In order to add more colour and cultural relevance to our trip through footballing history, the Draft has been applied to popular culture. Lawrence Donegan, David Edgar and Jonny McFarlane battle it out to try and pick the strongest card from 1980 containing a film drama, film comedy, band, album, tv show and news story.

Three strong cards to choose from but hear their arguments first and enjoy conversations about living close to George Lucas, the Elephant Man as a Marvel character and why you don't get any famous assassinations anymore...

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1980/81 was a very poor domestic season for Liverpool by their own high standards but, even though they were a side in transition, they were still able to regain their European crown. Author and former football editor of the Times, Tony Evans, is on great form as he talks Martyn through a campaign with bags of goals, semi-final tension and character, a second round tie that changed history and perhaps the origins of the famous 'perch'...

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The Crystal Palace side that was promoted to the First Division in 1979 under Terry Venables had so much youthful promise that some considered the coming decade to be theirs to grab. They could be, it was reported, the team of the 1980s. What went wrong is the subject of this week's episode as Martyn sits down the with American author Stephen Brandt to chat about his new book 'The Team That Could Have Been' and then Rob Smyth discusses the wider impact of projecting hope and expectation onto young teams.

Stephen's book can be found here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Team-that-Could-Have-Been/dp/1801506639

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The Draft is back on Nessun Dorma and this time with a sporting twist. Gary, Mac and Mike join Martyn to try and convince him and then you the listener, that they have the strongest draft card that best captures the world of sport in 1980. But, there can be no crossover in the six categories whatsoever. Male, Female, Team, Single Achievement, Surprise and Minute of Action are all required.

In this episode we have Borg v McEnroe, Coe v Ovett as well as some speed skating, a foul that changed the laws of football and an obscene gesture to fans.

You can vote for your winner on Thursday at patreon.com/NessunDormaPodcast for free.

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It is April 1981 and Ipswich Town look set for a historic treble. With a talented English manager blending the best of British with Dutch flair, it all looked on. Wobbles, comebacks, replays and momentum shifts are everywhere in the conclusion to this fantastic season as three clubs grab their own share of the glory.

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At the start of April 1981, it looked likely that Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town were going to win an incredible treble of the league, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. How those dreams were dashed and how others benefitted is the subject of this two-part series.

In this first episode, Martyn is joined by Richard Moss of 'The Suffolk Crunch', the author Colin Plumb who attended nearly every Ipswich game that season, Mike Leigh of 'The Spurs Show' and the BBC's Pat Murphy, who was a young reporter covering the Midlands at the time, to put together the background as to how these three teams were built and ready for glory.

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The West Germans called the European Championship of 1980 'a hideous disfigurement of football'. And they won the bloody thing!

Martyn is joined by Jonathan O'Brien, author of the brilliant 'Euro Summits', to discuss the championship that nearly ended the whole enterprise. Poor football and even poorer crowds, it was a footballing summer that was almost so bad it was good and, sometimes, those are the most fascinating of all...

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Following last weekend’s sad news of the passing of Sven-Göran Eriksson at the age of 76, Martyn is joined by Rob and Mike to discuss a career that is somewhat overshadowed by England and what came after but really needs to be remembered better.

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The Premier League season of 1994/95 had so much going on that there could be multiple volumes covering it. Rob Fletcher has distilled it all into one brilliant new book that has so much detail that it almost falls off of the page. He sits down with Martyn to discuss the sleaze and scandal off the pitch, an incredible title race own it and the signings that shaped the future of English football.

Rob’s book comes out on Monday 26th August.

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And so, we reach the end.

A stellar cast gathers around the microphones as Rob Smyth returns to join Gary, Mike, Jonathan and Martyn to debate whether the 1994 Final is harshly treated, where this tournament sits in the World Cup pantheon, how Finals affect our judgement of that and some overall thoughts and highlights.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this deep dive and we’ll be back soon with a lot more to come.

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