Elton Weldsby used do a highlights show on UTV the nights of league cup ties .
Real football
Vaguely
I think I watched it on Sportsnight alright - Liverpool then put Everton out 1-0 at Goodison in Round 5 - Ray Houghton scored with a header from a great John Barnes cross with about 10 minutes left
ITV showed a live Division 2 match when Middlesbrough beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Valentineâs Day 1988, I watched that alright, then Midddlesbrough got promoted that season after beating Chelsea in a play-off, Chelsea were relegated as a result
Youâd know a good bit about Middlesbrough and other non-Division 1 teams back then through Match and Shoot, they gave good coverage to lower league teams
Middlesbrough used to have a crest around then with â1986â on it because I think the club went bankrupt and there was a Sevco type situation or something
Bernie Slaven used to do the prototype 1980s celebration where he would climb up onto the perimeter fencing and clench his fist several times in the direction of the fans, I think he did one in the home leg against Chelsea which they won 2-0
Ayresome Park and Roker Park were smashing old school grounds - the roots of Brexit and the Tories taking large parts of the north of Engand were sown with the demolition of these grounds
Funny enough when Baines scored that goal last night, Slavenâs celebration came into my mind as the appropriate one to mark such a goal, but perimeter fencing obviously no longer exists because it can kill supporters
Everton played Oldham in 1990 in the FA Cup and that went to three matches - two of them were live on RTE and the middle one had highlights on Sportsnight - that was a smashing tie
Oldham had some season in 89/90 but they didnât get promoted, I donât think they even made the play-offs
One of the things about English football then was how a non-Division 1 team could build up a genuinely big buzz around them through cup runs - that Oldham team was a good example
1 Like
The pitch at Boundary Park in the early 90s was a national treasure .
Englandâs finest - fearless, grizzled football hardmen - would instantly turn into a gibbering mess on it
Rick Holden, Mike Milliagan Frankie Bunn et al
that 3-3 draw with united that sunny april day after palace had beaten the pool was monumental
they were a great cup side back then - Forest beat them i think in the 1990 Littelwoods cup final also
Forest back then won the Simod and Littlewoods cup in 89, the littlewoods cup in 90 before being defeated by sheffield wednesday and tottenham respectively in the 1991 Rumbleows and FA cup finals
I think steve sutton was in goal for the 1989 finals, Mar Crossely took over in 1990 but was replaced by Andy Marriot for the 91 Rumbleows cup final
1 Like
lads did denis irwin sign for manyoo from oldham post the 1990 games? - he then made his international debut i think v morocco in dalymount in sept 1990
I used to like Ricky Holden the slow winger who could whip in a sweet cross.
Did a forum bete noir from Cork line out for them too .
@Sidney did the Simod Cup become the Zenith Data Systems Cup around 1990?
When Forest beat Everton 4-3 i think it was the Simod Cup
1 Like
Sheffield Wedesday beat Manchester United in the Rumbelows Cup final in 1991, John Sheridan scored
Manchester United beat Forest 1-0 in the final in 1992, McClair scored
Irwin signed for Manchester United in the summer of 1990 alright, 650k I think was the fee, or maybe 550k
Yeah it became the Zenith Cup for 1989/90
Sky One showed live matches, alongside other quality output they were showing at the time like the London Soccer Sixes, the DJ Kat Show, The Price Is Right with Bob Warman, E Street, 21 Jump Street and the 1990 England cricket tour of the West Indies (Young Lions Are Gonna Roar)
Middlesbrough were again featured, I think Chelsea beat them in the final which I did not watch, ithe competition was divided into north and south sections, Middlesbrough beat Aston Villa in the northern âfinalâ which Iâm pretty sure was a two leg affair
1 Like
you are correct
Frankie Bunn scored was it seven goals against Scarborough in one of the early rounds of the Littlewoods Cup
I donât think he featured in the FA Cup semi-finals against Man Utd though
Andy Ritchie was the main man up front with Ian Marshall and Roger Palmer scoring as well
Earl Barrett scored early on in the first game against United
Did Paul Warhurst play for Oldham around then? Iâm sure he did but he wasnât that prominent
Sheffield Wednesday were a fine side those years . They were the best team in the second half of the 1991/1992 First Division .
Remember John Harkes the American scoring a cracker for them on route to the 1991 final . They beat Man U ??
Yeah
Harkes scored at Derby, a ridiculous shot
Lee Sharpe announced himself in that competition too when he scored a rake of goals at Highbury
Leeds thrashed Dr. Joâs Aston Villa 4-1 in the quarter-finals and the Gulf War started that night
2 Likes
At the time the US had little understanding of association football. When the deal was made for Harkes to cross the Atlantic the headline in his local paper was âJohn Harkes off to Sheffield, Wednesdayâ
Fact,
2 Likes
I just had a look at that John Harkes goal again
To be fair it was only Peter Shilton he beat, so basically any shot on target would have done
Derby were relegated that season, and Robert Maxwell died soon after
It was said by eyewitnesses that Maxwell still showed more life and voluntary bodily movement as he collapsed overboard off his yacht than Shilton had in diving for any shot in that 1990/91 season
1 Like
Epic contest in store tonight
Conservative by Pep. No striker, probably 3 at the back. I think United terrified him a few weeks ago.
Superb strike by Bernardo Silva. Slow motion replay showed some lad in the Stretford End politely applauding it.