Dec 1967. Man City’s Colin Bell scoring v Spuds in the snow.

Evertons Andy King wearing a short sleeved shirt, v Wolves,at a snow covered Molineux pitch in Feb 79.

I’m feeling cold just looking at this picture !

13 hours ago, erskblue said:

Now there’s a front three.

Indeed. Those three playing together would frighten any defences. As for how much they would cost nowadays. A number with lots of noughts. 

Anton Panenka is 72 today, 2nd Dec.

 

Rangers 2-1 Celtic. League Cup Final March 1978. Davie Cooper scores at Hampden. 60,168. Official attendance...
The Rangers player jumping out of the way is Derek Johnstone.

If not a footballer, what job would you do ? Basketball Player😀.  
Great answer, as Asa was 5ft 5ins tall!😀

Scottish Footy Cards. Twitter.

 

 

Liam Brady & Trevor Francis at Sampdoria. Mid 1980s.
Really liked that Sampdoria home top.       

 

 

SuperbFooty Pics Twitter.

On 01/12/2020 at 07:37, erskblue said:

Dec 1967. Man City’s Colin Bell scoring v Spuds in the snow.

A mate of mine is a City fan and his all time favourite player is Colin Bell. He still hasn't forgiven Martin Buchan for ending Bell's career!

6 hours ago, Boyne said:

A mate of mine is a City fan and his all time favourite player is Colin Bell. He still hasn't forgiven Martin Buchan for ending Bell's career!

Interview with Colin Bell from 2005 In Manchester Evening News about this Incident.

 

THE soccer world lay at the feet of Colin Bell in the autumn of 1975.

The quiet kid from County Durham had already secured a permanent place in the affections of the Manchester City supporters as a key member of the fabulous championship-winning team assembled by Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison.

Bell was at the peak of his powers. He had gained experience to supplement his other awesome range of talents. 

And at 29 he had already chalked up almost 500 senior appearances for the Blues and was approaching his 50th cap for England.

Supremely fit, he believed himself capable of competing at the highest level for at least six more years. 

The clamour was growing for him to be appointed England captain. Certainly, his personal career target of 750 senior appearances for his club and 100 for his country seemed well within his compass.

But for one of City's greatest players, all those plans, all those dreams ended in one horrific blink of an eyelid during a League Cup derby against Manchester United on November 12, 1975, at Maine Road.

Thirty years later, Bell recalls that dreadful moment, and the tackle from Reds skipper Martin Buchan which changed his life and career, in his autobiography fittingly entitled Reluctant Hero, out tomorrow.

Floodlights

"That was a date I would never forget," he says. "We were determined to beat United, as we knew we should have been victorious when we had played them in a First Division game a month earlier.

"I always enjoyed playing under floodlights and, within a minute, we were ahead with Dennis Tueart scoring our goal. United were rattled and as we pressed forward for a second goal, I received a pass through the centre-circle from Dennis.

"I was in the old-fashioned inside-right position as I made my way towards United's goal at the Platt Lane end of the ground. I had run about 10 or 15 yards into space because the United players had been drawn towards Dennis.

"Paddy Roche was in goal for them and the pitch was a bit bobbly so in the back of my mind I was thinking that I might have a shot, as Paddy wasn't the best of goalkeepers. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a United player coming across in front of me and I decided I had three options. I picked the wrong one.

"The first option was to take a shot, if the ball sat up kindly. The second was to increase my forward pace to try to get away from the player. The third was to stop, drag the ball back, and let him go across me. Then I would be clear through on goal. I selected the last one.

"I dragged the ball back, which left me balanced on my right leg with all six studs in the ground. I could see now that it was Martin Buchan who was challenging me. His tackle smacked me just below the knee, on the right leg, which had my full weight on it.

"It felt like my leg had been screwed into the ground. My knee bent backwards, bursting blood vessels in the bottom of my thigh and in the top of my calf. All the ligaments in my knee were torn. Within seconds the knee was just a bag of blood.

"Very soon I was in an ambulance on my way to hospital. My knee had swollen up to the size of a football. My leg was black and blue from the hip joint right down to my ankle. And I was quite generally unwell, too, not just from the injury but because of the shock to my system. I was told by the doctors that the trauma was similar to that suffered by someone involved in a serious car smash. The knee was a complete mess. As well as the ligament and muscle damage, the cartilages had been destroyed and there had been massive internal bleeding. Perhaps with today's surgical techniques my treatment would have been different. But that kind of expertise simply didn't exist in those days.

Disappointed

"I don't blame Martin Buchan for the injury. There were players in the game who set out to kick and injure you, but I don't think Martin was that type. 

"I was a little disappointed, though, that he didn't visit me during my time in hospital. If it had been me who had done that to him, I would have gone to see him as long as I knew in my own mind that I hadn't done it on purpose.

"He didn't come to see me so only he can tell you what was going through his mind at the time. I have always maintained that the injury was an accident but Martin has never apologised to me."

For the best part of four years, Bell fought a brave and lonely battle to recover from that horrific injury. There were bright moments to light the darkness, such as his unheralded and unexpected second half appearance in the league match against Newcastle United at Maine Road on Boxing Day, 1977.

"The second I came out of the tunnel and into view the crowd rose to their feet and made more noise than I've ever heard in my life," recalls Bell. "I am not an emotional person but I got a big lump in my throat hearing that ovation. It felt like it went on forever but I'm told it was about four minutes before the cheering stopped.

"A few people, grown men, have told me that they actually cried when I came out onto the pitch, which shows how much it meant to them. I knew the ovation was for me personally and those moments were better than winning all the trophies I had collected. In fact, that response, from both sets of supporters, was the highlight of my entire career."

Dreading

As season 1979-80 approached, the realisation dawned on Bell that this was one battle he was never going to win. 

His knee was never going to stand up to the rigours of top-flight football. The day he had been dreading had finally arrived.

"The possibility that I might have to stop playing had been festering in my mind for a while," he admits. 

"Of all the people to make the decision for me, no-one seemed more appropriate than Malcolm Allison. He had been my mentor for years so it was fitting that it was he who took me to one side and told me that it was time to go.

"We were standing in the players' tunnel at Maine Road when Malcolm told me what I already knew. Malcolm told me years later that telling me I was finished was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. 

"But I knew he was right. My playing career was over."

Colin Bell v Northern Ireland in May 1975.

Twitter 

England v Poland, Oct 1973. Peter Shilton couldn’t watch Allan Clarke's equalising penalty.

Zvonimir Boban, Alessandro Costacurta and Roberto Baggio.

 

SuperbFooty Pics Twitter 

 

 

Ally looks like he has had a few glasses of wine.

18 hours ago, erskblue said:

Zvonimir Boban, Alessandro Costacurta and Roberto Baggio.

 

SuperbFooty Pics Twitter 

 

 

Costacurta, part of that legendary back four. Along with Tassotti, Baresi and Maldini. Goodness knows how much those four would be worth then and nowadays. At least £250 million nowadays.

5 hours ago, Boyne said:

Costacurta, part of that legendary back four. Along with Tassotti, Baresi and Maldini. Goodness knows how much those four would be worth then and nowadays. At least £250 million nowadays.

At least.😀

Ibrox in Feb 1979 on a match day when game was postponed. The winter of 1978/79 winter was a really bad one, weather wise. My old Primary School was then still coal powered.As often the coal supplies didn’t arrive,we got quite a few days off 😀. 

 

 

Edited December 6, 20205 yr by erskblue

 

England v Brazil., Wembley 1978.    Tony Currie and Zico.

1958.

9 hours ago, Boyne said:

1958.

We drew at Portsmouth .

 Spuds got beaten at home by Newcastle 😀

I see Liverpool were beaten at Middlesbrough in Div 2😀

1 hour ago, erskblue said:

We drew at Portsmouth .

 Spuds got beaten at home by Newcastle 😀

I see Liverpool were beaten at Middlesbrough in Div 2😀

And Liverpool fans say that we have no history!

22 hours ago, Boyne said:

And Liverpool fans say that we have no history!

I know, I know😀

‘Dave Thomas is about to be fouled.’Oct 76. Man City vQPR.

FootballRetroPlus on Twitter 

 

 

 

Yes that Ally McLeod,the manager of Scotland in Argentina 1978.

 

 

Scotland Epistles Football Magazine