The Big Match

[Mr Masky]

Anyone watching The Big Match on Sunday mornings with thw late Brian Moore? Interesting to see how the game is televised in such a sophisticated way today, compared with what I watched yesterday. They sowed George Best making his debut against Newport County in a 0-1 defeat for Bournmouth. good stuff, enjoyed ir on ITV 4 folks.

 

[ninian opinion]

Yes I watch it regularly; have it on series record. Last weekend was a belter of a game between Arsenal & Forest from January 80.

City rarely show up. Not least because the previous seasn they were showing 1982-3 season when we got promoted from League Div 3.

I recall one though from season 1978-9 when they won 2-1 at Sunderland to dent the home teams prospects of promotion to League Division 1. City team from recollection. Healey saved a penalty, Ronnie Moore scored a screamer and Ray Bishop got the winner. (Sunderland incidentally all but coincidentally sealed promotion the folowing season at Ninian Park in their penultimate game.)

Richie Morgan managed the team with players like Ron Healey, Dave Roberts, Phil Dwyer, Paul Went, Gary Stevens, John Buchanan, Ronnie Moore, Tony Evans, John Lewis, Linden Jones, Rod Thomas etc. Great days then with the iconic blue strip with yellow and white trim. Best season I had supporting the City for a while - team were relgation threatened until Morgan took over from Jimmy Andrews, and a great run catapulted them to an eventual joint 7th position.

 

[BluefromBridgend]

Rarely watch it now but watched every week then apart from when HTV showed a local game - I think our version was something imaginative like Soccer Special with Roger Malone (a Wurzel fan) commentating. They covered games at the 2 Bristols (ooooeeer missus!!!!), Swindon, Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport depending which team was successful at the time or if there was a local derby - quite often this turned into Fight of the Week both on and off the pitch.

Main differences between now and then applying to Big Match or our local version: -

Players' kit - how did they put up with those very tight and short shorts? Did they have tuck unders going on?
Players' haircuts - on a windy day they couldn't see a bloody thing with long hair and mullets getting in their eyes
Fans - mostly standing and tumbling down terraces when goals were scored, long hair or skinheads, flares or half mast bleached Levi's, DM's and everyone wore a scarf
Pitches - not great at the start of the season and by December cabbage patches were more appropriate and beaches with no sea by the end of February - see Ninian Park compared to Barry Island

One of the best games I can recall that I went to and was on the box the next day was when we beat Sheffield United 3 - 0 at Ninian in absolutely appalling conditions around 1970. A player would try to hit the ball for a 30 yard pass and it would stop in the surface water after about 10 feet. I'm pretty sure Clarkie scored one when a defender tried the above and the ball stuck in the water on the edge of the box. We would get 20,000 crowds then but due to the way the stand roofs were configured and prevailing wind you couldn't always here the noise from the Grange. However, for some reason that day the noise was defening and Malone struggled to make himself heard. I think that was the season they got revenge by beating us 5 - 1 on the last day so they went up and we didn't. I'm sure Sparkey will correct me if any of the above information is incorrect.

 

[remote]

Yes I watch it regularly; have it on series record. Last weekend was a belter of a game between Arsenal & Forest from January 80.

City rarely show up. Not least because the previous seasn they were showing 1982-3 season when we got promoted from League Div 3.

I recall one though from season 1978-9 when they won 2-1 at Sunderland to dent the home teams prospects of promotion to League Division 1. City team from recollection. Healey saved a penalty, Ronnie Moore scored a screamer and Ray Bishop got the winner. (Sunderland incidentally all but coincidentally sealed promotion the folowing season at Ninian Park in their penultimate game.)

Richie Morgan managed the team with players like Ron Healey, Dave Roberts, Phil Dwyer, Paul Went, Gary Stevens, John Buchanan, Ronnie Moore, Tony Evans, John Lewis, Linden Jones, Rod Thomas etc. Great days then with the iconic blue strip with yellow and white trim. Best season I had supporting the City for a while - team were relgation threatened until Morgan took over from Jimmy Andrews, and a great run catapulted them to an eventual joint 7th position.

A man of my era. Started watching at the end of the Jimmy Andrews reign, but the players above really my early memories. Peter Sayer had a great hairdo!!