What We've Lost.

[22A]

Joanie Mitchell "Big yellow taxi" has the line "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone".

Came across the TV channel ESPN on Sky 442. It's as if somebody has combined Sky Sports with the History Channel.

Today they were showing games from 1985 just 21 years ago and it made me realise just how much the game has changed with most of it for worse.

Crowds were segregated, but no hi viz jacketed Stewards, just a handful of Coppers to supervise the spectators.

Instead of standing in groups and watching the game they walked round and watched the crowd.

Fans were allowed freedom of choice weather to sit or stand.

Spectators standing & singing was part of the game.

Yes players did dispute free kick & penalty decisions, but no so aggresively and in the Ref's face as today.

When goalies plucked the ball from the feet of a forward, they didn't fall to the ground screaming for a penalty.

Yes the fans were caged in behind goals to control fans, but the sides weren't caged and when say York beat Arsenal or Man C won promotion back to Div 1 the players celebrated with the fans who ran on the pitch at the final whistle.

The shirts looked much better than today with just a number on the back, the badge and a sponsor's name on the front. No badge on the sleeve to denote which League the club's in and no names or manufacturer's logo on the back which made it look less congested.

Attending a game didn't take such a high percentage out of the average man's pay packet as today.

ESPN doesn't just show football either, they also show classic boxing bouts and cricket matches; tonight there is a documentary on Wally Hammond (Glos & England) who was a contempory of Don Bradman.