The decade began much as the last one had ended, with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest vying for supremacy at home and in Europe. In 1980 the Reds took the championship but crashed out of the European Cup at the first hurdle to Dinamo Tblisi. Forest came through some tough matches, even surviving a home defeat against Dynamo Berlin. A Trevor Francis double helped Forest turn that tie around and they marched on to meet Kevin Keegan’s SV Hamburg in the Final. The showcase events were becoming worryingly sterile affairs and this was no great advertisement for the game. John Robertson scored the only goal, cutting in from tire left and firing home from 20 yards. Francis had been sidelined through injury and the team was content to sit back and play on the break. When Hamburg did manage to carve an opening, they found Shilton in prime form.
Brooking sets up Hammers
Forest also made it to the League Cup Final, for the third year running. There was no hat-trick of wins, though. A catastrophic mix-up between Shilton and Dave Needham allowed Wolves’Andy Gray to score the game’s only goal.
Also playing in the famous Old Gold shirt that day was Emlyn Hughes, recently arrived from Liverpool. In his 13 years at Anfield he had won just about every honour in the game - except the League Cup.
The 1980 FA Cup Final was also settled by a solitary goal. Arsenal must have thought their name was on the Cup after coming through a mammoth semi-final against Liverpool which went to three replays, seven hours of football in total. A Brian Talbot goal finally broke the deadlock and put the Gunners into the Final for the third year running. They faced a West Ham side that had finished 7 th in Division Two but a rare header from midfield maestro Trevor Brooking was enough to give the Hammers victory. It was a red-letter day for 17-year-old Paul AUen, the youngest player ever to appear in an FA Cup Final.
The Football League announce plans to make the game more attacking
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