The top 6 in Division One that season is interesting, I think. Ipswich won the League, Burnley were second, then it was Spurs, Everton, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. Man City were 12th, ManUre were 15th, and Chelsea were bottom. Orient were promoted with Liverpool, and Scunthorpe finished fourth.
There was much more mobility back then. Ipswich had been in the third tier in 56-57, playing Walsall, and here they were as League Champions.
Like you, I think those days are finished. A handful of top clubs, the playthings of the super rich, will continue to dominate.
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While we are wallowing in nostalgia I remember the Continental friendlies of the mid(?) '60s: FC St Gallen, Moscow Dynamo, FC Shalke, some Finnish team we beat 8-0?
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I have a programme from the Moscow Dynamo game, someone gave it me when I was a kid, but I forget who, earliest Walsall programme I have.
One year, maybe 1972 or 1973 we played Singapore, beat them 9-0, or 11-0 or something huge.
Valkeakosken Haka
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25500 agin Newcastle. I was down the front being a nipper , and could not breath due to the pressure of the crowd behind me.
Like sardines in a tin.
Sunderland match was all ticket 18500 , Newcastle match pay on the day.
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I was on the half way line in the “cowshed” and was similarly crushed as the fans moved forwards and backwards. The Newcastle fans were great and supported their team throughout.I can see Younger’s goal as I sit typing this…a great memory.
Walsall one.
What a signing Younger was…12 career goals , 5 of 'em in eight games for us in the second tier.
He had to make way for Richards.
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I am sure there are pictures of fans sitting on the roof
I’ve got a picture of our Milk Cup Run in 1984 in my hallway. Fantastic listening to some of stories before the disastrous match on Saturday from our ex legends.
You are absolutely correct. When Jimmy Greaves died, I listened again to his excellent interview with Jimmy Armfield. He said that he only went to Italy because of the money because we had a maximum wage in the UK. While that odd idea became unworkable, it did mean that players tended to be more loyal. Matthews, Finney, Haynes, Lofthouse and so on played for unfashionable teams. Even later, the likes of Le Tissier, Hurst did not move on. And, as you say, football was more diverse (and interesting.)
Satellite TV and the advent of the Premier League obviously changed the environment but also players getting a percentage of the transfer fee and agents appearing on the scene plus the merchandise marketing that TV allowed.
Another difference was that teams like Walsall regularly had cup victories against Division One sides, who played their first teams too.
Correct, and another thing that helped level the playing field a little was that the top teams signed players from smaller clubs, so the money swirled around the domestic game. I don’t think that happens anywhere near as often now. Liverpool winning the title with a full back from Northampton, a keeper from Scunthorpe and a striker from Chester City doesn’t seem likely now. Nor Spurs winning a couple of F A Cups with a winger from Goole Town and a centre back from Weymouth, as they did in the early 80s.
The squad for the 1966 World Cup is interesting, two from Blackpool, one from Fulham, three from West Ham. One from Leicester, Wolves, Sheff Wendy and Southampton, also one each from Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton. None from Man City, although they would win the League title within two years so were no mugs. Two of the “giants”, Liverpool and ManUre, had three each. To help reinforce one of your points, several of that squad were one-club men, and others, like Paine, Charlton R, Hunter, Callaghan and Moore only moved on at the tail end of their careers.
Bless you!
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Actually, V Haka were Finnish champions and have played regularly in European competition! I think Clive Ford scored 4 (or was that against St Gallen, whom we also beat 8-0?) but did not play the following Saturday.
The point about losing the trickle down is well made - the PL was more about making the top level of football international. It was not so long ago when having a foreign player was truly exotic, even in the top division. The pioneers were Muhren and Thyssen for Ipswich and it was great when the ones that did come added a lot. Nowadays, many PL clubs pick up relatively obscure but established players from other countries rather than risk someone from a lower division. And if there is a real star in the lower leagues, they are often collected by a PL club even before they have made a first-team impression.
To add one more difference, national newspapers only really report on the PL. They are more likely to report on the Milan or Madrid derbies than, say, Forest vs Derby.
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I think much of the actual football that is played now is superior to the olden days, the pitches are better for one thing, and referees try to protect the playmakers. But I don’t like that it is all about the big clubs now, and it is fairly predictable (the hugely enjoyable Leicester one-off notwithstanding). I think I can predict the top four for, say, 2025 - Chelsea, ManUre, Man City, Liverpool, in some order or other. Unless another thieving oligarch or a nation state puts zillions into some other club.
I used to like that “small” clubs like Forest and Ipswich could win promotion one season, and top the League the next, or that Derby could win the title twice in the 70s, and that QPR could almost get there, they were top when their own season finished (Liverpool had one game left, which they won, at Wolves), and in the 70s Chelsea, Spurs and ManUre were all relegated.
Football was more egalitarian in the old days, we’ve lost something - dreams, romance, hope, whatever you wish to call it.
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The whole point of the Premiership was to reduce that egalitarianism. You have to say, it succeeded brilliantly.
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We have and it is because the big clubs are run as businesses, to make money. You are right that the standard is much higher, though, As I said, League One and even Championship teams can’t even beat PL reserve teams these days. And that standard has improved the England team.
When we beat Man U in the cup, over two matches, they were actually in Division 2. I cannot imagine any of the big six ever being related now. Possibly not even the top ten.
It has indeed. And I don’t like it. 
Are you sure you’re not thinking about that Wolves fan who fell through the roof at Scarborough? 
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Wish there was more footage on YouTube of our 06/07 season!
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