October 31 – A Sticky End For Holy Harvey and Halloween Horror Show in Madagascar

More goals than ghouls in Africa and an Everton legend falls on his sword in today’s trip down memory lane.

2002 – Halloween Horror Show in Madagascar

WHATEVER seasonal misfortunes befall you tonight, we’re sure it won’t be as scary as what fans of Madagascan side Stade Olympique de L’Emyrne (SOE) had to endure, as today in 2002 they saw side fall to a record-breaking 149-0 loss. Click here for the whole story.

1990 – A Sticky End For Holy Harvey

WE think one of the best things about OTFD is that sometimes we get to feature some of the less celebrated characters in football that may have slipped from the game’s consciousness in recent times.

Today is one of those days, as it was on this day in 1990 that legendary Everton player Colin Harvey proved he wasn’t such a legendary manager when the Toffeemen gave him his P45. Read more.

Colin Harvey’s finest move

October 30 – Lord of the Manor of Frodsham and the End of El Diego

The greatest ever player hangs up his boots as a Liverpool flops proves his legs are made of balsa wood.

1997 – The Eng of El Diego

HE was the greatest footballer of his generation and perhaps of all time, but all good things have to come to an end. Today in 1997 Diego Armando Maradona hung up his boots, bringing his explosive career to a close on his 37th birthday. Read more.

2004 – Lord of the Manor of Frodsham

WHEN Gerard Houllier was winding down his time as Liverpool manager, the club still allowed him to press on with one of their most expensive signings ever. Houllier had been casting flirtatious glances at Djibril Cisse for months and finally managed to negotiate a deal to bring the Frenchman to Anfield for around £14m in the summer of 2004. Click here to find out what went wrong.

Ouch.

October 29 – A Punishment Not To Be Sniffed At and Forgetful Ferdinand

It’s case of football’s behaving badly (or at least just stupidly) in today’s journey into the OTFD vaults.

2004 – A Punishment Not To Be Sniffed At

WE’RE coming over all Bram Stoker on you today, as we’ve got a tale of an (alleged) bloodsucker from Transylvania. Romanian misfit Adrian Mutu was fired by Chelsea today in 2004 following his failed drugs test. Click here for the whole story.

2003 – Forgetful Ferdinand

WE’VE all been guilty of forgetting things once in a while, a friend’s birthday here, a wedding anniversary there, but not many memory lapses can have been as costly as the one Rio ‘Memory like a sieve’ Ferdinand had in the autumn of 2003. Read more.

Mutu will need more of this to pay off the £14m that Chelsea are after

October 28 – The Joy of Cesc and The Angel With Bent Legs

The greatest Brazilian to ever play the game and the Arsene Wenger production line unearths another diamond in today’s trip down memory lane..

1933 – The Angel With Bent Legs

ASK anyone around the world who the best ever Brazilian to play the game was and they’ll usually say Pele. Head into Brazil though, ask the same question and any self-respecting passionate follower of the beautiful game will tell you all about a bow-legged right-winger who holds a dearer place in their hearts than everyone’s favourite viagra salesman. That man was Garrincha, who was born today in 1933. Read more.

2003 – The Joy of Cesc

A 1-1 draw in the League Cup between Arsenal and Rotherham today in 2003 doesn’t sound like the most exciting of occasions to base today’s nugget of footballing history on, but one of Arsene Wenger’s young charges was making his debut that day, and he’s proved to go on to be not too shabby at this football lark. Click here for more.

Much more interesting than Pele.

October 27 – Pressley’s All Shook Up and Hoddle Arrives

The story of Scotland’s most crazy chairman and the birth of Hod in today’s trip down memory lane.

2006 – Pressley’s All Shock Up

IT’S up to Scotland today for a look at one of the maddest characters in the game, Hearts chairman and former Soviet submarine commander Vladimir Romanov who was at the mercy of a player revolt, lead by captain Steven Pressley today in 2006 when threatened to sack the whole squad if they failed to win their next match. See what went down here.

1957 – Hoddle Arrives
THE year is 1957. In Italy the Treaty of Rome is signed establishing the European Economic Community; in the USA Elvis Presley buys Graceland; and on this day in Hayes, Middlesex, Glenn Hoddle was born. Read more here.

Hoddle showing he had the skills to pay the bills. Well, it was either this or the Diamond Lights clip…

October 26 – Ezer is a geezer who likes to muscle in and Saints Humble the Red Devils

The humble beginnings of the FA and the Red Devils are trounced by the Saints in today’s round-up.

1996 – Saints Humble the Red Devils

SIR Alex Ferguson has turned Manchester United into such a consistent winning machine over the past 20 years that it’s always nice to watch them get beaten once in a while, especially when they get a very rare hammering.

Today in 1996 Southampton recorded one of their most impressive results ever when they trounced Fergies team 6-3 at The Dell. Read more here.

1863 – Ezer is a geezer who likes to muscle in
IT all sounds so Dickensian: a cold, foggy autumn night in Victorian London, the Freemason’s Tavern in Great Queen Street, and the protagonist, Ebenezer Cobb Morley.

No this is not the beginning of Great Expectations or David Copperfield; this is the beginning of the Football Association. Click here for more.

Le God.

October 25 – Cilla Strikes Back and Jol’s Last Stand

Martin Jol is given one hell of an undignified exit from White Hart Lane and Cilla Black downs the beautiful game in today’s trip through the OTFD vaults.

2000 – Cilla Strikes Back

FOOTBALL has managed to upset a lot of people over the years – it has even been the cause of wars, but it was on this day in 2000 that the beautiful game crossed swords with a national treasure, and lost. Click here for the full story.

2007 – Jol’s Last Stand

FANTASTICALLY wide ranging and descriptive though the English language can be, there are occasions when it falls short and emotions it cannot quite express succinctly. Read on here.

Jol’s last day at work.

October 24 – Pizzagate and The Oldest Club in the World

The story of the world’s oldest football club and Arsenal and Manchester United find all-new ways to upset each other.

1857 – The Oldest Club in the World

WHEN your team’s nickname is simply ‘The Club’, you’ve got to have a bit of history to back it up. And history is one thing that Sheffield FC have more of than anyone else, as they are the world’s oldest club, established today in 1857. Read more here.

2004 – Pizzagate

OVER the seventeen seasons since the inception of the Premier League one clash has regularly stood above the rest. Whether it’s tunnel bust-ups, on-the-pitch brawls or Martin Keown’s goading, Manchester United and Arsenal clashes are always entertaining.

Today in 2004 the two rivals served up another tasty clash that took the animosity between them to new, evermore amusing levels: a food fight! Click here for the whole story.

Sadly we’ve only got the on-the-pitch action for you.

October 23 – The Stars Come Out For The FA’s Centenary and Kanu Believe It!

Kanu leaves it late and the FA get their telegram from the Queen in today’s round up.

1999 – Kanu Believe It!

LAST season Liverpool may have monopolised the late comeback, but they haven’t yet left it quite so late as Arsenal did today in 1999. With 15 minutes left the Gunners were 2-0 down to rivals Chelsea and it was looking like all three points were lost. Read on here.

1963 – The Stars Come Out For The FA’s Centenary

HOW are your birthday plans coming on for this year? Night out on the town? Dinner party? Bet it won’t be as grand as when the FA celebrated reaching the grand old age of 100, as Sir Alf Ramsey’s England team took on the best of the rest at Wembley Stadium, today in 1963.
Click here to read all about it.

Kanu, 47, scores a beaut.

October 22 – Triple Vision and the Man in Black

It’s a family affair in Southampton and we celebrate the birth of one of the 20th century’s greatest ever ‘keepers in today’s trawl through the OTFD history books.

1929 – The Man in Black

SO who’s the greatest goalkeeper ever to play the game? Schmeichel? No, his nose was too red and he was rubbish on Strictly Come Dancing. Dino Zoff or Gianluigi Buffon? Nope, even you’d look good behind those Italian defences. Our vote goes to the Russian Lev Yashin who was born today in 1929. Read more here.

1988 – Triple Vision

SOUTHAMPTON FC was always described as a ‘family club’ but during the 1980s it was literally true as the Wallace brothers came up through the youth system into the first team. On this day in 1988 when all three of the brothers lined up for Southampton in a match against Sheffield Wednesday at the Dell which ended 1-1. Click here for the full story.

The Black Spider in full effect.