Johnny Rep between several West German opponents

The 1980s EC were held in Italy. Holland was among the eight finalists on this tournament. The Dutch impressed in 1974 and 1978 but failed to become a major force in this version.

Holland had qualified for the EC through a legendary 2-3 away [read more]

We go back to the days of perms and short shorts to pick our team of the 1980s. That's the best possible XI from the decade fashion forgot, but creative midfielders did not. We also discuss Fabio Capello's shock resignation as England manager. Was Capello right to quit? Did the FA push him too far?

Name: David Phillips In his 1990s prime for: Norwich City, Nottingham Forest Lowdown: Phillips was already 29 when the Premier League started, having played for Coventry, Plymouth and Manchester City throughout the 1980s, including winning the FA Cup in 1987 with Coventry. However, he became Norwich City's record signing when he joined for £550,000 and [.

No, not me. CONCACAF announced that Tim Howard has been promoted from deputy general secretary to acting general secretary of the confederation. He was previously involved with the original North American Soccer League in the 1970s and early 1980s, and held executive marketing positions with Ohlmeyer Communications (formed by fomer sports television producer Don Ohlmeyer) and the NBA before joining CONCACAF in 1998.

I promised you a look back at the Dutch presence at Euros in the past, right? We feel the 1988 tournament was the only one that that ever counted, right? It's indeed strange how in the 1970s and early 1980s Holland couldn't make an impression in Europe. While Ajax, Feyenoord, [read more]

Currently in sixth place in the 2011/12 Italian Serie A table and into the Round of 16 of the Champions League, SSC Napoli is enjoying its most successful period since its glory days of the 1980s. The team from the south of Italy will meet Chelsea FC in a home and away series in [...]

After Tottenham's controversial defeat against Stoke City last Sunday, it has been reported that hundreds if not thousands of Tottenham supporters have been and continue to send obscene tweets to Sir Chris Hoy. It appears there seems to be a literacy problem among some of the Tottenham supporters.

Ian Rush played alongside Kenny Dalglish in the 1980s, and was later worked under him during the King's first spell in charge at Anfield. Clearly, Rushie is in a unique position to know exactly what Kenny brings to the club.
Rush, who doesn't appear to have any management ambitions of his own, is happy to see that one of Liverpool's key principles is being upheld:
"What Kenny brings to the club is the thought that no one is bigger than the team, but he does that without hurting any of the players' sentiments".

Guest blog: Deputy PM Nick Clegg backs the Mirror's Open Goal campaign for racial equality in football

When it comes to racial equality, football's progress is very similar to Britain's. Like the country, the game has come a long way in ­tackling racism in the last 30 years.

Kenny Dalglish is one of Liverpool's most successful managers, and is one of only three managers to win the league with two different teams. Liverpool fans would almost certainly argue that the King is a World Class manager, but former Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Robbie Savage is not so sure.

It was once the home of one of Australia's finest teams based in Sydney's southern suburbs, St. George Budapest (who later became St. George Saints), playing in Australia's then-leading professional division, the National Soccer League (they won the league in 1983). The club had a rich history, having supplied almost half of Australia's 1974 World Cup team.

Liverpool legend Gary Gillespie has hailed the talent of Liverpool reserve-team striker Adam Morgan, comparing him to goal-poacher extraordinaire John Aldridge.
Gillespie played alongside Aldridge in the 1980s, so he's well qualified to make such a lofty comparison:
"I've likened him [Morgan] to John Aldridge more than anyone else I've seen.

The story of The End: James Brown on the first football and music fanzine

James Brown, the man who launched Loaded magazine, reveals why he's reprinted a cult magazine from Liverpool of the 80s ... The End. Click here to order your copy of The End compilation When I launched Loaded magazine in 1994 there had only really been one magazine that had combined football and music before and that was The End from Liverpool.

A couple of weeks ago, Gary Gillespie revealed that when he was at Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish, the players were 'just told to go out and play', and that during his 8 year spell at Anfield 'the days we were actually coached I can count on one hand'. Against Swansea yesterday, it seemed like the coaching had regressed back to Gillespie's 1980s heyday for the afternoon.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson recently contended that Luis Suarez 'dives all over the place', and this was followed up by Paul Scharner hinting that Suarez dived to win a penalty in Liverpool's game with West Brom. With increased media attention on Suarez as a result of these accusations, Liverpool legend Ray Houghton worries that it might start to affect the judgment of referees.

Ray Houghton knows all about entertaining football; as part of Kenny Dalglish's lat 1980s Liverpool team, he was an integral part of one of the most skilful and entertaining Liverpool sides in history. To be a success at Anfield, the manager has to deliver attractive football, and according to Houghton, Roy Hodgson's inability to produce that meant he was always destined to fail.

John Barnes guest blog: Racism will not go leave our game as long as it's part of our society

Okay, football is doing what it can and, on a Saturday afternoon for 90 minutes, they try to stop the abuse, the chants. And they are largely successful. But does that mean it has gone away?

On the train home from Liverpool last night after their League Cup win at Everton, Chelsea supporters could have been forgiven having something on their minds. For today, considerations regarding the Champions League, the Premier League, the League Cup and even the investigation into comments which may or may not have been made by John Terry last weekend took a back step this afternoon in preference to a vote that would surely have had significant ramifications for the future of their club.

MirrorFootball Podcast: Robbie Savage, Darren Bent and Peter Hooton join host Steve Anglesey

On this week's instalment of the MirrorFootball Podcast Steve Anglesey checks in with Robbie Savage, who talks about being rejected by Sir Alex Ferguson and the importance of Robin Van Persie at Arsenal.

By Alan Duffy

Whether or not John Terry is guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, the issue of racism is still present in football, albeit at a thankfully far lower level (in the UK) than in years gone by.

Now the Daily Mail, purveyor of "common sense", has waded into the debate, courtesy of a piece by Steve Doughty.

By Alan Duffy

Whether or not John Terry is guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, the issue of racism is still present in football, albeit at a thankfully far lower level (in the UK) than in years gone by.

Now the Daily Mail, purveyor of "common sense", has waded into the debate, courtesy of a piece by Steve Doughty.

1980s Liverpool star Gary Gillespie has revealed that when Kenny Dalglish managed the Reds the first time around, the legend learnt that football shouldn't be over complicated.
Gillespie was part of the multiple-trophy winning side of 1988/89, and the former defender said that while Dalglish was player/manager at Anfield, he preferred a simpler format of coaching.

Gary Gillespie played under Kenny Dalglish for much of his career at Liverpool, so he's well qualified to comment on the qualities that made Dalglish such a success at Anfield. What was the secret coaching ingredient that underpinned Liverpool's all conquering side of the late 1980s? It's not what you think.

Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes that Luis Suarez is building a reputation for 'going down too easily', and he has called on Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher to 'have a word' with the striker over his (alleged) diving.
Lawrenson, who formed a formidable defensive partnership with Alan Hansen in the 1980s, argued:
"The truth is he has got a reputation for going down too easily.

Norwich City Manager Paul Lambert has praised Kenny Dalglish for his ongoing positive impact at Liverpool, but he's adamant that his Norwich team has nothing to fear at Anfield tomorrow.
On the eve of tomorrow's game at Anfield, Lambert said:
"You are talking about a club with the same history and tradition as Man United.

Steve Nicol, Liverpool legend and manager of MLS's New England Revolution, was the most versatile footballer of the 1980s. In his time at Liverpool, the Scotland international played 343 times and scored 36 of his career 38 goals at the ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

United States Women's National soccer team first choice goalkeeper and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Glove winner Hope Solo delivered her Week 5 performance on the US version of Dancing with the Stars on Monday night. Solo and dance partner/coach Maksim Chmerkovskiy tangoed to 1980s rock classic Living on a Prayer.

Full Name: Stade Brestois 29
City: Brest
Founded: 1950
Stadium: Stade Francis-Le Blé (15,097)
Colors: Red, White

Brest were formed in 1950 by the merger of several local Brest clubs, most notably Armoricaine de Brest (1903).

'Owners are like my old bosses'

Kenny Dalglish has paid Liverpool's owners what he considers to be the ultimate compliment by likening them to those who ran the club during his first reign in the 1980s.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-10-13 13:32:10 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Perhaps, like me, you missed this earlier in the week. Nevertheless, at least we did come across it eventually.

There has been an immeasurable amount of talk since Chelsea revealed its proposal to buy back the Stamford Bridge freehold from Chelsea Pitch Owners. This topic has been as polarizing as any in recent memory with regard to the club, and much of the talk has been under-informed at best thanks to a lack of real concrete material from which to draw.

Is Alejandro Sabella the new Carlos Bilardo?
Finally, Argentina did a great official game and won an important 4-1 game vs. Chile in the World Cup Qualifications. After a great hatrick in the La Liga, Higuain scored a classy hatrick yesterday. Angel Di Maria did two wonderful assists and reminded us with Burruchaga role in the 1986 WC.

What on earth is happening at Leeds? I was at Elland Road last Saturday among 600 Pompey fans and the change in atmosphere since last season was palpable. Last year, the atmosphere impressed with fans in good voice and scarves whirling. This year, though, Elland Road is not a happy place, evidenced by the draconian, 1980s style crowd control methods and the strangely messianic images of the club's chairman in his seat flashed onto the big screen above our heads.

The modern game is filled with money-grabbing players out to line their pockets, and it seems to be considered as something of a modern phenomenon; an inevitable evil of the Premier League era. However, as Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has recently admitted, money was often more important than actual love for the club even in the 1980s.

It hasn't always been about the Champions League and domestic doubles for Chelsea Football Club. The club's saga over its ownership of Stamford Bridge was at a time during which it had nothing like the status that it has today one of the ongoing crisis stories of the 1980s, but the club was (after the collapse of Marler Estates in 1992) reunited with the freehold to the ground and subsequently set up the Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation which took ownership of this freehold and the name of the club, and granted it a 199-year lease on Stamford Bridge, which secured the club's future even though the ground stands on one of the more sought-after areas of London a city that has seen a fair few football grounds disappear in the name of property development in recent years.

AP photoBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
Some Chicago sports fans need a refresher course that the 1980s were not completely centered on Mike Ditka's 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears and the phenomenon of Michael Jordan.
The Chicago Sting was the toast of this city at the start of the decade, winning North American Soccer League crowns in 1981 and 1984.

Yesterday marked Dalglish's 30th game in charge since taking over last January. The side's record over that span is 15W-6D-9L. How does that compare with previous bosses?
Read the hexagonal diagrams from left to right, in rows of six. Just to make things confusing. Linearity isn't really the point anyway.

By Chris Wright

Another day, another 'it couldn't happen to anyone else' tale of Balo-madness.

According to the Beeb, Italian police have requested an interview with Mario Balotelli over a visit he paid to a known 'Mafia hotspot' in Naples almost a year ago.

It just might be Serie A's answer to a cold night at the Britannia Stadium. An icy December day at the Stadio Friuli is the kind of test that a pundit might think would be a step too far for a star foreign player, particularly a boy from Brazil. But, back in the 1980s, there was one golden player ready to prove them wrong.

What are the odds King Kenny's Liverpool will be crowned champions? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

We're in the middle of a huge recession, we've got Noel Edmonds on TV, rioting on the streets of London and King Kenny back at Liverpool. It's like being back in the 1980s.

Certain sections of the media have long had the mildly irritating habit of treating 1992 and the beginning of the Premier League as football's Year Zero. In this world, "the history of football" is substituted for "the history of the Premier League", as if nothing that happened prior to the twenty biggest clubs cutting themselves free in the pursuit of all the television money to which we can only say, mission accomplished and anything that happened prior to then is treated as at best an relevance.