FA Cup Shocks Special

Happy New Year.

Following the weekend's FA Cup shocks of Forest beating Arsenal and Coventry defeating Stoke, the History of Goal Nets kicks off 2018 with a glance back at FA Cup shocks of the past, and the terrific goal nets architecture that hosted the matches.

Sutton United v Coventry City 1987

Great white saggy nets, Chelsea-style crooked A-frames. Two goals from corners.


Wrexham v Arsenal 1992

Strict triangular Continental D's as per the early 1990's fashion at the old Racecourse Ground (and check out David Seaman being beaten on his post by Mickey Thomas' free-kick.)


Manchester United v Southampton 1976

The grandfather of upsets and the grandmother of old goal nets. Always - always - loved the way Bobby Stokes shot rebounded off the old Wembley stanchion...

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

The Big Match - Week 12

While Arsenal and Manchester United played out a 1-1 draw between the box nets at Old Trafford on Saturday, the sides also met on the same weekend 41 years ago.

This week's Big Match is that game from 22 November, 1975, a 3-1 win for the Gunners featuring a great dig by Stuart Perason, a crazy OG and an early Alan Ball goal that rebounded off the classic green stanchions at Highbury.

Match of the Day - Week 12

This week's Match of the Day previews the clash between Manchester United and Arsenal by looking back at two previous matches between the sides and the changing History of Goal Nets at Old Trafford.

United took the honours in the 1975/76 season, running out 3-1 winners between the classic A-frames which stood at Old Trafford until Alex Ferguson's time. Check out Steve Coppell's goal for 3-1, the ball striking the stanchion - classic!



The game between the sides in 1990/91 was a 0-1 win for Arsenal played out between the Continental D's with which Alex Ferguson replaced the old A-frames, details mostly forgotten as this game is remembered for The Fight.

The Big Match - Week 11

The Big Match this week is Luton Town v Arsenal from the weekend of 6 November 1982.

While the space available behind the goals at Kenilworth Road didn't change, Luton changed their old A-frames (which were curved and narrow, exactly like those other clubs similarly challenged for space - West Ham, QPR, Southampton etc) for a stylish set of Continental D's.

And though there is little space behind the line for a goal area, Luton have done their best to help with ball retention by hanging too large nets which are permitted to hang loose, making for a great aesthetic experience when viewing the four goals.

Enjoy.

Match of the Day - Week 11

This week's Match of the Day previews the north London derby - Arsenal v Tottenham.

As Arsenal are at home this Sunday, Match of the Day would usually highlight a game from an Arsenal home game - Highbury - and the wonderful history of goal nets there.

However a game from White Hart Lane - though painful for Spurs fans - offers different angles of focus, so this week's Match of the Day is the 0-5 from December 1978.


First, though TV coverage offers only a narrow, camera-eye view of the pitch, how do you know the game is at White Hart Lane? Easy - the sloping, square stanchions, totally distinctive for Tottenham.

Second, given his spectacular goals for 0-4 (and the Motson commentary) you probably always remembered this game as the Liam Brady game. Then poor Alan Sunderland, who scored a hat trick!

Lastly, in this era of Guardiola pressing and Klopp heavy metal football, check out Brady pressing the defender and stealing the ball for his goal. Plus ca change...

Match of the Day - Week 10

This week's Match of the Day previews Sunderland v Arsenal, a fixture with a long and proud history of goal nets (at Roker Park).

The sides played out a 1-1 draw between the square Roker Park stanchions in October 1969.



The square hardware still there in 1980, but with added spring in the software (spoiler alert: crazy box net-style rebounds).


Just two years later Sunderland had replaced the old square-os with standard A-frames (with better ball retention) and won 3-0.



In 1996/97, the last season at Roker Park, Sunderland won 1-0 between Continental D's and stripey goal nets.

The Big Match - Week 6

The Big Match series reviews the History of Goal Nets at a fixture played on the corresponding weekend in years past.

This week's Big Match comes from Highbury in September 1974 and features one of Luton Town's most famous goals (at 10:30 in the clip below).

It's a 4-goal thriller Arsenal v Luton but the real star of the show is the old Highbury stanchions.


Still wonderful after all these years.

Leicester City FC

In their 111 years at Filbert Street, the Foxes switched from Continental D's (1960), to off-the-shoulder A-frames (till 1977) then back to Continental D's again (till Filbert Street closed in 2002).

1960

1976

2000

UEFA Champions League - FC Schalke 04

You may have read references on this site comparing the goal nets of today to trampolines, but it's a metaphor to describe nets stretched square and so taut they cannot retain the ball. No club actually installed trampolines for goal nets. Except Schalke...

In the mid 70's they rigged a system to suspend the goal nets at the Parkstadion by installing a full goal-sized frame behind the goals and attaching the nets to the frame with trampoline springs.

You can guess at the aesthetic affect...

UEFA Champions League - Arsenal FC

A club with great traditions, it's heartening to see Arsenal's embrace of the sturdy English A-frame dates back to at least the end of the Great War, as the Highbury clip below demonstrates.

UEFA Champions League - Olympiacos FC

Of all this year's Champions League participants, Olympiacos provides one of the most colourful recent History of Goal Nets.

Their nets were suspended from A-frames like Arsenal's in the mid 60's -



 Then they went all Argentina 78 by painting the bottom of the posts black


Then, keeping the black bands, they ditched the A-frames for Continental D's.

Off the stanchions at Wembley - Paul Gascoigne

We're back - with a bang!

We're back with Paul Gascoigne's rocket in the 1991 FA Cup semi against Arsenal.

Cue Barry Davies - "Is Gascoigne going to have a crack? He is you know..."

Birmingham City

Last weekend, Birmingham beat Arsenal at Wembley.

Nearly 40 years ago, the goalnets at St Andrews used to hang on stanchions very similar to old Wembley's.


 From 1975/76 the nets at Birmingham shimmered on Continental D's.

Grand Designs

When I started this blog, I began by writing about what a stadium's goalnets said about the character of that stadium or its home club (eg Arsenal) or what part the goalnets played in the club's history (eg Manchester United). I also ran a series on the World Cups, demonstrating how the evolution of goalnet fashion and technology has been every bit as interesting as tactics, or rules (or strips).

More recently I've simply celebrated great goalnets, by which I hope to remind readers that goal design doesn't happen by accident. Somebody somewhere - either within the club or, if the posts, stanchions and nets are bought 'off the shelf,' at the manufacturers - designed the architecture. Did a drawing. Turned the drawing into reality. Ensured reality entered history.

Such great designs didn't just follow what went before, nor were they obviously fashionable at the time. But in the second decade of the new century, when everybody's got box goalnets and everything looks the same, I'd like readers to remember that football can look different to how it looks today, and difference can be beauty in itself.

Highbury - Dame Judi Dench

Framed by stanchions as English as Dame Judi Dench and as sturdy and reliable as Dixon-Bould-Adams-Winterburn.

So Arsenal.


Though the nets were changed to a free-hanging hybrid after the 1990 World Cup -


the stolid stanchions remained till the 1996-97 season when, in the aftermath of the Euro '96 tournament, they were lost forever.

Whats your favourite scored in the old Highbury goals?