August 21 – First Sub Used in a League Match

CLASSIC pub quiz fodder today here at On This Football Day as we ask: who was the first player to come on as a substitute in a league match?

Who was the player that went off? Where was the match and which teams were playing?

So far this story is throwing up more questions than an episode of Lost but fear not, because unlike Lost, we have all the answers and we’re going to tell you.

Firstly, this historical event happened on this day back in 1965 at Bolton’s former ground Burnden Park. The home side were hosting Charlton Athletic and the match was just 13 minutes in when Addick’s keeper Mike Rose went down injured.

Charlton manager Bob Stokoe (more noted for his FA Cup success over Leeds with Sunderland) sent on . . . . wait for it . . . . Keith Peacock for the injured man. John Hewie went in goal but couldn’t prevent Bolton winning 4-2.

Keith went on to manage Gillingham and assist Alan Curbishley both at Charlton and West Ham, but has since retired from football.

Keith’s son Gavin of course played for various clubs including QPR and Chelsea, and can now been sporting a silly facial hair creation and shiny bald head on BBC footy programmes like Football Focus and Match of the Day 2.

August 20 – Woody Signs for Real

It was a transfer that no-one saw coming. What were the most glamorous club in the world doing buying an injury-prone convicted criminal for £13.4 million to marshal their defence? Yes, it was on this day in 2004 that saw Jonathan Woodgate complete his move from Newcastle to Real Madrid.

Jonathan Woodgate had had somewhat of a stop-start career to this point. As a member of the Leeds FA Cup Youth winning side of 1997, he soon established himself in Leeds’ senior side, fast becoming a fan’s favourite and he made his England debut in 1999 against Bulgaria. At this time it looked like Woodgate would fulfil his obvious potential, but that infamous night on the town in January 2000 saw Woodgate and Lee Bowyer accused of assault. A long court case followed and Woodgate was convicted of affray. His time on the playing field was minimal during this period and was eventually sold to Newcastle in January 2003, as Leeds began to feel the financial pinch of their free-spending ways.

At Newcastle, the Toon Army soon took to Woody and manager Sir Bobby Robson would breathlessly describe him as “more brilliant than brilliant.” Injuries continued to plague Woodgate though, so when Madrid came calling, offering Newcastle almost £5 million more than they had previously paid for him, they couldn’t say no, especially as Woodgate was carrying what was proving to be a very serious injury at the time.

His first season at the Bernabeu proved to be an injury-hit washout and Woodgate did not make his debut until 22 September 2005. Proving to be a master of the understatement, Woody said that “it was not the best start in the world”. An own goal and red card meant that Woody’s bow in the famous white shirt of Madrid couldn’t really have gone much worse. Things did get better though, as he turned in a number of impressive performances, with Real keeping clean sheets in 10 of the 14 games he played in that season, but more injuries and managerial changes saw Woody sent out on loan to his home-town club Middlesbrough for the 2005/06 season, where he has since signed permanently and added to the five England caps he had previously won. At the moment though, he remains on the treatment table – some things never change.

Somewhat harshly, Spanish newspaper Marca recently ran a poll where they invited readers to vote for the worst signing of the 21st century, and Woodgate romped home, taking 37% of the vote. See below for footage of what Woody’s capable of when he’s not nursing an injury or getting his hair done, and join us tomorrow for a look at a landmark game from the 1960s to bore your mates with down the pub.

August 19 – ‘You’ll Never Win Anything With Kids’

WE ALL like to make brash predictions when we’re talking footy with our mates. And more often than not we’re wrong, which leads to a ribbing and possibly the loss of fiver. But none of us here have ever had these predictions broadcast to millions of football viewers – that would be awfully embarrassing if you got it wrong, wouldn’t it? One man who knows how this feels is Alan Hansen, who on this day in 1995 announced on Match of the Day that “You’ll never win anything with kids” after a young Manchester United side lost the season opener to Aston Villa 3-1.

Since his retirement from football in 1990 Alan Hansen has become one of the most respected pundits in the game. The BBC poached Hansen from Sky in the early 1990′s and he soon became an authoritative voice of the technical side of the game, with a penchant for spotting “diabolical defending” and the like. So when Hansen dismissed United’s title challenge he found no shortage of people who were disagreeing with him. However, we now all know that Fergie’s team of youngsters including David Beckham, the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were able to wrestle the title back from Blackburn Rovers, and also win the FA Cup, securing the first of what was to be two consecutive double-winning seasons, a feat never before seen in English football.

Hansen’s statement was to famously inspire a t-shirt slogan that became popular with the Old Trafford faithful. At the time Hansen tried to qualify his rash prediciton by claiming that the great Bill Shankly had said it back in the 1970′s, but he has since admitted this to be the biggest blunder of his media career. This even beats the time when he said that Ian Rush “can’t head it, and he hasn’t got a left foot or a right foot” after he joined Liverpool, and the one where he said “the Argentine defender wants shooting for a mistake like that”, in 1994, shortly after the Colombian defender defender Andres Escobar had been shot dead following his own goal which saw his country knocked out of the 1994 World Cup. Whoops.

Sadly, it seems as though Hansen has tried to airbrush this mistake out of history, as no footage exists on YouTube of Hansen’s famous statement. Instead, you can see Baddiel and Skinner bantering with the dour Scotsman below. Oh, and by the way Arsenal fans, you’ll be pleased to know that earlier this year Hansen said that Wenger’s current bunch of youngster won’t win anything either. Time for the suits at Ashburton Grove to stock up on some polish methinks!

August 18 – Uncle Jack Passes Away

IN the Premiership’s 14 season history, only four different clubs have won the league, but that would have been only three, had it not been for one man: Jack Walker.

Walker lived the dream of every football fan. After making millions in the steel industry he took control of his hometown club Blackburn Rovers, redeveloped the stadium, got them promoted and then bought some of the best talent around to bring league title success to Ewood Park.

It was on this day in 2000 in the early hours of the morning that ‘Uncle Jack’ passed away aged 71 after suffering from cancer.

Walker gained control of Blackburn in 1991 and quickly set about his dream of taking them to the top. Then in the old Division 2, Walker persuaded former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish to come out of retirement and spearhead the revolution.

After promotion via the play-offs in 1992 Dalglish was able to buy the best players around thanks to Walker’s millions.

Within four years of buying the club, Walker had achieved his dream by winning the Premiership.

Sadly, the success could not be sustained and a succession of managers, and more of Sir Jack’s money could not prevent relegation in 1999, just four years after they had been champions.

Rovers would regain their top-flight status in 2001 but sadly Walker would not be there to see it.

“Jack Walker’s influence on Blackburn Rovers cannot be overstated,” said Pauline Perkins, secretary of the Blackburn Rovers Supporters’ Association.

“To the vast majority he was just Uncle Jack and we shall miss him terribly.”

Here are some Rovers fans voicing their admiration for their benefactor in the time honoured fashion of a chant at an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to find out which smug pundit’s words would come back to haunt him.

August 17 – Beckham’s Halfway Line Strike

BACK in the mid 1990s David Beckham was cementing his place as one of English football’s most promising young stars.

In the 1995/96 season he was a regular part of the Manchester United team that did the league and cup double and was already providing assists and goals aplenty.

It was on this day in 1996 that Beckham really became a household name when he scored a long range effort against Wimbledon from just inside his own half.

It was the first day of the season and United were already cruising and 2-0 up thanks to goals from Cantona and Irwin. Beckham received the ball near the halfway line, had a look up, and noticed Wimbledon keeper Neil Sullivan was off his line.

Despite Sullivan’s furious back peddling, a beautiful ball from Beckham’s right foot flew over his head and into the back of the net.

Beckham went on to win his first England cap a few weeks later in a World Cup qualifier against Moldova. That season, as well as winning the Premiership again, Beckham himself was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.

Have a gander at the 60 yard strike here. Commentary by Motty, who correctly predicts both Beckham’s future England involvement, and the fact the goal is still being talked about today.

August 16 – Irwin Injured In His Own Testimonial

FOR all the superstars of Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering United team of the 1990s, one of the quieter members of the squad was just as important to the club’s success as Cantona, Beckham and Giggs.

It was on this day in 2000 that full-back Denis Irwin was rewarded for his service to Manchester United with a testimonial match against local rivals Man City.

Perhaps City boss Joe Royle forgot to tell his charges that the game was only a friendly, as a rather robust challenge from City’s George Weah led to Irwin having to be stretchered off from his own match.

Happy at either left back or right back, Irwin began his career at Leeds but was released at the age of 20. Joe Royle was managing Oldham at the time and took Irwin to Boundary Park, before Alex Ferguson paid £650,000 for his services.

In a trophy packed stay at Old Trafford Irwin won seven championship medals, three FA Cups, one League Cup, the Champions League and the Cup Winners Cup in 529 United appearances.

Luckily the injury he picked up from his testimonial was not enough to keep a good man down, and he went on to play for two more seasons for United, before a last hurrah at Wolves, who he helped gain promotion to the Premiership in 2003.

If you have five minutes, and more importantly the inclination, there is a rather long tribute to him below:

August 15 – The Premiership Kicks Off

THESE days you can’t move without tripping over a live football match on TV, with Saturday lunchtime and evening kick-offs, ‘Super Sunday’ games, and midweek clashes all over Sky.

But this wasn’t always the case. Before Rupert Murdock came along and revolutionised football on TV, the BBC and ITV showed highlights packages and the odd live game.

It was on this day in 1992 that all that changed, and football changed forever. August 15 was the first day of the newly re-branded Premiership.

The Premiership was of course just the old First Division with a flashy new name, but the real difference was the in the TV coverage.

We now had Richard Keys, Martin Tyler and Andy Gray to talk us through and analyse all the games, with flashy new graphics and even cheer-leaders.

The honour of the first Premiership goal to be scored goes to Brian Deane, at the time of Sheffield United, when he struck after only five minutes of play. For the record, the Blades went on the beat Manchester United 2-1, although it didn’t stop the Red Devils winning the first Premiership title nine months later.

Check out this look back at that first season and have a chuckle at the vastly over-the-top ‘Ford Super Sunday’ graphics.

August 14 – Keegan Signs For Liverpool

WHEN you think of football in the seventies, big hair and Bill Shankly’s great Liverpool side are two of the abiding memories. It was on this day in 1971 that the two of these collided, as Kevin Keegan made his debut for the Reds.

Keegan was signed by Shanks as a fresh-faced twenty-year old from Scunthorpe for £35,000, and took to the field for the first time in a Liverpool shirt against Matt Gillies’ Nottingham Forest side. It didn’t take Keegan long to open his account, as he mishit a pass from Peter Thompson and ended up scoring, just 12 minutes into his Liverpool career.

This was just the start of six, trophy-packed and sometimes controversial years at Anfield for Keegan. 1973 saw the League title return to the Liverpool trophy room for the first time in seven years, with the UEFA Cup joining it, as Keegan scored twice in the final against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Two more league titles, another UEFA Cup and an FA Cup followed, but it was Keegan’s last game in which he is most fondly remembered for by the faithful of the Kop. Before the end of the 1977 season Keegan had announced that he would soon be leaving to try his luck on foreign soil, and his final appearance in a Liverpool shirt was to be in the biggest game of them all, the European Cup Final where they would again face Borussia Mönchengladbach. The famous scouse wit was in full effect, as one of footballs most famous banners read “Joey Ate The Frogs Legs, Made The Swiss Roll, Now He’s Munching Gladbach,” in honour of full-back Joey Jones, but it was Keegan that took the limelight, winning a late penalty to ensure the Red’s 3-1 win and a first European Cup.

Central to Keegan’s success at Anfield was his prolific partnership with Welshman John Toshack that was feared across Europe. The pair were so in-tune with each other that Shoot magazine dressed them up as Batman and Robin for a photoshoot – sadly not many of these pictures are knocking around these days.

Keegan left Liverpool to join Hamburg in 1977, where he would again be a terrace hero. Spells at Southampton and Newcastle followed before he hung up his boots in 1984. Eight years later he returned to the game and began his managerial career at St. James’, but that’s another story for another day. If you want to see how talented the man was, not just on the football pitch, see the clip below, making sure you get your speakers cranked up, and join us tomorrow when we look at a day where English football changed forever.

August 13 – Hitler Applies for 1942 World Cup

FOR millions around the world, football is more than just a game. The impact of the world’s most popular sport is not just felt on the pitch, but across the whole of culture and society. It is no surprise therefore, that politicians have always used the game as a way to tap into the psyche of their people, be it Tony Blair playing keepy-uppy with Kevin Keegan or Adolf Hitler applying to host the 1942 World Cup, as he did on this day in 1936.

The Third Reich movement was characterised by the belief that the Arian race was superior to all others and Hitler believed that one way to show this off was through sport. The 1936 Olympics have become synonymous with this philosophy, and Hitler was keen to seize upon football’s massive popular appeal and exploit it as a vehicle for propaganda. Hitler himself was never a massive football fan. He had been born too early to grow up with the game and preferred activities such as boxing, shooting and wrestling, that he believed would make his people better soldiers.

It is believed that Hitler only ever watched one football match – a two nil loss for Germany against Norway at the 1936 Olympics. The little man wasn’t very impressed, storming out in a huff and refusing to go and watch the rowing that he was scheduled to attend. However, due to the popularity of the game in Germany he couldn’t afford to ignore it, so applying to host the World Cup was an ideal way to put Nazi Germany in the international spotlight as the Berlin Olympics had.

Germany’s submission to host the World Cup was put in despite FIFA already promising to give the tournament to Brazil in 1942, with Argentina also putting in a bid. In the end though, it would all prove to be academic, as the Second World War broke out and the 1942 World Cup was understandably cancelled. Despite this, international matches were played by several nations until 1942, and the German domestic leagues carried on until Hitler’s suicide in 1945, in an effort to distract the population from the struggles they faced during the war.

The World Cup returned in 1950, when Brazil hosted the tournament after the vice-president of FIFA, Ottorino Barassi had hidden the World Cup trophy from the Nazi’s in a shoe-box under his bed.

If you want to find out where Adolf Hitler’s footballing loyalties were, watch the clip below and be sure to join us tomorrow to look at one of English football’s greatest perms.

August 12 – Arsenal Sack Rioch

BEFORE Arsene Wenger was appointed Arsenal manager in 1996, George Graham had enjoyed nearly 10 successful years at the Gunners’ helm before he was fired after the bungs scandal.

Often forgotten is another Arsenal manager who’s reign in North London was sandwiched between that of Wenger and Graham: Bruce Rioch.

Rioch played for nine different clubs in his career including a stint with the Seattle Sounders in the NASL, and won a league championship medal with Derby County in 1974.

He became player coach at Torquay United following his return from the USA. He also managed FC Seattle, Millwall, Middlesborough and Bolton Wanderers with mixed success before being handed the reigns at Arsenal.

It was on this day in 1996 that Rioch was sacked by the Gunners’ board after little more than a year in the job after a dispute over transfer funds.

His one season at Arsenal was fairly unremarkable: the team finished fifth in the league which gained them entry into the UEFA Cup, and were knocked out of the League Cup in the semi-final by Aston Villa. They fared no better in the FA Cup, only managing to get to the third round before they were beaten by Sheffield United.

Rioch did however leave a legacy to Arsenal that continued well into the Wenger reign. In the summer of 1995 Rioch paid a then record £7.5m to buy Dennis Bergkamp from Internazionale.

With his sublime touch and often breathtaking goal-scoring feats, Bergkamp would go on to become a legend at Arsenal. For all Wenger’s achievements, and all the great players he brought to Highbury, it was Rioch that ensured Arsenal fans could enjoy watching the Dutch master ply his trade in their colours until his retirement in 2006.

Re-live some of his best moments with this montage of the Dutchman’s goal scoring exploits: