Martyn and Gary are mostly full of glad tidings as they try and tackle the brilliant Patreon questions. Winter signings, best festive fixtures, the mythology of the Christmas Day truce are mixed with the greatest games of all time, biggest missed opportunities, Scottish football's best time and, a little less jolly, what players we hate.

Have an excellent 2026 everyone!

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The 10 September 1985 was a night where tension never dropped within Ninian Park, Cardiff. On the pitch was a controversial World Cup qualifier between Scotland and Wales. Off it, a heart attack that ended the life of one of Britain's greatest managers. The legendary broadcaster Archie Macpherson wraps up our season by recounting his experience of that night, the impact of Scottish managers on British football and what made them disproportionately successful and some reflection on his own career and how the business of commentary and broadcasting has changed.

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One theme that has been consistent throughout this season was the television blackout that dominated the first half of it. Martyn sits down with the author and academic Roger Domeneghetti to get into the detail of why it happened, how it ended and football's fascinating relationship with the medium before and after.

Roger's excellent work Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Britain, Sport and the 1980s can be found here and is heartily recommended. https://amzn.eu/d/bJkufCR

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Michael Hamlen from the brilliant 80s&90s Football account returns to look at the rise of Eastern Europe in intercontinental competition. Steaua Bucharest's win in the European Cup and Dynamo Kiev's success over Atletico Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup are the highlights and some love for Lobanovskyi and his place in the pantheon of the great managers in history. There is also some Italian chicanery and Real Madrid's love of a comeback in retaining the UEFA Cup. Are this Real side one that we constantly overlook?

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For all the surprises in English football in the mid-eighties, the real power still remained on Merseyside. 1985/86 saw both Liverpool and Everton locked in a battle for an historic Double right up until the final games of the season. With Everton the newly crowned champions and now with the best English striker of his generation and Liverpool still reeling from Heysel and the introduction of a club legend into an old-fashioned role, it was a season of momentum swings and sporting drama. In the background was a city under political siege and the final showpiece may have just saved football in the country for good.

Gary Naylor is in the blue corner, Tony Evans in the red and Martyn tries to get a word in now and again as a famous season story is revisited.

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Although considered to be a good bet for the Cup each season, West Ham United's league form had been middling at best. In fact, some pundits tipped them to fall back out of the First Division when 1985/86 kicked off. But an opening day injury meant that a relatively unknown midfield signing from St Mirren had to be pushed up front to partner the club's up-and-coming young hero and the chemistry was instant. 

They wouldn't win the title - more of that next week - but they very nearly did and arguably could and would have if mother nature had been a bit kinder.

Author Dominic Hougham is here to relive a famous season and reassess a much-loved team.

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The mid 1980s saw plenty of surprise packages making their way to collect silverware in English football but perhaps none had such a meteoric rise as Oxford United. Author Scott Walkinshaw is here to explain how it happened, relive the Milk Cup win in 1986 and discuss the influence and legacy of their notorious owner, Robert Maxwell.

Scott's book on the subject can be found here https://amzn.eu/d/edxvCdK

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It was scheduled to happen anyway but after the horrors of May 1985, the new season delivered some much needed levity to the coverage of football and a lunchtime magazine show that opened the door to a new mainstream culture. Gary and the Daily Telegraph's Rob Bagchi join Martyn to discuss the impact and legacy of Saint and Greavsie.

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In the summer of 1984 Terry Venables was the third-choice for the Barcelona job and had to fight the President to choose how to spend some of that Maradona transfer money but went on to win the club's first La Liga title in 11 years at a canter.

That title was only a means to an end, however. Now that they had qualified for the European Cup, the quest was now on to reach their Holy Grail.

Mike joins Martyn to discuss the two seasons as a whole as a manager that few fancied and a signing that fans had barely heard of would get so close to immortality and set in place a new culture that helped those who would follow.

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We start 1985/86 with a tale of heartbreak. As April turned to May of 1986, Heart of Midlothian were in the driving seat to win a sensational and unexpected league and cup double. The Guardian's Ewan Murray is here to tell us how they came from nowhere to lead the pack on a 27 game unbeaten run, how it agonisingly fell apart at the very end, how Celtic came through to snatch it and how it impacted the players and supporters years later.

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