is possible to come flying out of the blocks and lead from the front. But in the case of Manchester United in the 1985/86 season, the pack had started to breathe down their necks as soon as the clocks went back in the autumn. Winning their first ten matches, and remaining unbeaten for the first 15, surely the long wait for the Division One title was over?

1985/86: West Ham v Newcastle United

Normally if a football team concedes eight goals or more the inquests begin immediately. The players are a disgrace, the manager needs to go, sack the board; these are a few of the responses we would usually expect to hear from disgruntled supporters. But sometimes things can escalate that are beyond the control of players or a manager. Newcastle's eight goal hammering at West Ham in April 1986 was one such example of this.

1985/86: Leicester City v Manchester United

Football in England may have been in a bad place - a European ban, television blackout, and talks of a Super League - yet for Manchester United fans the start of the 1985/86 season was a heavenly experience. Ten straight wins in the league saw Ron Atkinson's team open up a nine-point lead over Liverpool, as talk turned to the club ending their title drought stretching back to 1967.

One more win would equal Tottenham's record of eleven consecutive wins at the start of their 1960/61 double season, but even though the 1-1 draw at Luton thwarted this attempt, the team bounced back to win three of their next four matches - drawing with Liverpool in the other - as their lead extended to ten points after fifteen matches.

1986: Helmuth Duckadam becomes a hero

Not all penalty shootouts are as free scoring as the recent Europa League final between Villarreal and Manchester United. After 21 successful spot kicks, it would be goalkeeper David de Gea who missed the only penalty, the Spaniards winning 11-10 to claim their first European trophy.

Goalkeepers are often heroes in the drama of a penalty shootout. In Gdansk it was the turn of Geronimo Rulli to assume the role, even finding time to score a penalty, before saving the crucial kick. Conceding eleven penalties and then missing from the spot, De Gea would experience the other end of the emotional scale. Very much more Peter Shilton than Helmuth Duckadam.

West Ham: The Boys of '86

West Ham are currently chasing a place in the Champions League. But they have a long way to go to match the excitement of their 1985/86 season.

It may have settled many a pub argument amongst players and supporters alike, but surely there is more to football than purely "medals on the table". As Rob Smyth points out in this brilliant article on the Danish national team of the 1980s: "Winning is for losers. Many of life's more interesting stories focus on those who didn't quite make it."

West Ham United may not have won any trophies in 1985/86. But the achievements of John Lyall's squad are still rightly celebrated at the club. No other West Ham league season has touched the heights of the 1985/86 campaign; the Boys of '86 were this close to lifting the Division One title.

FA Cup: Manchester United and West Ham clashes

The forthcoming FA Cup fifth round match between Manchester United and West Ham is the latest chapter of a story that has seen the two clubs face each other in the competition. From the first instalment in 1911 - won 2-1 by West Ham - to Manchester United's third round replay win in 2013, the ties involving both clubs have provided many talking points.

West Ham's 1-0 win at Old Trafford in 2001 is often remembered for Paolo Di Canio outwitting Fabien Barthez, although some West Ham fans may wistfully recall how their midfield trio of Lampard, Carrick and Joe Cole shone. Two years later, there was no such joy in Manchester; current Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring the last goal in a 6-0 hammering.

1985/86: Manchester United v Arsenal

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.

Football and the Super League

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.

The BBC and live top flight football

As news broke that Premier League football would be returning from June 17, one bit of the announcement stood out to me. Live top flight football would be returning to BBC television after an absence of 32 years.

In fact, the relatonship between the BBC and live Division One football was a relatively brief affair. Between December 1983 and March 1988, 26 live league matches were shown - plus a Division Two match between Manchester City and Chelsea - as a revolution swept the game.

1985/86: Football television blackout

Overindulgence is often a problem over the festive period, and this is not just limited to food and drink. December 2019 will see a total of 41 live Premier League matches available to UK viewers on Sky, BT and Amazon platforms, and combined with the numerous highlights packages on our screens is there a chance that we're reaching saturation point? Football might be in danger of eating itself, but it hasn't always been this way.

Can you imagine the uproar if an announcement had been made before the 2019/20 season declaring that there would be no football coverage on our television screens? No Match of the Day, Goals on Sunday, Super Sunday, Monday Night football, and a complete ban of any goal action on news programmes. Only Soccer AM for us to watch; it sounds horrific.

1985/86: Norwich bounce back

As spring turned to summer in 1985, Norwich City fans must have felt emotionally drained. The footballing Gods may have provided the ecstasy of a Milk Cup win with one hand; they were about to take away plenty with the other.

Great saves of the 80s: 1986 Bruce Grobbelaar

“Hero or villain? Genius or clown? Will the real Bruce Grobbelaar please stand up?” Ken Rogers, writing in the Liverpool Echo, was not alone in focussing his attention squarely on Liverpool’s keeper after a Division One match on February 22, 1986 that appeared to have killed off any hopes of the title returning to Anfield.

“For 73 minutes the controversial keeper was in line for Liverpool's man-of-the-match award as the 134th Merseyside derby unfolded in dramatic fashion at Anfield. Then the Jekyll and Hyde streak that haunts him mercilessly, more often than not in front of a television audience of millions, reared its head once again to leave the red army stunned.”