Sat with a few mates, down the pub, last night, an interesting discussion took place.
With all us drinkers being passed our prime, we agreed that throughout our years we had witnessed the game change, some might say for the better while others may suggest it is for the worse.
But one point we kept coming back to related to the players.
We argued and argued, for what seemed an age, about the outcome of a hypothetical game played between a side from today and a side from, for example, forty years go.
I wanted to know who would win?
Some suggested that the game had moved on and that fitness levels, these days, were far better, even more so when allied with a club controlled nutritional diet.
But that point didn’t go down well with some who argued if that was the case why did players from the past, sometimes, play three games in two days and in the modern game players moan about two games in a week.
Then the topic of squad rotation came in, today 18 players are named in a match day squad with up to five substitutes being allowed, in the past era you could only name one substitute and they could only come on if there was an injury, sides went through a season utilising as little as fifteen players.
As the night wore on, the subject of rules that have changed was dragged into the conversation, what would the guidelines be for the match, VAR or not VAR, passing back to the keeper or not passing back to the keeper etc. etc.
In the end, time beat us, and we were turfed out of the pub but walking home, via the local Chinese takeaway, I convinced myself the team from the past would win.
Why?
Well, it’s simple really, everything was better when we were younger wasn’t it!
COYH’s
Luton Town v Barnsley?
Luton Town to Win!
Barnsley to Win!
A Draw!
Previous article by Mad Hatter
Totally agree with you mh except for one thing would they play under the old rules or today’s rules 😊 if the old rules then the old team every time. Under the new rules the old team would probably finish with not enough players an the game would be abandoned 😂😂😂😂
lol, forgot about physical contact and tackling
the good old team would all be red carded, especially if you played on the ploughed field type pitches, covered with sand. would love to watch it.COYH
how i miss those sandy, muddy pitches 🙂
Ha, imagine today’s goalkeepers against the old style centre forwards….not a cat in halls chance of survival…lol…
Agree entirely with your article and would like to add the “missing fans” who are no longer with us for one reason or another, Amen.
Pet subject of mine is the first game at the Kenny; this for me is the famous record gate against Blackpool in ’59.
I was 15 years young crossed-legged around the touch line with Stanley Matthews doing his magic just yards away, been a Hatter fan ever since. Incidently MH was 3 weeks old at the time.
It would be lovely to find out how many “Touch-line fans” are still around?
My dad took my mum to that game, she often recalled it when talking about football
can remember kids sitting around touchline with massive crowds when watford came to play. remember the smell of embrocation, mostly on mike harrisons massive thighs. COYH