1st April 1990 - City win at Villa / Strangeways goes up in flames!

Loved that game. Time is probably playing tricks on me, but other than the 4-0 FA Cup defeat against Liverpool, that's the first City game live on TV that I can recall from my childhood.
 
I love that from Ron Atkinson's commentary on the first goal: "I don't think I've ever in my life seen a better bit of skill than that".

Platt did well, to be fair, but not sure it deserved that hyperbole.
 
I like the fact too that we couldn't wear white shorts, as Villa were in their traditional colours of claret shirts and white shorts. In order to prevent any potential colour clash or confusion we opt to wear claret shorts.
 
In fairness to the inveterate racist, the standard of football was pretty shite back then.
Yeah, that Lothar Matthaus was shite. As were Maldini, Baresi and Brehme. As for the unplayable Gascoigne of that epoch (and he was, at his very best, absolutely unfuckingplayable) , well, he couldn't lace that little Argentinian's boots. The standard of football in 1990 was anything but shite. It wasn't as good as the sublime stuff of the '78 '82 or '86 world cups, but it was in a different league to the stuff that we've watched ever since.

It was a great day, all arguments of standards aside. I went on the coach from the Griffin near Manchester Royal that day, having heard some rumours that "it's kickin' off at Strangeways". Maybe they knew something was afoot!!
 
Yeah, that Lothar Matthaus was shite. As were Maldini, Baresi and Brehme. As for the unplayable Gascoigne of that epoch (and he was, at his very best, absolutely unfuckingplayable) , well, he couldn't lace that little Argentinian's boots. The standard of football in 1990 was anything but shite. It wasn't as good as the sublime stuff of the '78 '82 or '86 world cups, but it was in a different league to the stuff that we've watched ever since.

It was a great day, all arguments of standards aside. I went on the coach from the Griffin near Manchester Royal that day, having heard some rumours that "it's kickin' off at Strangeways". Maybe they knew something was afoot!!
If you objectively look at the overall standard of top flight football back then, especially in terms of players' first touch and ball retention, there can be no doubt that the standard of football has improved enormously since, irrespective of the levels of improvement in fitness.

Those individuals you named were true greats of the game, but we're allowed to do so in a less testing environment. How would they do today? If they were immersed in professional football, with current trading facilities, infrastructure and modern tactical nouse, they'd be just as good, relatively speaking i.e. better than they were.

Players have got fitter and more effective. Football is a better, more skilled spectacle. The game that constitutes the OP of this thread being a case in point.
 
If you objectively look at the overall standard of top flight football back then, especially in terms of players' first touch and ball retention, there can be no doubt that the standard of football has improved enormously since, irrespective of the levels of improvement in fitness.

Those individuals you named were true greats of the game, but we're allowed to do so in a less testing environment. How would they do today? If they were immersed in professional football, with current trading facilities, infrastructure and modern tactical nouse, they'd be just as good, relatively speaking i.e. better than they were.

Players have got fitter and more effective. Football is a better, more skilled spectacle. The game that constitutes the OP of this thread being a case in point.

That's all fair enough. Back to the original point though, Atkinson was old enough to have seen Puskas, Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, and Maradona at their pomp. Not sure seeing David Platt round Andy Dibble and then square it for Gordon Cowans was the best "bit of skill" he'd ever seen!
 

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