While there's no Premier League matches on until next weekend, here's another video from
yesteryear to show how much the game of English football has changed as well as to give us video
evidence of some of the legendary players of England.
The video features first half highlights from the London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and
West Ham United from the 1970-71 season.
Since there are only Johnstone's Paint Trophy matches and FA Trophy Second Qualifying Round
replays this week, we thought it would be about the right time to have another "Video Of The Week"
and this, I have to say, is something rather special a complete episode of London Weekend
Television's "The Big Match" from April 1979.
What a game! Fantastically exciting and great to watch but Liverpool's title hopes have undoubtedly
been damaged tonight. And twenty years after Arsenal cruelly won the title with almost the last
kick of the season, they may have done the same again tonight.
When the brilliant Andrei Arshavin scored Arsenal's 4th goal, all I could hear in my head was Brian
Moore's legendary commentary:
"It's Thomas charging through the midfield!
I came across this video today which features a West Ham United against Manchester United match
from 1975, and an unfortunate incident where parts of the ground were so overcrowded that fans were
getting crushed at the front and spilling over the fence on to the pitch.
It demonstrates how packed football grounds were and how the police had a difficult time trying
to control crowds.
Arsenal.com Anfield '89 feature
Where did those twenty years go?
26th May 1989 was the moment that has come to define Arsenal's modern era - a league title that
propelled us forward as a club. It was also the most impossibly close finish to a league season -
the goal required to win the title coming in the last minute of the last game against the other
team challenging for it.
Before I start, I just have to say thank you to all the folks who shared their wonderful stories
of falling in love with Arsenal yesterday. It was a special thread and it confirms the validity of
an idea I have had for a while now. More on that latter bit once I work out the details. In the
mean time, I will try to incorporate more user generated content in the blog.
The latest video flashback takes us back to 1988 when England was a terrible football team
despite finding glory just two years later in the 1990 World Cup.
This video features Brian Clough and Brian Moore. Cloughie makes a flub in the beginning of the
analysis but doesn't seem to care, which is followed by commentary from the legendary Brian Moore
and Trevor Francis in this match which ended 0-0.
This week's Video Of The Week takes us back to the race for the Second Division title from the
1978/79 season and features three matches from an episode of London Weekend Television's "The Big
Match", presented as ever by Brian Moore. The first match is between from Selhurst Park and is
between Crystal Palace and Notts County, the second match is from The Goldstone Ground and is
between Brighton & Hove Albion and Blackburn Rovers (about whom Moore says, "they've already been
relegated to the Third Division, so at least they'll be relaxed) and the final match is from Roker
Park, and is between Sunderland and Cardiff City.
This week's "Video Of The Week" is one that we have done goes back to the 1982/83 season for a
complete episode of "The Big Match Live". The previous season, Brighton had beaten Liverpool at
Anfield on their way to an FA Cup final defeat at Wembley against Manchester United. The following
season, they drew the English champions again, this time at The Goldstone Ground, although this
time they were a Second Division team, having contrived to get themselves relegated at the same
time as getting to the cup final.