John Motson informs us here that ‘Match of the Day’ is taking its first look of the season at the European champions - and he means Nottingham Forest, not Liverpool.

It’s a trip to the City Ground to see Brian Clough’s men still basking in the glow of that win over Malmo just four months earlier, though the goalscorer that night, Trevor Francis, is still busy playing in the NASL and hasn’t returned to his City Ground duties.

Within the game itself, we take the season’s first trip to Kenny Burns corner, and marvel at the days before health and safety, when fans were allowed to sit inside a stand that was still only half constructed and with a load of scaffolding teetering precariously above them.

Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler don their hard hats and high-vis jackets to take in the game.

With Liverpool having endured a slow start to the season after the electrifying display at Wembley in the Charity Shield, Coventry boss Gordon Milne returns to his old stomping ground full of invention and a 3-4-3 system, ready to confound the Reds.

Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler see how he gets on, and round up the rest of the day’s action in the First Division.

You can watch the game here.

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With ITV reeling under a technicians’ strike, BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ had the opening day of the 1979/80 season all to itself.

Starting out at The Dell for Southampton against Manchester United, the key feature of the game was set to be Ray Wilkins’ debut for United after his summer move from Chelsea. But for Saints supporters, there was to be a first look at Charlie George, nine months after he had switched from Derby County.

Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler take you through the action at The Dell, the idiosyncracies of watching football in 1979/80, Manchester City’s transfer dealings, and the events of the first Saturday of the season. You can watch the game here.

The Charity Shield is behind us, the season stretches out ahead, so join Steven Scragg, Dave Bowler and some very old newspaper previews as we look ahead to what 1979/80 might have in store for us.

Suspend your disbelief, forget all that you know, and join us on football’s Christmas Eve as we speculate on just what Santa might have in his sack for us all in the season ahead.

Embarking on a weekly examination of the 1979/80 campaign - ITV’s technicians’ strike permitting - we have trawled YouTube and beyond to find surviving coverage from Match of the Day and the ITV regions, building into the most comprehensive picture possible of the season. Think of it as a Marshall Cavendish part work that you don’t have to pay for.

In our opening paragraph to these supplementary teachings, we must, of course, start with the Charity Shield, played between the reigning champions, Liverpool, and the holders of the FA Cup, Arsenal, at a sun kissed Wembley Stadium.

Look for an extraordinary numbers of substitutes, Don Howe in the shortest shorts known to man, Sammy Nelson taking the top off a chafe scar, David Johnson sending out a message to the season ahead and the final sighting of Phil Thompson’s frankly ill-advised perm.

Steven Scragg and Dave Bowler are your guides, and you can catch up with the game itself here.