Golden goals: Raddy Antic (1983)

News broke earlier in the week about the sad death of Raddy Antic. The mere mention of the name brings a smile to the faces of Luton fans, and causes Manchester City supporters to break out in a cold sweat.

Winning the Yugoslav title with Partizan in 1976, Radomir “Raddy” Antic would play for both Fenerbahce and Real Zaragoza before arriving in Bedfordshire in 1980 to ply his trade in the English Second Division with Luton Town. One moment in particular would see Antic leave an indelible mark on the English game.

1980s: Football in the snow

As we approach the festive period, there is a strong chance that P-P will appear on more and more results pages, as winter weather begins to hit fixture programmes across the UK. Although many pitches can cope with snow and ice, many a game is called off due to worries over spectator safety getting to and from the ground.

October 29, 1983: Rush and Woodcock

If David Coleman was right, and indeed goals do pay the rent, then there would have been plenty of happy landlords on Saturday October 29, 1983. Up and down the country, defences dozed, forwards frolicked, and nets bulged, as 135 goals were scored in the 44 league matches played in the top four divisions.

1988 League Cup final: Arsenal v Luton

Not many gave Luton a chance of winning the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final against Arsenal. But in one of the greatest League Cup finals ever, the underdogs would prevail.

The warning signs were there for Arsenal prior to the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final. Predicted by many to easily dispose of Luton Town in the Wembley showpiece, George Graham’s team were expected to maintain their grip on the trophy that they had won the year before against Liverpool. But history had proved that Arsenal had often not coped well with the tag of favourites.

Sporting celebrations of the 1980s: Part 2

When I wrote a blog in October 2013 about sporting celebrations of the 1980s, I thought there may well be room for a volume two at some point. So without further ado, here it is. Including two world champions, an ecstatic manager, a jig around a corner flag in Yorkshire, and a golfer making a splash. I wonder if there is a volume three in this?

1984/85: Coventry City's great escape

1985 had been a fun time to be a Norwich City supporter. Victory in the Milk Cup final had seen the club qualify for the UEFA Cup, the run to the final including a delicious semi-final win over local rivals Ipswich, and a win over Coventry the week after Wembley saw the team move up to 13th in the table and seemingly moving towards a solid mid-table finish. But sometimes it's funny how quick the milk can turn sour. Come May, these canaries would fall from their perch with a bump.

Football League: Goals galore, Sept 25, 1982

Whilst browsing through my Telegraph Complete History of British Football book recently – I really, really must get out more – I stumbled across a section in the 1982/83 season that got me interested. It soon became clear that Saturday September 25 was something that I should be looking into. 

A day that would see 50 goals in the First Division alone, 151 in the whole of the Football League at an average of 3.35 a game, six hat-tricks, thrashings, outfield players in goal, and one player scoring four and ending up on the losing team. Football wasn’t always exciting in the 1980s, yet the events of this day in 1982 were refreshing to say the least.

1980s League Cup finals

This week I am taking a look back on the League Cup finals of the 1980s. A decade which saw the final shown live for the first time, the competition sponsored by two different companies, Liverpool end their league Cup drought (and some), as heroes and villains aplenty were made during a time when the competition thrived.

1984/85 FA Cup: Semi-finals

This piece follows on from my previous blogs on the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth rounds of the 1984/85 FA Cup, which you can view here, here, here, here, here and here.

If you've ever made it through any of my past blogs, you may well have guessed by now that when it comes to the 1980s I can perhaps get a little too nostalgic about a decade of sport that was far from perfect. Although my judgement on most issues may be clouded by childhood memories of events, in an era when I didn't seem to have a worry in the world, I will argue with anyone that the FA Cup in this period was far better than anything we can offer today. And at this time of year, when the weather picks up (usually) and the clocks go forward, I often find myself dreamily recalling the semi-final stage of the competition in years gone by.