One of the best Christmas or Birthday presents you could ever hope to receive…
The boxed Umbroset consisting of a full kit of shirt, shorts and socks…
Oh yes…
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
The latest Steve Mitchell blog for ‘Got, Not Got’…
When I was a kid there were two dates in the sporting calendar that really stood out. One was in April for the Grand National meeting at Aintree and the other was of course, FA Cup Final day.
Whether your team was involved in the big day at Wembley or not, for the football fan this was a rare chance to see live football on a Saturday afternoon as both BBC and ITV went head to head to provide the perfect accompaniment to English football’s big day.
The Cup Final build up for me always started on the Thursday before the game when both teams would usually appear on Top of the Pops to sing their Cup Final songs. As dawn broke on Cup Final Saturday, the arrival of the morning newspaper (Daily Mirror) complete with FA Cup Final pullout, the primary feature of which was usually a cartoonist’s view of the two teams on the centre pages, heralded the start of the most exciting day of the year.
With breakfast scoffed it was into the front room to assume the position in front of the telly that would remain mine for the next nine hours or so. On BBC, Swap Shop would usually do a live link up to Wembley where Frank Bough or David Coleman would be waiting to greet us. Over on ITV, the Tiswas team would be throwing custard pies and water over caged fans of both the teams represented in the final.
As lunch (usually sandwiches and crisps so as not to have to leave my vantage point)was eaten, Cup Final Grandstand and Cup Final World Of Sport would start almost simultaneously with the two channels having already decided between them which of the two teams they would primarily be following in the build up to kick-off. The late, great Tony Gubba or Bob Wilson would be Auntie’s representatives with Jim Rosenthal and Martin Tyler taking care of business for ITV.
As the afternoon wore on and before the two teams left their respective hotels bound for the Twin Towers, Cup Final It’s a Knockout or Cup Final Question of Sport would keep viewers entertained on the Beeb. Cup Final Wrestling, Kent Walton and all, was always the staple diet over on ITV. The light entertainment kept on coming and here was the first real choice of the day – which team bus should we follow to Wembley (or helicopter if you were a Brighton fan in 1983)? If your team was in the final the choice was simple of course but as a neutral it was different. I always went for the underdogs whose players always seemed more relaxed on route to the famous old stadium.
By the time I had devoured more crisps and a Soda Stream Cola, the two teams would be out on the sacred turf in their brand new whistle’s to sample the pre-match atmosphere. Reporters from both channels would be stalking the pitch looking to get that all important sound bite from one of the main protagonists and by the time the clock ticked round to 2.15pm, the main choice of the day now had to be made – BBC or ITV for the match itself? 80% of the country (myself included) opted for the Beeb despite ITV having the mercurial Brian Moore behind the microphone.
Abide with Me, the walk from the tunnel, the singing of the National Anthem and the two teams meeting the day’s guest of honour all came and went too quickly, as did the next 90 minutes, as heroes and villains were made. The thought of having to do it all again the following Thursday as the Cup Final went to its first ever Wembley replay in 1981 was almost too much to contemplate for an 11-year-old boy who lived for the beautiful game.
As the Football Association continue to destroy the greatest cup competition in the world, I feel so lucky to have grown up in an era when winning the cup was far, far better than winning the first division championship, when television brought football and families together for one Saturday in May every year. Apart from Manchester City and Wigan supporters, will anyone really care let alone really remember what happens in the FA Cup Final of 2013?
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
The disparate worlds of football and music should never touch…
This is the sort of thing that happens when they do.
Send us your examples…
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
We asked you which set of the classic A&BC card sets of the 60s and 70s were your favourites…
The winner scooped almost a third of the votes polled… the Blue Backs series from 1973-74.
In second place was the 1969-70 Green Backs collections, while 1970-71 Orange Backs also got a podium place.
My own personal favourites, the 1971-72 Purple Backs limped in a very disappointing 7th, but at least that proves I didn’t rig the voting.
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
The latest in Steve Mitchell’s series of blogs for ‘Got, Not Got’….
During the 1970’s the UK witnessed some great escapades of daring do. In 1975, legendary stuntman Evel Knievel put himself closer to god in a failed attempt to jump over 14 London buses in front of a packed Wembley Stadium. Stan Bowles tried his best to shoot one of his toes off during an appearance on Superstars but luckily for him, a reinforced table prevented one of the great football mavericks from ending his career prematurely.
But 1976 was the year, the REAL year for death defying feats of bravery. So whereabouts and what was it? I hear you ask. Was it another madcap stunt from Knievel? Was it Kevin Keegan in THAT bike race at Bracknell? No, the unlikely setting was Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium and the start performer was none other than the clubs jack in the box goalscorer Duncan McKenzie.
Mckenzie had been at Leeds for a couple of seasons, indeed he was Brian Clough’s first signing during “Old Big ‘Ed’s” well documented 44 days at the helm of the West Yorkshire club. The five foot eight striker was quick and was renowned for his amazing aerial prowess despite his slight frame. He was a heavy smoker but did not touch a drop of alcohol.
At the beginning of May 1976, the club organised a Testimonial match for long serving full-back Paul Reaney against Newcastle United. A plan was hatched to provide the fans with some alternative pre-match entertainment when someone suggested that it would be a good idea to get McKenzie to jump over a Mini Cooper with a single leap!
With the British car industry’s propensity for strike action during the 70’s it was a miracle that the club got someone to deliver the said vehicle to the ground in the first place. But they did and in front of 30000 expectant supporters, McKenzie walked out on to the pitch sporting one the most iconic tracksuit tops of the 20th century and promptly did what was asked of him – incredible.
McKenzie’s talents didn’t stop there, shortly after the Mini episode the little man demonstrated his throwing strength by tossing a golf ball the length of a football pitch. It is unclear whether word of these amazing stunts ever reached “Team Knievel” back in the States but the great man (or lunatic depending on your point of view) must have feared the worst, especially when McKenzie moved to the US in the early 1980’s to play for the Tulsa Roughnecks then the Chicago Sting
It’s hard to imagine in footballs current climate players performing feats to match the one of McKenzie 37 years ago. So when Steven Gerrard has his Testimonial match in August, wouldn’t it be fantastic if Liverpool, prior to kick-off, got Luis Suarez to ride a motorcycle through a burning ring of fire wearing a t-shirt that had “I Hate Evra” adorned across the front of it.
For the record, just a few weeks after completing his daredevil antics, McKenzie was sold to Anderlecht.
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
Sunday morning Car Boot Sales can be a hit and miss affair, but this week’s Car Booty made getting up early on a Sunday worthwhile…
I discovered a big box of early to mid-70s Shoot! magazine going for 5p each…
… and grabbed as many as I could carry.
Which meant the rest of Sunday was spent flipping through some classic years of British football.
Apparently the Poles are a poor side and England will have no trouble getting to West Germany 74…
Footballers have sort of changed in the last 40 years haven’t they?
And was Rod Belfitt Liam Gallagher’s Dad?
And this is EVERY shade of blue ever…
Let us know what you got from a car boot sale…
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
A&BC Chewing Gum of Romford, Essex, holds a special place in the hearts of millions of big kids…
Back in the 1950s, it was Douglas Coakley (the ‘C’ in the company name) who came up with the idea of packaging football cards with a thin slab of chewy, a combination which proved a natural winner. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s they produced a yearly set of football cards, as well as other stickers, tattoos and card series covering everything from the Beatles to Star Trek…
They produced some great designs over the years, and we are now asking you to pick your favourite… have a look and then vote in the poll at the bottom, if you would be so kind…
1967-68 – ‘Black Backs’.
1968-69 – ‘Yellow Backs’.
1969-70 – ‘Green Backs’.
1970-71 – ‘Orange Backs’.
1971-72 – ‘Purple Backs’.
1972-73 – ‘Orange-Red Backs’.
1973-74 – ‘Blue Backs’.
1974-75 – ‘Red-Orange Backs’
If you haven’t got the first ‘Got, Not Got’ yet then please sort yourselves out and buy it from branches of WH Smith and Waterstones or online here…
