When Shorts Were Short

With guest Matt Eastley.

When Shorts Were Short only concerns itself with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast will only cover football from 1954, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, a design that was widespread within English football by the mid-fifties, to 1992 when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren’t short, we don’t talk about it.

The guest for this FA Cup special is author Matt Eastley. His trilogy of books, ‘When the FA Cup Really Mattered’ from Pitch Publishing covers the competition from the 1960 Wolves v Blackburn final to the tragic ’89 final played out in the long shadow of Hillsborough, and the story of the finals is told through the fans who were there. The books cover that thirty-year period where the FA Cup was firmly established as the greatest cup competition the game has ever known.

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

Show Links

Pitch Publishing

Matt Eastley books

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Richard Sydenham.

When Shorts Were Short only concerns itself with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast will only cover football from 1954, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, a design that was widespread within English football by the mid-fifties, to 1992 when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren’t short, we don’t talk about it.

This week’s guest is journalist and author Richard Sydenham whose book, Ticket to the Moon: Aston Villa, the Rise and Fall of a European Champion, details the steady rise of Aston Villa after their return to the old First Division under Ron Saunders in 1975, and the improbable success that followed, champions of England in ’81 and of Europe a year later, by which time Ron Saunders had resigned in dramatic fashion. It’s largely the story of the enmity between Doug Ellis, at the club for much of Saunders’ time, and Saunders, and how the club’s failure to recover from Saunders’ shock resignation led ultimately to their dramatic relegation just five years after lifting the European Cup. 

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

SHOW LINKS

Richard Sydenham  – ‘Ticket to the Moon’

Twitter Richard Sydenham

deCoubertin Books

Ron Saunders tribute

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Simon Hart.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

Running Time: 01:13:51

This week’s guest is writer Simon Hart. Simon is the author of ‘Here We Go: Everton in the 1980s: The Players’ Stories’, a fascinating look at the club during that decade. If you think about Everton in the 80s, understandably you recall their great mid-80s side which surely would’ve won the European Cup, probably more than once, had it not been for the post-Heysel ban. But it’s largely overlooked, at least by non-Evertonians, that that great ’84-87 era was sandwiched between two periods of significant decline.

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook

shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

SHOW LINKS

Simon Hart – ‘Here We Go’

Twitter

@simon22ph

Simon’s Neville Southall column

deCoubertin Books

Oxford Utd v Everton, League Cup QF Jan 1984

Everton ‘Here We Go’ Wogan 1985

Everton v Bayern Munich, April 1985, ECWC SF 2nd Leg

(I think my recollection this was shown on ‘Sportsnight’ was misplaced. Martin Tyler commentary suggests it was actually shown on ITV’s ‘Midweek Sports Special’.

Everton v Sunderland, April 1985

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Paul Power.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

Running Time: 01:17:21

This week’s guest is former Manchester City skipper Paul Power.  Paul speaks about doing a law degree while starting out at City. He looks back at the strong mid-70s City side that wasn’t far off the title in ’77. Then we look at the drama of the second Malcolm Allison era, the epic FA Cup run under John Bond and the semi-final free-kick scored by the City captain which remains one of my favourite all-time goals. And we finish things off by looking at Paul’s switch to Everton. Success came to him late in his career, but once he got to Everton in the summer of ’86, Paul Power didn’t look out of place in one of Europe’s top sides.

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

Show links

Halifax v Man City, FA Cup 3rd Rd Jan 1980

Man City v Norwich FA Cup 4th Rd 1981

Man City v Ipswich, FA Cup Semi-Final 1981

(Free-kick, 01:35)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest David Dent.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it. 

This week’s guest is one of the most experienced administrators the English club game has seen. David Dent was appointed the first full time secretary of his home club Carlisle United in 1960, a post he would hold for eighteen years, taking in their brief but unforgettable single season stay in the old First Division in the mid-70s.

In 1978, David became club secretary at Jimmy Hill’s forward thinking Coventry City, a six-year period he looks back on fondly as the pioneer supreme Hill continued to innovate. Unfortunately for the sky Blues and their charismatic chairman, an investment in NASL clubs Detroit Express and later the Washington Diplomats brought financial difficulties for both parties, leading to a painful parting of the ways for Coventry and Hill.

In 1984, David moved to the Football League, progressing to become the last ever Football League secretary to preside over a 92-club league.

Running Time: 00:57:45

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

danielruiztizon.com

Show Notes

Chelsea v Carlisle, Div 1, 1974-75 (Starts @ 4:56)

Wolves v Carlisle

Carlisle learn they've been promoted to the old First Division

Civic Reception 1974 as Carlisle celebrate promotion

Jimmy Hill's Coventry years

NASL shootout, Detroit Express against Chicago Sting

Trevor Francis and Detroit Express against Dallas Tornado

Saint and Greavsie Rumbelows Cup draw 1991, with David Dent and Donald Trump.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Joe Corrigan.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it. 

My guest this week is a man who served one of our big clubs with huge distinction, making over 600 appearances for the club his family supported. Alongside Frank Swift and Bert Trautman, Joe Corrigan is rightly regarded as one of Manchester City’s greatest ever keepers. In May ’81, in both what was the 100th FA Cup Final and the replay, Corrigan was man of the match in both games and unfortunate to be on the losing side. It was supposedly the era of Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton, both keeping goal for what were then the country’s top clubs, Liverpool and Forest, and vying to be England’s number one. Joe Corrigan was the nominal number three, but in those two games at Wembley in May 1981, he reminded the country what an exceptional keeper he was and while he is rightly proud to have won nine England caps, it should’ve been more. 

We look back at Joe Corrigan’s eventful career, from his early difficulties winning over the City fans, to being voted the supporter’s player of the year as he finally convinced the City faithful of his talents, to the difficulties of Malcolm Allison’s disastrous return to the club in the late 70s, and no less disastrous perhaps, the collapse of John Bond’s initially promising Manchester City revamp in the early 80s.

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

danielruiztizon.com

SHOW NOTES

Italy v England New York 1976, USA Bicentennial Tournament

CITY! -A Club in Crisis (1981 Documentary)

1981 FA Cup Final replay

Joe Corrigan save v Allan Clarke

Kazimierz Deyna - Argentina v Poland 1978

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Daniel Tatarsky.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

This week’s guest is actor, director and writer Daniel Tatarsky, appearing on the show wearing his writer’s hat. I first became aware of Daniel’s work around 2005, shortly after Flick to Kick: An Illustrated History of Subbuteo was published by Orion. It’s a beautiful book, a book that inevitably, with my lifelong obsession with Subbuteo, is one I revisit frequently.

It is, I hope, a comprehensive interview looking at Peter Adolph’s creation of Subbuteo just after the second world war, its development in its first decade and a half, the bitter war with table football rival New Footy, the possibly ill-judged decision by Adolph to sell the game to Waddington’s in the late sixties, his attempt to create a new Subbuteo to take on the old Subbuteo, if you’re with me, and Subbuteo’s fall from grace after the 70s.

Running Time: 01:22:43

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

Daniel Tatarsky

Twitter @DanielTatarsky

Books Daniel Tatarsky

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Elton Welsby.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

This week’s guest is English TV presenter Elton Welsby, ITV’s frontman on The Match, which showed the final four years of Football League Division One football before Sky and The Premier League changed TV coverage forever.

Discussed on this interview with Elton, who strikes me as what in football would be termed as a ‘bit of a character’, are his dual love of Football and Rugby League, his passion for Everton, his association with legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly during Elton’s formative years as a young journalist and also later at Radio City as his broadcasting career took off, reaching its peak in the ’88 to ’92 era during which he presented a World Cup, a European Championships and the biggest league title decider there’s ever been. 

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

danielruiztizon.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest Kevin Ratcliffe.

At his peak through the mid-eighties, Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe was one of Europe’s finest centre halves, the young leader of a supremely talented group of kids who either came through the Goodison ranks or were recruited from the lower leagues and took a while to get going in the early years of Howard Kendall’s eventual hugely successful first tenure as Everton manager.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

danielruiztizon.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guest, FIFA Top 100 referee Keith Hackett.

When Shorts Were Short concerns itself solely with what was actually a very narrow window in football history when teams wore, well, short shorts. The podcast takes 1954 as its starting point, when Umbro made their first England kit with shorter shorts, to 1992, when short shorts were all but finished as Umbro's baggy shorts for Tottenham's new kit, ahead of the '91 FA Cup Final, quickly caught on.

If the shorts weren't short, we just don't talk about it.

This week’s guest is Keith Hackett, regarded by FIFA as one of the top 100 all-time referees. The Sheffield-born man in black enjoyed a rapid rise through the officiating ranks in the early 70s and by the middle of that decade, aged just 32, was refereeing in the old First Division of the Football League.

At just 36, unusually young for the time, Keith refereed one of the all-time great FA Cup Finals, the ’81 epic between Tottenham and Man City, the 100th FA Cup Final at a time when it cannot be overstated just how massive that competition was.

Eleven years later, via many more huge games, Keith was still refereeing for the first couple of Premier League seasons before retiring in the mid-90s.

Never mind the fact that his long career brought him into contact with many of the big names in football, as you’ll hear, his European games brought him face to face with some major historical figures of the late 20th century. 

Twitter @shortswereshort

Instagram @shortswereshort

Facebook shortswereshort

www.shortswereshort.com

danielruiztizon.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/when-shorts-were-short.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.