18/02/1975 - The Midweek Match (FA Cup Round 5)

[@middleagedpunk8923]

Just turned up for my nightly brew and a dose of youthful nostalgia. First thoughts 30 seconds in - the Baseball Ground pitch looking as lush as ever 🤣and Cockney Rebel's latest single, Make Me Smile, playing on the tannoy. This channel really is a joy to behold!

[@garrysimpson1395]

I.T.V. had great commentators. Brain Morre for London Weekend Television. Hugh Johns for A.T.V. Gerald Sinstadt for Granada Television. Keith Maclaren for Yorkshire Television Gerry Harrisison for Anglia Television and Arthur Montford for Scottish Television. Also including Roger Thames at Tyne Tees Television and one week out of four here in the south of England from 1974 untill 1977 a young man called Martin Tyler. Happy Retirement Mr. Tyler.

[@goldenmiller7942]

Proper football, thanks for the upload .

[@theTRStvchannel]

No messing about with studio presentation in those days, straight into the match and a swift goodnight from Hugh Johns at the end 😄

[@robheath8382]

Colin Todd still managed to look class on that pitch.

[@kingkevinhector]

As a Derby fan this is just priceless. I can't thank you enough for posting this.

[@lennylaa1686]

Heartbroken Villa fan when you took him off our hands June, 1974. He was my all-time Villa hero, checking wikipedia, he seemed to do even better at derby but he did not do much in this game, just one brilliant shot. How did you rate him?

[@petehayden3553]

When football was football I love watching these old games

[@stevemasterton1577]

Two great teams of that Era provide great entertainment

[@richardhelliwell1210]

You could have put money on Franny Lee to get at least a yellow every time we played Leeds Utd. Don't ever remember Hector getting booked like he did here.

[@michaelward8394]

Hugh Johns was a fantastic commentator

[@seltaeb9691]

Terrible actually, but it's the Midlands.

[@dlamiss]

the dying embers of that great Leeds team.

[@hejla4524]

Could have kept going a lot longer - plenty of younger players like Jordan and Mckenzie ready to assume the mantle. But managers always feel the need to dismantle the teams they inherit and sell older but still highly capable players .

[@dlamiss]

@@hejla4524 In fairness Armfield had to change it with Leeds, Many of the players were getting towards or over 30

[@seltaeb9691]

Trouble was that great team were in roughly one generation & unlike Liverpool they still played so good why get rid & yes a few new faces came they hit that brick wall & it fell apart. Bob Paisley had no such qualms & he moved on some still great players & brought in big & unknowns for great side after great side.

[@mickeasingwood7451]

Bremner left in 76.Hull -1980. Hunter left in 76.Bristol+Barnsley 76-82. David Stewart still in mid 20's.but had to retire through bad injury 77. Reaney left in78.BradfordAustralia McQueen 78 -Man U 'till late 80's Jordan 78-man u + various 'till late 80's. McKenzie -76 -Anderlecht,Everton +various'till mid 80's. Yorath 'till end of season.Then Cov+Spurs 'till mid80's. F.Gray -79.Then Forest to 81.Back to Leeds+various 'till late 80's. E.Gray played until 1983. P.Madeley played until 1980. A.Clarke 'till 78.Barnsley -1980 A good few years left in the majority of this team yet.But the trophy winning glory days were over .A European Cup Final in May 1975 was the last near miss for Leeds until 1992. 2 FA semi-finals 77+87 and 2 LC semi-finals 78+79 were the only flickers of glory until then.

[@dlamiss]

@@mickeasingwood7451 I could never understand the fact Leeds replaced the superstars with some bloody good players but as you say apart from a couple of semi finals they never seriously challenged again for major honours for 15 years...

[@gavster_999]

"Franny Lee indicating the scalping that nearly took place..." The maestro Hugh Johns 👏

[@seltaeb9691]

Hugh Johns hmmm🤔, nah I didn't take to him.

[@lennylaa1686]

@@seltaeb9691 He was a mainstay at Midlands Star Soccer, he struck me as a rather twerpish commentator, all sorts of stupidity emanating from his mouth. An Alan Partridge - before he was ever created.

[@richardhelliwell1210]

Dirty Leeds v Derby. Some firm challengers. It would probably be down to six a side after 10 minutes today.

[@richardhelliwell1210]

@@lennylaa1686 Yes, utter drivel, but they're all better than Brian Moore...

[@BritishRaceCaller]

@@lennylaa1686 As a full time commentator, myself. Strongly, disagree. One of the best football commentators the UK has been lucky to have. You do not do four world cup finals if you cannot commentate. Brian Moore also thought he was excellent.

[@jameshope398]

Wow this is an excellent upload again nice to see some FA Cup action again more please m8.

[@TrapperJohn72]

Being the groundsman at the Baseball Ground , must have been one hell of a challenge. ⚽️ 🐏

[@seltaeb3302]

Despite that, great games. Football now is a shadow, empty of grit & physical battles with tackling. That has gone for under 15s trick football.

[@00simonwise]

As long as you remember to paint the penalty spots...

[@Dommer1973]

Another belting upload. Come Up And See Me over the PA at the start too! Love it😂

[@synthdude]

Great to see Leeds goalie Stewart keeping the play going at the 90 min mark. No time wasting (falling on the ball a la Pickford) just getting on with it! Different game back then, what with the pitches, tackles and fisticuffs! Thanks for the post.

[@michaelpower4372]

Yes man back then. Billy Bremner would be kicked from pillor to post but just get on with it miss that leeds team terribly.

[@seltaeb9691]

​@@michaelpower4372 like the Beatles we'll never see their like again.

[@richardfurness7556]

Lucky Leeds. But they deserved the win because that was a masterclass in defending on a boggy pitch. In fact the ball control skills on display in this match demonstrate just how good players from that era were.

[@charlieboffin2432]

Always a great atmosphere at the Baseball Ground 👍

[@Alden4]

2:20 Gabby Logan's dad is playing in that Leeds team - amazing! She would have been nearly two years old when this game was being played.

[@markrutter4576]

So was Hayley McQueen’s Dad.

[@superleeds70johnm21]

And Hayley McQueen's dad

[@Alden4]

@@superleeds70johnm21 I did not realise Hayley had two dads playing! 😛

[@skintslots]

The irony of that Old Baseball Ground pitch was that Derby were a bloody good footballing side and it didnt help them at times. colin todd was a supeb player back then too.

[@seltaeb9691]

Terrible pitch but you got great games nonetheless, now these carpets they play on, a lightweight ball that zooms & ping pongs with the slightest kick. There's zero mud & grit that I find boring. The pplayers now have it too easy in what comes across as a video game. Yeah, we had Subbuteo, classy.

[@johnlennox5678]

I saw Leeds United for the first time,4 days later,v Middlesbrough at ayresome park,won 1-0, Allan Clarke's goal was 3rd in match of the day goal of the season

[@noelmaher6218]

Nice sharp picture. So many old football videos seem to be uploaded to KZbin at the lowest resolution so good to see this at 720p.

[@seltaeb9691]

Enjoyed that, good competitive game, tackles galore with no ahem fisticuffs, Derby's pitch was typical in winter but players would adapt & it didn't really cause any problem. Why they didn't dig it up put drainage in it & re-turf it.

[@colinings3771]

Loved that Leeds team, even with the poor start under Clough they finished in the top half, about 9th I think and made the European Cup final.

[@kitswithkaren5003]

An unfortunate way to exit a competition.Very enjoyable upload 🐻🐒🤗👍

[@redblade8160]

I remember when Derby entered the 1st division (1970/71) from the 2nd division and they were thrashing top teams...

[@billmorris8358]

I watch and remember matches like this, and really wish we still had all out attacking entertainment these days. Today’s football, by comparison, is dull, sterile, uninspiring dross by comparison.

[@fredwaller3234]

Ricoh v bremner what a battle no holds barred tackling the survivor of the fittest

[@garyfaulkner1480]

Two great teams going at it..!!!..MOT

[@garrysimpson1395]

In the days of Regional I.T.V. so if it is Derby it had to be A.T.V. Sadly before 1979 only London weekend Television had replys from behind the goals. HAPPY DAYS!

[@richardjh3132]

"A typical look of disapproval from the fiery Leeds skipper" - lovely description of Billy Bremner.

[@andrewharris7955]

Anyone have a view on why no there was no logo on the Leeds jersey? Stewart has one but most shirts appear blank. FA?

[@michaelpower4372]

They wouldn't be any logos on there Jersey by the end of the game.😅 so the though it wouldn't be worth putting them on.🤭😆😁🤣😂

[@seltaeb9691]

Leeds kept changing their club badge that maybe they thought we don't need a logo 'cos we're Leeds.

[@alanprior7650]

So weird,when today shirts are festooned with logos,that only goalkeeper Stewart has a Leeds United badge on his shirt. Not even the Admiral logo on Leeds' kits. Also when Frannie Lee came out for the second half he was wearing a slightly different Derby County shirt (I think they wore it a year later).

[@stationers]

Brilliant quality upload. Not the pitch though. Why was the Baseball Ground always such a relentlessly disastrous mudbowl year after year?

[@seltaeb9691]

Drainage, they just didn't sort it. Clough would for European games put sprinklers on to make it heavy going, so let's blame him!

[@richn66]

I just love how the pitch resembles the Somme compared to modern pitches. Kicking sods of earth clear with kicks!

[@seltaeb9691]

Today's pitches are perfect & sterile as it doesn't give any variation playing on it. This was Derby's pitch come Oct too April. I enjoyed this because Derby matches there were invariably exciting. I find today's football boring, the pitch & the new ball that ping pongs about has sped the game up, there's no midfield battles & tackling is pretty much like basketball defenders, no one gets stuck in. Not for me.

[@bandsbikesandboozereviews]

West Ham won the FA Cup that year, beating Fulham 2-0 in the final at Wembley. Alan Taylor scoring both goals. Bobby Moore was captain of Fulham that day after leaving West Ham shortly before. Happy days.

[@raymondbonington9355]

Alan mullery was fulham captain not bobby .

[@mrraoulandtheking11]

We should have beaten West Ham in the semi final at Villa Park as Clive Thomas fixed the replay to ensure it would be a Fulham West Ham final

[@Sameoldfitup]

Mighty Leeds United

[@MB-oc1nw]

Look at the state of that pitch

[@portcullis5622]

It resembles the Old Trafford pitch of the late 1980s.

[@TomBartram-b1c]

Didn't a sitcom use these theme tune as well?

[@richardhelliwell1210]

If football was like this today, I might watch it. A DCFC fan. It was played by men rather than hissy fit girls.

[@bm6563]

A great match between the two best teams of the day. Derby were on their way to winning the First Division, and Leeds were the reigning champions and on their way to bring cheated in the 1975 European Cup Final. The atmosphere and commentary were brilliant but the pitch was laughable mud bath. Despite that, the game was still great, highly skilful and competitive, and played by real men/footballers with fantastic commentators - Hugh Johns in this case. How I miss those days 😢

[@garrysimpson1395]

Yorkshire Televisions coverage of football was not very good. They only had three cameras and they used camera 2 all the time It was so close up you missed everything

[@BritishRaceCaller]

this was ATV.

[@garrysimpson1395]

@@BritishRaceCaller Very true.

[@BritishRaceCaller]

@@garrysimpson1395 a little known fact is Gary Newbon fought very hard to keep Hugh Johns as the main Midlands Commentator when ATV became Central. Although that battle was lost, because ITV covered the Endsleigh league in the 1990's, Hugh was still often heard nationally into the late 1990's from his work on HTV Wales. And would also occasionally be heard on networked FA Cup Replay highlights as well as the commentator. I never got to meet Hugh (I wish I had) but as a commentator, myself, it was an honor to hear him as well as Barry Davies and Brian Moore, the latter of which I met several times.

[@garrysimpson1395]

@@BritishRaceCaller Thank you for or the information. Here in the south of England Southern were perfectly happy to take The Big Match three weeks out of four with Southsport soccer for the fourth week. I n 1982 when Television South took over the I.T.V. Franchise for the South of England T.V.S. had thier own weekly highlights show on Sunday Afternoon and then Saturday evenings presented by Fred Deinage. With Gerald Sinstadt moving from Granada Television to T.V.S. and a young Martin Tyler moving from Yorkshire to Granada as lead commentator. Who replaced Hugh Johns as lead football commentator for Central from January 1st 1982? Many thanks for your reply.

[@BritishRaceCaller]

@@garrysimpson1395 Hi Garry! Thanks for your reply. It was Peter Brackley who took over from Hugh Johns but it was not until the end of the 81-82 season. So, strictly speaking, Johns was Central's guy for a few months but just because of the contract he had. Incidentally, ATV's Star Soccer was rebranded by Lew Grade as ITC's All Star Soccer for distribution here in the United States. Sometimes with hilariously bad American voiceover commentary referring, for example, to Manchester City as "The Citizens!" LWT also sold The Big Match to stations here in the USA and by the mid 1980's that had evolved to Brian Moore in a studio somewhere in Kent House actually presenting a show whose name escapes me right now but it essentially was a co-production between the BBC and ITV with soccer highlights so you had Brian introducing matches along the liens of: "The pictures come from the BBC, Commentator, Barry Davies, Liverpool are in the red shirts!"

[@grimupnorth]

None of your keep-ball, boring passing around via the goalkeeper for minutes on end in this game. Today's players wouldn't have lasted an hour in this match. Oh, I forgot. You can bring on 5 substitutes (or something like that) now!

[@TomBartram-b1c]

Goal after 40.33 if you don't wanna watch the whole match.

[@kerravon8666]

Did the Baseball Ground EVER have grass?!? Think Leeds lost the next round after the 71st replay against Ipswich, with 17 year old John Wark making his debut

[@mickeasingwood7451]

3rd Replay at Filbert Street Thursday night 2-3.Had drawn 2nd replay there 0-0 on the Tuesday night. Yes,played at Leicester (neutral ground) Drew first game 0-0 at Ipswich (their record gate),1st replay 1-1 at Elland Rd.McKenzie last minute equaliser,I think ?

[@lennylaa1686]

Not easy on a bog of a pitch, Nish should have slammed it into Row z. Francis Lee full credit,... all action, a real handful for the Leeds defence. My all-time Villa hero was bruce Rioch but he seemed to struggle on this pitch. Apart from one belting shot, he did not make much impact.

[@michel75m64]

Too much game for Leeds that Season thé tie against Ipswich kill them, and the football League to , no game between april 28 and may 28 the day of the EC

[@Dommer1973]

No wonder Francis Lee ended up working in the Toilet paper industry. Top s**thouse!

[@richardtaylor8165]

'The diminutive figure of Frannie Lee'................. 😆😆😆

[@robertroberts3703]

What a character Franny Lee was! 😂

[@michaelpower4372]

Great Diver.

[@hejla4524]

Thank God Hunter wasn't playing and we avoided World War lll.

[@13muller9]

@@hejla4524 Putin is doing his best to make your dream come true!!!!

[@seltaeb9691]

​​@@13muller9 more NATO - Ukraine, Ukraine is Fascist. Read the history of them & ethnic cleansing they did in WW2 with the SS, & the bro nazi Azovs Battalions after the break up. The real story has been censored by the West. Still people just won't seek the real truth. Zelensky is the one to watch as he's all for WW3.

[@michaelpower4372]

@@hejla4524 lee dived in a game against leeds. But when Norman Hunter told him he was a diver lee acted like a baby and started throwing his toys out of his pram.

[@paradisi12]

No Harvey, Hunter, Giles, Lorimer or Cherry.

[@markrutter4576]

Or Cooper, who was still at the club

[@seltaeb9691]

Yet that was still a team of players that are in the first team squad. The stalwarts are getting on now & with Revie England manager he just couldn't break his team up. Liverpool would morph into new teams every few years. The Boot Room could be quite ruthless in moving players on.

[@mikeellis6077]

Poor fanny Lee if its not bite your legs Norm it was scalp you alive Mc Queen

[@neilpountney9414]

God how bad could a pitch be!!!!

[@mikewilson730]

The old days, Soccer played in a baseball ground.

[@Alden4]

Yes, Derby County had a baseball team, Derby Baseball Club in the 1890s. Before Derby County Football Club moved from their cricket teams' Racecourse Ground and started playing football at the Baseball Ground in 1895!

[@robharding5345]

back when the game was firm but fair, unlike the current model, which is full of actors who like to go down with the slightest of contact, its embarrassing, I wont watch it, and I certainly wont pay to watch it.

[@davidhoward5392]

Dirty Leeds, Bremner and Clarke

[@13muller9]

Maybe, but Lee was no angel either; always diving and fooling the refs on calling for a penalty, not to mention his vindictive character clearly shown in this game.

[@davidhoward5392]

@@13muller9 no need to be so precious, its tongue in cheek, all teams of that era had at least " one hard man " Chopper Harris, Tommy Smith, Dave Mackay, Nobby Styles, Leeds had a team built by Revie who played great football but were ruthless they did not take prisoner, Reany, Hunter, Charlton J, Giles, Bremner, Clarke. Jones and Lorimer all could look after themselves as it goes plus Cherry and Cooper

[@seltaeb9691]

Chelsea were far worse with Chopper Harris. All the clubs dished it out but they & their fans were jealous of Leeds success & so demonized them.

[@davidhoward5392]

@@seltaeb9691 calm down they were as all as bad as each other Leeds and Chelsea fans have an intense dislike of each, so do Liverpool and anything Manchester, Newcastle v Sunderland,, Leeds v Man Utd, Spurs, the Gooners and West Ham..,its all tribal.

[@michaelpower4372]

Bet your a london team supporter.

[@mikedavies9953]

Norman Hunter asked to go on the bench as he didnt want another chinning off Franny Lee

[@Darwinion]

Which he never received as it was Norm who split Franny's lip wide open. Franny just windmilled fresh air.

[@benji274]

Actually this game was nine months before that infamous one

[@mikedavies9953]

@@Darwinion Your joking arent you Franny knocks him on the floor with a combo its there for all to see on film

[@mikedavies9953]

@@benji274 This game was the season after the one they featured on the Damned Utd that game was 73 this was 75

[@mickeasingwood7451]

This game is February 1975 FA Cup 5th Round. The Lee-Hunter punch up was the following season November 1975 in the league.MOTD They played twice at BBG in March1973.Leeds winning 3-2 in the league playing in yellow and 1-0 in the FAC playing in red !They also won 5-0 at ER in October 1972. Can we play you every week ?