Arsenal’s dramatic win over Manchester United the previous year had put them through to the Cup Winners’ Cup competition and the Gunners made it through to the Final. Valencia provided the glamorous opposition, but 120 minutes of football produced no goals and this became the first major Final to be decided on penalties. Argentine World Cup hero Mario Kempes missed, but parity was restored when Liam Brady also failed with his spot-kick. Graham Rix was the unlucky man to miss the vital kick and the trophy went to Spain. Arsenal were left with the unique distinction of returning to Highbury empty-handed despite having gone through the tournament unbeaten.
England’s Euro failure
In the European Championship England dropped just one point in their eight qualifying matches to reach the finals, which were staged in Italy. A revised format saw the eight countries split into two groups with the winners of each contesting the Final. Tear gas had to be used to quell disturbances as England opened with a goalless draw against Belgium. Marco Tardelli scored the only goal of the game when England met the hosts in the second game. England were out without registering a single goal, although they did manage a 2-1 win against Spain in a meaningless final group match.
Three points for a win
By 1981 concern over the state of the game was being expressed in high places. A lot of the fare on offer was of indifferent quality; hooliganism was a cancer that was proving difficult to excise; and with the country in the grip of recession a match-day ticket became a luxury some fans could ill afford.
Liverpool’s dominance didn’t help matters. Gates were barely above the 20 million mark, half what they had been in the golden postwar years. Several clubs were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Wolves among them.
The Football League announced that from 1981-82, there would be three points for a win. The message was clear: football was entertainment as well as sport, and the carrot of three points would surely make teams think twice about putting up the defensive drawbridge.
World History
