1962: DANNY BLANCHFLOWER Interview | Face to Face | Classic Sport Interviews | BBC Archive

"I do believe in authority, but it has got to be good authority. I see no other reason for authority unless it's good" - Danny Blanchflower.
Tottenham Hotspur and Northern Ireland footballer Danny Blanchflower faces one of the most challenging opponents of his career - the probing and incisive Face to Face interviewer, John Freeman.
Is Blanchflower as difficult and aloof as people say? Are footballers intelligent? Is the game evolving? What does he make of the sudden influx of middle-class intellectuals following soccer? Is the way the media report on football fair?
Originally broadcast 18 March, 1962.
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[@gavinn6905]

The honest, thoughtful Ulsterman that was Danny Blanchflower. Respect. 👏👍🏼☘️🌈

[@michaelscales5996]

1962 an era when footballers lived in council houses and went to the ground on Saturday by public transport.Many took jobs at the end of the season when their wages were lower. There was very little tv coverage back then until Match of the Day started in 1964.The only exception was Cup Final day,when BBC started its coverage at around 11am,and that was the biggest day of the season.

[@Liam-yr4uf]

Articulate and intelligent- with a touch of the philosopher about him. Must've been a great captain to play under. It's also striking to me how candid he is about the reality of football, including wages and incomes too. There's something to be said for that.

[@russellford5597]

I have absolutely no interest in football whatsoever but what a brilliant speaker this man is.

[@1958RBS]

I am the same and I totally agree.

[@dean1100110]

Fun fact back in the day they used to point a film camera at a TV to record live broadcasts

[@user-xq2zn8bu9q]

Was Bill Nicholson Spurs manager when they won the double...? I can feel a Google coming on. 😁

[@steveryder1442]

Didn't he refuse to be the subject on This Is Your Life?

[@Will-nn6ux]

Yep, he basically bolted when he realised what was happening. A shame for all the people who had gathered for the show, but as he said, he didn't invite them!

[@kgarrett1404]

Top man!

[@PaulJohn01]

Oh blast haven't heard that name in a long time ! but i do remember there being a popular song that mentioned Danny Blanchflower 🤔 for the life of me i can't remember it. I think i would share many of the same opinions as this guy on many subjects.

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

I don't know who he is but I LOVE his accent! 😊

[@OlafProt]

Goodness he's well spoken, I wonder is he just doing that natural thing a lot of NI folk do - softening the accent for English people! His stadium is just down the road from me.. rather forgotten and underused I'd say too, sadly.

[@Voxac100b]

Thats a proper Ulster accent

[@shingitai5882]

I wonder what the interviewer would think of the modern game and the antics of the players reported in the tabloids of today.😂

[@maggiemay6625]

did he ever play for man united?🇬🇧

[@michaelscales5996]

His brother Jackie did !

[@TheGiantKillers]

Absolutely decades ahead of his team. Saying in 1962 that a European League is inevitable and a natural evolution of the game. Wonder what Danny would think to know that 60s years later, it still hasn't happened because the fans and media don't want it. Just like the fans and media didn't want a Champions League, or a Premier League or a European Cup or a Football League or Professionalism. When you look at any change in Football history, it's the fans who've delayed it and then the fans who wonder why it wasn't done sooner when they grow to love it. Just as fans will think a European League is the greatest thing ever, a couple of years after it's inevitable creation.

[@ayyub823]

Soccer?

[@AGmilky]

Football used to be called Soccer in UK in the past. Particularly in the first half of the century. It comes from "asSOCiation football" To quote ChatGPT: "The usage of the term "soccer" began to decline in the United Kingdom following World War II, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, there was a growing movement towards standardizing the terminology and adopting the more widely used term "football" to refer to the sport. The term "soccer" was seen by some as an Americanism and was gradually phased out in favor of "football" to align with the terminology used in other countries."

[@joshuataylor3550]

More common outside of England (but within the UK) where other codes of 'football' were more common, i.e. rugby or gaelic etc.