ON THIS DAY

The Oxford United players were told that their coach home would leave at 5.30pm on the dot after their First Division match at Queens Park Rangers - and it did. The problem was that four Oxford players - Jeremy Charles, Les Phillips, Peter Rhoades-Brown and leading scorer John Aldridge - were standing by the coach signing autographs...and the bus left without them! They had to get a lift home with supporters, and they weren't too chuffed about it!

After qualifying for the 1966 World Cup finals as hosts and the 1970 finals as holders England found themselves playing in their first World Cup qualifying fixture in 11 years on Wednesday 15th November 1972. It was against Wales played at Cardiff City’s former Ninian Park home and before the kick off England boss Alf Ramsey was presented with a silver salver to mark his 100th match in charge of the Three Lions. Liverpool players Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence both made their England debuts in that fixture with the other 9 England players that day being Storey, Hughes, Hunter, McFarland, Moore, Bell, Chivers, Marsh and Ball. What a team! Colin Bell scored the only goal of the match to secure victory against Wales but eventually it was the third country in the group – Poland – who would qualify for the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany.

Liverpool's 2-0 victory over West Ham at Anfield was the first match to be transmitted in colour. At the time colour TVs were still rare so the commentators had to ensure that their commentaries were suitable for viewers with either colour or black and white sets. That caused problems. John Motson once famously said, "For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip."