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August 1974

As appeared in Rothman's Football Yearbook 1975-76 (6th year) :

Compiled by Leslie Vernon and Jack Rollin. The Queen Anne Press, London 1975

August

1 Brian Clough signs his former Derby coach Jimmy Gordon for Leeds as replacement for Les Cocker. Cocker's FA appointment has still not been formally confirmed.

3 Feyenoord beat Chelsea 3-1 in a friendly at Rotterdam. New expensive signing David Hay is substituted in the second-half. Dave Sexton says, 'It will take some time for him to get used to us, and for us to get used to him.' . . . Alan Ball suffers a fracture in another friendly in Holland, as Arsenal lose 3-0 to Haarlem. This is only Ball's second match since he returned after a lengthy injury.

5 George Best plays for Southern League club Dunstable Town in a friendly. They beat Manchester U. reserves 3-2, and Best is mobbed off the field. . . In Bruges, five Manchester U. supporters are sentenced to one month imprisonment for rowdyism.

6 Leeds sign Nottingham F. striker Duncan McKenzie for 250,000 pounds -a record for both clubs. . . Kevin Keegan of Liverpool is sent off in a friendly at Kaiserslautern.

7 Chelsea buy Johnny Sissons from Norwich for 50,000 pounds.

8 Football League referees are given a new 'get-tough' charter with firm orders to crack down on law breakers. The League have circulated the new code of conduct to all clubs, with the backing of the FA. One change is a direct spin-off from the World Cup Finals-a trainer cannot give an injured player treatment on the field.

10 The season opens with a shabby Charity Shield game at Wembley. The continuous brawling between the Leeds and Liverpool players reaches its ugly climax when Keegan and Brernner swap punches and are then sent off by referee Bob Matthewson. The game finishes 1-1 in ordinary time, and Liverpool win the penalty competition 6-5 when Harvey blasts over the bar and Ian Callaghan scores from the spot.

12 Bill Shankly officially ends his 'reign' at Liverpool as manager. His last game is a testimonial in Glasgow for Billy McNeil, the Celtic skipper. 60,000 people give a great ovation to both teams and Shankly. The result: Celtic I, Liverpool 1. . .
John Collins leaves Portsmouth and joins Halifax for an 8000 pounds fee . . . Tony Powell is the sixth player to move from AFC Bournemouth to Norwich since John Bond, the manager, made a similar move. Trevor Howard, valued at 50,000 pounds is also involved in this exchange deal. . . Both Alan Hardaker and Ted Croker express great disappointment over last Saturday's Wembley fiasco. Croker says, 'We are trying to make football more acceptable to a wider range of people. Football will survive, but players must learn they cannot throw punches at each other.' . . . Meantime, Brian Clough states that in the future, any disciplinary action inside the club will stay a private matter between him and the players.

13 A record transfer deal for Manchester C. as WBA's Asa Hartford moves to the Lancashire club for 250,000 pounds . . . Nottingham F. sign David Jones, the Welsh U-23 defender from Bournemouth for 85,000 pounds. Another Bournemouth player on the move-Micky Cave to York (18,000 pounds) . . . Tottenham put Martin Chivers, John Pratt, and Mike Dillon on the transfer list. . . Johann Cruyff is sent off in a friendly match against Penarol. The world's most expensive and best-rated player allegedly flattens the Uruguayan, Fernandez, with a right hook.

14 Derby sign Francis Lee, the ex-England international, from Manchester C. for 100,000 pounds . . . Wrexham say they won't be able to stage international matches in the future, because they cannot afford the 5000 pounds cost of erecting fences around the ground.

15 Tony Barlow of Harrow takes out summonses against Brernner and Keegan 'for behaviour in a public place likely to cause a breach of peace' . . . Middlesbrough players will be fined by manager Jack Charlton if they break the strict disciplinary code worked out for them by the club. . . Another record-breaking transfer -Larry Lloyd (Liverpool) signs for Coventry for 240,000 pounds . . . Two England players will miss the season's opening League games because they are on the transfer list.
Peter Shilton of Leicester is replaced by Mark Wal!ington, and the young Chris Jones of Tottenham is named as deputy for Martin Chivers . . . Tony Taylor (Crystal Palace) moves to Southend for 25,000 pounds.

16 The magistrate refuses the application of Mr Barlow for summonses against the two players who were sent off at Wembley . . . Big transfer deal on the Continent - Paul Breitner, Bayern Munich's international full-back, signs for Real Madrid, the Spanish Cup holders, for 420,000 pounds.

17 Some surprise results on the opening day of the season-six away wins in the First Division. Newly-promoted Carlisle beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where the Londoners unveil their magnificent new stand, which cost 2 million pounds . . .
Middlesbrough win 3-0 at Birmingham, but newcomers Luton lose at home to Liverpool. Stoke, Leeds' bogey team, beat the champions 3-0 at the Victoria Ground. . . Manchester U. and Sunderland both win their opening Division Two games. . . Attendances are the lowest for the first day of the season for eight years.

19 Les Cocker formally takes up his appointment as assistant to Don Revie, the England manager. . . Brian Clough goes back to Derby to sign John McGovern and John O'Hare in a 125,000 pounds package deal for Leeds. . . Tommy Docherty, Manchester U. manager, forbids his own son to travel to the team's away matches, because it is too dangerous . . . Gerd Muller announces his retirement from international football.

20 Magistrates clamp down on soccer hooligans. After last night's riot in Bristol, 135 rowdies are arrested. Stiff fines are imposed and at Dunstable a 17-year-old youth is jailed for six months . . . Carlisle win at Middlesbrough, Ipswich beat Arsenal 1-0 at Highbury , and these are the only teams in Division One with full points after two matches.

21 Trevor Brooking is out of football with a broken nose, sustained in the early part of the match against Luton . . . Marketin$ expert John Macdonald reportedly aims to raise 500,000 pounds for Crystal Palace. With the backing of the club, he aims to issue shares to the fans-a 5000 pounds stake would buy a directorship.

24 Ron Gr~nwood hands over the reins to his assistant John Lyall at West Ham.
In a curiously worded statement, the club chairman Mr Reg Pratt announces, 'Ron Greenwood has not been demoted, but John will be in charge of the first team for the rest of the season. Gleenwood, as club manager, will ~earch for new players.' Under Lyall, West Ham lose at home to Everton 3-2 . . . Leeds collect their first points in a 1-0 win over Birmingham . . . Ken Hibbitt of Wolves gets the first hat-trick of the league season, scoring all four of his side's goals in a 4-2 win . . .
Ipswich and Carlisle lead the table with maximum points-Birmingham and Tottenham are the bottom clubs with none. . . Tragedy at Blackpool. A 17-year-old youth, Kevin Olsson, is stabbed, and dies in the hospital shortly afterwards-the ultimate outrage of senseless football gang-war and hooliganism. . . 'Match of the Day', the BBC TV programme, celebrates its lOth anniversary.

26 Denis Howell says that the Public Order Act should be put into operation to combat football hooliganism. 'Long jail sentences might act as a deterrent.' Sir Andrew Stephen, who is recuperating following an operation, will hold an urgent meeting. But he says, 'Now is the time for action. We have had enough reports and working parties on soccer hooliganism. Something positive must be done. ,

27 Denis Law announces his retirement. The 34-year-old Scot has been playing in the World Cup Finals for his country and has no wish to settle for reserve football, although Manchester C. boss Tony Book is anxious to keep him. 'I always wanted to call it a day when I am still on the top', says Law, who won two Championship medals and an FA Cup-winners medal with Manchester U. He was elected 'European Footballer of the Year' in 1963 and scored 30 goals for Scotland. . . Burnley are ready to sell Martin Dobson to help pay for their 500,000 pounds ground improvements. Dobson says, 'I am just a pawn in this game. It is just like a cattle market.' Hours later, Dobson signs for Everton for a British cash-record fee of 300,000 pounds -his cut is 15,000 pounds . . . Ipswich beat Arsenal 3-0 and are the only First Division club with a 100% record. A front page article in the Daily Telegraph, written by Peter Gill, says, ' A system of identification cards to stop young hooligans attending football matches is one of the new plans to combat soccer violence announced yesterday by Mr Howell, Minister for Sport. He said football authorities are determined to
stop "these young villains" from getting into grounds. Other measures to fight thuggery in the terraces included the immediate introduction of "dry moats" or similar obstacles and the segregation of rival fans. The 92 Football League clubs are to be given 14 days to present details of their security programmes. Mr Howell was disclosing a 10-point plan of action during a visit to Second Division Blackpool's ground at Bloomfield Road where he saw the spot at which a Blackpool fan was stabbed to death at Saturday's game against Bolton. The Minister said that Mr Alan Hardaker, Football League secretary, and Mr Eddie Plumley, secretary of Coventry City, would investigate the problems of setting up a nation-wide identification card system. They would report back to Mr Howell's special committee on crowd behaviour in three or four weeks. Another major suggestion which would be urgently considered was a system of police flying squads who would travel with fans to away matches.'

28 An unprecedented punishment for Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan. For bringing the game into disrepute during the FA Charity Shield match at Wembley on August 10, they are both fined 500 pounds and banned from football until the end of September. The two internationals are automatically suspended for three matches for being sent off, but now a further eight games (six League, one League Cup, one European match) will be missed by Bremner and Keegan. Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, Mr Vernon Stokes, says that the punishment might not have been so severe if the game wasn't played at Wembley and wasn't shown on TV. The players refused to comment, but Manny Cussins, the Leeds chairman says, 'It is a colossal fine-and all because they took off their shirts. It was a show of temper in the heat of the moment.' . . . Martin Chivers is recalled into the Tottenham first team, but the Londoners lose at home to Manchester C. 2-1. It's their fourth consecutive defeat-the worst start to any season by Tottenham since 1912 . . . Ron Durban, the Cardiff trainer, who is accused of pouring a bucket of cold water over a York supporter's head last night, is quitting football. This is not for me', he said, 'it's become too emotional, too violent, and there is too much money involved.'

29 Bill Nicholson resigns as Tottenham's manager. The 54-year-old former Spurs wing-half has been with the club for 39 years - a manager for 16. Nicholson says, 'Players have become impossible. They talk all the time about security, but they are not prepared to work for it. I am abused by players when they come to see me. There is no longer respect.' . . . Bob Paisley, the new Liverpool boss, attacks the FA's decision in the Keegan case. 'People who don't know how to run the country are trying to run football, which they know even less about. People who don't play the game don't know what it is all about. If players get this punishment for throwing off their jerseys, what is there left for some of the things that happen in the game.'

30 In a Press Conference, Bill Nicholson alleges that players wouldn't go to Tottenham because the club refused to give them under-the-{;0unter money. 'It is expected in the London area for players to ask for 7000 pounds tax free. That's the minimum.'

31 No Division One team has maximum points, but Liverpoo~ and Everton are still unbeaten. . . Ipswich lose 3-1 at Sheffield and Derby are beaten at Tottenham, where two Jimmy Neighbour goals give the Londoners their first points of the season. After the match, skipper Martin Peters and long-serving defender Phil Heal see manager Nicholson in his office, and ask him on behalf of the players to stay on . . . As Stan Bowles takes a penalty kick for QPR at Luton, another ball is thrown on the pitch by a spectator. The shot enters the net, but the referee has to order the kick to be retaken. Bowles scores again.