Football Revisited 1979/80

YourBoysTookAHellOfABeating

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Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler take you through the 1979/80 English football season, week by week, as seen through the BBC and ITV cameras and beachcombed from YouTube yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

Apr 24

Football Revisited 1979/80: Para 1.16b FA Cup Third Round: Burnley v Stoke City, Halifax Town v Manchester City 5/1/1980

Pre-match, referee and Ernie Wise impersonator Kevin McNally promises us a sparkling game, but it appears he has laced the pudding with far too many eggs. Played out on a surface under three feet of mud, sparkling it isn’t, but it is truly glorious in so many other ways, including an acrobatic save from the St. John’s Ambulance man. Alan Stevenson turns saving shots with his back into an art form, Turf Moor is invaded by second half balloons, and then we settle into the Denis Smith show. Already booked, he maims a stray striker before limping from the carnage, convincing Mr. McNally of his innocence. Yet Smith will soon see his red card, and not in the way you are expecting… And we have a golden post-match interview from Alan Durban to dissect too. Just when you think it can’t get any better, we head for a submerged Shay and the further misadventures of Malcolm Allison in what is a footballing equivalent of the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. These are the days when random kids could enjoy playtime on a patch of land behind the goal while Joe Corrigan is desperately trying to keep his side afloat. Meanwhile, somebody has pinched half of the roof of the main stand. It wasn’t Romark, who weaves his magic in the Halifax dressing room. Steven Scragg & Dave Bowler revel in the golden age of the FA Cup. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

36 min
07/04/2025

1979/80: Para 1.06c Southampton v Leeds United 27/10/1979

Wrapping up the weekend, the BBC gives us a trip to The Dell where Mick Channon returns to the Southampton colours, and rightly so. If Mick then watches our second game, he will be only too delighted that he escaped the clutches of Maine Road, Malcolm Allison and Romark. Liverpool play well, Manchester City’s defence don’t - they really don’t - and hilarity ensues. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

40 min
06/27/2025

1979/80: Para 1.06b Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest 27/10/1979

The technicians’ strike is over and football returns to ITV, with the regional shows back in full swing. The Tottenham Hotspur commercial department pull out all the stops to welcome back Brian Moore and The Big Match. We are treated to a glorious bit of route one football from Glenn Hoddle, there’s a new entry into Kenny Burns corner, a remarkable miss from Garry Birtles and Ricky Villa goes into the headmaster’s office as Terry Yorath advises him to stick an exercise book down his trousers. In a bonus, we also dissect Aston Villa’s trip to a half finished Molineux, Andy Gray coming up against his old employers and desperate to put one past them and then wring the neck of a celebration. Does he manage it? Catch up with the action here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

41 min
06/20/2025

1979/80: Para 1.06a QPR v Burnley 27/10/1979

A struggling Burnley side visit free scoring Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. You don’t need to be Nostradamus - or Romark - to see what’s coming. 17-year-old Billy O’Rourke mans the Burnley goal and finds himself elevated to the YBTAHOAB Hall of Fame by the end of the game, which you can watch here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

37 min
06/13/2025

1979/80: Para 1.05 Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur 6/10/1979

A Tottenham Hotspur struggling to find some early season form and stuck in the relegation zone, take themselves south of the river to confront newly promoted Crystal Palace, sitting top of the First Division and the side that some observers believe will go on to dominate the 1980s. Live from Selhurst Park, viewed from the comfort of the B&Q Memorial dugouts, Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler swoon at the sartorial elegance of these two London sides and marvel at John Burridge’s countless cunning methods of ensuring that he hogs the limelight. You can do likewise here. Thanks for reading YourBoysTookAHellOfABeating’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

35 min
06/06/2025

1979/80: Para 1.04 Nottingham Forest v Liverpool 29/9/1979

John Motson informs us here that ‘Match of the Day’ is taking its first look of the season at the European champions - and he means Nottingham Forest, not Liverpool. It’s a trip to the City Ground to see Brian Clough’s men still basking in the glow of that win over Malmo just four months earlier, though the goalscorer that night, Trevor Francis, is still busy playing in the NASL and hasn’t returned to his City Ground duties. Within the game itself, we take the season’s first trip to Kenny Burns corner, and marvel at the days before health and safety, when fans were allowed to sit inside a stand that was still only half constructed and with a load of scaffolding teetering precariously above them. Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler don their hard hats and high-vis jackets to take in the game. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

39 min
05/30/2025

1979/80: Para 1.03 Liverpool v Coventry City 8/9/1979

With Liverpool having endured a slow start to the season after the electrifying display at Wembley in the Charity Shield, Coventry boss Gordon Milne returns to his old stomping ground full of invention and a 3-4-3 system, ready to confound the Reds. Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler see how he gets on, and round up the rest of the day’s action in the First Division. You can watch the game here. Thanks for reading YourBoysTookAHellOfABeating’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

33 min
05/23/2025

1979/80: Para 1.02 The opening day

With ITV reeling under a technicians’ strike, BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ had the opening day of the 1979/80 season all to itself. Starting out at The Dell for Southampton against Manchester United, the key feature of the game was set to be Ray Wilkins’ debut for United after his summer move from Chelsea. But for Saints supporters, there was to be a first look at Charlie George, nine months after he had switched from Derby County. Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler take you through the action at The Dell, the idiosyncracies of watching football in 1979/80, Manchester City’s transfer dealings, and the events of the first Saturday of the season. You can watch the game here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

36 min
05/16/2025

1979/80: Para 1.01 The eve of the season

The Charity Shield is behind us, the season stretches out ahead, so join Steven Scragg, Dave Bowler and some very old newspaper previews as we look ahead to what 1979/80 might have in store for us. Suspend your disbelief, forget all that you know, and join us on football’s Christmas Eve as we speculate on just what Santa might have in his sack for us all in the season ahead. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

19 min
05/09/2025

1979/80: Para 1: The Charity Shield

Embarking on a weekly examination of the 1979/80 campaign - ITV’s technicians’ strike permitting - we have trawled YouTube and beyond to find surviving coverage from Match of the Day and the ITV regions, building into the most comprehensive picture possible of the season. Think of it as a Marshall Cavendish part work that you don’t have to pay for. In our opening paragraph to these supplementary teachings, we must, of course, start with the Charity Shield, played between the reigning champions, Liverpool, and the holders of the FA Cup, Arsenal, at a sun kissed Wembley Stadium. Look for an extraordinary numbers of substitutes, Don Howe in the shortest shorts known to man, Sammy Nelson taking the top off a chafe scar, David Johnson sending out a message to the season ahead and the final sighting of Phil Thompson’s frankly ill-advised perm. Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler are your guides, and you can catch up with the game itself here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

35 min

10 Episodes

Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler take you through the 1979/80 English football season, week by week, as seen through the BBC and ITV cameras and beachcombed from YouTube yourboystookahellofabeating.substack.com

Creator

YourBoysTookAHellOfABeating
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© YourBoysTookAHellOfABeating
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Football Revisited 1979/80