1983/84 marked the beginning of a new era in televised football, it the was first season (aside from a one off experiment in 1960) in which league matches would be shown live and the first season in which ITV's highlights would be networked rather than differ from region to region. A two year agreement allowed both the BBC and ITV to screen seven live games per season each, including cup ties (There was also the League Cup final, which they took turns to broadcast live, and both channels continued to screen the FA Cup final simultaneously). BBC1 showed their live games on Friday nights and stuck with traditional Match Of The Day highlights on Saturday nights. All ITV weekend coverage was broadcast on Sunday afternoon's. The decision to drop regional football programmes in favour of a networked version of London Weekend Television's The Big Match resulted in the time slot being reduced from 60 to 45 minutes, with two games now featured instead of three. ITV intended to screen a highlights programme every Sunday afternoon throughout the season (except for when they had a live match), but a dispute over the rights of regional ITV videotape technicians to edit matches locally rather than nationally pulled all ITV highlights off the air from September 1983 until February 1984*. The following season turned out to be the last in which ITV broadcast regular Sunday afternoon highlights.
Unable to agree on a new contract with the Football League, there was no football on any channel during the first half of 1985/86 and when football returned in January 1986 ITV showed their highlights on a Saturday night, but this would not be a regular occurrence as both the BBC and ITV now preferred to focus their attention on live fixtures. For 1986/87 and 1987/88, sporadic ITV highlights were mostly an exclusive treat for viewers in the LWT and Granada regions and on 7th May 1988 The Big Match's twenty year run finally came to and end.

*Some League Cup action was shown during the technicians dispute period. Match Of The Day was also off the air from 22nd October 1983 (due to strike action which disrupted outside broadcasts) and didn't return until 19th November 1983.

Theme Tunes
For season 1983/84 The Big Match continued to use Jeff Wayne's "Jubilation", the theme tune since August 1980, it was last heard at the end of season 1985/86. The programme then adopted ITV's 1986 World Cup theme, "Aztec Gold" by Silsoe.

Full details of televised FA Cup and League Cup finals plus the Charity Shield will be included on a separate 'ITV Cup Finals 1983-1989' page in due course. There will also be another section to deal with coverage of the European finals from the same period.

<<<< Regional Highlights 1968-1983

 Season 1983/84
.Live coverage was in a two hour slot, 2:30-4:30pm. Highlights went out at the earlier time of 1:15-2pm in the London area, most other regions showed the programme at 2:30-3:15pm. It was not shown in the Scottish or Grampian regions.
27/Aug    Arsenal 2 (Woodcock, McDermott) Luton Town 1 (Robson(og)) *Brian Moore commentated
               Wolverhampton W. 1 (Palmer(pen)) Liverpool 1 (Rush) *Martin Tyler
03/Sep    Tottenham Hotspur 0 West Ham United 2 (Witton, Swindlehurst) *Brian Moore
               *Stoke City 0 Manchester United 1 (Muhren) could not be shown (beginning of the long technicians dispute).
14/Sep    European highlights
02/Oct    LIVE - Tottenham Hotpsur 2 (Stevens, Archibald) Nottingham Forest 1 (Walsh) *Brian Moore & Ian St John
05/Oct    Brentford 1 (Roberts) Liverpool 4 (Rush 2, Robinson, Souness) [League Cup R2 1L] *Martin Tyler, Liverpool won 2nd leg 4-0
23/Oct    LIVE - Aston Villa 1 (Withe) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Clarke)
06/Nov   LIVE - Liverpool 3 (Rush, Robinson, Nicol) Everton 0 *Brian Moore
02/Nov   Athletic Bilbao 0 Liverpool 1 (Rush) [European Cup R2 2L] *Liverpool win 1-0 on agg
27/Nov   LIVE - West Ham United 1 (Swindlehurst) Manchester United 1 (Wilkins) *Brian Moore
07/Dec    Celtic 1 (MacLeod) Nottingham Forest 2 (Hodge, Walsh) [UEFA Cup R3 2L] *Forest win 2-1 on agg
               Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Archibald, Falco) Bayern Munich 0 *Peter Brackley, Spurs win 2-1 on agg
                     and possibly Sparta Prague 4 Watford 0
17/Dec    Arsenal 3 Watford 1 was recorded by ITV with Moore commentating but no highlights were scheduled
19/Dec    Oxford United 2 (Lawrence, Biggins) Manchester United (Graham) [League Cup R4 2nd Re] *Peter Brackley, Monday night
17/Jan     Possibly Sheffield Wed 2 Liverpool 2 & Norwich 0 Aston Villa 2 [League Cup QF's] *Tyler & Brackley comms but not billed
29/Jan     LIVE - Brighton & Hove Albion 2 (Ryan, Conner) Liverpool 0 [FA Cup R4]
04/Feb    Nottingham Forest 2 (Hodge, Walsh(pen)) Tottenham Hotpsur 2 (Falco, Hughton) *Brian Moore
               Portsmouth 1 (Webb) Newcastle United 4 (Keegan 2, Beardsley 2) *Martin Tyler
12/Feb    LIVE - Luton Town 0 Manchester United 5 (Robson 2, Whiteside 2, Stapleton) *Brian Moore & Ian St John
14/Feb    Walsall 0 Liverpool 2 (Rush, Whelan) [League Cup SF 2L] *Central & Granada only "Football Special" 11:30pm-12:30pm, Lpool win 4-2 on agg
15/Feb    Everton 2 (Sheedy, Richardson) Aston Villa 0 [League Cup SF 1L]
18/Feb    Watford 3 (Reilly, Johnston, Jackett) Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Wilson(pen)) [FA Cup R5] *Brian Moore
               Derby County 2 (Gemmill(pen), Davison) Norwich City 1 (Deehan) [FA Cup R5] *Martin Tyler
               Oxford United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 3 (Varadi, Bannister 2) [FA Cup R5]
22/Feb    Aston Villa 1 (Rideout) Everton 0 [League Cup SF 2L] *Everton through 2-1 on agg, Peter Brackley
25/Feb    Liverpool 2 (Rush, Robinson) Queens Park Rangers 0
               Southampton 2 (Wright, D.Armstrong) Luton Town 1 (Donaghy)
03/Mar   Everton 1 (Harper) Liverpool 1 (Rush) *Brian Moore
              Fulham 2 (Scott, Davies) Newcastle United 2 (Beardsley, Keegan) *Martin Tyler
11/Mar   LIVE - Sheffield Wednesday 0 Southampton 0 [FA Cup QF]
17/Mar   Newcastle United 3 (Beardsley, McDermott, Keegan) Middlesbrough 1 (Bell) *Peter Brackley
               Aston Villa 1 (McMahon) Nottingham Forest 0 *Martin Tyler
21/Mar   Manchester United 3 (Robson 2, Stapleton) Barcelona 0 [Cup-Winners Cup QF 2L] *Martin Tyler, Utd win 3-2 on agg
25/Mar   LIVE - Liverpool 0 Everton 0 [League Cup Final] *AET, Brian Moore & Brian Clough
28/Mar   LIVE - Liverpool 1 (Souness) Everton 0 [League Cup Final Replay] *at Maine Road, Brian Moore
31/Mar   West Ham United 2 (Pike, Cottee) Queens Park Rangers 2 (Allen 2) *Brian Moore
               Notts County 0 Nottingham Forest 0 *Martin Tyler
07/Apr    Norwich City 6 (Deehan 4(2pens), Downs, Devine) Watford 1 (Johnston) *Brian Moore
               Walsall 0 Oxford United 1 (Rhoades-Brown) *Peter Brackley
11/Apr    Manchester United 1 (Davies) Juventus 1 (Rossi) [Cup-Winners Cup SF 1L] *Martin Tyler, Utd lost 2nd leg 2-1
               Liverpool 1 (Lee) Dinamo Bucharest 0 [European Cup SF 1L] *Liverpool won 2nd leg 2-1
14/Apr    Everton 1 (Heath) Southampton 0 [FA Cup SF] *At Highbury, TVS had own presentation
               Newcastle United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Shelton) *Martin Tyler
21/Apr    Arsenal 3 (Robson, Nicholas, Woodcock) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Archibald 2) *Brian Moore
               Southampton 2 (Holmes, Moran) West Ham United 0
28/Apr    Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Sterland(pen)) Crystal Palace 0 *John Helm
               Derby County 1 (Watson) Manchester City 0
               Manchester United 0 West Ham United 0 *Martin Tyler
05/May   Everton 1 (Wakenshaw) Manchester United 1 (Stapleton) *Brian Moore
               Birmingham City 0 Liverpool 0 *Martin Tyler
12/May   West Ham United 1 (Stewart(pen)) Nottingham Forest 2 (Birtles, Davenport) *Brian Moore
                Birmingham City 0 Southampton 0
19/May    LIVE - Everton 2 (Sharp, Gray) Watford 0 [FA Cup Final]
23/May    LIVE - Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Roberts) Anderlecht 1 (Czerniatynski) *2-2 on agg, Spurs won 4-3 on pens, Brian Moore
30/May    LIVE - Roma 1 (Pruzzo) Liverpool 1 (Neal) [European Cup Final] *Liverpool won 4-2 on pens, Brian Moore

Sponsorship deals came to the fore in 1983/84 with shirt advertising now permitted in front of the TV cameras whilst the Football League became known as "The Canon League" in a deal that also saw the iconic championship trophy replaced by a quite hideous design named in 'honour' of the new sponsor, but it was business as usual  in terms of who actually won it  - Following the retirement of manager Bob Paisley, Liverpool again promoted from within and Joe Fagan guided them to a 3rd successive League championship (the first club to achieve this fete since 1935), Liverpool also won the League Cup for the 4th successive season (this time beating neighbours Everton in the final) and they further cemented their dominance with a 4th European Cup final success by overcoming Roma in Italy on their own ground in a penalty shoot-out. Star striker Ian Rush netted 48 goals in all competitions, 32 of which were scored in the league, earning him both the 'Footballer of the year' and PFA awards. As runners-up, Southampton had enjoyed their best ever season in which they also reached the Semi-finals of the FA Cup. Last season's runners-up Watford dropped back to 11th but did go all the way to Wembley in the FA Cup before losing to Howard Kendall's Everton who finished 7th. All six teams at the bottom of the top flight were Midlands clubs with Birmingham, Notts County and Wolves taking the drop. Luton's Paul Walsh was 'Young player of the year', Leicester's Gary Lineker was runner-up on the top flight goalscoring charts on 22 whilst Chelsea's Kerry Dixon (with 28) and Newcastle's Kevin Keegan (on 27) were the 2nd tier's leading scorers in successful promotion campaigns for their respective clubs, yet Keegan decided to retire at the end of the season. Sheffield Wednesday were also promoted whilst Derby County, less than a decade since they had been competing in the European cup, were relegated to the 3rd tier. Trevor Senior was the leading scorer in all divisions, bagging 36 for Fourth Division Reading, Keith Edwards grabbed 33 for Sheffield United who were promoted from the 3rd tier along with runaway champions Oxford United.

Season 1984/85
.Weekend highlights continued to be shown on Sunday afternoon's (except for the Charity Shield) in a 45 minute slot.
18/Aug    Everton 1 (Grobbelaar(og)) Liverpool 0 [Charity Shield] *Brian Moore, this edition was shown on Saturday night
25/Aug    Arsenal 1 (Mariner) Chelsea 1 (Dixon) *Brian Moore
               Sheffield Wednesday 3 (Pearson, Sterland(pen), Varadi) Nottingham Forest 1 (Davenport) *Martin Tyler
               Leicester City 2 (Lineker 2) Newcastle United 3 (Carney, McCreery, Waddle) *may have been just a report
01/Sep    Southampton 2 (Armstrong, Jordan) West Ham United 3 (Dickens, Goddard 2) *Brian Moore
               Leeds United 3 (Lorimer, Wright 2) Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (Ainscow, Dougherty) *Peter Brackley
08/Sep    Manchester Unted 5 (Hughes, Moses, Olsen, Strachan 2(1pen)) Newcastle United 0 *Brian Moore
               Leicester City 2 (Lineker, Lynex) Ipswich Town 1 (Gates) *Martin Tyler
               Crystal Palace 0 Birmingham City 2 (Clarke, Hopkins)
15/Sep    Newcastle United 2 (Beardsley(pen), Wharton) Everton 3 (Gray, Sheedy, Steven) *Martin Tyler
               Derby County 2 (Davison, Taylor) Burnley 2 (Biggins, Herd) *Peter Brackley
19/Sep    European highlights
22/Sep    West Ham United 0 Nottingham Forest 0 *Brian Moore
               Norwich City 3 (Deehan 3(1pen)) Watford 2 (Johnston, Terry) *Peter Brackley
               Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Chapman, Marwood) Ipswich Town 2 (Gates 2) *John Helm
                    BFI entry says Portsmouth 3 (Morgan, Webb 2) Shrewsbury Town 0 instead of Sheff Wed v Ipswich
29/Sep    Liverpool 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Shelton, Varadi) *Peter Brackley
               West Bromwich Albion 1 (Thompson(pen)) Manchester United 2 (Robson, Strachan(pen)) *Martin Tyler
06/Oct    Southampton 1 (Moran) Tottenham Hotspur 0
               Manchester City 1 (Kinsey) Oxford United 0
               Queens Park Rangers 2 (Bannister, Fillery) Luton Town 3 (P.Elliot, S.Elliot, Jobson(og))
10/Oct    [League Cup R2 2L] Possibly Nottingham Forest 3 Portsmouth 0
13/Oct    Ipswich Town 1 (Gates(pen)) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Gregory) *Brian Moore
               Coventry City 1 (Hibbitt) Newcastle United 1 (Beardsley(pen))
20/Oct    Manchester United 1 (Hughes) Tottenham Hotspur 0 *Martin Tyler
               Stoke City 2 (Chamberlain, Painter) West Ham United 4 (Allen, Cottee, Goddard, Berry(og))
               Aston Villa 2 (Withe 2) Norwich City 2 (Deehan, Donowa)
28/Oct    LIVE - Nottingham Forest 0 Liverpool 2 (Rush, Whelan) *Brian Moore
03/Nov   Sunderland 3 (Hodgson, Wicks(og), Wylde) Queens Park Rangers 0
               Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Manchester City 0
07/Nov   Manchester United 1 (Strachan(pen)) PSV Eindhoven 0 [UEFA Cup R2 2L] *AET, United win 1-0 on agg
10/Nov   Arsenal 1 (Mariner) Aston Villa 1 (Birch) *Brian Moore
               Bristol City 3 (Riley 2, Stroud) Bristol Rovers 0 *Martin Tyler
               Grimsby Town 5 (Barnes(og), Bonnyman(pen), Drinkell, Ford, Wilkinson) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Langley) *John Helm
18/Nov   LIVE - Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 2 (Nicol, Wark) *Brian Moore & Ian St John
25/Nov   LIVE - Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Chapman, Smith) Arsenal (Woodcock) *Brian Moore
28/Nov   Manchester United 2 (Strachan(pen), Robson) Dundee United 2 (Hegarty, Sturrock) [UEFA Cup R3 1L] ?+Spurs 2 B. Prague 0?
01/Dec    Everton 1 (Sharp(pen)) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Blair) *Martin Tyler
               Coventry City 1 (Regis) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Falco)
08/Dec    Southampton 1 (Curtis) Arsenal 0 *as part of "Sport Special"
               Reading 6 (Juryeff 2, Beavon, Senior 2, White) Bognor Regis 2 (Poole, P.Pullen) [FA Cup R2] *as part of "Sport Special"
               Independiente 1 (Percudani) Liverpool 0 [WCC] *played on 9th, Brian Moore, as part of "Sport Special"
15/Dec    Watford 1 (Terry) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Crooks, Falco)
               Newcastle United 1 (Waddle) Norwich City 1 (Donowa) *Brian Moore
22/Dec    West Ham United 2 (Cottee 2) Southampton 3 (Jordan, McAllister(og), Wallace) *Brian Moore
               Portsmouth 2 (Biley 2) Oxford United 1 (Brock) *Martin Tyler
                    Manchester United 3 (Gidman, Robson, Strachan(pen)) Ipswich Town 0 *This was just a report
29/Dec    Chelsea 1 (Davies) Manchester United 3 (Hughes, Moses, Stapleton) *Brian Moore
               Nottingham Forest 3 (Davenport 2(1pen), Metgod) Aston Villa 2 (Gibson, Rideout)
               Blackburn Rovers 1 (Brotherston) Huddersfield Town 3 (Cooper, Cowling, Tempest)
05/Jan     Fulham 2 (Houghton 2) Sheffield Wednesday 3 (Sterland, Chapman 2) [FA Cup R3]
               Hereford United 1 (Price) Arsenal 1 (Woodcock) [FA Cup R3]
               Liverpool 3 (Rush 2, Wark) Aston Villa 0 [FA Cup R3] *Martin Tyler
09/Jan     Newcastle United 1 (Waddle) Nottingham Forest 3 (Davenport(pen), Bowyer, Christie) [FA Cup R3 Replay] *AET
12/Jan     Everton 4 (Mountfield, Sharp, Sheedy 2) Newcastle United 0 *Peter Brackley
               Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Middlesbrough 0
               Huddersfield Town 0 Manchester City 2 (Smith, Wilson)
16/Jan     Grimsby Town 0 Norwich City 1 (Deehan) [League Cup QF]
               Juventus 2 (Boniek 2) Liverpool 0 [Super Cup] *single match tie played in Turin
19/Jan     Watford v Man Utd was scheduled for LIVE broadcast on 20th but pp'd, weekend papers billed a film instead
23/Jan     Watford 0 Sunderland 1 (Walker) [League Cup QF]
27/Jan     LIVE - Liverpool 1 (Rush) Tottenham Hotspur 0 [FA Cup R4]
02/Feb    Everton 4 (Sheedy, Stevens 2, Steven) Watford 0 *Martin Tyler
               Grimsby Town 0 Sheffield United 2 (Edwards, Morris) *John Helm
               Leicester City 1 (Lineker) Chelsea 1 (Speedie(pen))
06/Feb    Chelsea 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1 [League Cup QF 2nd Replay] *Not 100%
09/Feb    Blackburn Rovers 2 (Quinn, Thompson) Fulham 1 (Carr) *Brian Moore
               Newcastle United 1 (Beardsley) Manchester United 1 (Moran) *Martin Tyler, snow covered pitch
               Cambridge United 0 York City 4 (Banton 2, MacPhail(pen), Sbragia)
16/Feb    York City 1 (Sbragia) Liverpool 1 (Rush) [FA Cup R5] *Brian Moore
               Everton 3 (Reid, Sheedy(pen), Steven) Telford United 0 [FA Cup R5] *Martin Tyler
20/Feb    Probably Liverpool 7 York City 0 [FA Cup R5 Replay]
23/Feb    Arsenal 0 Manchester United 1 (Whiteside) *Brian Moore
               Nottingham Forest 2 (Davenport(pen), Hodge) Southampton 0 *Peter Brackley
02/Mar    Blackburn Rovers 0 Manchester City 1 (Kinsey) *Peter Brackley
               Stoke City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Crooks) *Martin Tyler
06/Mar    Tottenham Hotpsur 0 Real Madrid 1 (Perryman(og)) [UEFA Cup QF 1L] *2nd leg was 0-0
                Norwich City 2 (Deehan, Bruce) Ipswich Town 0 [League Cup SF 2L] *Gerry Harrison, Norwich win 2-1 on agg
                     Possibly also Everton 3 Fortuna Sittard 0
10 Mar    LIVE - Barnsley 0 Liverpool 4 (Whelan, Rush 3) [FA Cup QF]
16/Mar    Liverpool 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Crooks) *Brian Moore
               Queens Park Rangers 3 (Bannister, Fereday 2) Ipswich Town 0 *Martin Tyler
23/Mar    No programme this weekend because BBC1 were showing the League Cup final on Sunday afternoon.
31 Mar    LIVE - Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1 (Stapleton) *Brian Moore
06/Apr    West Ham United 1 (Dickens) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Ardiles) *Martin Tyler
               Barnsley 0 Manchester City 0
13/Apr    Liverpool 2 (Whelan, Walsh) Manchester United 2 (Robson, Stapleton) [FA Cup SF] *at Goodison, Brian Moore
               Portsmouth 1 (Dillon) Birmingham City 3 (Geddis 3)
17/Apr    Manchester United 2 (Robson, Hughes) Liverpool 1 (McGrath(og)) [FA Cup SF Replay] *at Maine Road, Brian Moore
21 Apr    LIVE - Luton Town 2 (Harford 2(1pen)) Manchester United 1 (Whiteside) *Brian Moore
24/Apr    Everton 3 (Sharp, Gray, Steven) Bayern Munich 1 (Hoeness) [ECWC SF 2L] *Martin Tyler, Everton win 3-1 on agg
27/Apr    Everton 3 (Bracewell, Mountfield, Steven) Norwich City 0 *Brian Moore
               Leeds United 1 (Baird) Oxford United 0 *John Helm
04/May   Luton Town 3 (Harford 2(1pen), Nwajiobi) Arsenal 1 (Nicholas(pen))
               Manchester City 0 Oldham Athletic 0 *Martin Tyler
11/May   Queens Park Rangers 1 (Bannister) Manchester United 3 (Brazil 2, Strachan)
               Norwich City 0 Newcastle United 0 *Martin Tyler
               Bradford City 0 Lincoln City 0 *John Helm. Horrific fire in stand killed 56 fans. Game abandoned at HT.
15/May   LIVE - Everton 3 (Gray, Steven, Sheedy) Austria Vienna 1 (Krankl) [ECWC Final]
18/May   LIVE - Manchester United 1 (Whiteside) Everton 0 [FA Cup Final] *AET, Brian Moore

A shocking season of hooliganism, rioting and tragedy overshadowed a superb campaign for Everton who claimed the league championship by finishing 13 points clear of Liverpool and Spurs in 2nd & 3rd, Everton also won the Cup-Winners Cup and goalkeeper Neville Southall was named 'Footballer of the year' whilst Peter Reid took the PFA award, Graham Sharp was the leading scorer for the champions with 21 goals. Everton almost achieved a treble, but lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final in extra-time, United finished 4th in the league with Mark Hughes named 'Young player of the year'. Norwich won the League Cup, beating Sunderland in the final, but both League Cup finalists were relegated along with Stoke who only won three league games all season. Kerry Dixon (Chelsea) and Gary Lineker (Leicester) were the top flight's joint leading scorers on 24. Topping the 2nd tier scoring charts was John Aldridge, bagging 30 goals for Oxford United who achieved a successive promotion (again going up as champions), Birmingham were runners-up, Manchester City took 3rd spot. Down at the bottom both Notts County and Wolves suffered a successive relegation into the 3rd tier. In the lower league's, Tommy Tynan of Plymouth and John Clayton of Tranmere were top scorers in all league's with 31. The champions of the 3rd tier were Bradford City, but what should have been a final day of the season celebration party at Valley Parade turned into a dreadful nightmare as their typically antiquated wooden main stand caught fire just before half-time and rapidly became a billowing furnace claiming the lives of 56 people and injuring a further 250, Yorkshire Television cameras were at the game to capture highlights for the Sunday afternoon edition of The Big Match, commentator John Helm suddenly found himself having to describe the awful scene which was shown minutes later on World of Sport as viewers tuned in expecting to see the half-time scores and wrestling. The Bradford fire was one of British football's biggest ever disasters, occurring at the end of a season which had witnessed full scale rioting at several grounds and Chelsea chairman Ken Bates taking the extreme measure of installing an electric cattle grid wire to keep trouble makers off the pitch. On the same day as the Bradford fire, a boy died at Birmingham City when a wall was pushed over by away fans, the Heysel Stadium tragedy occurred only 18 days later in which 39 people were crushed to death as spectators tried to flee rioting hooligans at the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus (televised live on BBC1). Less than 48 hours after the Heysel incident, in spite of the Belgian administrative and policing errors that led to the initial problems (seemingly instigated by Italian fans), the FA made a knee-jerk reaction and withdrew all English clubs from European competitions for 12 months, it was a foolish gesture which implied an admission of guilt before the results of the enquiry were published. UEFA in turn also then decided to act before the true facts had been established and announced an indefinite ban of English clubs playing in Europe on 2nd June. The ban was eventually set at five years, with Liverpool banned for a further three - It was particularly ironic that Liverpool should shoulder the blame for the English problem given their fans long standing reputation for being among the best behaved in the country. To make matters worse, English football's biggest ever crisis was unfolding whilst negotiations between the Football League and the TV companies for coverage next season had yet to be resolved - And the matter would still be unresolved by the time the new season kicked off in August.....

Season 1985/86
.Negotiations between TV companies and the Football League remained deadlocked throughout the first half of the season, there was no football on TV in England & Wales (apart from Internationals and newsreels on Saturday night News bulletins) until January 1986. When football returned to our TV screens, both the BBC and ITV decided to show highlights on Saturday nights and the live games on Sunday afternoons (but only one channel would screen a programme on any given weekend, except FA Cup weekends when one channel would have highlights and the other a live game).
04/Jan     *Saturday night highlights 10:45-11:30pm
                Grimsby Town 3 (Lund, Lyons, Peake(pen)) Arsenal 4 (Rix, Nicholas 3) [FA Cup R3] *Brian Moore
                Portsmouth 2 (Blake, Dillon) Aston Villa 2 (Kerr, Birch) [FA Cup R3] *Martin Tyler
08/Jan     Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Waddle, C.Allen) Oxford United 1 (Aldridge) [FA Cup R3 Replay]
11/Jan     *No ITV coverage this weekend, BBC had live game,
18/Jan     *No ITV coverage this weekend, BBC had MOTD highlights
26/Jan     LIVE - Chelsea 1 (Speedie) Liverpool (Rush, Lawrenson) [FA Cup R4] *Brian Moore & Ian St John
29/Jan     Chelsea 0 Queens Park Rangers 2 (McDonald, Robinson) [League Cup QF Replay]
02/Feb    LIVE - West Ham United 2 (Ward, Cottee) Manchester United 1 (Robson) *Brian Moore & David Pleat
08/Feb    *No ITV coverage this weekend, BBC had live game
11/Feb    Everton 4 (Lineker 3, Sharp) Manchester City 0 *Central were due to cover Villa v Oxford [LCSF1L] but it was pp'd
15/Feb    *Saturday night highlights 10:30-11:30pm
               Luton Town 2 (Hill, Harford) Arsenal (Allinson, Rocastle) [FA Cup R5]
               York City 1 (Ford) Liverpool 1 (Molby(pen)) [FA Cup R5]
               Southampton 0 Millwall 0 [FA Cup R5]
22/Feb    *Saturday night highlights 10:45-11:30pm (Two league matches)
               Liverpool 0 Everton 2 (Ratcliffe, Lineker) *Martin Tyler
               Queens Park Rangers 1 (Byrne) Luton Town 1 (Newell) *Brian Moore
01/Mar    *No ITV coverage this weekend, BBC had live game
04/Mar    Aston Villa 2 (Birch, Stainrod) Oxford United 2 (Aldridge 2(1pen)) [League Cup SF L1] *Central only from 11:35pm
05/Mar    LIVE - Liverpool 2 (McMahon, Johnston) Queens Park Rangers 2 (Whelan(og), Gillespie(og)) [League Cup SF 2L] *QPR win 3-2 on agg
09/Mar    LIVE - Manchester United 0 West Ham 2 (Pike, Stewart(pen)) [FA Cup R5 Re] *Brian Moore, QF originally scheduled (Sheff Wed v winners of this tie)
16/Mar    LIVE - Everton 1 (Sheedy) Chelsea 1 (Murphy) *Martin Tyler & Ian St John
22/Mar    *No ITV coverage this weekend, BBC had MOTD highlights
29/Mar   *Saturday night highlights 10:45-11:30pm
               Chelsea 0 West Ham United 4 (Devonshire, Cottee 2, McAvennie) *Peter Brackley
               Everton 1 (Richardson) Newcastle United 0 *Martin Tyler
05/Apr    Liverpool 2 (Rush 2) Southampton 0 [FA Cup SF] *at White Hart Lane, AET, Sunday afternoon highlights 2:30-3:30pm
               Norwich City 3 (Connor(og), Drinkell, Williams(pen)) Brighton & Hove Albion 0 *Gerry Harrison
09/Apr    Manchester United 1 (Olsen(pen)) Chelsea 2 (Dixon 2) *Peter Brackley
13/Apr    LIVE - Manchester United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Shutt, Sterland(pen)) *Peter Brackley
16/Apr    Luton Town 0 Liverpool 1 (Johnston)
20/Apr    LIVE - Oxford United 3 (Hebberd, Houghton, Charles) Queens Park Rangers 0 [League Cup Final]
26/Apr    *Saturday night highlights 10:30-11:15pm
               Liverpool 5 (Rush, Gillespie 3(1pen), Molby) Birmingham City 0 *Brian Moore
               Ipswich Town 3 (Dozzell, Butcher, Atkins) Oxford United 2 (Aldridge, Phillips) *Gerry Harrison
               Nottingham Forest 0 Everton 0
30/Apr    Leicester City 0 Liverpool 2 (Rush,Whelan) *Gerry Harrison
               Oxford United 1 (Phillips) Everton 0 *Martin Tyler
               West Ham United 2 (Dickens, Stewart(pen)) Ipswich Town 1 (Wilson) *Brian Moore
03/May   *No ITV coverage this weekend, BBC had MOTD highlights
10/May   LIVE - Liverpool 3 (Rush 2, Johnston) Everton 1 (Lineker) [FA Cup Final] *Brian Moore

Since the 1960's, it had often been argued that televised football was responsible for declining attendance's - That theory was put to the test in 1985/86 and the result was that gates slumped to a post war low with the total being close to half of what it had been just 15 years earlier and down by a third since 1980. The off-the-field problems of recent campaigns were an obvious contributory factor in football's diminishing popularity, but it became equally apparent that a lack of TV exposure was not going to help. Happily, TV viewers were at least able to share in the 2nd half of a memorable season for Liverpool who had uncharacteristically failed to win a trophy in 1985, normal service was resumed in 1986 as the reds won the League championship and FA Cup double in Kenny Dalglish's first season as player/manager (becoming only the third club this century to win both trophies in the same season). Liverpool's success was directly at the expense of Everton, who had been cruelly robbed of the opportunity to compete in the European Cup because of the blanket five year ban on all English clubs. Everton were runners-up in both the league and the FA Cup, finishing 2 points behind Liverpool in the league as well as losing to their neighbours at Wembley in May, but striker Gary Lineker was 'Player of the year' and he also took the PFA award after finishing top scorer in all league's with 30 goals. Frank McAvennie netted 26 times for West Ham who finished 3rd, McAvennie's striking partner Tony Cottee was named 'Young player of the year', Manchester United got off to a dream start by winning all of their opening 10 league games, but ended up having to settle for 4th spot. Down at the bottom, long established top flight clubs Ipswich and West Brom were relegated along with yo-yo specialists Birmingham City. Maurice Evans' Oxford United, in their first ever season among the elite, finished one point above the drop after being surprise winners of the League Cup. The 2nd tier saw Norwich immediately bounce back up as champions (Kevin Drinkell topping the division's scoring charts on 22) along with Charlton Athletic (returning to the top flight for the first time since 1957) and Wimbledon (who had only joined the Football League in 1978). With talk of a breakaway Super League and government plans to enforce an expensive (as well as unpopular) identity card system for supporters, this was not a time for any club of stature to be spending time in the lower league's, yet Middlesbrough were another big name club taking the drop into the 3rd tier whilst Wolves suffered a third successive demotion into the basement league. Derby County managed to climb out of the 3rd tier at the 2nd attempt along with Champions Reading who bettered Manchester United's winning start by collecting maximum points from their opening 13 league games - Royals striker Trevor Senior was top scorer in this division with 27 goals.

Season 1986/87
A new two year deal was this time swiftly agreed between the Football League and ITV and the BBC, but highlights were severely cut - ITV viewers outside of London and the North West saw very little action other than live games whilst BBC1 only showed a  Saturday night "Match of the Day" highlights programme on FA Cup 4th Round and Quarter-finals weekends.
27/Jul      LIVE - The Americas 2 (Cabanas, Maradona) Rest Of The World 2 (Butcher, Rossi) *In Pasedena, Americas won 4-3 on pens, Brian Moore
16/Aug    LIVE - Everton 1 (Heath) Liverpool 1 (Rush) [Charity Shield] *Brian Moore & David Pleat
23/Aug    Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 2 (Rush 2) *Tyne Tees only, Roger Tames, "Extra Time Soccer Special" Sunday 2:30-3:15pm
30/Aug    Leeds United 0 Sheffield United 1 (Phillskirk) *Yorkshire only, not shown until Monday on "Calendar Sports Special" 6:30-7pm
06/Sep    *No football on TV this weekend
13/Sep    *No football on TV this weekend
20/Sep    *BBC1 had a live game on the Sunday
24/Sep     Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Nottingham Forest 0 [League Cup R2 1L]
28/Sep     LIVE - Manchester United 0 Chelsea 1 (Dixon) *Brian Moore & David Pleat
04/Oct     Wimbledon 1 (Fairweather) Liverpool 3 (Molby, Rush 2) *LWT & Granada (poss others), "The Big Match" Saturday 10-10:45pm
08/Oct     Chelsea 3 (Sbragia(og), Dixon, McAllistair) York City 0 [League Cup R2 2L] *Martin Tyler
                Nottingham Forest 3 (Carr 2, Pearce(pen)) Brighton & Hove Albion 0 [League Cup R2 2L] *Brian Moore
11/Oct     Luton Town 0 Norwich City 0 *Anglia only, Sunday from 2:30pm
18/Oct    *No football on TV this weekend
26/Oct     LIVE - Manchester City 1 (McCarthey) Manchester United 1 (Stapleton) *Brian Moore
29/Oct     Watford 2 (Jackett(pen), Bardsley) West Ham United 3 (Goddard, Dickens, Ward) [League Cup R3] *Brian Moore
                Derby County 1 (Harbey) Aston Villa 1 (Daley) [League Cup R3] *Martin Tyler
01/Nov    *BBC1 had a live game on the Sunday
05/Nov    Wrexham 2 (Massey, Buxton) Real Zaragoza 2 (Yanez 2) [Cup-Winners Cup R2 2L] *AET, 2-2 on agg, Wrexham lose on away goals
                Nottingham Forest 1 (Clough) Crystal Palace 0 [League Cup R3 Replay] *John Helm
08/Nov    *No football on TV this weekend
16/Nov    LIVE - Liverpool 1 (Rush) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Chapman) *Brian Moore
22/Nov    *BBC1 had a live game on the Sunday
26/Nov    Cambridge United 1 (Cooper) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (C.Allen, Close, Waddle) [League Cup R4] *Martin Tyler
                Liverpool 3 (Molby 3(3pens)) Coventry City 1 (Bennett) [League Cup R4 Replay]
29/Nov    Manchester City 1 (Mouldon) Everton 3 (Heath 2, Power) *Granada only, Martin Tyler, "First Division Special" Saturday 10-11pm
30/Nov    LIVE - Newcastle United 4 (McDonald, A.Thomas 2, D.Jackson) West Ham United 0
06/Dec    *BBC1 had a live game on the Sunday
13/Dec    *BBC1 had a live game on the Sunday
20/Dec    *No football on TV this weekend
27/Dec    *No football on TV this weekend
03/Jan     *BBC1 had a live game on the Sunday
10/Jan     *"The Big Match" highlights networked 10-11pm [FA Cup R3]
               Manchester United 1 (Whiteside) Manchester City 0 *Martin Tyler
               Reading 1 (Senior) Arsenal 3 (Nicholas 2, Hayes(pen)) *Brian Moore, TVS may have had own presenation
               Caernarfon 0 Barnsley 0
               Bristol City 1 (Riley) Plymouth Argyle 1 (Summerfield) *Roger Malone, HTV may have had own presentation
17/Jan     Manchester City 0 Liverpool 1 (Rush) *Granada only, Martin Tyler, "First Division Special"  Saturday 10:45-11:30pm
18/Jan     LIVE - Arsenal 0 Coventry City 0 *Brian Moore
25/Jan     LIVE - Nottingham Forest 1 (Webb) Everton 0 *Brian Moore
27/Jan     West Ham Utd 1 (Cottee) Tottenham Hotpsur 1 (C.Allen) [League Cup QF] *Brian Moore (tx Tuesday? Not scheduled)
               Southampton 1 (Clarke(pen)) Shrewsbury Town 0 [League Cup QF] *Martin Tyler (tx Tuesday? Not scheduled)
28/Jan     Luton Town 3 (B.Stein, Harford(pen), Newell) Liverpool 0 [FA Cup R3 2nd Replay] *Brian Moore
01/Feb    LIVE - Watford 1 (Blissett) Chelsea 0 [FA Cup R4] *Brian Moore
08/Feb    LIVE - Arsenal 0 Tottenham Hotpsur 1 (C.Allen) [League Cup SF 1L] **Brian Moore, Arsenal win 2nd leg (2-1) and replay
14/Feb    *No football on TV this weekend
21/Feb    *"The Big Match" highlights networked 10:45-11:45pm
               Tottenham Hotspur 1 (C.Allen) Newcastle United 0 [FA Cup R5]
               Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Shelton) West Ham United 1 (McAvennie) [FA Cup R5]
               Walsall 1 (Christie) Watford 1 (Bardsley) [FA Cup R5]
24/Feb    Watford 4 (Jackett(pen), Blissett, Barnes 2) Walsall 4 (Cross, Christie 2, Hawker) [FA Cup R5 Replay] *Brian Moore
25/Feb    Liverpool 3 (Whelan, Dalglish, Molby) Southampton 0 [League Cup SF 2L] *3-0 on agg, Two Midweek Sports Specials this week
               West Ham United 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Chapman, Bradshaw) [FA Cup R5 Replay]
28/Feb    Manchester United 0 Everton 0 *Granada only, Martin Tyler, "First Division Special" Saturday 10:45-11:45pm
02/Mar    Walsall 0 Watford 1 (Dornan(og)) [FA Cup R5 2nd Replay] *Monday night, Central & Thames only "Football Special" 11:40pm-12:30am
04/Mar    Tottenham Hotspur 1 (C.Allen) Arsenal 2 (Allinson, Rocastle) [League Cup SF Replay] *Brian Moore
07/Mar    *Highlights on LWT & Granada only, Saturday 10:40-11:25pm (Granada "First Division Special", LWT may have had own "Big Match")
                Manchester United 2 (Reid(og), Robson) Manchester City 0 *Martin Tyler
                ?Chelsea 1 (West) Arsenal 0? *Brian Moore (may have been for overseas, Chairman Ken Bates banned BBC & ITV from the Bridge this & next season).
15/Mar    LIVE - Wimbledon 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Waddle, Hoddle) [FA Cup QF] *Brian Moore
                Wigan Athletic 0 Leeds United 2 (Stiles, Adams) [FA Cup QF] *Yorkshire region only, probably 6-6:30pm (late programme change)
22/Mar    LIVE - Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Waddle) Liverpool 0 *Brian Moore
25/Mar    Newcastle United 1 (Goddard) Tottenham Hotpsur 1 (Hoddle) *Martin Tyler
                Aston Villa 1 (Hunt) Watford 1 (Falco) *Brian Moore
28/Mar    Arsenal 0 Everton 1 (Clarke) *"The Big Match" highlights on LWT & Granada only, Saturday 10:45-11:30pm (+Lpool 1 Wmbldn 2?)
04/Apr    *BBC1 showed the League Cup Final on the Sunday
11/Apr    Tottenham Hotpsur 4 (Hodge 2, C.Allen, P.Allen) Watford 1 (Allen) [FA Cup SF] *at Villa Park, Peter Brackley (?+Everton 4 WHU 0?)
12/Apr    Coventry City 3 (Gynn, Houchen, Bennett) Leeds United 2 (Rennie, Edwards) [FA Cup SF] *AET, at Hillsborough, Martin Tyler, delayed coverage of the whole match
18/Apr    Liverpool 3 (Dalglish, Whelan, Ablett) Nottingham Forest 0 *Granada & Central only, Martin Tyler, "First Division Special" Saturday 10:30-11:30pm (?+Villa 0 Everton 1?)
25/Apr    Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Waddle, P.Allen, Hoddle) Oxford United 1 (Saunders) *Brian Moore, "The Big Match", LWT & Granada only, Saturday 10:45-11:30pm
                    *Liverpool 3 Everton 1, Martin Tyler, was not shown because of strike action but it was broadcast live in Ireland.on RTE.
02/May   West Ham United 1 (Ward) Newcastle United 1 (McDonald) *LWT & Tyne Tees only, "The Big Match" Saturday 10:45-11:45pm
                    *Granada intended to show Everton 0 Manchester City 0 but were prevented from doing so by strike action.
09/May   *No football on TV this weekend
16/May   LIVE - Coventry City 3 (Bennett, Houchen, Mabbutt(og)) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (C.Allen, Mabbutt) [FA Cup Final] *Brian Moore
29/May   Charlton Athletic 2 (Shirtliff 2) Leeds United 1 (Sheridan) [Play Off Final Replay] *at St Andrews, Yorkshire showed this as a late programme change on Friday night, maybe LWT too.

The 1986/87 season is best remembered for the FA Cup final in which Coventry City won the cup for the first time in a five goal thriller, but 86/87 was also the season that saw the introduction of a controversial play-off system - originally designed to smooth over a re-structuring of the divisions which would reduce the top flight from 22 to 20 clubs over the course of two season's. Four clubs could have been relegated from the top flight in 1987, but 4th bottom Charlton were given the chance to save themselves in the play-off's, which they did by beating Leeds in a replay after a two-leg drawn final. Everton were crowned top flight champions for the 2nd time in three season's despite losing World Cup golden boot star Gary Lineker to Barcelona, Liverpool were runners-up, Tottenham 3rd. Arsenal won their first trophy since 1979 by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final, the Gunners also achieved their highest league finish since 1980, taking 4th place. Down at the bottom, Leicester, Manchester City and Aston Villa were relegated with only two clubs coming up to replace them; Derby County and Portsmouth. It was three up-three down as usual between the 2nd and 3rd tiers, but play-off's were also employed to decide the final switch - Sunderland squandered the chance to stay up and were demoted, Middlesbrough won an automatic return to the 2nd tier as runners-up. Down in the basement, Wolves finished 4th but were the first club to suffer the 'injustice' of the play off's by losing to 6th placed Aldershot in the final. There were also changes to the rules in regards to clubs dropping out of the league, the re-election process was scrapped in favour of automatically relegating the team who finished bottom, provided that the champions of the Conference had a ground that met Football League standards - It was Lincoln City who finished 92nd and they would be replaced by Neil Warnock's Scarborough.

Season 1987/88
01/Aug    LIVE - Everton 1 (Clarke) Coventry City 0 [Charity Shield]
08/Aug    LIVE - The Football League 3 (Robson 2, Whiteside) The Rest Of The World 0 *Wembley, Brian Moore, Maradona booed (1 year after 'hand of god')
15/Aug    Possibly Arsenal 1 Liverpool 2 *LWT only?
22/Aug    Portsmouth 2 (Hilaire, Whitehead) Southampton 2 (Clarke 2) *Brian Moore, TVS only (David Bobin presented with Mick Channon)
29/Aug    *BBC1 showed highlights on "Sports Special" (Charlton 1 Manchester United 3 with Brian Moore comm may have been for abroad)
05/Sep    *No football on TV this weekend (Poss West Ham 1 Liverpool 1  - Brian Moore, but may have been for abroad)
12/Sep    Bristol City 3 (Walsh, Fitzpatrick, Moyes) Bristol Rovers 3 (Jones, Reece, Holloway) *HTV WEST only, 11:20pm-12:05am (HTV Wales had Rugby)
                    *(Poss Wimbledon 1 West Ham 1 for LWT - Brian Moore, may have been for abroad)
16/Sep    Merthyr Tydfil 2 (Rogers, C.Williams) Atalanta 1 (Progna) [Cup-Winners Cup R1 1L] *Merthyr lost 2nd leg 2-0.
19/Sep    *BBC1 had live Sunday match
23/Sep    Blackburn Rovers 1 (Sellars) Liverpool 1 (Nicol) [League Cup R2 1L] *Martin Tyler
               Reading 3 (Gilkes 2, Hicks) Chelsea 1 (Durie(pen)) [League Cup R2 1L] *Brian Moore
26/Sep    *No football on TV this weekend
03/Oct    *No football on TV this weekend
10/Oct    *No football on TV this weekend
17/Oct    Plymouth Argyle 6 (Clayton 2, Summerfield 2, Smith, Tynan) Leeds United 3 (Taylor, Snodin 2) *TSW only, "Soccer Special" 11:20-11:50pm
18 Oct    LIVE - Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Claesen) Arsenal 2 (Rocastle, Thomas) *Brian Moore & Ian St John
25 Oct    LIVE - West Ham United 1 (Stewart(pen)) Manchester United 1 (Gibson) *Brian Moore
28/Oct    Liverpool 0 Everton 1 (Stevens) [League Cup R3] *Martin Tyler
               Aston Villa 2 (Mcinally, Aspinall) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Ardiles) [League Cup R3] *Alan Parry
               Wimbledon 2 (Fashanu, Gibson) Newcastle United 1 (McDonald) [League Cup R3] *Brian Moore
31/Oct    Manchester United 2 (Robson, Whiteside) Nottingham Forest 2 (Wilkinson, Pearce) *Martin Tyler, Granada & Central only, Sat night
07/Nov   Manchester City 10 (McNab, Stewart 3, Adcock 3, White 3) Huddersfield Town 1 (May(pen)) *Martin Tyler, Granada & Yorkshire 10:20-11:05pm
               Queens Park Ranges 0 Watford 0 *Brian Moore, LWT
14/Nov    Everton 3 (Watson, Reid, Sharpe) West Ham United 1 (Hilton) *Martin Tyler, Granada only 10:35-11:25pm
                Swindon Town 1 (Barnes) Plymouth Argyle 1 (Evans) *Roger Malone, HTV WEST & TSW only 10:35-11:05pm
15 Nov    LIVE - Manchester United 1 (Whiteside) Liverpool 1 (Aldridge) *Brian Moore & Ian St John
21/Nov    *BBC1 had Sunday live match
28/Nov   Tottenham Hotpsur 0 Liverpool 2 (McMahon, Johnston) *Saturday night highlights LWT & Granda only 10:35-11:30pm
06/Dec    LIVE - Liverpool 2 (Aldridge(pen), McMahon) Chelsea 1 (Durie(pen)) *Martin Tyler & Ron Atkinson
12/Dec    Everton 3 (Watson, Reid, Sharpe) Derby County 0 *Granada only 10:35-11:35pm
19/Dec    Liverpool 1 (Gillespie) Sheffield Wednesday 0 *Martin Tyler, Granada only from 11:05pm
20 Dec    LIVE - Derby County 1 (Gregory) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (C.Allen, Claesen) *Martin Tyler
26/Dec    *No football on TV this weekend
02/Jan    *BBC1 had Sunday live match
09/Jan    *LWT & Granada "The Big Match", 10:40-11:35pm
               Sutton United 1 (M.Golley) Middlesbrough 1 (Pallister) [FA Cup R3] *Brian Moore
               Yeovil 0 Queens Park Rangers 3 (Falco 2, Brock) [FA Cup R3] *Martin Tyler
               Sheffield Wednesday 1 (West) Everton 1 (Reid) [FA Cup R3] *Alan Parry
               Reading 0 Southampton 1 (Le Tissier) [FA Cup R3] *John Helm (brief goal clip only, TVS may have had own presentation)
               Swindon Town 0 Norwich City 0 [FA Cup R3] *Roger Malone, HTV WEST & Anglia "Football Special" 10:40-11:35pm +Yeovil match
                    (Game at Stoke has also been suggested instead of Sheff Wed)
13/Jan     Everton 1 (Sharp) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Chapman) [FA Cup R3 Replay] *Alan Parry
               Norwich City 0 Swindon Town 2 (Bamber 2) [FA Cup R3 Replay] *brief single camera coverage with Gerry Harrison commentary
                    Possibly also Middlesbrough 1 Sutton United 0 *?Brian Moore?, played on Tuesday
16/Jan     *BBC1 showed highlights on "Sports Special"
23/Jan     Watford 0 Nottingham Forest 0 *Brian Moore, LWT (one source says Charlton Athletic 0 Liverpool 2)
               Manchester City 0 Aston Villa 2 *Martin Tyler, Granada,& Central, 11:05-11:55pm
25/Jan     Everton 1 (Steven) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Chapman) [FA Cup R3 2nd Replay]
               Huddersfield Town 0 Manchester City 3 (Hinchliffe, White, Varadi) [FA Cup R3 2nd Replay]
27/Jan     Sheffield Wednesday 0 Everton 5 (Sharp 3, Heath, Snodin) [FA Cup R3 3rd Replay] *Alan Parry
31 Jan     LIVE - Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2 (Barnes, Beardsley) [FA Cup R4] *Brian Moore & Ian St John
03/Feb    Middlesbrough 2 (Mowbray, Kernaghan) Everton 2 (Watson, Steven) [FA Cup R4 Replay] *Brian Moore
06/Feb    Liverpool 0 West Ham United 0 *Martin Tyler, Granada 11:10-midnight
                    Luton Town 7 Oxford United 4 *?LWT ?
07/Feb    LIVE - Everton 0 Arsenal 1 (Groves) [League Cup SF 1L] *Brian Moore
14 Feb    LIVE - Middlesbrough 2 (Kernaghan, Mowbrey) Aston Villa 1 (Daley) *Alan Parry, A live ITV match from Division Two!!!
20/Feb    *Saturday night highlights most regions 11:50pm-12:50am
               Arsenal 2 (Smith, Duxburyy(og)) Manchester United 1 (McClair) [FA Cup R5] *Brian Moore
               Newcastle United 1 (McDonald) Wimbledon 3 (Gibson, Gayle, Fashanu) [FA Cup R5] *Martin Tyler
               Port Vale 0 Watford 0 [FA Cup R5] *Alan Parry
               Portsmouth 3 (Blake, Quinn, Connor) Bradford City 0 [FA Cup R5] *John Helm (brief clip on Big Match, TVS may have had own presentation)
24/Feb    Arsenal 3 (Thomas, Rocastle, Smith) Everton 1 (Heath) [League Cup SF 2L] *Brian Moore, Arsenal win 4-1 on agg
27/Feb    *BBC1 had live Sunday match
02/Mar    Two minutes or so of Reading 1 Coventry City 1 [Full Members Cup SF] shown on "Midweek Sports Special", Reading won on pens
05/Mar    *BBC1 had live Sunday match
13 Mar    LIVE - Manchester City 0 Liverpool 4 (Houghton, Beardsley(pen), Johnston, Barnes) [FA Cup QF] *Brian Moore & Ian St John
19/Mar    Blackburn Rovers 3 (Walsh (og), Sellars, Hendry) Leicester City 3 (Reid 2, Newell) *Martin Tyler, Granada 11:05-11:55pm
               Nottingham Forest 0 Manchester United 0 *Central (showed Granada's programme)
               Sunderland 1 (Gabbiadini) Notts County 1 (Barnes) *Roger Tames (Tyne Tees may have had own presentation)
20 Mar    LIVE - Everton 1 Liverpool 0 *Brian Moore & Ian St John
26/Mar    Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Foster(og)) Nottingham Forest 1 (Clough) *Saturday highlights LWT only 10:45-11:40pm
                     ?Newcastle United 2 Coventry City 2? *Tyne Tees? (not scheduled)
02/Apr    *No football on TV this weekend
09/Apr    *BBC1 had Saturday night FA Cup SF highlights
16/Apr    *No football on TV this weekend
23/Apr    Liverpool 1 (Beardsley) Tottenham Hotspur 0 *Martin Tyler, Granada only 11:05-midnight
24/Apr    LIVE - Luton Town 3 (Stein 2, Wilson) Arsenal 2 (Smith, Hayes) [League Cup Final] *Brian Moore
25/Apr    Blackburn Rovers 0 Swindon Town 0 *Monday night, Martin Tyler, Granada & Central only
30/Apr    Middlesbrough 3 (Ripley, Kernaghan, Hamilton) Plymouth Argyle 1 (Clayton) *Roger Tames, Tyne Tees only "Extra Time Special" 11:05-11:50pm
               Crystal Palace 2 (Bright, Thomas) Blackburn Rovers 0 *LWT only, "The Big Match" Sunday 9:25-10:30am
07/May   *"The Big Match", scheduled for Sunday morning (The final edition, though the title was briefly revived many years later) Chelsea refused to allow cameras.
               Middlesbrough 1 (Slaven) Leicester City 2 (Weir, McCallister) *Yorkshire/Tyne Tees, late programme change
14/May    LIVE - Wimbledon 1 (Sanchez) Liverpool 0 [FA Cup Final] *Brian Moore
18/May    Chelsea 4 (K.Wilson 2, Dixon, Durie) Blackburn Rovers 1 (Sellars) [Play Off SF 2L] *Chelsea win 6-1 on agg
                Middlesbrough 2 (Slaven, Hamilton) Bradford City 0 [Play Off SF 2L] *John Helm, Boro win 3-2 on agg

In only their eleventh season as members of the Football League, Wimbledon won the FA Cup with what is remembered by most as being one of the great cup final victory upsets, beating champions Liverpool 1-0 (after the reds had only lost 2 league games all season), but the Wombles had just finished 7th in the top flight (having taken 6th spot the previous season) and they beat Luton Town in the Semi-final who finished 9th and won the League Cup in a dramatic final v Arsenal. Manchester United were top flight runners-up, 9 points behind Liverpool in an odd numbered league of 21 which meant one club were without a fixture each weekend - Four clubs took the drop to reduce the total to 20; Chelsea, Portsmouth, Watford and Oxford. 2nd tier champions Millwalll were promoted to the top tier for the first time, Aston Villa joined them as runners-up whilst Middlesbrough were also promoted via the play-offs. Sunderland were 3rd tier champions, Wolves topped the Fourth Division and Newport County dropped out of the league.

'Un-screened' games, August - December 1985
The following list details the games covered for transmission overseas during the first half of season 1985/86 (with ITV commentators). Throughout this period, nothing from these recordings could be shown on British TV, not even goal clips a week later on the Saint & Greavsie show, but clips from most matches were included on a home video presented by Brian Moore and released in time for Christmas 1985.

24/Aug    Arsenal 1 (Allinson(pen)) Manchester United 2 (Hughes, McGrath) *Brian Moore
31/Aug    West Ham United 2 (McAvennie 2) Liverpool 2 (Johnston, Whelan) *Martin Tyler
07/Sep     Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Falco, Chiedozie 2, Hoddle, Hazard) Newcastle United 1 (Davies) *Peter Brackley
14/Sep     Manchester City 0 Manchester United 3 (Robson(pen), Albiston, Duxbury) *Brian Moore
21/Sep     Everton 2 (Sharp, Lineker) Liverpool 3 (Dalglish, Rush, McMahon) *Peter Brackley
28/Sep     Watford 3 (Barnes, Blissett, Terry) Chelsea 1 (Rougvie) *Martin Tyler
05/Oct     Nottingham Forest 3 (Pearce, Bowyer 2) Ipswich Town 1 (Atkins) *Brian Moore
12/Oct     Chelsea 2 (Dixon, Speedie) Everton 1 (Sheedy) *Peter Brackley
12/Oct    Oxford United 1 (Hebberd) Luton Town 1 (Stein) *Martin Tyler
19/Oct     Manchester United 1 (McGrath) Liverpool 1 (Johnston) *Peter Brackley
26/Oct     Chelsea 1 (McLaughlin) Manchester United 2 (Olsen, Hughes) *Brian Moore
02/Nov    Southampton 1 (Puckett) Tottenham Hotspur 0 *Martin Tyler
09/Nov    Watford 1 (Talbot) Aston Villa 1 (Gray) *Peter Brackley
16/Nov    Manchester United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 *Brian Moore
23/Nov    Coventry City 0 West Ham United 1 (McAvennie) *Martin Tyler
30/Nov    Aston Villa 1 (Walters) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Mabbutt, Falco) *Peter Brackley
07/Dec    Queens Park Rangers 0 West Ham United 1 (McAvennie) *Brian Moore
14/Dec    Arsenal 2 (Nicholas, Quinn) Liverpool 0 *Martin Tyler
21/Dec    Manchester United 0 Arsenal 1 (Nicholas) *Peter Brackley
28/Dec    Chelsea 2 (Dixon, Spackman(pen)) Tottenham Hotspur 0 *Brian Moore
11/Jan    Leicester City 0 West Ham United 1 (McAvennie)

*Irish TV began showing matches from 26/Oct (with their own commentator).

Also these for 1986/87
Again, these matches were covered by ITV crews for broadcast abroad.....

23/Aug   Arsenal 1 (Nicholas) Manchester United 0 *Brian Moore
23/Aug    Everton 2 (Sheedy 2) Nottingham Forest 0 *Martin Tyler
30/Aug    Nottingham Forest 1 (Bowyer) Watford 1 (Blissett) *Peter Brackley
30/Aug    Manchester United 0 Charlton Athletic 1 (Stuart) *Martin Tyler
06/Sep    West Ham United 2 (Stewart (pen), Cottee) Liverpool 5 (Whelan, Johnston, Dalgish (2), Rush) *Brian Moore
13/Sep    Wimbledon 1 (Cork) Everton 2 (Sheedy, Sharp) *Martin Tyler
04/Oct     Tottenham Hotspur 0 Luton Town 0 *Peter Brackley, this may have been included on "The Big Match" shown that night by LWT.
11/Oct    Charlton Atheltic 3 (Melrose 3) Everton 2 (Sheedy 2) *Brian Moore
18/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Drinkell) West Ham United 1 (Goddard) *Peter Brackley
01/Nov    Liverpool 6 (Nichol, Walsh 3, Rush 2) Norwich City 2 (Phelan, Hodgson) *Martin Tyler
15/Nov    Southampton 0 Arsenal 4 (Hayes (pen), Anderson, Quinn, Groves) *Martin Tyler
22/Nov    Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Megson) Luton Town 0 *John Helm
29/Nov    Tottenham Hotspur 2 (C.Allen 2) Nottingham Forest 3 (Pearce (pen), Fairclough, Webb) *Peter Brackley
06/Dec    Oxford United 4 (Aldridge 3, Brock) Luton Town 2 (B.Stein, M.Stein) *Brian Moore
13/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Drinkell) Arsenal 1 (Hayes(pen)) *Martin Tyler
20/Dec    Charlton 0 Liverpool 0 *Brian Moore
27/Dec    West Ham United 2 (Cottee, Hilton) Wimbledon 3 (Fashanu, Sayer, Fairweather) *Martin Tyler
03/Jan    Southampton 1 (Holmes) Manchester United 1 (Olsen) *Martin Tyler
24/Jan     Manchester United 2 (Strachan, T.Gibson) Arsenal 0 *Martin Tyler
24/Jan    Tottenham Hotspur 3  (Hodge 2, Claesen) Aston Villa 0 *Peter Brackley
07/Feb    Leicester City 3 (Smith, Ramsey 2) Wimbledon 1 (Fairweather) *Martin Tyler
18/Apr    Tottenham Hotspur 1 (C.Allen) Charlton Atheltic 0 *Peter Brackley
02/May    Coventry City 1 (Pickering) Liverpool 0 *Peter Brackley
09/May   West Ham United 2 (Brady, Cottee) Manchester City 0 *Peter Brackley
 

The Match / The London Match
From 1988/89 - 1991/92 ITV enjoyed exclusive league rights to all four divisions and the live networked games now went out as The Match which was usually presented by Elton Welsby or Jim Rosenthal whilst Brian Moore continued as ITV's chief commentator. By this time highlights were considered old hat and pretty much confined to mid-week. From 1992/93 - 1995/96, LWT showed live league matches from the 2nd tier, initially as The London Match and then (from 1993/94) The Sunday Match.

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Page last updated September 2009