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December 1973

As appeared in Rothman's Football Yearbook 1974-75 (5th year) :

The Queen Anne Press, London 1974

December

1 Bristol R. beat Brighton 8-2 at the Goldstone Ground and thus establish a new Third Division record of remaining unbeaten in the first 19 games of the season.
Brian Clough says that he feels ashamed of his team's performance and that several of the players lacked heart. . . Cardiff beat Orient 2-1-their first away win since October 1971 . . . Twenty league games and 13 Scottish matches are postponed. Consequently, the pools panel is brought into action. Under the chairmanship of Lord Bath, Arthur Ellis, Stanley Mortensen, Neil Franklin, Raich Carter, George Swindin, and Ronnie Simpson meet in a London hotel and decide what would have happened if the matches had been played.

3 Arsenal have been fined 2000 pounds and censured by the Football League for making an illegal approach for Q.P.R. players Parkes and Francis. Bob Wall says that coach Bobby Campbell went to speak to Gordon Jago, and while at the ground, 'extended his brief' . . . Football League President Len Shipman says that he intends to make a new approach to the Government to relax the floodlighting ban on football . . . A Tunbridge Wells property developer opens a new pub and names it after Sir Alf Ramsey. The England team manager is at the opening and pulls the first pint.

4 Billy Hughes is the second Sunderland player to ask for a transfer within the last few weeks. . . It has been officially confirmed that Ian Moore of Manchester U. has to retire on medical advice.

5 Tony Want of Birmingham is carried off on a stretcher after 60 seconds play at Newcastle with a double fracture of the left leg. Jimmy Smith is sent off for the tackle, which apparently caused the injury. Newcastle win this Texaco Cup match-with 10 men-3-1 ! . . . Ken Furphy will be the new manager of Sheffield U. and John Harris will become chief scout for the club. . . Peter Grummitt joins Brighton on a month's loan from Sheffield W. . . . The MacDougall-Paddon exchange deal is on. West Ham will pay Norwich a cash adjustment of about 40,000 pounds.

6 Sir Andrew Stephen resigns as chairman of Sheffield W. . . . Denis Hill-Wood, the Arsenal chairman, says that only local derby matches should be played during the present energy crisis and the league programme should be extended till the end of June, if necessary.

7 Portsmouth sign Paul Went of Fulham for 155,000 pounds. He'll link up with Malcolm Manley who joined the seaside club from Leicester for a 45,000 fee pounds. . . Alex Stock of Fulham says that the club is in grave financial difficulties, and that is why they are willing to sell Earle and Went. . . Keith Gardner, a director since 1957, also resigns at Sheffield W., where Matt Sheppard is the newly elected chairman. . . Brian Clough signs the Luton defender Ken Goodeve for Brighton for 20,000 pounds.

8 A day of records in the Football League-attendances are the worst for a Saturday this season and Tottenham have their lowest gate, 14,034, for 20 years. Yet the Liverpool derby draws 56,098 people to Goodison Park. . . Two players are carried off and five booked in the grudge match between Birmingham and Newcastle . . . Leeds equal Liverpool's 24-year-old record by remaining unbeaten in the First Division for 19 games. York City equal a record of 47 years standing by not conceding a goal in eleven consecutive matches. . . Bristol R. are the other record-breakers-an unbeaten start of 20 games in Division Three. . .
Ray Treacy moves from Swindon to Preston for 30,000 pounds. Mel Machin, John Benson, and Fred Davies will follow their old boss John Bond to Norwich from AFC Bournemouth. The Third Division club will get Clive Payne and 40,000 pounds from Norwich.

10 Freddie Goodwin, the Birmingham manager, advocates the introduction of a 'sin-bin' in football. He thinks that Saturday's scandalous game between his club and Newcastle might have been saved if a few players were put in the 'cooler'. Ted Croker, the FA secretary, says, 'There were one or two players on the pitch in that game who made me feel ashamed to be a member of the same profession.' . . . Peter Baldwin, who refereed the Notts Co. v Orient match, was apparently attacked and spat upon after the game by several Nottingham supporters.

11 Len Shipman, Football League President, aged 72, is seriously ill in hospital. . .
Alan Ball of Arsenal faces disciplinary action by the FA because in a newspaper article he has made disparaging remarks about referees.

12 Five headed goals give Tottenham a 5-1 UEFA Cup third round second leg win over Dinamo Tbilisi of Russia. . . Ipswich are also through to the quarterfinals, thanks to a 2-1 win at Enshede v Twente, but Leeds lose to Setubal on a 3-2 aggregate. Top attendance of the round is at Leipzig, where 80,000 people see the local team beat Dusseldorf 3-0 !

14 Football loses the 'generator game'! Strict instructions are issued by the Government that all the matches must be played off in daylight and no private generators can be used. . . Wolverhampton's attempt to suspend the league programme is not backed up by the other Midlands clubs. Wolves call a meeting in order to draft a proposal, but the majority of the clubs in the area decide to abide by the League's decisions. . . Haiti qualify for the World Cup finals as representatives of the CONCACAF countries. . . Mexico are beaten twice in the round-robin and are eliminated.

15 Leeds break a 24-year-old record with a tremendous display at Stamford Bridge.
They beat Chelsea 2-1 and in 20 league matches they have only dropped six points and, of course, remain unbeaten.

16 A special meeting of the League Management Committee decides to carry on with the programme as scheduled, despite the energy crisis and the railway strike.

18 John Boyle of Chelsea has joined Orient on a free transfer. . . Derek Dougan attacks the Minister of Sport in a magazine article saying that Eldon Griffiths has had plenty of time to study the Chester report, but he has done nothing to further the cause of soccer.

19 The Football Association asks the Home Office for special permission to stage matches on Sundays. It has been pointed out that due to the three-day working week regulations, games might have to be played off during every day of the week, whenever electricity is available for the dressing-rooms, offices, etc. On Sundays there will be a more guaranteed access to power, although the current railway go-slow might still affect attendances. . . Yugoslavia beat Greece 4-2 and now have to playoff against Spain for a place in the World Cup finals. . . .
Plymouth beat Birmingham 2-1 at St Andrews and reach the semi-final of the League Cup.

20 Manager Ronnie Allen and his assistant David Burnside are sacked at Walsall for economy reasons. . . C. Palace sign Mick Hill of Ipswich for 36,000 pounds. . .
The Government has turned down the request for Sunday soccer. Alan Hardaker,
who is not in favour of the move, is angry, not with this decision, but at the general attitude to football. 'We have been classed as an industry for the purpose of the Industrial Relations Act, but not for the purpose of using generators!'

21 Some clubs might still consider playing on Sundays and selling programmes at higher prices instead of charging for admission. . . Brighton sign two Burnley players, Henry Wilson and Ron Welch, at the joint fee of 70,000 pounds . . . Preston have been fined 200 pounds and one point was deducted from their league total for fielding an unregistered player in a match against Oxford on November 17.
Dave Carrick, signed during the same week from Wit ton Albion, was the substitute but his registration wasn't yet endorsed by the league. This is only the fourth time that the league has taken points away from clubs. Sunderland once lost two points, Stockport two and Peterborough 18.

22 Arsenal and Burnley attack the FA's decision to sanction Sunday football.
Bob Lord: 'Clubs are bringing the game into disrepute if they are getting round the Sunday Observance Act by selling programmes.' Bob Wall: 'Playing football and making profits on Sundays is wrong. We will not disturb the peace and quiet of the neighbourhood of Highbury on that day.' FIFA's referees' committee is to ask the International Board to alter the laws of the game so a player cannot be offside from a free kick. Experiments will be carried out before this important change can be discussed next June. . . Billy Bremner is presented with a silver salver to mark his 500th League appearance for Leeds . . . The usual drop in attendances immediately before Christmas is even more marked today than in other years. Several clubs have their lowest gates of the season and at Hartlepool only 832 people turn up-the worst attendance in the club's history.

24 On Christmas Eve, Sheffield W. dismiss Derek Dooley, who has been their manager for two years. . . West Ham sign Mick McGiven from Sunderland.
The player has been on loan to the London club and a 30,000 pounds fee made the move permanent.

26 An unexpected boom in attendances on Boxing Day-727,110 people see the 461eague games-easily the best total of the season. . . Brian Yeo scores a hattrick for Gillingham and is the first player to register 20 goals this season. . .
Leeds win at Newcastle and stretch their lead to nine points on top of the table. . .
In the other divisions Middlesbrough lead by seven points, Bristol R. by three, and Peterborough by one. . . Martin Chivers is dropped by manager Nicholson, but comes on as a sub 20 minutes from the end of the 0-0 draw at home v Q.P.R.

27 Yugoslavia threatens to pullout of the World Cup if FIFA insists on their plan to stage the Spain v Yugoslavia play-off match on January 16. The Eastern Europeans are having their winter break and won't restart their league until early March. . . Cambridge have decided to playoff their FA Cup tie v Oldham on Sunday morning (Jan 6)-with FA approval! . . . Norwich boss John Bond buys his old West Ham team-mate Johnny Sissons from Sheffield W. for 30,000 pounds.

29 Manchester u. sign Stewart Houston from Brentford. The 55,000 pounds fee is a record for the Fourth Division club. . . Paul Cheesley joins Bristol C. from Norwich for 30,000 pounds, and Ernie Hunt of Coventry goes to Bristol C. for a months' loan. . .
Middlesbrough establish a new club record of 22 consecutive unbeaten league matches. . . Nearly 50 players are booked and two sent off on the last Saturday of 1973.