madMaybe but every team had good players (for the time) back then e.g. you had Tony Hateley, Stan Bowles and Kevin Keegan plying their trade in the Fourth Division that season. Made the competition more even the styles of play will have encouraged more kick and rush and less science in the pitch preparation. Leicester this season, Newcastle and Wolves over the last five/six seasons, those sides apart there isn't much quality in the Div 2 today. No less overhyped than Div 2 early 70's
The quality in the championship is much higher than it has ever been. Leicester now are exceptional but other teams have a lot of good players. Of course there were good players around then. I think the standards might have been generally more even, probably because a lot of the best players in the world populate the top of our game now. I doubt every team in the fourth division were peppered with players of the calibre of Stan Bowles and Kevin Keegan on a regular basis. They weren’t down there for very long.
A lot of players in the current second division would have been regulars in the first division then, simply because clubs weren’t infested with Johnny Foreigner.
I think it was the first game we had that badge on the shirt as well.
You didn't have the big squads that Prem teams have now so players of that calibre would have to move down the divisions to play unless they were happy enough in the stiffs. Div 2 top scorers on the wiki page from that 70-71 season is a who's who of household names. Today's is;
Morgan Whittaker
Sammie Szmodics
Adam Armstrong
Jack Clarke
Crysencio Summerville
case closed
Fat Buddha CBECos they hated their kids and loved the pub and scrappingYet 30000 turned up to watch it
madYou didn't have the big squads that Prem teams have now so players of that calibre would have to move down the divisions to play unless they were happy enough in the stiffs. Div 2 top scorers on the wiki page from that 70-71 season is a who's who of household names. Today's is;
Morgan Whittaker
Sammie Szmodics
Adam Armstrong
Jack Clarke
Crysencio Summerville
case closed
A veritable who’s who
Macdonald Luton Town 24 4 2 30
2 England John Hickton Middlesbrough 25 0 2 27
3 England Bob Hatton Carlisle United 18 2 4 24
4 England Chris Chilton Hull City 21 2 0 23
5 England Rodney Marsh Queens Park Rangers 21 1 1 23
6 England Phil Summerill Birmingham City 16 1 4 21
7 England Don Rogers Swindon Town 16 0 4 20
8 England Alan Warboys Cardiff City /
Sheffield Wednesday 13 + 6 0 0 19
9 England Barry Bridges Millwall /
Queens Park Rangers 15 + 2 0 0 + 1 18
10 Scotland Alistair Brown Leicester City 15 2 0
Loved that team and kit and would definitely have been at that match.
Back in those days, Blues used to often train at St Andrews on Fridays and it was dead easy for us Small Heath lads to pop down, be let in and get the players autographs.
Different times.
Probably still got them in the loft somewhere they were on one of those Sports Argus team photos you could get with Typhoo Tea coupons (I think).
Just got into watching Blues then (67 now and still going). Shame to see Barry Bridges playing for QPR. Cracking Roger Hynd, Johnny Vincent, Bert Murray, Mike Kelly and the others.
IanTThey wouldn’t as none of the current players would stay on their feet long enoughnewblueCan’t believe people are saying that. There’s barely a pass goes to a member of the same side. The defensive mistakes are utterly comical.
The standard of play in the championship today is stratospherically better than it was in Division 2 back then. It doesn’t mean that games weren’t enjoyable but the quality has improved. Same in every sport, on the standards of fitness alone. Fielding in cricket is unrecognisable from where it was.
It's like watching a different sport.
I watched Boro v Sunderland earlier. Not a great game but either of those two sides would murder the Blues side in that video.
IanTThe standard of play there is just awful.
People are genuinely wrong when they say football in the 70s was better quality than today.
As FB said, cool kit though.
Not sure how you can tell from those brief highlights.
My opinion, but it was better quality and better entertainment- simply from the perspective it was genuinely competitive compared today's procession of the usual suspects to the League, FA Cup, European Cup......
Not sure how it being more competitive makes it better quality.
I think the championship today is, usually, a very competitive league. Thinking back to the 70’s, it was generally true that a few clubs dominated the scene.
Finally the 70’s propaganda has been debunked
Close the thread
newblueNot sure how it being more competitive makes it better quality.
I think the championship today is, usually, a very competitive league. Thinking back to the 70’s, it was generally true that a few clubs dominated the scene.
Look at the top 3 today. And the top 3 finish last year. Do you see a pattern emerging?
It's neither one nor the other. There is truth in both perspectives.
Is cricket really a better game because of a bit of relay gymnastics in the outfield? I'd question that. There has always been outstanding pieces of fielding in the game of cricket. Perhaps there is more of it now because batters are more inclined to play less than fully-controlled shots up into he air because of the contrivance of limited overs/sets. Does that really make up for the generally poorer quality of fearsome attacks that existed at test and county level such as in the 1980's, the generally poorer opening batsmanship, and home conditions almost always pre-determining the outcome of test series?