My Top 3 - Offis Munkeh

My Top 3 is a series where community members name their Top 3 goal nets of all time. As we are going offline for the festive season, this week's My Top 3 will be the last of 2017 and that honour goes to Martin @ Offis Munkeh.

Here, in his own words, is Offis Munkeh's Top 3.

Argentina 1978

My favourite goal nets, the L-frame goals with the black 'arm-bands.' The way Mario Kempes' first goal in the final (at 1:55 in the video below) comes back off the net in the final is mesmerising; the nets seem to know how far to return the ball without being rude.



Zico loved the goal nets so much he threw himself into them after the Brazil / Sweden match!



When I was a kid, I tried to create these goals with one of my Subbuteo goals and a black marker pen. It didn't end well!

Wembley

The classic curved A-frame, you could put the old Wembley goal nets in any place and situation in the world and you'd immediately know what they were.




All the most memorable FA Cup goals involve this hardware. In fact, the only FA Cup final moment I can remember post-1996 is Alan Pardew dancing, and that's not a good thing.



New Lodge, Billericay Town

A biased choice, I've been admiring the Billericay Town A-frame goals for more than 30 years; in fact I've painted the A-frames and even scored a couple of goals in them!

The A-frame goals lasted until this season when they were changed to box nets as part of the ground redevelopment. An endangered species lost another member.

The football may not always have been pretty but the goal nets certainly were. (Warning: the video below contains choice language and the appearance of a box goal net around the 1:31spot).




Maybe a unique part of the goal nets is how they frame the slope at New Town. With the sloping pitch, even at lo-resolution in the photo below you can see the advertising hoardings slope at one angle, the goal posts slope at a slightly lesser angle but the stand behind the goals slopes at yet another angle!

Thanks for your Top 3 Offis Munkeh - a sensational grouping of goal nets to finish the year.

Wishing all community members a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See you in 2018

The Big Match - Week 16

Is it ironic that we only celebrate things when they are gone, and not while we have them?

The History of Goal Nets would like to pay tribute to Celtic's unbeaten run of 69 games, ended yesterday by Hearts. So this week's Big Match comes from Tynecastle 1978, on another occasion the maroons triumphed (and Celtic's long standing goalkeeping woes were laid bare - poor Peter Latchford).

Two great goals by Drew Busby, fantastic old stanchions at Tynecastle.

69 games unbeaten, what more to say?

My Top 3 - Yesteryear Footy Pod

This week's Top 3 has been contributed by the guys at the Yesteryear Footy Pod (where they watch games gone past and talk about them.)

The guys had a bit of a rummage and their Top 3 - in their own words, but in no particular order - is as follows:

Late-80's Old Trafford

Airy design, bonus points for when a ball gets stuck in the upper corner.

Malta Empire Stadium

Living in Malta, thought we'd include a bit of Mediterranean flavour (and what's not to love here?) Think this image must be of England's visit in 1971...

Azteca Stadium

Bit of a classic, Azteca from the World Cup 1970.

Honourable mention to Hampden Park (but we saw this already picked in the series, so went for a bit of diversity instead...)

All great choices, Yesteryear Footy Pod - good luck with your excellent series of podcasts.

Would you like to contribute your Top 3? DM Tony on Facebook.

The Big Match - Week 15

Where else this weekend but the Manchester derby?

Forget Mourinho and his fighting-in-the-tunnel look-over-there attempt to divert attention from his unsuccessful defensive tactics at home and revel in the History of Goal Nets at the Manchester derby.

This week's Big Match comes from Old Trafford and Maine Road because, why not? Isn't it Christmas?

1970 - Old Trafford

Check out United's old red stanchions and netting, and the Mike Doyle goal for 1-2 City - straight back out of the hardware!



Maine Road - 1975

1975/76 saw United return to the First Division and was the swansong for City's grand white stanchions, here with nets dropped short and pulled taut.



Maine Road - 1979

A 2-0 win for City featuring a beautifully curled goal by Michael Robinson - "fit to grace any derby match," according to the excited John Motson commentary - and the trendy Continental D supports City installed after the 1976 European Championships. What's not to like?



Old Trafford - 1982

Straight after the Spain World Cup, United went into copycat mode and dropped their nets waaaay short of their white stanchions. Check out the first of Frank Stapleton's brace for the afternoon - great goal - and note the nets' dreadful ball retention, caused by their being pinched in the corners.



Old Trafford 1990

United might have looked cool with their new Continental D's - their last change of goal nets before the box nets of Euro '96 - but it was Ian Brightwell's equaliser for City that stole the show!

My Top 3 - Duncan Spencer

Continuing our series of My Top 3, where members of the History of Goal Nets community nominate their Top 3 goal nets of all time.

This week's contributor is Duncan Spencer and Duncan's Top 3, in his own words, are:

Maine Road 1977

First up is the classic D frame from the 1977 FA Cup semi-final between Everton and Liverpool. Sheer white tight netting. The first goal displays the most magnificent ball retention.



Elland Road 1974

Next up is the old A-frame classic at Elland Road circa 1974, made even slightly quirkier as they had a small pouch of loose netting to catch a well-drilled low shot.




Estadio Santiago Bernabeu 1980

Thirdly, and for sheer European quirkiness, check out the 1980 European Cup final. Outstanding round stanchion.



Picking a Top 3 was very difficult so could I make an honourable mention of Blackpool 1974? I think it was the goal of the season against Newcastle, a mini version of the Stamford Bridge nets.



Wow, that's a top Top 3, Duncan - thanks very much for sharing!

Would you like to contribute your Top 3 to the community? DM Tony on Facebook.

The Big Match Week 14

If you have a weekend match-up at Vicarage Road between Watford and Tottenham Hotspur and a blog dedicated to the lost aesthetics of the game in the 1970's and 1980's, it requires only the alchemy of adding those two simple elements together to make gold.

Yes, your Big Match feature this week is The Glenn Hoddle Goal.


OK, it's 1983 and Watford have taken unique liberties with their oversized Continental D's but let's be honest - you only really see the goal nets once the ball has completed it's laser guided flight over the Watford goalie's head, don't you?

My Top 3 - Daniel McNeill

Starting today, a feature where valued members of the History of Goal Nets community nominate their favourite Top 3 Goal Nets of all time.

First up - Daniel McNeill. In no particular order, Daniel's Top 3 are as follows:

Hampden Park

Daniel is a big fan of the iconic Hampden goals - the big square posts and bar and the Iron Man stanchions.

Celtic

Daniel's a big fan of Celtic and A-frames. He regrets not seeing the A-frames that supported the Parkhead nets until the early 1970's but can't look past the Continental D's that replaced them.

Sporting Lisbon

Daniel's also a big fan of the other club that wears the hoops, Sporting Lisbon, and loves the magnificent A-frames at the old Alvalade.

Great choices Daniel - thanks for sharing!

Would you like to be included in the Top 3 series? DM Tony on Facebook.

The Big Match Midweek SPL

What better to add to the three-in-one-week Motherwell v Celtic fixtures than a game from the past?

The September 1982 clash between the sides is maybe not one The Steelmen will want to remember, but if they wanted to avoid the attention of a goal nets blog 35 years later, they shouldn't have installed such classic Continental D's at their ground, should they?

Check out a super-rare assist by David Moyes, a rare double from Roy Aitken and a less rare hat trick from Charlie Nicholas in his last season at Celtic. Oh, and the brilliant white nets at Fir Park. Enjoy!

The Big Match Week 13

Can we agree to rename the week's retro feature as The Big Match? Thanks. It just seems ITV did the 1970's and 1980's way better than the BBC.

With that out of the way, this week's Big Match features West Ham and Leicester, who fought to a 1-1 standstill at the dreadful London Stadium last Friday.

The first match featured is from 1973 and it's also a 1-1 draw. Look out for the Persil white of Peter Shilton's goalie kit and the early season Boleyn nets - they're whiiiite. 



The second game is from the last day of 1977. The Boleyn nets may be mid-winter filthy but check out the unlikely (and scientifically difficult to understand) ball retention offered by the support system. Scored into the tight trampolines of today, John McDowell's opener or Steve Kembell's cross-cum-shot for 1-3 would have rebounded to the halfway line.

MOTD (Retro) Champions League Special

Bayern Munich may have eventually triumphed in Glasgow last night but they have struggled previously on Scottish grounds and been beaten. This week's Match of the Day (Retro) looks at two previous visits of Bayern to Scotland.

The first visit featured is the1983 Cup Winners Cup quarter-final tie against a top Aberdeen side who would go on to win the tournament. Look out for an ageing Paul Breitner, two terrific goals for Bayern and the superb ball retention of the Pittodrie Continental D's.




The second featured Bayern match in Scotland is the first leg of the 1989 UEFA Cup quarter-final against Hearts. By 1989 Hearts had long dismantled their great Bernabeu-style stanchions and had replaced with loose-hanging Continental D's which were good - but no cigar.

MOTD (Retro) League Cup Special

Tottenham and West ham may have been playing against each other for nearly 120 years but their meetings in the League Cup (in whichever guise) have been sporadic to say the least. There have been only nine meetings between the sides in the English league's third trophy, with two of those games in the last five years and two of them replays.

Our Match of the Day League Cup Special focuses on one of those replays, when the tournament was the Littlewoods Cup and Tottenham triumphed in a replayed quarter final rout. Though Spurs had Hoddle and Waddle in tandem, the star of the show was Clive Allen - and the White Hart Lane stanchions!

MOTD (Retro) Champions League Special

Though you wouldn't be able to tell if last night's Benfica v Manchester United match was played at the Estadio da Luz or Old Trafford if looking only at the goal nets,  that wasn't the case in the past.

Benfica once had such distinctive goal nets - check out these terrific L-supports from the 1966 match between the clubs.


And while United may have been unrecognisable in all blue, you'd never be in any doubt where the match on 29 May 1968 was played.


They never get old.

MOTD (Retro) World Cup Qualifying Special

England may have cruised through their qualifying group for the 2018 finals in Russia, but qualifying for Argentina forty years ago was much more difficult.

Ultimately, a 2-0 defeat in the baggy nets of Stadio Olimpico in Rome sealed England's fate, Roberto Bettega's diving header for 2-0 a highlight.



While a reverse of that scoreline at Wembley a year later still couldn't help England qualify, it's a chance to ogle once more at Wembley's late 70's nets and note the curiosity of two balls in the net when Kevin Keegan's header beats Dino Zoff.

MOTD (Retro) Week 7

Crystal Palace may have been crushed 4-0 by Mourinho's Man U on Saturday, but 45 years ago the tables were turned when a rampant Palace, inspired by Don Rogers, thrashed United 5-0.

This week's Match of the Day features the goals from this classic encounter, Don Rogers' moustache and the totemic A-frames (and unnecessary Wankdorf 1954 ground supports) at old Selhurst Park.

Enjoy.

MOTD (Retro) Week 6

Match of the Day stays in Scotland this week, for a look back at Saturday's Rangers v Celtic Glasgow derby.

The corresponding fixture of 46 years ago featured another Celtic win - the pick of the goals might be  Kenny Dalglish's equaliser for 2-2, great ball retention (but what about Jimmy Johnstone's headed winner?) - a traffic jam of three-wheeled Reliant Regal's encircling the park and the old red stanchions at Ibrox.


What's not to like?

MOTD (Retro) Week 5

After Saturday's 2-2 draw between the clubs, this week's Match of the Day (retro) looks back at previous Hibs v Motherwell draws and the history of goal nets at Easter Road.

In 1983, the sides played out a 1-1 between Easter Road's old black hardware and green and white software.


Eleven years later - at another 2-2 - Hibs had canned the black hardware for new Continental D's - but for some reason thought they needed to hang them as box nets?

What were they thinking?

MOTD (Retro) Week 4

This week's Match of the Day (Retro) features the heavyweight clash between Manchester City v Liverpool.

City may have beaten Liverpool 5-0 on Saturday but past results between the sides at the old Maine Road were more even.

In 1973, on a typical early-70's quagmire and between Maine Road's superb A-frames and loose-hanging nets, the sides played out an ill-tempered 1-1 draw.


And in 1978, an inspired Liverpool ran out 1-4 winners between City's stylish Continental D's.

World Cup - West Germany 1974

Before the violence and negativity of the 1986 and 1990 tournaments plunged the game to new depths of despair, the 1974 World Cup with its miserly 2.55 goals per game was considered the nadir of football history. However, at a distance of over 40 years it can now be seen as the apotheosis of European football.

Holland destroyed Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. West Germany became champions and the pace and tempo demonstrated by each became the new standard in world football

Matches were played at 9 different venues but for the first time the on-field architecture was standardised - and box-nets were the standard chosen.



Cue the music to The Terminator. 

World Cup - Mexico 1970

The 1970 finals were the first to be broadcast live in colour and they're rightfully remembered for the champions Brazil's kaleidoscope of 19 goals from 6 games - including the four in the final against Italy, into the L supports at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City...


.
.. and 15 goals in their five games at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara - 16 if this one had gone in!



17 if this one had gone in!

World Cup - England 1966

Awarded the 1966 finals for forming the FA a hundred years prior,  England became champions with no-wingers, a formation that firmly turned its back on Hungary and the lessons of '53 and - with goalnets hung mostly on stanchions as English as World Cup Willie - the 1966 finals could be seen as the empire's last hurrah.

But with journalists from a greater diversity of countries than ever before attending the tournament, the matches broadcast live to the world for the first time and these Continental D's supporting the nets at Hillsborough, Sheffield, the 1966 World Cup finals could as easily be seen as the first of the modern era.



Games for the 1966 finals were held at (among others) Wembley, Old Trafford and Hillsborough. White City Stadium and their temporary A-frames was used only because - get this - Wembley refused to cancel the scheduled greyhound racing for the same night as Uruguay v France.  Like I said, the empire's last hurrah.



My favourite hardware at the finals was the marvellous A-frames at Ayresome Park, Middlesborough, where North Korea famously knocked out Italy; what's yours?

World Cups - Chile 1962

Revisiting The History of Goal Nets series on World Cups - starting with Chile 1962

The Chilean FA told FIFA they had to give Chile the World Cup "because we have nothing else." So Chile won the rights to host the 1962 tournament and they got plenty in return: Garrincha in his prime, the Italy v Chile Battle of Santiago and these stanchions of almost perfect quarter circumference on which to hang the tournament's nets.




Though football on TV was in its infancy and the matches at the '62 finals were not broadcast live, the influence of the tournament could be seen in the stanchions installed at stadia as diverse as Estadio Bernabeu, Madrid -



and Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh

Lovin' it: UEFA Champions League Final 2017

The European Cup final used to be an annual highlight for football fans watching on TV. Though the games themselves were sometimes boring, fans were treated to an unpredictable viewing experience featuring a crackly commentary and exotic goal nets.

But, sadly, no more. Better communications fixed the crackly commentary and the exotic goal nets were eliminated by the process of standardisation - or McDonaldisation - undergone by the game the last thirty years or so.

UEFA has used McDonalds standardised model to attract TV fans from all over the world. The same way McDonalds products and services are standardised to render the McDonalds experience placeless - it's always the same, anywhere in the world - so UEFA, through the Champions League, has done its best to eliminate any visual differentiators that signal actual places or particular stadia to those watching the games on TV. McDonalds theory dictates this standardisation makes the games accessible to the widest possible TV audience.

One visual differentiator that has been eliminated is the stadium goal nets or, rather, the method employed to suspend the nets. From Madrid to Turin, homogenous box nets are now everywhere. Real Madrid and Juventus play the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff this saturday, 3 June. Spectators at the game will not suffer from the McDonaldisation sense of placelessness as they know they are at the National Stadium. However, fans watching on TV will have no visual on-field signifier to differentiate this Champions League final from any in the recent past.

Indeed, you could view the 2016 all-Madrid Champions League final in Milan side-by-side with the 2014 all-Madrid Champions League final in Lisbon and not be able to tell the difference. Sure, the games were exciting, with the penalties and late goals, however with nothing on-field to visually differentiate the 2016 final from the one two years earlier - or indeed, any final in the last 20 years - the TV viewing experience was utterly predictable.

2014



2016



This unsatisfactory experience can be contrasted with watching the European Cup finals of 1971-73. In each, the peerless Ajax side of Johan Cruyff could be safely predicted to win, however the experience of watching the games on TV - or at a distance of over 40 years on YouTube - is enhanced and made unpredictable by the different methods each of the three stadia employs to suspend the nets.

Not only are the majestic curved stanchions of old Wembley, the intense A-frames at Rotterdam's de Kuip and the outsized, Subbuteo-style Continental D's at Red Star Stadium instant identifiers of each respective stadium for fans watching on TV, the differing hardware suffuses each game with a distinct signifier. As importantly, each stadium's nets reacts differently when hit with the ball and a goal is scored, so injecting a dose of unpredictability into the viewing experience.

1971


1972


1973


Football has long been recognised as an important source of collective identification and expression of local identity. Place is one of the main ties that bind fans to the game. It is this same place that UEFA has stripped away in its McDonaldisation of the Champions League.

If you're watching Saturday night's match on TV and find yourself feeling bored or restless despite watching the best club football on the planet, you'll know who to blame.  With their homogenous goal nets, UEFA has rendered you placeless, effectively sat you in McDonalds for two hours. Lovin' it?

Sportscene - Celtic v Hearts

Up to Scotland for end-of-season celebrations at Celtic Park where unbeaten champions Celtic close out their league season against Hearts. To commence celebrations we preview the match by reviewing past match-ups and the History of Goal Nets in the fixture.

1967 - first, a match from 50 years ago, in Celtic's European Cup winning year 1967. The hardware at Parkhead was standard A-frames, the software ill-fitting nets that would have fitted - and wouldn't have looked out at place at - the European Cup final of 1960.


1972 - four years later Celtic had installed the Continental D supports that would instantly identify games at Celtic Park on TV throughout the 1970's and 1980's, while Hearts were identifying with the legendary Ajax - then in the midst of their three European Cups in a row - with their shirt design



1988 - flag day at Celtic Park as Paul McStay, Frank McAvennie and pristine, opening day goal nets team up to down the Jambos.



1992 - four years later Hearts enjoyed a rare triumph in Glasgow after Celtic had replaced the organic Continental D's - where the hardware (supports) was separate from the software (the nets) - with a green supports and nets combo, complete with ground supports that did for the aesthetics.


I've looked everywhere but can't find it - can anyone supply footage of the goal at Parkhead when the ball went in off Henry Smith's head?

Match of the Day - Week 38

This week's Match of the Day previews the end of season clash between Southampton and Stoke City by looking back at the same fixture from 1982.

Then the sides played out a ding-dong 4-3 classic, featuring a Dave Watson rocket (at 5:30) and the unique, much-missed A-frames / Continental D's combo at the old Dell.

Match of the Day 3 - Week 36

The last Match of the Day of this weekend's matches is the once-were-giants clash at the Emirates between Arsenal and Manchester United.

While so much has changed in the 20 years Arsene Wenger has been Arsenal manager that he may no longer be Arsenal manager come the summer, we can look back at two games, 20 years apart and seeing how little changed in that time.

Check out the two clips below - between 1973 and 1994, all that changed in the old Highbury rigging was someone painted the hardware red.

1973 (check out Ray Kennedy's opener rebounding off the stanchions!)


1994

Match of the Day 2 - Week 36

Another top Match of the Day this forthcoming weekend - the clash of managerial styles that is Manchester City v Crystal Palace!

We preview the game by first looking back at the 1970 fixture between the sides, when the wide white A-frames of old Maine Road were so Big Sam Allardyce yet the nets hung loose, Continental-Pep Guardiola-style.




Next we look at the FA Cup tie from 1981, where the City nets are now blue Continental D's, but lurking in the Palace dugout is old-style Malcolm Allison, minus hat, pulling on a cigarette.

Match of the Day - Week 36

An early Match of the Day, previewing the West Ham v Tottenham derby this forthcoming weekend.

This season West ham have sucked almost as badly as their new lifeless new stadium and it's reported that manager Slaven Bilic will struggle to retain his job should things go awry against high-flying Spurs on Saturday.

How Bilic could do with a Tony Cottee! Cottee scored 92 goals in 212 games for the Hammers, the first coming in the New Year's derby of 1983, below.

Goal nets aficionados can marvel at how the old Boleyn Ground's nets retain the ball, despite their notorious shallowness.

More FA Cup Semi Finals and Goalnets

Make no mistake - being able to identify a football ground (by any means) while watching on TV gives the viewer a sense of place and more fully engages them with the match being played.

It has been argued that so much of that which is boring about football today is due to the McDonaldisation of the sport and its rendering of the game as a placeless spectacle for those watching on TV.

The goal nets - or more accurately, the hardware clubs formerly employed to support their goal nets - were a major on-field differentiator for those watching football on TV.

FA Cup Semi Finals played on neutral club grounds were at once a novelty and TV quiz - a novelty to see two sides playing between hardware neither employed to suspend their goal nets at home; a quiz of venue that could be solved only when the TV cameras panned to the goals.

Can you guess where this Semi Final (third replay!) was played?

FA Cup Semi Finals and Goalnets

Though the FA Cup Semi Finals of today are played at Wembley, they used to be played at a neutral club ground.

Before the mid-nineties and the takeover of the homogenous box-nets, the FA Cup Semis made for perfect petri dishes in experimenting with identifying a ground by the goal nets.

Watching on TV - or on YouTube at a distance of nearly 50 years - you may recognise the teams playing but the part of your brain acquiring and processing that information suddenly scrambles when trying to place the game.

Try these two - can you recognise the venue by the goal nets?

Match of the Day - Week 30

Match of the Day this weekend is the Championship clash between Derby County and QPR.

To preview the game, we look back at the same fixture from February 1973, a period obviously prior to the pitch at Derby's old Baseball Ground becoming a sandpit.

Highlights to look out for - Kevin Hector scoring a workmanlike hat-trick and the epic A-frames!

Commentary by David Coleman...

Match of the Day - FA Cup Quarter Finals

On the weekend of the FA Cup quarter finals, Match of the Day comes from the old Valley Parade, Bradford.

The tie is the 1976 FA Cup quarter final between Bradford City and Southampton and it's extra special for two reasons:

1 - The Peter Osgood / Jim McCalliog free kick routine - pure class

2 - The wonderful, arched A-frames of Valley Parade - pure magic

The Big Match - Week 28

The Big Match from the past weekend is Chelsea v Blackpool, from the first week in March, 1977.

Check out the ball hitting the much-loved and much-missed Bridge stanchions at the two Chelsea goals, and the remarkable ball retention of the nets at Blackpool's opener - scored today, it'd have rebounded to the halfway line!

Match of the Day - Week 28

Match of the Day is the heavyweight championship clash between Birmingham City and Leeds United, with three clips below showing the marvellous history of goal nets at St Andrews.

1973

Classic muddy winter pitch and classic blue A-frames - check out the ball hitting the stanchion at Bob Latchford's opener.

1979

The pitch is still muddy but the sensational saggy goal nets are now hanging off Continental D's.

1996

By the mid-1990's pitches were no longer muddy and goal nets were beginning to be pulled back tight, even if they were still supported by Continental D's. Check out Kevin Francis terrific opener about 3:00 in.

The Big Match - Week 27

This week's Big Match is the League Cup final between Manchester City and Newcastle United played the last weekend of February 1976.

The mid-70's Wembley goals were history of goal nets gold;

Beautifully curved stanchions (which had an almost magnetic draw for the ball, as per Dennis Tueart's overhead kick) ;

And slightly saggy goal nets which maximised ball retention while bulging beautifully when a low shot was swept in (as per Alan Gowling's equaliser for Newcastle).

Match of the Day - Week 27

Match of the Day for this weekend is the Championship derby, Wolverhampton Wanderers v Birmingham City.

Until the recent box net era, Wolves had always supported the Molineux goal nets with Continental D's. As such, highlights of the 1996 match below are a Steve Bull late show, two crazy penalties and the classic Continental D's.

The Big Match - Week 26

This week's Big Match is the FA Cup 5th Round tie between Luton Town and Leicester City on 16 February 1974.

While a star-studded line-up for Leicester (including Peter Shilton and Frank Worthington) won through to the quarter finals, the winners on the day were the remarkable Continental D-A-frames holding up the goal nets at either end of Kenilworth Road.

Has anyone seen their like before - or since?

Match of the Day - Week 26

This week's Match of the Day is the Championship clash between Ipswich Town and Leeds United.

In season 1973/74, Leeds were the mighty Leeds and were on their way to becoming league Champions in Don Revie's last season

At the same time, Ipswich were four years into what would become known as the Bobby Robson era and matches at Portman Road were played out between marvellous A-frames that would see Town through their platinum, late 1970's peak.




Nearly 20 years later, Leeds were again league Champions and Ipswich had jkust been promoted to the new Premier League. Matches at Portman Road were now played between Continental D' and blue nets.



Of course, for nets aficionados, no feature of Ipswich Town would be complete without reference to the bizarre and unnecessary (yet still unique) low net supports installed later that 1992/93 season.

Match of the Day - Week 24

Southampton v West Ham is this week's Match of the Day.

Two great clips below featuring these sides and the History of Goal Nets at the old Dell.

1971

Despite being 0-3 down to a superb West Ham, the Saints with Mick Channon pulled back to 3-3. Check out the old black nets and (what I think are) Continental D's.

1988

By the time Southampton were beating the Hammers 4-0 in 1988, the tight white nets and the narrow, claustrophobic stanchions we love to love had been installed at the Dell.

Match of the Day - Week 23

Our Week 23 fixture is Middlesbrough v West Brom.

Match of the Day comes from Ayresome Park in February 1991, when both sides were languishing in League Division 2.

Yes, it's a five-goal thriller, the winner is an 87th minute howler from the West Brom goalie and where, in this era of compulsory under-soil heating do you ever see snow piled behind the goals?

But our eyes are drawn inexorably to the narrow, cool-as, stanchions holding up the goal nets. Guys on Twitter told me the stanchions at one end of the ground are narrower than at the other; check them out.

Match of the Day - Week 21

This week's Match of the Day is Watford v Middlesbrough at Vicarage Road from late 1999.

Middlesbrough ran out 1-3 winners and, though there is no sound on the clip, what you may find most remarkable is the Vicarage Road nets still hanging off Continental D's for a Premier League game in 1999.