Jumpers For Goalposts: 80s & 90s Football

Hello everyone and welcome back to Jumpers For Goalposts and another slice of retro football goodness.  After the Heysel tragedy, English clubs were banned from playing in European competitions until 1991 and it's always seen as one of the game's biggest 'what if?' moments when fans ponder on how well Everton would have done in the European Cup during the 1985-86 season had they had the chance to compete.  Well Toffees fans, wonder no more. Thanks to the power of ChatGPT this is how Everton's 1985-86 European Cup campaign could have played out.  (Disclaimer: This is entirely fictional, obviously and is only meant to be a bit of fun!).  Of course at the end of the 1984-85 season, Everton (under the tutelage of Howard Kendall) had established themselves as one of England's top teams by wrestling the First Division title away from cross-city rivals Liverpool and also gone on to show Europe how good they were by claiming the European Cup Winners Cup on that unforget...

It's that time of year again when those in The Championship unfortunate to miss out on automatic promotion take part in the stomach-churning, emotional rollercoaster of the Play-Offs in order to claim the last seat at the Premier League table. In 1987 however, the Play-Offs looked very different. There was no prestigious Wembley final and no untold riches on offer. In fact, the Play-Off picture was a very different one to that which you may love or loathe today... Football during the 1986-87 season wasn't in a pleasant place. Hooliganism ruled the terraces, nobody wanted to go to matches anymore and the general public were falling out of love with the game as a whole, we have to remember we were only a few months removed from the infamous television blackout.  In an attempt to breathe new life into the dying game, the Football League introduced the Play-Off system to extend interest in the latter stages of the season, initially only for two years but on the proviso that if the ...

Can you imagine watching six-a-side football on TV? (and no we don’t mean that Baller League shite) Okay let us add an extra ingredient to that question, can you imagine watching the likes of Liverpool, AC Milan, Ajax and Rangers playing six-a-side football on TV? Alright just one more. Can you imagine Liverpool going abroad to play six-a-side football midway through a season that presented their best chance of winning the league title for the first time in seven years? Well in the madcap world of 1997, that’s exactly what happened. This is the story of Liverpool’s Mini-Disc Madness.  The 1996-97 season was a massive one in the fledgling history of the Premier League. As supporters basked in the post Euro 96 glow, the clubs (boosted by a new Sky television deal) went on the sort of spending spree that would make Elton John’s eyes water. Despite spending £3.5million on Czech Euro 96 star Patrik Berger, there was something of local ethos flowing through Anfield as Roy Evans’ side emb...

If you were to think of a game these days featuring a predominantly English side and a team called The Rest Of The World, you could probably be forgiven for thinking about Soccer Aid, ITV’s now-annual charity jamboree that usually sees the internet questioning whether ‘Angry Ginge’ could cut it in the National League (he couldn’t) or providing a memorable moment where your favourite mid-2000s indie guitarist lobs a former England goalkeeper (2012 in case anyone is interested),  In 1987 though the concept took on a very serious meaning as the 1987-88 season was to be one like no other and as The Football League prepared to celebrate it’s 100th birthday, the big guns rolled into town to help mark the occasion.  On August 8th 1987, just a week after First Division champions Everton had claimed the Charity Shield with a 1-0 win over FA Cup winners Coventry City, the eyes of the football world returned to Wembley Stadium as The Football League threw down the gauntlet to some of the...