List of Games Shown on "The Big Match" Over Years

G-d, I'd love to see some of those...

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The Big Match

London Weekend Football Highlights 1968-83

On 11th August 1968, two weeks after the channel had launched*, London Weekend Television were scheduled to screen the first ever edition of a weekly Sunday afternoon highlights show called The Big Match, the fixture list had conveniently thrown up a North London derby at White Hart Lane to be featured as the opening game (Arsenal beat Spurs 2-1), but industrial action meant that a repeat of an old match had to be screened instead. Once it did finally make it on to the air a fortnight later, The Big Match would then feature London clubs playing at home for the next fifteen season's.**

*Commercial television viewers in the London area had previously been served by ATV at weekends, they had produced a Sunday afternoon football highlights since October 1965 called Star Soccer, see here. From July 1968 ATV began broadcast a seven days a week service to the Midlands, Star Soccer then continued as a Midlands equivalent of The Big Match - See here.
***The Big Match was often screened by other smaller regions who struggled to justify covering matches of their own.

The LWT region's league teams 1968-1983
Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, West Ham United, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic, Millwall, Orient, Watford, Brentford and Wimbledon. Fringe clubs included Luton Town (shared with Anglia), Gillingham and Brighton & Hove Albion (shared with Southern/TVS) and Oxford United (primarily ATV/Central).

LWT commentator and studio personal
Brian Moore (pictured) presented and commentated on The Big Match throughout its' entire run. Born on 28th February 1932 and raised in Kent, the Gillingham fan joined BBC Radio in 1961 and commentated on the 1966 World Cup final before moving into Television with LWT two years later. Aside from Sunday highlights, he presented ITV's Saturday lunchtime preview sequence On The Ball as well as commentating on Internationals, Cup finals and Thames Television's mid-week highlights. For ITV's World Cup coverage, Moore anchored from a London studio leaving the other regional commentators to cover the actual games, but this arrangement changed in 1990 and he was behind the mic at England's semi-final v West Germany in Italy. By this time he had undergone heart surgery, but continued to commentate for ITV until his retirement in 1998, his last match being the World Cup final in France which was won by the hosts. Brian Moore died on 1st September 2001 at the age of 69.
It was Jimmy Hill who had been responsible for bringing Moore to LWT, the ex-Fulham player was the channel's original 'Head of Sport' and from August 1968 until May 1973 he appeared alongside Moore in the studio as a ground breaking analyst on The Big Match. Hill then left for the BBC to become the face of Match Of The Day for the next two decades. In his place came Derby County manager Brian Clough, but the Rams chairman was unhappy with his manager's media commitments (and the inevitable controversy Clough's outspoken comments caused) and he asked Clough by letter to discontinue his newspaper and TV work, but Clough decided to resign from Derby and ended up at Third Division Brighton for what proved to be an unhappy spell, during which - in February 1974 - he was quoted as saying that "TV must be banned from the grounds for at least six months to see the effect on attendance's. I would like to see TV commentators - including myself - on the dole."
Jim Rosenthal (an Oxford United fan) began reading The Big Match football news round-up from the start of the 1980/81 season.

The Big Match theme tunes
The original theme was a piece called "Young Scene" composed by Keith Mansfield*, the next tune - "Cheekybird" by Don Harper - was only used for one season, 1972/73, then came the fondly remembered "Bum-titty, bum-titty, bum bum bum" theme which was released as a single under the title "La Soiree" by David Ordini**. The 4th and final theme was Jeff Wayne's "Jubilation" used from the start of the 1980/81 season, this was issued as a single on the Epic label (cat no. S EPC 8941 with "Time Bomb" on the b-side). ***.

*"Young Scene" is often attributed to The Graham Walker Sound (who did cover it), but his is not the version used on the programme.
** An alternate version of "La Soiree" was used on the programme from 1977/78 - 1979/80.
***At least one other region [Granada] also used Jeff Wayne's tune for their own highlights programme.

The Wednesday Special / The Midweek Match / Midweek Sports Special
LWT held the weekend franchise for ITV London whilst the Monday-Friday service was provided by Thames Television (1968-1992) who were therefore able to cover mid-week London matches. Mid-week football highlights were mostly networked, originally as The Wednesday Special (until 1976) and then The Midweek Match (until 1978) before Midweek Sports Special was introduced for the 1978/79 season. Brian Moore was very much involved in both a presenting and commentary capacity, Jim Rosenthal was also a regular face in the studio in the 1980's. Midweek Sports Special wasn't just football, although this and boxing tended to dominate the programme.

What matches were shown
The following lists detail all the fixtures recorded by LWT for highlights on The Big Match, for full details of other region's matches go here. Re-edits of regional games included on The Big Match are, where known, indicated by a letter (G=Granada, Y=Yorkshire, T=Tyne Tees, H=HTV, M=ATV/Central(Midlands), E=(East)Anglia, W=Westward, S=Southern/TVS and X=Scottish). For full details of networked Wembley Cup finals go here and for networked European finals see here. Given dates are for when the match was played (not the broadcast). Known mid-week & pre-season London matches (not necessarily aired under The Big Match title) are included in grey, none London based matches are in italics.

*Do please e-mail upthemaggies@hotmail.com if you are able to fill in any blanks/missing scorers.


TV Times entry for 25th August 1968 & Jimmy Hill on 28th December 1969

Season 1968/69
All editions of "The Big Match" during this season were broadcast in 405-line black & white on VHF only. Some programmes showed two matches including all FA Cup editions.
10/Aug *No programme due to industrial action, intended to show Spurs v Arsenal, showed repeat of 1968 European Cup final instead
17/Aug *No programme due to industrial action, intended to show Chelsea v WBA, showed repeat of 1968 League Cup final instead
24/Aug Queens Park Rangers 1 (Bridges) Manchester City 1 (Doyle) *Brian Moore stated in his book that this was his first LWT match
31/Aug Chelsea 2 (Birchenall, Osgood) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Greaves, Jones)
07/Sep Oxford United 1 (Evanson) Fulham 0 +M
14/Sep West Ham United 2 (Peters, Hurst) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Gilzean, Greaves) *archived
21/Sep Chelsea 1 (Tambling) West Ham United 1 (Peters)
28/Sep Arsenal 0 Sunderland 0
05/Oct Watford 1 (Low) Luton Town 0
12/Oct Arsenal 2 (Court, Radford) Coventry City 1 (Hunt) *News of the World lists Y game only
19/Oct Chelsea 3 (Baldwin 3) Leciester City 0.
26/Oct Queens Park Rangers 2 (Leach, Wilks) Manchester United 3 (Best 2, Law)
02/Nov West Ham United 4 (Moore, Peters, Hurst, Redknapp) Queens Park Rangers 3 (Leach 2, Bridges)
09/Nov Millwall 2 (Posse 2) Middlesbrough 0
16/Nov West Ham United 4 (Dear 2, Woolett, Peters) Leicester City 0
20/Nov Arsenal 1 (Radford) Tottenham Hotspur 0 [League Cup SF 1st Leg] *Times bills "International Football"
23/Nov Arsenal 0 Chelsea 1 (Houseman)
30/Nov Intended match Tottenham Hotspur v Queens Park Rangers was postponed, showed T&M
04/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Greaves) Arsenal 1 (Radford) [League Cup SF 2nd Leg] *Arsenal win 2-1 on agg
07/Dec Arsenal 3 (Radford, Court, Graham) Everton 1 (Ball)
14/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 1 (England) Manchester City (Lee)
21/Dec Luton Town 2 (Lewis, Allen) Plymouth Argyle 0 +T
28/Dec Abandoned match - Crystal Palace 1 (Woodruff) Blackpool 1 (SudPutz) *Abandoned after 43 mins
04/Jan Charlton Athletic 0 Crystal Palace 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round]
11/Jan Queens Park Rangers 1 (Clarke) West Ham United 1 (Dear) *archived
18/Jan Charlton Athletic 2 (Treacey, Tees) Derby County 0
25/Jan Arsenal 2 (Sammels, Robertson) Charlton Athletic 0 [FA Cup 4th Round] *ATV covered Spurs home tie v Wolves. +T
01/Feb *LWT log lists Arsenal 1 (Gould) Nottm Forest 1 (Barnwell), News of the World & Observer lists QPR 0 Everton 1 (Husband)
08/Feb Watford 5 Rotherham United 1 *One of only 4 fixtures played today due to bad weather, cameras turned up at the last minute
15/Feb Queens Park Rangers 1 (Clarke) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Greaves)
22/Feb West Ham United 1 (Sissons) Liverpool (Hunt) *archived, ATV covered Charlton home game v Aston Villa
01/Mar Showed Granada coverage of Manchester City 1 (Lee) Tottenham Hotspur 0 [FA Cup QF]
08/Mar Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Morgan) Everton 1 (Royle)
15/Mar League Cup Final - Arsenal 1 (Gould) Swindon Town 3 (Smart, Rogers 2) *Networked highlights
22/Mar FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Man City/Everton +T
29/Mar West Ham United 0 Manchester United 0
05/Apr Crystal Palace 3 (C. Jackson, Kember, Sewell (pen)) Portsmouth 1 (Jennings) +T
12/Apr Arsenal 1 (Graham) Leeds United 2 (Jones, Giles) *archived, Leeds keeper Sprake hits Gould (caught on camera) +G
19/Apr Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Greaves) West Ham United 0
26/Mar FA Cup Final *Networked live, Sunday "Big Match Special" showed highlights plus Alf Ramsey feature

Arsenal were London's highest finishing club of 1968/69 in 4th (it was the Gunners best position of the decade but they hadn't won a trophy since 1953, a 2nd successive League Cup final was lost in 1969 - this time to 3rd division Swindon!) Chelsea and Spurs were close behind in 5th & 6th, Ron Greenwood's West Ham finished 8th but Queens Park Rangers, in their first ever season in the top flight, ended the campaign at the bottom of the league. As runners-up in the 2nd tier, Bert Head's Crystal Palace would be one of the teams replacing Rangers. Of the capital's other 2nd tier teams; Charlton finished 3rd (but only the top two were promoted in those days), Millwall were 10th and Fulham rock bottom (they would now play in the 3rd tier for the first time since 1932). Ken Furphy's Watford were champions of the old Third Division, Luton just missed out on promotion whilst Orient were a lowly 18th. Brentford were the worst placed LWT club finishing 11th in the Fourth Division. Topping the goalscoring charts at the highest level were Jimmy Greaves (Spurs) with 27 and Geoff Hurst (West Ham) on 25, Luton's Brian Lewis was joint top scorer in the 3rd tier with 22.



Season 1969/70
All "Big Match" programmes up to 8th November 1969 were broadcast in 405 line black & white on VHF only. The programme went out at 3:15pm on Sundays this season and now showed action from three matches.
09/Aug Arsenal 0 Everton 1 (Hurst) +E/G
16/Aug Millwall 1 (Weller) Charlton Athletic 1 (Crawford) +G/M
23/Aug Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Pearce, Chivers) +M/E
30/Aug Chelsea 1 (Osgood) Crystal Palace 1 (Hoy) +Y/G
06/Sep West Ham United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Pearce) *Recorded in colour for test purposes. +Y
13/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 0 Manchester City 3 (Bowyer, Bell, Oakes) +G/T
20/Sep Arsenal 2 (Graham, Sammels) Manchester United 2 (Best, Sadler) +M/E
27/Sep Chelsea 3 (Birchenall 2, Baldwin) Arsenal 0 +M/G
04/Oct Queens Park Rangers 4 (Clarke, Clement, Bridges 2) Middlesbrough 0 +M/E
11/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 0 Wolverhampton W. 1 (Curran) *Recorded in colour +G/E
18/Oct Chelsea 2 (Osgood, Cooke) West Bromwich Albion 0 *Recorded in colour +Y/T
25/Oct Luton Town 1 (Tees) Torquay United 1 (Ryan(og)) *Anglia cameras were at Hull. +M/G/T
01/Nov Crystal Palace 1 (Bartram) Arsenal 5 (Armstrong, Radford 3, Graham) *Recorded in colour. +M
08/Nov Arsenal 4 (George, Sammels 2, Armstrong) Derby County 0 *Recorded in colour +E/T
From 15th November 1969 LWT began broadcasting on 625 line PAL colour on UHF, "The Big Match" was now videotaped and broadcast in colour every week.
15/Nov Chelsea 1 (Osgood) Everton 1 (Husband) +G/E
22/Nov West Ham United 3 (Hurst 2, Peters) Derby County 0 +G/Y
29/Nov Intended match Tottenham Hotspur v Everton was postponed, showed G/S
06/Dec West Ham United 0 Manchester City 4 (Lee, Bowyer 2, Doyle) +M/G
13/Dec Fulham 3 (Richardson 2, Earle) Bristol Rovers 1 (Jarman) +Y
20/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 0 West Ham United 2 (Peters, Hurst) +G/Y
27/Dec Queens Park Rangers (Bridges 2) Birmingham City 1 (Page) *John Camkin commentated (Moore had flu), Hill presented. +E/T
03/Jan Chelsea 3 (Osgood 2, Hutchinson) Birmingham City 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round] +Y/T
10/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Greaves, Morgan) Derby County 1 (Carlin) +G *Extended 90 min edition including the World Cup draw
17/Jan Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3 (Hollins, Hutchinson, Baldwin) +T/W
24/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 0 Crystal Palace 0 [FA Cup 4th Round] +G/M
31/Jan Watford 2 (Eddy, Endean) Leicester City 1 (Glover) +G
07/Feb Crystal Palace 1 (Hoy) Chelsea 4 (Osgood, Houseman, Dempsey, Hutchinson) [FA Cup 5th Round] +M/H
14/Feb Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Cooper(og)) Leeds United 1 (Lorimer) +G
21/Feb Queens Park Rangers 2 (Venables(pen), Bridges) Chelsea 4 (Osgood 3, Webb) [FA Cup QF] +Y
28/Feb Millwall 1 (Kitchener) Huddersfield Town 0 +T/Y
07/Mar League Cup Final *Networked highlights
14/Mar Chelsea 5 (Webb, Houseman 2, Osgood, Hutchinson) Watford 1 (Garbett) [FA Cup SF] *Networked highlights
21/Mar Chelsea 2 (Hutchinson 2) Manchester United 1 (Morgan) +G
28/Mar Crystal Palace 1 (McCormick) Ipswich Town 1 (Woods) +G
04/Apr Chelsea 1 (Baldwin) Tottenham Hotspur 0 +G/Y
11/Apr FA Cup Final - Chelsea 2 (Houseman, Hutchinson) Leeds United 2 (Charlton, Jones) AET *Networked live, Sunday highlights
28/Apr Arsenal 3 (Kelly, Radford, Sammels) Anderlecht 0 [Fairs Cup Final 2nd Leg]
29/Apr FA Cup Final Replay - Chelsea 2 (Osgood, Webb) Leeds United 1 (Jones) [Old Trafford] AET *Networked live
02/May Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Gilzean) Arsenal 0 *a late outstanding fixture played after all other teams had finished their season.
highlights of 28/Apr Arsenal 3 Anderlecht 0 [Fairs cup Final 2L]also shown on this edition.

1969/70 was undoubtedly Chelsea's year, managed by Dave Sexton they were the capital's highest league finishers (3rd) as well as winning the FA Cup (knocking out Watford in the Semi-finals) whilst Peter Osgood was London's leading top-flight marksman with 23 goals. Spurs and Arsenal had disappointing league campaigns which saw them finish 11th & 12th but Arsenal finally won a trophy when the Fairs Cup was lifted at Highbury after the Gunners turned around a 3-1 1st leg defeat to Anderlecht, winning the home leg 3-0. West Ham ended the season in 17th and Crystal Palace just clung on to their top flight status in 20th (22 clubs in the top flight at the time). Alan Putzs' Orient were crowned champions of the 3rd tier whilst fringe LWT club Luton Town (managed by Alec Stock) were also promoted as runners-up with Malcolm Macdonald netting 25 goals. Other local strikers making an impression on the goal scoring charts included Barry Bridges of QPR and Steve Earle of Fulham who both found the back of the net 22 times.


Season 1970/71
01/Aug Reading 2 (Habbin, Cumming) Manchester United 3 (Edwards, Charlton 2) [Watney Cup QF]
15/Aug Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Gilzean 2) West Ham United 2 (Greaves, Bennett) +M/Y
22/Aug West Ham United 2 (Howe, Hurst) Chelsea 2 (Weller 2) +Y/T
29/Aug Chelsea 2 (Hollins, Mulligan) Arsenal 1 (Kelly) +M/Y
05/Sep West Ham United 1 (Moore) Everton 2 (Royle, Husband) +G
12/Sep Orient 1 (Parmenter) Sunderland 0 +Y/X
19/Sep Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Chivers 2, Mullery) +M/H
26/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers, Gilzean) Manchester City 0 +G/E
30/Sep Chelsea 5 (Hollins 2, Hutchison 2, Hinton) Aris Thessaloniki 1 (Alexiadis) [ECWC R1 L2] *Chelsea won 6-2 on agg
03/Oct Fulham 1 (Earle) Plymouth Argyle 1 (Allen) +M/Y
10/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Peters) Liverpool 0 +Y/T
17/Oct Queens Park Rangers 5 (Marsh 3, Venables, McCulloch) Birmingham City 2 (Latchford 2) +G/Y
24/Oct Crystal Palace 1 (Taylor) West Ham United 1 (Howe) +G/X
An ITV technicians colour strike affected programmes until February, some highlights would now be recorded in black & white
31/Oct Arsenal 2 (Kelly, Radford) Derby County 0 *black & white. +E/G
07/Nov Crystal Palace 1 (Sewell) Leeds United 1 (Lorimer) *colour +Y/E
14/Nov West Ham United 3 (Best 2, Moore) Wolverhampton W. 3 (McCalliog 2, Gould) *black & white.
21/Nov Luton Town 2 (Ryan, Givens) Portsmouth 1 (McCann) +E *Anglia were at Hull v QPR
28/Nov Arsenal 2 (Graham, Radford) Liverpool 0 *black & white +E/Y
05/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Peters, Gilzean) Manchester United 2 (Law, Best) +E/Y
12/Dec Watford 0 Luton Town 1 (Keen) +M/G
19/Dec Chelsea 2 (Osgood 2) West Ham United 1 (Lampard) *black & white +M/H
26/Dec Arsenal 0 Southampton 0 *Snow covered pitch. +Y/M
02/Jan Crystal Palace 2 (McCormick, Birchenall) Chelsea 2 (Osgood, Baldwin) [FA Cup R3] *Brian Moore talks about Ibrox disaster. +M/E
09/Jan Chelsea 1 (Hudson) Manchester United 2 (Morgan(pen), Gowling) +M/G
16/Jan West Ham United 2 (Eustace, Brooking) Leeds United 3 (Giles, Hunter, Belfitt) *black & white +E/M
23/Jan Chelsea 0 Manchester City 3 (Bell 2, Bowyer) [FA Cup 4th Round] +M/Y
30/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers, Gilzean) Everton 1 (Royle) +Y/G
ITV technicians colour strike now ended, all programmes in colour from now on
06/Feb Arsenal 1 (Radford) Manchester City 0 +Y/T
13/Feb Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers, Gilzean) Nottingham Forest 1 (Moore(pen)) [FA Cup 5th Round] +G/E
20/Feb Queens Park Rangers 1 (Marsh) Hull City 1 (Wagstaff) +M/G
27/Feb League Cup Final - Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers 2) Aston Villa 0 *Networked highlights
06/Mar Showed Granada coverage of Liverpool 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 [FA Cup QF] +Y
13/Mar Crystal Palace 0 Arsenal 2 (Graham, Sammels) +G/Y
20/Mar West Ham United 2 (Greaves 2) Ipswich Town 2 (Bell, Robertson) +Y/M
27/Mar Arsenal 2 (Storey 2(1pen)) Stoke City 2 (Smith, Ritchie) [FA Cup SF] *Networked highlights, BBC covered the replay
also Dagenham v Slough [Amateur Cup Semi-Final]
03/Apr Arsenal 2 (Kennedy 2) Chelsea 0 +G/E
10/Apr Gillingham 1 (Green) Fulham 3 (Johnson, Barrett, Conway) +E/M
17/Apr Crystal Palace 3 (Birchenall, Tambling, Queen) Manchester United 5 (Best 2, Law 3) +G/M
24/Apr Chelsea 2 (Smethurst, Feely) Coventry City 1 (Hunt) +E/T
01/May Arsenal 1 (Kelly) Stoke City 0 +Y/G
08/May FA Cup Final - Arsenal 2 (Kelly, George) Liverpool 1 (Heighway) AET *Networked live, Sunday highlights

Bertie Mee's Arsenal won the double! (League champions and FA Cup winners), captain Frank McLintock was named 'Footballer of the year'. The double was achieved thanks to Charlie George's strike in extra-time in the Cup final v Liverpool, the Gunners had won the league five days earlier by claiming a 1-0 victory at Spurs in a re-arranged fixture, but it wasn't a bad season for Bill Nicholson's Spurs either who won the League Cup and finished 3rd. Chelsea too lifted silverware in the form of the European Cup-Winners Cup, beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the final replay with goals from John Dempsey and Peter Osgood, the Blues finished 6th in the league whilst Palace were 18th. Orient and Watford did just enough to stay up in the 2nd tier, Luton had no such problems with Malcolm Macdonald's 24 goals helping them to finish 6th and Rodney Marsh grabbed 21 for QPR in 11th. Spurs' Martin Chivers was runner-up on the top flight goal scoring charts with 21, Arsenal's top scorer was Ray Kennedy with 19. Fulham were promoted from the 3rd tier but Gillingham were relegated.



Season 1971/72
14/Aug West Ham United 0 West Bromwich Albion 1 (T.Brown) +G/M
21/Aug Brentford 1 (Turner) Aldershot 1 (Grummett) +G/T
28/Aug Queens Park Rangers 1 (Marsh) Millwall 1 (Dunphy) +M/G (This edition was also shown in Scotland)
04/Sep Chelsea 3 (Osgood 2, Hollins) Coventry City 3 (Rafferty, O'Rourke, Mortimer) +Y/M
11/Sep Arsenal 2 (Graham, Storey) Leeds United 0 +M/Y
18/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Peters, Chivers, Mullery) Crystal Palace 0 +M/G
25/Sep Charlton Athletic 2 (Went(pen), Treacey) Burnley 0 +G/M
02/Oct Chelsea 3 (Baldwin, Houseman, Hollins) Wolverhampton W. 1 (McCalliog)
09/Oct West Ham United 1 (Hurst) Leicester City 1 (Cross) +Y/M
16/Oct Chelsea 1 (Osgood) Arsenal 2 (Kennedy, Graham) +E/M
23/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Peters 2(1pen), Chivers, Mullery, Pearce 2) Nottingham Forest 1 (Richardson) +G/T
30/Oct Crystal Palace 0 West Ham United 3 (Coker, Bonds, Best) +G/M
03/Nov Possibly Arsenal 3 (Kennedy, George, Radford) Grasshoppers 0
06/Nov Tottenham Hotpsur 3 (Pratt 2, Chivers) Everton 0 +Y/G
13/Nov Arsenal 1 (Nelson) Manchester City 2 (Mellor, Bell) +M/E *BFI details are incorrect
17/Nov West Ham United 5 (Robson 3, Best 2) Sheffield United 0 [League Cup QF]
20/Nov Millwall 3 (Bolland(pen), Possee, Bridges) Birmingham City 0 +M/G *BFI details are incorrect
27/Nov Chelsea 1 (Cooke) Tottenham Hotspur 0 +E/M
04/Dec West Ham United 0 Arsenal 0 +Y/G
11/Dec Arsenal 2 (Radford 2) Coventry City 0 +M/G
15/Dec West Ham United 0 Stoke City 1 (Ritchie) [League Cup SF 2nd Leg] AET *2-2 on agg, replay required
18/Dec Crystal Palace 1 (Craven) Leeds United 1 (Lorimer) +Y/T
01/Jan West Ham United 3 (Robson, Best, Hurst(pen)) Manchester United 0 +G/M
05/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers, Peters(pen)) Chelsea 2 (Garland, Hudson) [League Cup SF 2nd Leg] *Tape no longer exists? Chelsea win 5-4 on agg
08/Jan Millwall 0 Queens Park Rangers 0 +Y/G
15/Jan West Ham United 2 (Hurst, Best) Luton Town 1 (Givens) [FA Cup 3rd Round] +S (main game was the Southern match)
22/Jan West Ham United 3 (Lampard, Robson, Brooking) Derby County 3 (Hinton, Durban, Hector) +Y/M
26/Jan Stoke 3 (Bernard, Dobing, Conroy) West Ham 2 (Bonds, Brooking) [League Cup SF 2nd replay] *Granada coverage, Gerald Sinstadt commentated
29/Jan Chelsea 4 (Osgood 2, Hollins(pen), Dempsey) Everton 0 +E/M
05/Feb Reading 1 (Wagstaffe) Arsenal 2 (Morgan(og), Rice) [FA Cup 4th Round] +M/Y
12/Feb Arsenal 2 (George 2 (1pen)) Derby County 0 +M/E
19/Feb Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers 2) Stoke City 0 +E/G *BFI details are incorrect
26/Feb Showed Granada coverage of Everton 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Gilzean, Peters) [FA Cup 5th Round] +M/Y
04/Mar League Cup Final - Chelsea 1 (Osgood) Stoke City 2 (Conroy, Eastham) *Networked highlights
08/Mar Ajax 2 (Muhren 2(1pen)) Arsenal 1 (Kennedy) [European Cup QF 1st Leg]
11/Mar Tottenham Hotspur 0 Derby County 1 (Hinton) +E/G
18/Mar Orient 0 Arsenal 1 (Ball) [FA Cup QF] +M
25/Mar Brentford 2 (Docherty, O'Mara) Grimsby Town 0 +Y/G
01/Apr West Ham United 2 (Brooking, Coker) Tottenham Hotspur 0 +E/M
08/Apr Chelsea 2 (Hollins, Osgood) Crystal Palace 1 (Blyth) +M/G
15/Apr Arsenal 1 (Armstrong) Stoke City 1 (Simpson(og)) [FA Cup Semi-Final] *also Stafford Rangers 3 Barnet 0 [FA Trophy final]
19/Apr Arsenal 2 (George(pen), Radford) Stoke City 1 (Greenhoff(pen)) [FA Cup SF Replay] *played at Goodison
22/Apr Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Murray(pen)) Bolton Wanderers 1 (G.Jones(pen)) *also Hendon 2 Enfield 0 [FA Amateur Cup Final at Wembley] +G
29/Apr Millwall 2 (Possy, Bridges) Preston North End 0 +England v West Germany
06/May FA Cup Final - Arsenal 0 Leeds 1 (Clarke) *Networked live, Sunday Cup final highlights now titled "How The Cup Was Won"
17/May Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Mullery) Wolves 1 (Wagstaffe) [UEFA Cup Final 2nd Leg] *Spurs win 3-2 on aggregate, BBC had 1st leg

Arsenal's European Cup campaign ended with a Quarter-final defeat to the eventual winners Ajax, whilst on the domestic front the Gunners reached the final of the FA Cup for the 2nd successive year but lost to Leeds. In the league, Arsenal were the highest placed London team in 5th ahead of Spurs in 6th, yet Spurs fans were the more content after winning the UEFA Cup (its' first season under this new name having previously been known as the Fairs Cup). Martin Chivers scored 25 league goals for Spurs, Peter Osgood netted 19 for Chelsea who finished 7th having lost in the League Cup final, West Ham were 14th, Palace narrowly avoided the drop finishing 3rd bottom. In the 2nd tier, Millwall came agonizingly close to promotion by finishing just 2 points behind the champions in 3rd, QPR were only another point worse off in 4th, but the table did not make pretty reading for the region at the bottom as all three clubs at the foot of the table were London clubs - Charlton and Watford were relegated whilst Fulham just survived (one point ahead of Charlton). In the lower divisions, fringe LWT club Brighton were promoted from the 3rd tier whilst Brentford moved up from the 4th with John O'Mara netting 25 league goals.



Season 1972/73
12/Aug Chelsea 4 (Osgood, Locke, Garland 2) Leeds United 0 +G
19/Aug Fulham 1 (Went) Burnley 1 (James) +Y/G
26/Aug Chelsea 2 (Osgood, Houseman) Manchester City 1 (Mellor) +Y/G
02/Sep West Ham United 2 (Robson 2) Manchester United 2 (Best, Moore) +E/Y
09/Sep Tottenham Hotspurs 2 (Peters(pen), England) Crystal Palace 1 (Knowles(og)) +G/T
16/Sep Arsenal 0 Liverpool 0 *Jimmy Hill takes over as linesman. +M/Y
23/Sep Brentford 1 (Docherty) Bournemouth 1 (Macdougall) +G
30/Sep Queens Park Rangers 3 (Givens 2(1pen), Bowles) Cardiff City 0 +M/Y
07/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 4 (Pratt 2, Gilzean, Peters) Stoke City 3 (Ritchie 2, Bloor) +G/M
14/Oct West Ham United 3 (Brooking, Robson 2) Sheffield United 1 (Taylor(og)) +E/M
21/Oct Crystal Palace 2 (Craven 2) Arsenal 3 (George(pen), Radford, Rice) +Y/G
28/Oct Arsenal 0 Manchester City 0 +E/M
04/Nov West Ham United 2 (Robson, Brooking) Wolverhampton W. 2 (Kindon 2) +E/G
11/Nov Millwall 3 (S.Brown, Wood 2) Brighton & Hove Albion 0 +M
18/Nov Crystal Palace 2 (Craven 2) Leeds United 2 (Jones, Giles) +E
25/Nov Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Chivers) Liverpool 2 (Heighway, Keegan) +M
02/Dec West Ham United 1 (Brooking) Newcastle United 1 (Craig) +Y/E
09/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Peters) Arsenal 2 (Storey, Radford) +E/Y
16/Dec Crystal Palace 5 (Mulligan 2, Rogers 2, Whittle) Manchester United 0 +?/?
23/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers, Perryman) Sheffield United 0 +G/M
30/Dec Chelsea 1 (Osgood) Derby County 1 (O' Hare) +Y/M
06/Jan West Ham United 0 Liverpool 1 (Keegan) +Y/X
13/Jan Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Chelsea 2 (Osgood 2) [FA Cup 3rd Round] *Jimmy Hill comm (Moore fell ill but did present). +E/G
20/Jan Chelsea 0 Arsenal 1 (Kennedy) +Y/G
27/Jan Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 +X/M
03/Feb Chelsea 2 (Osgood 2) Ipswich Town 0 [FA Cup 4th Round] +G/M
10/Feb Watford 1 (Morrissey(pen)) Blackburn Rovers 3 (Endean, Field, Napier) +?/?
17/Feb Crystal Palace 3 (Possee, Whittle, Rogers) Stoke City 2 (Greenhoff, Smith) +G/Y
24/Feb Yorkshire coverage of Sheffield Wed. 1 (Coyle) Chelsea 2 (Garner, Osgood) [FA Cup R5] *No London home cup ties. +M/G
03/Mar League Cup Final - Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Coates) Norwich City 0 *Networked highlights
07/Mar Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Evans) Vitoria Setubal 0 [UEFA Cup QF 1st Leg]
10/Mar Fulham 1 (Mitchell) Carlisle United 0 +Y
17/Mar Derby County 0 Leeds United 1 (Lorimer) [FA Cup QF] *LWT coverage with Brian Moore commentating. +M (Wolves v Cov)
24/Mar Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Chivers) Manchester United 1 (Graham) +?/?
31/Mar Crystal Palace 2 (Phillip, Cannon) Chelsea 0 +?/?
07/Apr Arsenal 1 (George) Sunderland 2 (Halom, Hughes) [FA Cup SF] *Networked highlights
14/Apr Arsenal 1 (Storey) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Chivers) + Walton & Hersham 1 (Connell) Slough Town 0 [FA Amateur Cup F at Wembley]/M
21/Apr Millwall 0 Queens Park Rangers 1 (Givens) +M
28/Apr West Ham United 1 (Rice(og)) Arsenal 2 (Kennedy, Radford)
05/May FA Cup Final *Networked live, Sunday highlights

Arsenal were league runners-up and narrowly missed out on a third successive FA Cup final by losing to 2nd tier Sunderland in the Semi-finals. West Ham had a good season, finishing 6th with Bryan Robson's 28 goals putting him on top of the goalscoring charts, but it was 8th placed Spurs who lifted silverware by winning the League Cup after a goal by Ralph Coates was enough to beat Norwich, goalkeeper Pat Jennings was named 'Footballer of the year'. Chelsea finished 12th and Crystal Palace were finally relegated in their fourth season amongst the elite. Gordon Jago's QPR would be one of the clubs replacing Palace as 2nd tier runners-up (with Don Givens finishing top scorer at this level with 23, Stan Bowles chipped in with 17), but Brighton made an immediate return to the Third Division after finishing bottom, Brentford too followed their promotion season with a relegation back down to the 4th. Charlton's Arthur Horsfield was joint top scorer in the 3rd tier with 25.




1st April 1973 - Jimmy Hill (right) interviewing Crystal Palace manager Malcolm Allison.
It was Hill's final season on the programme before he joined 'Match of the Day' on BBC1.

Season 1973/74
17/Aug Arsenal 1 (Hornsby) Wolverhampton W. 3 (McCalliog, Dougan 2) [FA Cup 3rd/4th PO] *at Highbury (tx Sunday) +G
25/Aug Arsenal 3 (Kennedy, Radford, Ball) Manchester United 0 +G/M
01/Sep Chelsea 1 (Hollins(pen)) Sheffield United 2 (Currie, Woodward) +T/E
08/Sep Crystal Palace 2 (Blyth, Cannon) Middlesbrough 3 (Hickton, Mills, Taylor) +?/?
15/Sep Oxford United 0 Sunderland 1 (Tueart) +G
22/Sep West Ham United 1 (Robson) Leicester City 1 (Worthington) +M
29/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Coates) Derby County 0 +Y/T
06/Oct Queens Park Rangers 1 (Bowles) Chelsea 1 (Mancini(og)) +?/?
13/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Gilzean, Chivers) Arsenal 0 +M/Y
20/Oct Orient 2 (Queen, Fairbrother) Luton Town 0 +E/M
27/Oct West Ham United 0 Derby County 0 +?/?
03/Nov Fulham 2 (John Conway, Busby) Bristol City 1 (Tainton) +G/M
10/Nov Queens Park Rangers 3 (Bowles, Francis, Venables) Coventry City 0 +E/G
17/Nov Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0 +?/?
24/Nov Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Chivers(pen)) Wolverhampton W. 3 (Powell, Palmer, Hibbitt) +M/E
01/Dec Brighton & Hove Albion 2 (O'Sullivan, R.Howell) Bristol Rovers 8 (Bannister 3, Fearnley, Warboys 4) +M/Y
08/Dec West Ham United 2 (Brooking, Doyle(og)) Manchester City 1 (Lee) +E/M
12/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 5 (McGrath, Chivers 2, Peters 2) Dynamo Tbilisi 1 (Ebralidze) [UEFA Cup 3rd Round 2nd Leg]
15/Dec Chelsea 1 (Osgood) Leeds United 2 (Jordan, Jones) +G/M
22/Dec Queens Park Rangers 3 (Clement, Givens, Bowles) Newcastle United 2 (McDermott, Moncur) +M/G
29/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Pratt, Chivers) West Ham United 0 +G/S
05/Jan Chelsea 0 Queens Park Rangers 0 [FA Cup R3] +G/M
12/Jan West Ham United 2 (Bonds, Holland) Manchester United 1 (McIlroy) +M/Y
19/Jan Orient 2 (Queen, Fairbrother) Sunderland 1 (Belfitt) +E/M
26/Jan Arsenal 1 (Kennedy) Aston Villa 1 (Morgan) [FA Cup R4 +?/?
02/Feb West Ham United 0 Birmingham City 0 +?/?
09/Feb Showed other region's games - G/E *LWT match postponed?
16/Feb Luton Town 0 Leicester City 4 (Earle 2, Worthington, Weller) [FA Cup R5] +?/?
23/Feb Gillingham 2 (Yeo, Wilks) Exeter City 1 (Bowker) +S/M
02/Mar League Cup Final *Networked highlights
09/Mar Bristol City 0 Liverpool 1 (Toshack) [FA Cup QF] *Brian Moore commentated +T
16/Mar West Ham United 2 (Bonds 2(1pen)) Coventry City 3 (Cross, Alderson, Carr) +?/?
23/Mar Crystal Palace 3 (Possee 2, Rogers(pen)) Bristol City 1 (Whitehead) +G/M
30/Mar FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Newcastle/Burnley
06/Apr Arsenal 0 West Ham United 0 +E
13/Apr Millwall 3 (Clark, Wood 2) Crystal Palace 2 (P Taylor, Rogers(pen)) +E/M
20/Apr Luton Town 3 (Faulkner, Anderson, Hindson) Millwall 0 +Y
*also Bishop's Stortford 4 (Lawrence,Murphy,Leakey,Smith (pen)) Ilford 1 (Drabwell) [FA Amateur Cup Final at Wembley]
27/Apr Showed matches from other regions - G/M/Y
04/May FA Cup Final *Networked live, Sunday highlights
29/May Feyenoord 2 (Rijsbergen, Ressel) Spurs 0 [UEFA Cup Final 2nd Leg] *tx'd as "The Wednesday Special", Gerald Sinstadt commentated

8th placed QPR were this season's highest finishing team in the region with Stan Bowles their top scorer on 19 (they also reached the FA Cup Quarter-finals). 11th placed Tottenham's season ended in disaster when crowd trouble in their UEFA Cup final 2nd leg away to Feyenoord led to Spurs becoming the first British club to receive a European ban (Spurs lost the final 4-2 on aggregate, losing the away leg 2-0). Relegation/promotion places increased from two to three between the 1st&2nd and 2nd&3rd tiers, Chelsea and West Ham narrowly avoided the freshly widened trapdoor by finishing just a point above the drop with Chelsea twice changing their manager; Dave Sexton was sacked in October and replaced by assistant Ron Suart, he in turn was replaced by Eddie McCreadie in March. West Ham manager Ron Greenwood would now move 'upstairs' to become General Manager. In the 2nd tier, Harry Haslam's Luton Town were promoted as runners-up whilst Orient (in 4th) finished just one point behind the extra promotion place, Millwall's Alf Wood was runner-up on the goalscoring charts at this level with 21, but Malcolm Allison's Crystal Palace finished 3rd bottom and were relegated. Watford's Billy Jennings topped the 3rd tier charts with 26 whilst Brian Yeo of Gillingham was the goalscoring king in the 4th on 31.



Season 1974/75
03/Aug West Ham United 1 (Bonds) Orient 0 [Anglo-Scottish Cup] +M
10/Aug Orient 2 (Walley, Queen) Luton Town 2 (Husband, Butlin) [Anglo-Scottish Cup] +M
17/Aug Orient 0 Manchester United 2 (Morgan, Houston) +E/M
24/Aug Queens Park Rangers 0 Stoke City 1 (Hurst) +G/T
31/Aug Gillingham 0 Charlton Athletic 1 (Peacock) +?/?
07/Sep Fulham 0 York City 2 (Jones 2) +G/M
14/Sep Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0 +T/M
21/Sep Arsenal 2 (Kidd 2) Luton Town 2 (Alston, Shanks) +E/Y
28/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Neighbour) Middlesbrough 2 (Armstrong, Mills) +Y/E
05/Oct Fulham 1 (Busby) Manchester United 2 (Pearson 2) +?/?
12/Oct Arsenal 2 (Kidd, Radford, Bowles 2) Queens Park Rangers 2 (Bowles 2(1pen))
19/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Perryman, Chivers) Arsenal 0 +?/?
26/Oct Chelsea 3 (Droy, Garland, Hutchinson) Stoke City 3 (Greenhoff, Haselgrave, Robertson) +?/?
02/Nov West Ham United 3 (Robson, Boam, Paddon) Middlesbrough 0 +Y/G
09/Nov Chelsea 0 Leicester City 0 +?/?
16/Nov West Ham United 5 (Bonds (pen), Brooking, Lampard, Jennings, Gould) Wolverhampton W. 2 (Richards, Kindon) +?/?
23/Nov Tottenham Hotspur 0 Birmingham City 0 +M/G
30/Nov Crystal Palace 2 (Cannon, Chatterton) Charlton Athletic 1 (Powell) +T/E
07/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Bell(og), Chivers, Knowles) Newcastle United 0 +M/Y
14/Dec West Ham United 0 Manchester City 0 +E/Y
21/Dec Chelsea 1 (Hutchinson) West Ham United 1 (Gould) *Terry Mancini presented this edition with Terry Venables +?/?
28/Dec Millwall 0 Portsmouth 0 +?/?
04/Jan Wycombe Wanderers 0 Middlesbrough 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round] +G/M
11/Jan Queens Park Rangers 0 Burnley 1 (Hankin) +M/E
18/Jan West Ham United 2 ((Jennings, Bonds(pen)) Queens Park Rangers 2 (Masson, Bowles(pen)) +M/E
25/Jan West Ham United (Jennings) 1 Swindon Town 1 (Eastoe) [FA Cup 4th Round] +M/Y
01/Feb Arsenal 2 (Ball 2(1pen)) Liverpool 0 +M/S
08/Feb Luton Town 1 (R.Futcher) Newcastle United 0 +G/E
15/Feb West Ham United 2 (Holland, Robson) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Clement) [FA Cup R5] +E/G
22/Feb Tottenham Hotspur 0 Leicester City 3 (Stringfellow, Worthington, Sammels) +G/M
01/Mar League Cup Final *Networked highlights
08/Mar Carlisle United 0 Fulham 1 (Barrett) [FA Cup QF] *May have been Granada coverage as they showed this too. +E
15/Mar Charlton Athletic 2 (Curtis, Flanagan) Southend United 1 (Hales(og)) +M/Y
22/Mar Orient 1 (Heppolette) Aston Villa 0 +?/?
29/Mar Arsenal 1 (Kelly) Stoke City 1 (Salmons) +?/?
05/Apr Fulham 1 (Mitchell) Birmingham City 1 (Gallagher) [FA Cup SF] *Networked highlights from Hillsborough
12/Apr Millwall 1 (Kitchener) Norwich City 1 (Butler) +E
19/Apr Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Perryman, Conn) Chelsea 0
26/Apr Arsenal 1 (Kidd) Tottenham Hotspur 0
03/May FA Cup Final - West Ham United 2 (A.Taylor 2) Fulham 0 *Networked live, Sunday highlights

1975 saw the first all London FA Cup final since 1967 as 2nd tier Fulham (managed by Alec Stock) met West Ham (in their first season under John Lyall), Fulham's Alan Mullery was named 'Footballer of the year' and the Cottagers were now captained by ex-Hammers & England hero Bobby Moore, but it was West Ham who came out on top in the Cup final with a 2-0 win, both goals were scored by Alan Taylor (Hammers keeper Mervyn Day was named the PFA young player of the year). In the league, it was a very poor season for the region's top flight clubs - QPR scraped into the top half in 11th (Gordon Jago resigned as manager in October, Dave Sexton replaced him), West Ham finished 13th and Arsenal 16th (the Gunners lowest finish in 50 years, although Brian Kidd was runner-up on the top flight scorers chart with 19). Spurs boss Bill Nicholson was another London based manager to resign early in the season, former Arsenal player Terry Neill then took charge and Spurs went on to avoid the drop by 1 point, largely thanks to a Big Match televised home win against Chelsea on 19/Apr/75 which helped send the Blues down (and a match that inevitably ended with a pitch battle between rival fans following a noticeably sharp increase in hooliganism in general over the past few years). Fringe LWT club Luton Town were also relegated in their one season return to this level. There was little local joy in the 2nd tier either, Fulham and Orient finished mid-table whilst Millwall were relegated. Watford's season was another relegation story in the old Third Division but there was some good news from this league thanks to Andy Nelson's Charlton Athletic who won promotion.



Season 1975/76
09/Aug Fulham 1 (Mullery(pen)) Chelsea 0 [Anglo-Scottish Cup] +T/M/G
16/Aug Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Perryman) Middlesbrough 0 +M/E
23/Aug Chelsea 3 (Maybank 2, Bason) Carlisle United 1 (Barry) +Y
30/Aug Queens Park Rangers 1 (Givens) West Ham United 1 (Jennings) +Y/T
06/Sep Arsenal 1 (Stapleton) Leicester City 1 (Sammels) +M/T
13/Sep Queens Park Rangers 1 (Webb) Manchester United 0 +M/G
20/Sep West Ham United 2 (T.Taylor, Best) Sheffield United 0 +M/E
27/Sep Fulham 2 (Howe, Conway) Chelsea 0 +M/G
04/Oct West Ham United 0 Everton 1 (Jones) +M/T
11/Oct Crystal Palace 3 (Evans, Kemp, Swindlehurst) Grimsby Town 0 +Y/T
18/Oct Luton Town 1 (Chambers) Fulham 0 +M
25/Oct West Ham United 2 (Taylor, Gould) Manchester United 1 (Macari) *crowd crushing problem, 18 min stoppage. +G/M
01/Nov Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Neighbour, Young) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Daley) +M/Y
05/Nov West Ham United 3 (Paddon, Robson, Taylor) Ararat Erevan 1 (N.Petrosian) [Cup-Winners Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg] *Hammers win 4-2 on agg
08/Nov Queens Park Rangers 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 +Y/E
15/Nov Charlton Athletic 1 (Hales) Sunderland 2 (Holden 2) +M/E
22/Nov Arsenal 3 (Ball, Greenhoff(og), Armstrong) Manchester United 1 (Pearson) +G/Y
29/Nov West Ham United 1 (A.Taylor) Arsenal 0 +M/Y
06/Dec Chelsea 0 Bolton Wanderers 1 (Greaves) +M/G
13/Dec Queens Park Rangers 1 (Nutt) Derby County 1 (Rioch) +Y/E
20/Dec West Ham United 3 (Jennings 3) Stoke City 1 (Bloor) +M/G
27/Dec Arsenal 2 (Ball, Kidd) Queens Park Rangers 0 +Y/G
03/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Duncan) Stoke City 1 (Mahoney) [FA Cup 3rd Round] +M/Y
10/Jan Arsenal 0 Aston Villa 0 +G/T
17/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Duncan) Manchester United 1 (Hill) +G/E
24/Jan Charlton Athletic 1 (Curtis(pen)) Portsmouth 1 (Piper) [FA Cup 4th Round] +M
31/Jan Chelsea 1 (Britton) West Bromwich Albion 2 (Martin, T.Brown) +G/T
07/Feb Crystal Palace 3 (Taylor(pen), Chatterton 2) Swindon Town 3 (Stroud, Syrett 2) *Swindon's Dave Moss missed pen +E/T
14/Feb Showed other region's FA Cup 5th Round ties - M/E/T
21/Feb West Ham United 1 (Brooking) Derby County 2 (George, Rioch) +M/E
28/Feb League Cup Final *Networked highlights
06/Mar Showed Tyne Tees coverage of Sunderland 0 Crystal Palace 1 (Whittle) [FA Cup QF] *Brian moore for LWT. +G
13/Mar Chelsea 1 (Finneston) Southampton 1 (Channon) +G/Y
20/Mar Arsenal 6 (Ball 2(1 pen), Armstrong, Kidd 3) West Ham United 1 (Jennings) +M/E
27/Mar Queens Park Rangers 1 (Webb) Manchester City 0 +M/G
03/Apr Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 2 (Gilchrist, Peach(pen)) [FA Cup SF] *played at Stamford Bridge
10/Apr Queens Park Rangers 4 (Francis 2(1pen), Givens, Bowles) Middlesbrough 2 (Boersma, Brine) +G
14/Apr West Ham 3 (Brooking 2, Robson) Eintracht Frankfurt 1 (Beveringen) [Cup-Winners Cup SF 2nd Leg] *Hammers win 4-3 on agg
17/Apr Millwall 2 (Walker, McGrath) Peterborough United 0 +G/M
24/Apr Queens Park Rangers 2 (Thomas, Bowles) Leeds United 0 +E
01/May FA Cup Final *Networked live, Sunday highlights +X

It was some season for Dave Sexton's QPR who came within a whisker of winning the league championship, but in the end they had to settle for 2nd spot just 1 point behind Liverpool (who won their outstanding re-arranged fixture at Wolves despite being 1-0 down until the 76th minute). West Ham also came close to glory by reaching the final of the Cup-Winners Cup where they met Belgian opponents at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, goals from Pat Holland and Keith Robson were not enough as Anderlecht won 4-2. The Hammers finished 18th in the league with Arsenal only one place higher (manager Bertie Mee announced his retirement in March), Spurs had a much better season in 9th (John Duncan was runner-up on the top flight scorers chart with 20). In the 2nd tier, 9th placed Charlton's Derek Hales was top scorer with 28 goals whilst Chelsea, Fulham and Orient all finished mid-table, fringe LWT club Oxford were relegated. In the 3rd tier; Gordon Jago's Millwall were promoted, Palace finished 5th and reached the FA Cup Semi-finals (losing to the eventual winners Southampton).



Season 1976/77
21/Aug Arsenal 0 Bristol City 1 (Cheesley) +G/E
28/Aug West Ham United 0 Leicester City 0 +M/H
04/Sep Millwall 3 (Salvage, Evans, Brisley) Chelsea 0 +M/H
11/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Jones) Leeds United 0 +M/G
18/Sep Chelsea 2 (Hay, Stanley) Bolton Wanderers 1 (Taylor) +M/Y
25/Sep Fulham 4 (Slough, Evanson, Marsh 2) Hereford United 1 (Howe(og)) +M/E
02/Oct Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Fell) Crystal Palace 1 (Cannon) +S/Y
09/Oct Charlton Athletic 3 (Hales 3) Hull City 1 (Galvin) +M/G
16/Oct West Ham United 0 Ipswich Town 2 (Woods 2) +G
23/Oct Queens Park Rangers 2 (McClintock, Bowles) Sunderland 0 +M/E
30/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Pratt, McAllister, Osgood) Everton 3 (King, McNaught, Latchford) +M/H
03/Nov QPR 5 (Givens 3(1pen), Bowles, Clement) Slovan Bratislava 2 (Ondrus, Capkovic) [UEFA Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg] *QPR win 8-5 on agg
06/Nov Arsenal 4 (Stapleton, Nelson, MacDonald(pen), Ross) Birmingham City 0 +E
13/Nov Millwall 4 (Kitchen, Lee, Walker, Speasman) Luton Town 2 (West, Buckley(pen)) +M/Y
20/Nov Fulham 1 (Slough) Notts County 5 (Vinter 2, Carter, Busby, Howe(og)) +M/E
27/Nov Tottenham Hotpur 2 (Osgood 2) Stoke City 0 +G/Y
04/Dec Fulham 5 (Mitchell 2, Maybank 2, Best) Oldham Athletic 0 *Intended match QPR v Man Utd was pp'd. +G/E
11/Dec Chelsea 3 (Wilkins, Britton, Finneston) Wolverhampton W. 3 (Richards 2, Gould) +G/Y
18/Dec Arsenal 3 (MacDonald 2, Brady) Manchester United 1 (McIlroy) *Elton John presented with Keegan & Channon +G
01/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Osgood(pen), Duncan) West Ham United 1 (Brooking) +G/E
08/Jan Wimbledon 0 Middlesbrough 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round] +Y/G
12/Jan Chelsea 0 Southampton 3 (Macdougall, Channon, Peach(pen)) [FA Cup 3rd Round replay] *Tape lost?
15/Jan Crystal Palace 2 (Chatterton, Silkman) Grimsby Town 1 (Wigg) *Intended match QPR v West Ham was pp'd. +T/E
22/Jan Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Taylor) Ipswich Town 0 +H
29/Jan Arsenal 3 (Stapleton 2, MacDonald) Coventry City 1 (Hutchison) [FA Cup 4th Round] +H/E
05/Feb Fulham 1 (Mitchell) Charlton Athletic 1 (Flanagan) +G
12/Feb Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Jones) Manchester United 3 (Macari, McIlroy, Hill)
19/Feb Arsenal 2 (Brady, Stapleton) West Ham United 3 (Taylor 2, Jennings) +G/Y
22/Feb Queens Park Rangers 0 Aston Villa 3 (Little 3) [League Cup SF Replay] *played at Highbury
26/Feb Showed Southampton 2 (Peach(pen), Holmes) Man Utd 2 (Macari, Hill) [FA Cup R5] *Brian Moore comm. +G/Y
05/Mar Chelsea 2 (Swain, Wicks) Blackpool 2 (Ronson, Spence) +G/T
12/Mar League Cup Final *Networked highlights
19/Mar Showed other region's FA Cup QF's - G/M
26/Mar Fulham 3 (Mitchell, Maybank 2) Sheffield United 2 (Woodward, Edwards) +M/E
02/Apr West Ham United 2 (Robson 2(1pen)) Everton 2 (Goodlass, Pearson) +G/Y
09/Apr Chelsea 2 (Finnieston, Sparrow) Luton Town 0 +G/Y
16/Apr Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Jones) Sunderland 1 (Holden) +E/T
23/Apr FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Man Utd/Leeds
30/Apr Chelsea 4 (Langley, Lewington, Wilkins, Finnieston) Sheffield United 0 +G/Y
07/May West Ham United 2 (Pike, Jennings) Derby County 2 (James, McGiven(og)) +G/M
14/May Chelsea 4 (Finnieston 3(1pen), Britton) Hull City 0 +G/E
21/May FA Cup Final *Networked live, Sunday highlights

It was a much improved season for Arsenal who finished 8th with new signing Malcolm Macdonald the joint top-flight scorer on 25. The Gunners were now managed by Terry Neill who had been sacked by Spurs in the summer, Spurs replaced Neill with Keith Burkinshaw but 76/77 proved to be a disastrous campaign as they finished rock bottom (and goalkeeper Pat Jennings then moved to Arsenal). QPR reached the Quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup (losing on pens to AEK Athens) and finished 14th, West Ham were 17th. In the 2nd tier; Eddie McCreadie's Chelsea won promotion as runners-up with Steve Finnieston scoring 24 goals, Mike Flanagan netted 23 for Charlton in 7th whilst at the other end Orient stayed up on Goal difference. Fulham made more appearances on The Big Match this season than would normally be expected of a 2nd tier club thanks to the signings of George Best and Rodney Marsh. In the 3rd tier; both Crystal Palace and Brighton were promoted (Peter Ward scored 32 for the Seagulls whilst Palace were now managed by Terry Venables). Wimbledon were elected into the league at the expense of Workington.



Season 1977/78
20/Aug Millwall 0 Crystal Palace 3 (Evans, Hilaire, Chatterton) +M/T
27/Aug Chelsea 1 (Langley) Coventry City 2 (Powell, Wallace) +M/Y
03/Sep Arsenal 3 (Stapleton 2, Brady(pen)) Nottingham Forest 0 +E/T
10/Sep Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Jones) Fulham 0 +M/G
17/Sep Queens Park Rangers 1 (Francis) Manchester City 1 (Royle) +M/Y
24/Sep West Ham United 1 (Dobson(og)) Everton 1 (McKenzie) +E/T
01/Oct Orient 1 (Mayo) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Taylor) +E/T
08/Oct Queens Park Rangers 1 (Eastoe) Everton 5 (Latchford 4, McKenzie) *Stan Bowles missed pen for QPR. +G/M
15/Oct Crystal Palace 1 (Perrin) Southampton 2 (Boyer, Holmes) +M/Y
22/Oct Watford 2 (Mercer, Downes) Newport County 0 +S/G
29/Oct Arsenal 1 (Rice) Birmingham City 1 (Bertschin) +G/E
05/Nov Chelsea 1 (Aylott) Nottingham Forest 0 +M/T
12/Nov West Ham United 3 (Robson(pen), Devonshire 2) West Bromwich Albion 3 (Wile 2, Cunningham) +M/G
19/Nov Tottenham Hotspur 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 +G/E
26/Nov Queens Park Rangers 2 (Needham, Givens) Manchester United 2 (Pearson, Hill) +T/G
03/Dec Charlton Athletic 3 (Berry, Henderson(og), Flanagan) Sunderland 2 (Greenwood, Entwhistle) +M/E
10/Dec Arsenal 1 (Young) Leeds United 1 (McQueen) +M/E
17/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Hoddle 2) Crystal Palace 2 (Swindlehurst 2) *Studio guests Peter Cook, John Cleese & Elton John. +G/Y
24/Dec No fixtures played
31/Dec West Ham United 3 (McDowell, Hales, Cross) Leicester City 2 (Kember, Sims) +G/H
07/Jan Chelsea 4 (Walker 2, Finnieston, Langley) Liverpool 2 (Johnson, Dalglish) [FA Cup R3] +G/Y
14/Jan Luton Town 0 Oldham Athletic 1 (Taylor) *Gerald Sinstadt comm, Putzie Davies presented (Moore in Argentina for WC draw) +E/T
21/Jan Chelsea 5 (Swain 2, Finnieston,Wilkins, Langley) Ipswich Town 3 (Osborne, Wark, Mariner) +M/G
28/Jan West Ham United 1 (Bonds) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Howe) [FA Cup 4th Round] +T/H
04/Feb Fulham 1 (Greenaway) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Taylor) +M/G
11/Feb Chelsea 2 (Walker, R.Wilkins) Manchester United 2 (McIlroy, Hill(pen)) +M/Y
18/Feb Orient 0 Chelsea 0 [FA Cup 5th Round] +H
25/Feb West Ham United 2 (Taylor, Cross) Arsenal 2 (Macdonald 2) *Martin Tyler commentated, Moore was ill. +G/Y
04/Mar Showed Granada coverage of Oldham A. 1 (Taylor) Tottenham H. 1 (McNab) *Brian Moore comm for LWT. +M/E
*Note:- LWT cameras were at Chelsea v Liverpool which was beamed live to Sweden, the goals from this were shown on the following week's edition
11/Mar Showed HTV coverage of Wrexham 2 (McNeal, Whittle) Arsenal 3 (Stapleton, Sunderland, Young) [FA Cup QF] +T
*Brian Moore commentated, at least for LWT viewers
18/Mar League Cup Final *Networked highlights
25/Mar Queens Park Rangers 3 (James, McGee 2) Ipswich Town 3 (Wark, Burley, Mariner) +M/G
01/Apr Gillingham 0 Wrexham 0 +M/G
08/Apr Arsenal 3 (Macdonald 2, Rix) Orient 0 [FA Cup Semi Final] *Networked highlights from Stamford Bridge
15/Apr West Ham United 3 (Robson 2, Cross) Derby County 0 +M/X
22/Apr Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Taylor, Duncan) Sunderland 3 (Rowell, Lee 2) +G/Y
29/Apr West Ham United 0 Liverpool 2 (McDermott, Fairclough) +E/S
06/May FA Cup Final - Arsenal 0 Ipswich Town 1 *Networked live, brief highlights included on Sunday Grand Prix "World of Sport Special"

Arsenal continued to improve by finishing 5th and reaching the FA Cup final, Chelsea's return to the top flight saw them finish 16th after manager Eddie McCreadie had resigned during pre-season after falling out with the Chairman, his replacement was Ken Shellito. QPR finished 19th, West Ham were relegated in 20th. Keith Burkinshaw's Spurs snatched the final promotion spot in the 2nd tier by virtue of a better goal difference than Brighton. Palace finished 9th and Fulham were 10th whilst Orient, Millwall and Charlton were among seven clubs who all finished one point above the trapdoor, Orient also reached the FA Cup SF's (losing to Arsenal) and Peter Kitchen scored 21 league goals. In the 4th tier; Graham Taylor's Watford were promoted as champions with Bill Dodgin Jr.'s Brentford joining them in 4th (54 of their 86 league goals were scored by Steve Phillips (32) and Andy McCulloch (22)).



Season 1978/79
19/Aug Arsenal 2 (Brady 2) Leeds United 2 (Currie, Cherry) +Y/E
26/Aug Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Duncan, Armstrong) Chelsea 2 (Swain 2) +M/X
02/Sep West Ham United 0 Fulham 1 (Margerrison) +M/G
09/Sep Watford 0 Swansea City 2 (Waddell, Moore) +M
16/Sep Chelsea 1 (Stanley) Manchester City 4 (Channon, R.Futcher 3) +M/Y
23/Sep Arsenal 1 (Price) Manchester United 1 (Coppell) +G/M
30/Sep Chelsea 1 (Wicks) West Bromwich Albion 3 (Regis, Wile, T.Brown) +H/M
07/Oct Crystal Palace 3 (Hilare 2, Swindlehurst) Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Horton) +Y/E
14/Oct Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Ainscow(og)) Birmingham City 0 +Y/G
21/Oct Queens Park Rangers 1 (Gillard) Everton 1 (Latchford) +M/Y
28/Oct Crystal Palace 0 Fulham 1 (Greenaway) +E/Y
04/Nov West Ham United 3 (Lampard, Devonshire, Cross) Preston North End 1 (Thompson) +M/E
11/Nov Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Pratt) Nottingham Forest 3 (Anderson, Robertson, Birtles) +S/M
18/Nov Arsenal 2 (Brady 2(1pen)) Everton 2 (Ross, Dobson) +T/M
25/Nov Charlton Athletic 0 Fulham 0 +M/Y
02/Dec Arsenal 1 (Price) Liverpool 0 +T/E
06/Dec Arsenal 1 (Sunderland) Red Star Belgrade 1 (Savic) [UEFA Cup R3 L2] *not 100%, Arsenal lose 2-1 on agg
09/Dec Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Pratt) Ipswich Town 0 +H/M
16/Dec Queens Park Rangers 2 (Hamilton 2) Manchester City 1 (Channon) +M/T
23/Dec Showed ATV's "Star Soccer" programme
30/Dec Arsenal 3 (Stapleton, Rice, Sunderland) Birmingham City 1 (Francis(pen)) +M/G
06/Jan Showed Yorkshire coverage of Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Johnson) Arsenal 1 (Sunderland) [FA Cup 3rd Round] +M
13/Jan Arsenal 2 (Price, Stapleton) Nottingham Forest 1 (Robertson) +Y
20/Jan Fulham 2 (Davies, Guthrie) Sunderland 2 (Bolton, Rowell) +E/G
27/Jan Showed other region's FA Cup 4th Round ties including Anglia's Ipswich 0 Orient 0 *Brian Moore commentating for LWT viewers +Y/M
31/Jan Fulham 1 (Margerrison) Manchester United 1 (J.Greenhoff) [FA Cup 4th Round] *Presumably LWT's intended main game for 27/Jan before it was postponed
03/Feb Tottenham Hotspur 0 Manchester City 3 (Kidd(pen), Barnes, Channon) +T/G
10/Feb Crystal Palace 1 (Walsh) Stoke City 1 (Irvine) +M/G
17/Feb Bad Weather, showed ATV's match *only 5 fixtures from all divisions played. +X
24/Feb Brentford 3 (Smith, Phillips 2(1pen)) Watford 3 (Pritchett(pen), Blissett, Jenkins) +Y/M
03/Mar Chelsea 0 Liverpool 0 +Y/T
10/Mar Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Ardiles) Manchester United 1 (Thomas) [FA Cup QF] +M *No MOTD on BBC1 this weekend due to industrial action
17/Mar League Cup Final *Networked highlights
24/Mar West Ham United 5 (Devonshire, Robson, Lampard, McDowell 2) Newcastle United 0 +H/T
31/Mar FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Man Utd/Liverpool +X
07/Apr Orient 3 (Mayo, Coates, Moores) Brighton & Hove Albion 3 (Sayer, Chivers, Clarke) +M/G
14/Apr Tottenham Hotpsur 1 (Perryman) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Clement) +Y/M
21/Apr Charlton Athletic 0 West Ham United 0 +E/G
28/Apr Crystal Palace 2 (Swindlehurst, Murphy) Notts County 0 +S/T
05/May Orient 0 Crystal Palace 1 (Swindlehurst) +T/G
12/May FA Cup Final - Arsenal 3 (Talbot, Stapleton, Sunderland) Man Utd 2 (McQueen, McIlroy) *Networked live, highlights inc on Sunday Grand Prix show

Arsenal won the FA Cup with a 3-2 win over Man Utd in the so called "Five minute final", Utd drew level from 2-0 down in the last 5 minutes, but only for the Gunners to score again at the death. In the league Arsenal finished a respectable 7th (Frank Stapleton netted 17, Liam Brady was the PFA's 'Player of the year') whilst a UEFA Cup run came to a halt in the 3rd round (losing to Red Star Belgrade). Tottenham marked their return to the top flight by signing two players from Argentina (host winners of the 1978 World Cup), Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricky Villa helped Spurs to a comfortable 11th, but there was bad news elsewhere for the region as QPR & Chelsea were both relegated (Chelsea finished bottom with only 5 wins all season and conceded 92 goals), fortunately two local clubs would be among the three replacing them after a thrilling promotion climax; Crystal Palace were champions of the 2nd tier whilst Brighton were runners-up, West Ham's first season down at this level since 1958 saw them finish 5th with 'Pop' Robson the 2nd tier top scorer with 24, but at the other end Millwall were relegated. In the 3rd tier Watford achieved a 2nd successive promotion with Ross Jenkins the top scorer in all divisions with 29 (Luther Blissett bagged a further 21), whilst in the 4th tier Dario Gradi's Wimbledon won promotion in only their 2nd season as members of the Football league with Alan Cork scoring 22 of the Wombles league goals.