February 1972

Note : The news from thirty years ago has an archive below

As appeared in Rothman's Football Yearbook 1972-73 (3rd year) :

The Queene Anne Press, London 1972

February 1972

1 Thirty-five-year-old George Eastham signed a new three-year contract with Stoke C.. . . The England v West Germany match kick-off on April 29 is fixed at 7.45 and it will be televised. . . Norwich C. forward Albert Bennett has been forced out of football bya knee injury.

2 The F.A. circularised clubs asking them to bring forward the kick-off time of their Cup ties to avoid possible power cuts.

3 Q.P.R. will advertise on Thames TV. A sti1l picture of Rodney Marsh wi1l be flashed on the screen with a voice-over announcing the friendly v W .B.A. on Friday. . . Peter Storey is reported unhappy playing in Arsenal's reserves. He feels that his place in the England squad is in danger. . . Several cup ties wi1l kick off at 2.30 next Saturday. . . Businessman Leslie Wise and a group of show-biz personalities make a bid to take over Watford F.C. . . . Kevin Keegan is the only newcomer in the England Under-23 squad lor the match v Scotland. . . Football League gates are 500,000 up on last season so far.
4 Derby Co. have banned the TV cameras from covering their Cup-tie because the fee (87.50 pounds) is considered too small. . . Cliff Lloyd says: ' At the end of the season we should wipe the slate clean as far as the bookings are concerned. Let every club and every player start the new season in August clear' . . . John Radford, recovered from injury but is not selected for the Arsenal team. . . Jack Howarth (Aldershot) transferred to Rochdale (10,000 pounds).

5. F.A. Cup sensation: Non-leaguers Hereford knock out Newcastle U. 2-1 in extratime. Other surprises - Orient win at Leicester and Hull C. triumph at Coventry.
Holders Arsenal squeeze through with a narrow 2-1 win at Reading. . . In Scotland both Aberdeen and Celtic have comfortable wins in the Cup. . . Chelsea has a good day. The team beat Bolton W. 3-0, Dave Sexton is selected as the 'Manager of the Month' and David Webb is the Evening Standard's 'Player of the Month' . . .
Ipswich T.lose 1-0 at Birmingham but their manager Bobby Robson says: .Diabolical refereeing cost us the game !' . . . 17-year-old Sammy Mcllroy (Manchester U .) is included in th Irish squad for the European Championship game v Spain.

6 Juventus are two points ahead of the field in Italy. . . Schalke lead the Bundesliga . . . Both Ajax and Feyenoord win easily in Ho1land.

7 Newcastle U. do not take on Viv Busby and the player returns after a loan period to Luton . . . Bad draw for London clubs in the F.A. Cup. Arsenal go to Derby Co, Tottenham H. visit Everton. Only Orient are at home v Chelsea! . . . In Scotland, Celtic get another home draw. . . Frank McLintock says: 'We might have been lucky to win at Reading last Saturday, but we would have beaten them in the replay' . . . Bobby Be1l (C. Palace) joins Norwich C. on a month's loan. The 'Canaries' will be his fourth League club during the current season! . . . Celtic beat Dynamo Kiev 1-0 in a friendly in Glasgow.

8 After years of injustice, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland have at last been guaranteed the release of their players for international matches. That is the result of a plan announced by the Footba1l League. Trevor Morris, Secretary of the Welsh F.A.welcomes the reform and states that Wales will now have equal chance with England to qualify for the World Cup. . . Forged vouchers are discovered at Hereford where there is an unprecedented interest in the home F .A. Cup tie v West Ham U. . . . Sir Stanley Rous says: 'The cost of organising a World Cup is so great that the time will come when two or three countries wi1l combine to play hosts' . . .
Because of the miners' strike and possible power cuts the League decides that midweek matches must be postponed or played in the afternoon. . . Middlesbrough beat Mi1lwall 2-1 in a Cup replay - Nobby Stiles wi1l be going back to Old Trafford to face his former club in the next round. . . Charlton's biggest crowd of the season - 16,000- turn up for Keith Peacock's benefit match. The score Charlton 2 Chelsea 4 . . . Result of another friendly - Sheffield U. I Dynamo Kiev 2.

9 The Daily Express reports that some Footba1l League clubs are threatening to boycott next season's F.A. Cup unless they get a better cash deal from the Football Association. . . Berti Vogts (Monchengladbach) has a cartilage operation and is doubtful for the Wembley international. . . Everton pay œ20,000 for Walsall forward Bernie Wright. . . Hereford U. hold West Ham U. to a 0-0 draw! . . .
Ron Yeats (Tranmere R.) is sent off against Stoke C. in a cup replay and the First Division team win 2-0.

10. Ron Greenwood: 'We are lucky to be still in the cup and the replay on Monday has yet to be won.' Arthur Turner who took Oxford U. into the Football League leaves the club after ten years as a manager. . . The League announces that Sir Alf Ramsey will be able to have a 22-strong squad at his disposal for six days before the European Championship matches.

12 Two Charlie George goals give Arsenal the points against Derby Co. Now the 'Gunners' are only four points behind leaders Manchester C. . . . Trevor Hockey was taken to hospital with a cracked leg after 40 minutes' play. . . 48,110 people, highest Third Division gate in the history of the League, attended the Aston Villa v Bournemouth promotion clash. . . The Football League wants to take over the disciplinary machinery from the F.A. . . . Several games are postponed in Scotland due to frost and snow.

14 West Ham U. end Hereford U.'s heroic run in the F.A. Cup with a 3-0 win at Upton Park in the fourth round replay with Geoff Hurst scoring a hat-trick . . . The attendance, despite the afternoon kick-off is 42,271 - only 500 less than the ground record. . . Sunderland and Cardiff C. finish I-I after extra time and the teams will meet again on Wednesday. . . Terry Venables is out of football for a fortnight due to a nagging groin strain. . . Australian millionaire wishes to buy Hereford U. and import them lock, stock and barrel to Sydney.

15 Negotiations between the Football League and the F.A. have reached crisis point regarding the application of the new Industrial Relations Bill . . . It seems certain that from next season the F.L. will deal with disciplinary matters. . . Shilton is injured and not available for tomorrow's England v Scotland Under-23 match, John Hope (Sheffield U.) is called up in his place . . . Take-over of Watford F.C. by a group of businessmen is off . . . Both Fulham and Aston Villa have hired special generators to ensure an evening kick-off against Benfica and Santos respectively.
These friendlies will bring super-stars Eusebio and Pele to England.

16 Sir Alf Ramseywrites in the F.A. News: 'England will not only beat West Germany, but will also go on to win the European Championship'. He tips Italy, Yugoslavia and Hungary as the other semi-finalists. . . Cardiff C. beat Sunderland 3-1 in a cup replay and will face Leeds U. in the next round. . . England draw with Scotland 2-2 at Derby in an Under-23 international. Kenny Dalglish (Celtic) and Mike Channon (Southampton) shared the goals. . . Fred Pickering, the former international has had his contract terminated by Blackburn R. . . . N. Ireland draw with Spain I-I at Hull- the last qualifying match of current European Championship.
Debutant international Sam Morgan equalised in the 74th minute a first-half Rojo goal. . . Holland beat Greece 5-0 in Athens in a friendly full-international . . . Amateur international at Brest: France 1 England 1.

17 It is announced that the England Under-23 team will play in Russia, Poland and Austria in early June. . . Alex Wright the Dunfermline Ath. manager is dismissed . . . Several mid-week League games are off because of the power cuts. . . Gerd Muller is determined to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

18 Mike O'Grady is 'loaned' to Birmingham C. by Wolverhampton W. . . . The press attacks the 'Ioan-system' which is clearly open to abuse. . . Benny Fenton, Millwall manager says that it is an unfair practice: 'Bobby Bell helps Norwich C., now O'Grady is playing for Birmingham C. - our promotion rivals benefit without laying out a penny !'

19 Four Stoke C. players in front of the Disciplinary Committee received suspended sentences and will be available for the League Cup Final. . . John Dempsey criticises Dave Sexton for leaving him out of the Chelsea team. The 'Blues' beat Leicester 2-1 with two Osgood goals. . . Leeds U. playing brilliantly thrash Manchester U. 5-1 - Mick Jones contributes with a hat-trick! . . . George gets the winner for Arsenal at Ipswich - 1-0. . . Manchester C. are still on top following a narrow win over Huddersfield T. . . . Celtic's Jimmy Johnstone is out of the game, suffering from chicken pox.

20 Juventus I A.C. Milan 1 in Italy - the former are still leading the race by two clear points. . . Benfica win 7-0 in Portugal and Real Madrid are six points clear in Spain. . . Referee John Thacker is accused of tolerating outrageous behaviour in the Ipswich T. v Arsenal game. Twenty of the 22 players were involved in a brawl and not one of them was booked.

21 The U.E.F.A. confirms that the League Cup winners could be nominated for the U.E.F.A.Cup-evenif they arenot in the First Division. . .Bertie Mee returns from Amsterdam, where he saw Ajax play in a domestic cup-tie, and says that the Dutch team have improved since they last played against Arsenal. . . Aston Villa beat Santos 2-1 in a friendly. 54,437 turn up to see Pele in action. . . Alex Cropley, the Hibernian winger is out for the rest of the season with a fractured ankle. . . Tony Powell (Bournemouth) is suspended for 28 days and fined 30 pounds.

22 Everton have a heavy injury list five days before the Fifth Round Cup tie v Tottenham H. . . . Dennis Bond (Charlton Ath.) dislocates a collar bone and will be out of football for three weeks.

23 Aston Villa sign Ian Ross from Liverpool (60,000 pounds) . . . Fulham buy the Burnley goalkeeper Peter Mellor (25,000 pounds). They also try to borrow Pete from Santos for the friendly against Benfica next Tuesday. . . The Coventry C. management states that Jeff Blockley is not for sale. . . Bert Trautmann, former Manchester C. goalkeeper signs a two-year contract to coach Burma's national team. . . The F .L. and the F.A., square-up for a fight concerning the future of disciplinary proceedings. The League want to collect the fines imposed on players and use them for its benevolent fund. . . Santos beat Sheffield W. 2-0 in a friendly at Hillsborough . . .
A.C. Milan beat Lierse 2-0 in the U.E.F.A. Cup - the first international competitive club match of 1972: scorers Rivera and Bigon.

25 Bournemouth spent another 10,000 pounds and bought Dave Chadwick from Halifax T. He will take the place of thc injured Tony Scott . . . Ralph Coates is out with a thigh injury for Tot ten ham H. v Everton in the F.A. Cup. . . Jimmy Kerr, who was advised to give up football, some time ago, might attempt a comeback with Coventry C. His former club Blackburn R. would want a sizeable transfer fee for this talented 21-year-old midfield player. . . England beat Eire 2-0 in an amateur international. . . Both West Germany and Italy decide not to take part in the Brazilian Independence Tournament next summer.

26 Orient are the heroes of the Fifth Round of the F.A. Cup. They beat Chelsea 3-2 after being two goals down. The winner was scored by Barry Fairbrother in the 89th minute. After the goal Chelsea supporters invaded the pitch trying for an abandonment but police forced them back behind the touch lines. . . Tottenham H.
won at Goodison and Leeds U. at Cardiff . . . Stiles returns to Old Trafford as the skipper of Middlesbrough and the match is a goal less draw. . . Both Celtic and Rangers win their cup ties easily in Scotland. . . The draw for the quarter finals is made earlier to help the pool promoters to overcome the power restrictions. Leeds U. will be hosts to Tot ten ham H. and Orient are home once again v the winners of Arsenal-Derby Co. replay. . . In Scotland Celtic are home to Hearts and Aberdeen have to visit Hibernian. . . Liverpool beat Manchester C. 3-0 in a First Division match and the title race is wide open. ' Anyone from eight' says Don Revie . . .
Schalke beat Frankfurt 2-0, Bayern Munich and Monchengladbach draw 2-2 in the Bundesliga.

27 Juventus ihare the points with Roma but still lead by two points. . . Ajax win 4-0 away in Holland.

28 Scotland agree to send a team to Brazil for the Independence Tournament. . .
Bobby Hope (W.B.A.) turns down the opportunity to move to Fulham . . . Baldwin and B9Yle are included in the Chelsea squad for the League Cup Final.

29 Manchester U. signed Scotland's 'Player of the Year' Martin Buchan from Aberdeen for œ125,000. . . Charlie George could be the subject of a FootballAssociation investigation over a newspaper interview. . . Ticket touts make a killing at Highbury collecting œ20 for œ1 seats. The score: Arsenal 0 Derby Co. 0 after extra time. . . Manchester U. beat Middlesbrough 3-0 away in the Cup and will meet Stoke C. in the quarter final. . . Fulham opened their new œ200,000 stand and beat Benfica 3-2 in a friendly. . . Norwich C. sign Jim Bone a Scottish Under-23 player from Partick Thistle (œ30,000).

Other Transfers Derek Bellotti (CharIton Ath.) to Southend U. ; Steve Carter (Manchester C.) to Notts. Co.; Lew Chatterley (Northampton T.) to Grimsby T.; Allen Gauden (Darlington) to Grimsby T. ; Peter Hunt (Southend U.) to Charlton Ath. ; Chris Jones (Swindon T.) to Walsall ; John Rudge (Torquay U.) to Bristol R. ; Robert Smith (Chester) to Hartlepool; Robin Stubbs (Bristol R.) to Torquay U.; Ron Tilsed (Bournemouth) to Chesterfield; Ralph Wright (Stockport Co.) to Bolton W.