http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30699020 An interesting reminder for the older ones and a fascinating insight for the younger ones of how football used to be. The bit about editing filmed highlights reminded me of a Match of the Day cock up. In the early days of the programme, only three games were shown. As it was recorded as film, the processing and editing was done in the nearest regional BBC. The game was Aston Villa at home, cannot remember who they played. David Coleman introduced the match from the BBC studio in Birmingham. A kick off started the ten minutes of highlights. But it was of the second half. At the end of this, they then showed the first half! Coleman apologised profusely for the mistake, and then said "Now back to London for the next match". As the screen went blank, he was heard to say " Well you made a right **** up of that!" Hilarious. Almost as bad as World Cup Finals ref Jack Taylor (1974 Germany v Holland) in a City v Sunderland game which had highlights televised. City kicked off at the start of the game. City also kicked off at the start of the second half!
Things were certainly different and I hesitate to say were considerably better in a lot of respects back then. There were less ridiculous sums of money being paid for, and to players which is still my single biggest gripe today. No diving at all, and less conning of referees. When City were in the 1st Division a fair few of the 1st eleven used to drink in The Glasscutter pub in Hengrove. There were no airs and graces about them at all. They were essentially working men and they mingled and drank with working men too. They didn't live in gated communities with little or no exposure to the real world like a lot of Premiership 'stars' these days. No sponsorship on shirts, solid team colours home and away with no stupid colour combinations, and numbers 1 - 11 (and a single 12 on the bench) on their backs, not like todays multitude of subs covering every eventuality. Keepers predominantly wore green tops, with the occasional yellow or blue. No, or very few foreigners. What's better today are spectator facilities in general, although all seater stadiums have created a more sterile and inpersonal atmosphere at times, and the playing surfaces at a lot of grounds are much better, however seeing Bradford Citys pitch last weekend on the Football League show some things may never change. It was an absolute disgrace. If you remember the sand pits that used to be The Baseball Ground and Stamford Bridge in the 70's and elsewhere you can see how far pitch technology and care have come. Heavier balls back then, and fearsome tackling which would result in straight red cards inside the first minute of a match today. *** and pipe smoke drifting over Ashton Gate and being caught in the huge titled (Scottish style apparently) floodlights at night matches. Being crammed in like sardines in the Enclosure to see us play Spurs in the LC Semi in 1971 and again against Leeds and Liverpool in '74. I don't think those atmospheres could be replicated today. But I was 41 years younger then................
my company had the job of getting ( SOME) the first half tapes, then the second half tapes to a local processing centre ( usually BBC or HTV ) often for lesser games the camera man/ crew were independent, and would send to one and copies later sent to the other. All stopped about 7-8 years ago when satellite was less prohibitive!
While facilities are beyond compare at many grounds now the atmosphere in stadia continues to worsen. The noise 5000 made at MK was ordinary to that half the number and less made in the recent past. That more active supporting culture v becoming sedentary consumers appears to be in a irreversible decline. The recent West Ham game atmosphere was heralded a club inspired success but that was a pale shadow of Middlesbrough /Coventry recently, and poor v Charlton/Liverpool/Forest decades ago. Due to my Son I watch a lot of development /academy football, and the coming generations will be technically superior. I hope forlornly that the game will find within itself values beyond greed / cheating to install in these kids.
'Being crammed in like sardines in the Enclosure to see us play Spurs in the LC Semi in 1971' I have the programme from that game - with ads for Cortina mk 2 and ***s!
I had a consul mk2 and smoked Golden Virginia (and number ' 6's or number 10's at the match's or if I went out for a meal) as a treat capstan full strength they had no filter tip!
Lol! Gave up smoking in 1988, but I used to know an old boy who drank in the Dundry Inn - he gave me a Capstan Full Strength once and I thought I could fly (I smoked John Player Blue back then - remember them?) Later I felt really ill ......
JOHN PLAYER were also non tipped? I gave up smoking in 1976 at 6 30pm on 16th October a Saturday eve at Porth yr Ogoff Wales.. I had a few puffs on a cigar around the Christmas, and a couple puffs just to light one in the mid 80's
I started on number 6, 35 years ago. Used to get them from a vending machine outside shops or just say they were from my mum when I went into newsagents. I'm now a non smoker, I gave up last weekend goo me
Why feel the need to poo poo everyone else? Everyone said they enjoyed the atmosphere, but you say it's not the same as the past. I just get confused as to why you constantly want to run down everyone's enjoyment of the day. The scarve thing against West Ham might not of been to your liking, But Saturday's was a fans thing nothing to do with the club. Nothing is the same as decades ago, but if you spoke to people decades ago they would of probably said "it's not the same it was back in the 60's" Is a sad fact of life, none of us are getting younger and we often look back at things with tinted glasses.
Not everybody she said he said. Saturdays thing was to do with the club #citywave is Bristol Sport. Within this thread there is mention of "sterile and inpersonal atmosphere" bang on. Modern football crowds in England are noted for how quite they arte across Europe. Bristol City are now part of that, it was not always so. No dressing it up, City support is not all that v the teams position,. Football crowds are more sedantry. A fact is they are also older, far older nothing to do with looking back with rose tinted glasses .. Interestingly today the Supporters Trust are mentioning that point via their survey. The dull less intense atmosphere of today may hold a indicator of why there is an increasing disparity in age demographics. A disparity that does not exist abroad e.g Germany.
Just a change of direction on a interesting thread, I went down to the gate this morning at 10 am, I wanted to get 6 match tickets for my daughter, son and 4 grandsons, (they were for the Rochdale game on the 28th) with all of the problems certain individuals on here have experienced of late I thought I might have let myself into a problem. I won't go into meeting various individual young people( u21's I think) in City track suits out side of the store, one of them insisting he was an Evertonian, but to carry on, I marched up to the counter, very helpful young fella there, I requested my tickets, I managed to get 6 all together in A block the Williams stand for £50 the lot, I was in and out in under 15 mins and never had a problem. Had a chat with some bloke in a Hi Viz jacket sealing cracks in the floors around the car park opposite the store where I was parked, hopped in my car and off up Ashton Rd.. No probs,great atmosphere, good service, good value, nice experience, just like those days, gone for ever but not quite, a fistful of tickets and Up the City..
Think the last few truly mad away days was the banger at Petebrough on the now demolished Moyes end and that tuesday at Charlton with the bloke up the tree. If you were about in the seventies and eighties those two were also tame. Not sure what my Uncle who first took me to football would make of the cant smoke, cant stand , cant do that Ashton Gate. That was a bloke who when the parkend was segregated still stood in his old spot for another season even though it had become part of the away section.
I used to stand in the East End behind the goal about half way up the stand. When we scored I almost ended up on the pitch - it was like being in the sea and getting pushed towards the shore by a strong wave.
I smoked No 6 and No 10 and Sovereign in my earliest smoking days I worked in a Butchers shop in my teens and the owner smoked Senior Service unfiltered, and his assistant smoked Capstans. The latter used to deliver a real head rush ! I later gravitated to John Player blue and JPS (black packet) and ended up sticking to Silk Cut for years. I smoked for 30 odd years and gave up in 2006 and haven't smoked since
John player blues was my favourite, but they only do them in Ireland now for some reason. They did bring a cheaper version back but not the same. I then smoked B&H gold then silver then when Rothmans done 18 for £5-95 moved onto them. I've given up a few times longer 2 and half years, but on champex now and one of those fume things. Strangely now I was stood chatting to someone smoking the other day and I didn't even think about it. I know it's only a week so far but watching someone smoking just when you give up I've always craved a cigarette so hopefully this is the time.
I still get the craving occasionally. Once a smoker always a smoker I guess. I usually have a beer when I crave a cigarette and after a few pints I forget all about it, and where I live, who I am etc
