I bought this match on video a few days ago, in the hope that I could see myself as a young fan. I was pitch side, in the Lower Padock, at 16yd area, so figured it would be easy to spot me, but the damn cameras were all on one side of the pitch, I presume in the Upper Bullens, so the whole side of the ground where I was stood didn't get shown once.
Needless to say I was disappointed.
What I did notice though was that Southall was the biggest hoofer I've ever seen lol. Everything was always booted down the pitch. It was a different style of football in those days. It would be interesting to see how that team would get on in the Premiership today.
I think the standard of players has improved over the years, and the style of football too, but in their day they were a great team.
I think that side of the mid-eighties would cope quite well in the premier league. That squad had pretty much everything that you need to compete at any level.
Southall - A truly world class goalkeeper who at his pomp would have been a shoe-in in any of the current premier league teams
Stevens/VanDenHauwe - Neither afraid to throw in a tackle, while both were reasonably comfortable on the ball too. I don't think VDH ever really got the credit he deserved as a footballer, mainly because of his tendency to kick seven bells out of opposing wingers, whilst Shaggy was deceptively quick.
Ratcliffe/Mountfield - Ratcliffe's pace & nasty streak combined with Mountfield's ability to not only defend, but also chip in with his fair share of goals made this a fantastic centre half pairing. What would Chelsea/City/Utd pay today for a solid centre half who could also offer 10-15 goals a season?
Reid/Bracewell - Silk & steel. Peter Reid's guts & determination in the middle, coupled with Bracewells often sublime passing made this partnership tick perfectly.
Steven - Reasonably quick, good passer of the ball, ability to either take the ball down the flank & put in a decent cross or cut inside and have a dig himself, making him ofen extremely difficult to defend against.
Sheedy - Absolute wand of a left peg! Pundits creamed their pants about Beckham's set pieces, but Sheedy was doing exactly the same years earlier. Could be a bit of a lazy twat at times but from a dead ball situation pretty much anywhere around the box & he could perform miracles. He was worth carrying through games just for his ability with set pieces.
Sharp/Gray/Heath - All three had guts, Gray & Sharp offered an aerial threat that most teams just couldn't handle, while Inchy was just one of those little mobile players who never seemed to give up!
Alan Harper - Every succesful squad needs an Alan Harper. A player who may not be the worlds greatest, but will play anywhere & give 110%. No matter where Alan Harper was played, he would sweat blood for the cause & never let the team down. Howard Kendall certainly rated him, as he kept signing him.
It was difficult to find a particular weak link in that team. Individually, they may not all have been the greatest, but together, they just clicked with seamless efficiency!
