Shoot

Tyne Tees Television (North East) Football Highlights 1962-83
The North East was the 2nd ITV region to begin regular football highlights which they originally showed in a 30 minute slot on Saturday nights before expanding to 55 minutes on Sunday afternoon's, but it wasn't until 1977 that the programme included the added attraction of a 2nd and 3rd match covered by the other region's - Presentation was moved from the ground to the studio that same year.

The Tyne Tees region's league teams 1962-1983
Newcastle United, Sunderland, Middlesbrough*, Darlington and Hartlepools United.
*Yorkshire Television cameras would also turn up at Ayresome Park, although by 1978 they appeared to have conceded that Middlesbrough were a Tyne Tees club. York City were paid a visit by Tyne Tees cameras in 1974 but other than that they were left to Yorkshire TV.

Tyne Tees commentators and presenters
1962 - Mid 1960's and 1970/71
The original face of Shoot, George Taylor was still presenting the programme when its' 21 year run came to and end in 1983, he had also served as the regular commentator until 1970 and continued to voice the odd match until 1973/74.
Mid 1960's - 1970*
George Bayley - originally a golf correspondent who became better known nationally as the North East football correspondent for BBC Radio's Sports Report. He also hosted Radio Newcastle's Sports coverage.
*There was also an Australian commentator working for Tyne Tees around this time.
1971 - May 1973
David Taylor - Like Gerry Harrison at Anglia, Taylor had been a runner-up in the BBC's "Find a commentator" competition in 1969, he later narrated for Granada TV's World In Action documentary series.
?August 1973? - May 1974
Jeff Thomas - apparently from the Republic of Ireland.
August 1974 - May 1979
Kenneth Wolstenholme was 54 when he joined Tyne Tees having been the voice of the BBC's televised football in the 1950's and '60's. A former RAF Bomber pilot during the 2nd World War, the Lancashire born Bolton fan joined BBC Television in 1948 and went on to describe 23 successive FA Cup finals and 5 World Cup tournaments, including England's triumphant 1966 success in which he delivered the most famous commentary soundbite of all time. His final commentary for the BBC was the 1971 European Cup Final and following his 5 year stint at Tyne Tees he went into semi-retirement before making a comeback with Channel 4 - reporting on their Italian League coverage. He died in 2002 at the age of 81.
March 1979 - May 1983
Roger Tames first joined Tyne Tees in 1976 as a reporter from the Dagenham Post, the Arsenal fan commentated on a couple of matches for Shoot towards the end of the 1978/79 season before taking over full-time from the start of 1979/80, he continued to work for the station long after the end of Shoot in 1983 - presenting the last ever local ITV sports production (Soccer Night) in May 2008.

What matches were shown
The following lists detail all the known matches recorded by Tyne Tees cameras for local highlights, the re-edits of other region's matches are not included here (see the other region's pages for those). Given dates are for when the fixture was played (not the broadcast). Blanks* denote that we don't know what game was shown (if one was shown at all). Tyne Tees sometimes showed LWT's The Big Match if their sole ob unit had been required for horse racing, winter postponements may have forced them to occasionally schedule an alternate non-football programme. Known mid-week & pre-season North East matches (not necessarily aired under the title Shoot) are included in grey, networked ITV coverage of other matches of interest are in italics.

*Do please e-mail [email protected] if you are able to fill in any blanks/missing scorers.

Season 1962/63
All Tyne Tees highlights were broadcast in 405-line black & white on VHF only throughout the 1960's.
26/Dec    Possibly Sunderland 0 Bury 1 *a clip of Brian Clough's knee injury looks like TV film
18/May   Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1 *footage exists with commentary

The region's trio of big clubs were all in the 2nd tier at the time Tyne Tees began broadcasting football highlights. Alan Brown's Sunderland missed out on promotion in 1963 due to a poorer goal average than Chelsea. Middlesbrough, who replaced manager Bob Dennison with Raich Carter in January, were one place further behind in 4th with Alan Peacock rattling in 31 goals. Newcastle, now managed by Joe Harvey, finished 7th. In the Fourth Division Darlington were 12th whilst Hartlepools finished rock bottom of the 92.

Season 1963/64
04/Sep    Newcastle United 2 (Penman, McGarry) Middlesbrough 0 *played on a Wednesday night, highlights probably broadcast the following night
18/Sep    Sunderland 1 (Crossan) Scunthorpe United 0 *another Wednesday night fixture with highlights probably shown on the Thursday
14/Nov    Sunderland v Benfica [Friendly]  *footage exists with commentary
21/Mar    Sunderland 4 (Sharkey 2, Crossan, Mulhall) Preston North End 0 *footage exists with commentary
04/Apr     Sunderland 1 (Usher) Swansea Town 0 *footage exists with commentary

Sunderland won promotion as runners-up but then came the surprise departure of manager Alan Brown, Newcastle finished 8th, Middlesbrough 10th.

Season 1964/65
??/Aug    Darlington v Carlisle United [Friendly]
??/Aug    Sunderland v Huddersfield Town [Friendly]
22/Aug    Intended match was Sunderland 3 Leicester City 3, but a problem with a new ob unit resulted in a blank tape!
24/Aug    Newcastle United 1 (Hilley) Charlton Athletic 1 (????) *played on a Monday (Bank Holiday presumably)
29/Aug
05/Sep
09/Sep    Sunderland 2 Aston Villa 2
12/Sep
19/Sep    Sunderland 1 (Sharkey) Blackburn Rovers 0 *listed in the Times, no surviving footage
21/Sep    Hartlepools United 1 Torquay United 0 *Monday night match, probably shown on Tuesday
26/Sep    Newcastle United 5 (McGarry 2, Cummings, Hilley, ???(og)) Preston North End 2 (????, ????) *Times/no footage
30/Sep    Sunderland 4 West Ham United 1 [League Cup 2nd Round]
03/Oct    Hartlepools United 1 Millwall 0 *Times/no footage
10/Oct    Newcastle United 5 (Iley, Robson 2, Anderson 2) Leyton Orient 0 *footage exists with commentary
17/Oct    Sunderland 0 Fulham 0 *Times/no footage
24/Oct    Middlesbrough 2 Norwich City 0 *Newcastle United 2 Crystal Palace 0 is listed in the Times
31/Oct    Sunderland 2 Stoke City 2 *Times/no footage
07/Nov   Newcastle United 3 (Suddick, Iley, McGarry) Rotherham United 1 (????) *Middlesbrough 4 Swansea Town 0 is listed in the Times
14/Nov   Sunderland 3 Burnley 2 *Times/no footage
21/Nov   Middlesbrough 4 Swindon Town 1 *Newcastle United 2 Derby County 2 is listed in the Times
28/Nov   Sunderland 4 (Hood, Sharkey, Herd, Mulhall) Everton 0 *Times/no footage
05/Dec    Newcastle United 3 (Hockey, Iley, Anderson) Portsmouth 0 *Middlesbrough 0 Manchester City 1 is listed in the Times
12/Dec    Newcastle United 5 Northampton Town 0 *Times/no footage
19/Dec    Sunderland 3 Chelsea 0 *Times/no footage
26/Dec
28/Dec    Newcastle United 2 (Hilley 2) Middlesbrough 1 (????) *Bank Holiday Monday fixture
02/Jan     Newcastle United 2 Huddersfield Town 1 *Times/no footage
09/Jan     *Billed as 'Cup Tie Special'
16/Jan     Sunderland 0 Arsenal 2
23/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (Hilley, Anderson) Cardiff City 0 *Middlesbrough v Preston North End is listed in the Times
30/Jan     *Billed as 'Cup Tie Special'
06/Feb
13/Feb    Middlesbrough 1 Plymouth Argyle 3*Newcastle United v Ipswich Town is listed in the Times
20/Feb
27/Feb    Newcastle United 2 Bury 3 *footage exists with commentary
06/Mar    Whitley Bay 1 Hendon 3 [Amateur Cup QF] *Sunderland v Nottingham Forest is listed in the Times
13/Mar    Middlesbrough 3 Rotherham United 5 *Newcastle United v Norwich City is listed in the Times
20/Mar    Sunderland 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 *Times/no footage
27/Mar    Whitby Town 2 Enfield 1 [Amatuer Cup SF] *at Roker Park
03/Apr     Sunderland 3 Sheffield United 1 *Times/no footage
10/Apr     Newcastle United 1 Swindon Town 0 *Times/no footage
17/Apr    No programme billed this weekend
19/Apr    Middlesbrough 2 Leyton Orient 0 *A Monday night match, Middlesbrough needing points to avoid relegation
24/Apr    Whitby Town 1 Hendon 3 [Amateur Cup Final] *at Wembley, complete show archived but was not titled "Shoot" - Middlesbrough v Charlton is listed in Times.
01/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Liverpool 2 (Hunt, St.John) Leeds United 1 (Bremner) AET

George Hardwick managed Sunderland for this one season only and the team finished 15th in their first term back in the top flight, Newcastle would be joining them next season after being crowned champions of the 2nd tier. Middlesbrough finished 17th.

Season 1965/66
There was a dispute between the Football League and the TV companies at the beginning of this season, highlights returned to BBC2 on 02/Oct and to ITV channels a week later.
14/Sep    Middlesbrough 3 Ipswich Town 2 *probably a newsreel
23/Oct     Newcastle United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 *listed in the Times, no surviving footage
30/Oct     Sunderland 3 Northampton Town 0 *Times/no footage
13/Nov    Sunderland 0 Burnley 4 *Times/no footage
20/Nov    Newcastle United 1 Leicester City 5 *Times/no footage
27/Nov    Darlington 3 Rochdale 1 *Times/no footage
04/Dec    Middlesbrough 1 Coventry City 1
18/Dec    Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 0 *First complete "Shoot" known to be archived
16/Mar    Networked Tyne Tees coverage of Football League v Scottish League [Friendly Match] *Commentator John Camkin

Newcastle were this season's highest placed local club in 15th with Sunderland, now under Ian McColl, in 19th. In the 2nd tier, struggling Middlesbrough sacked Raich Carter and replaced him with Stan Anderson but the club were still relegated to the 3rd tier for the first time in their history. There was better news from the 4th tier where Darlington were promoted as runners-up. At the age of just 30, ex Sunderland player Brian Clough was appointed manager of Hartlepools in October and they finished 18th.

Season 1966/67
25/Mar    Sunderland 0 Everton 2

Sunderland and Newcastle again did little more than survive in the top flight in 17th and 20th place respectively. Middlesbrough immediately bounced back from relegation by taking the runners-up spot in the 3rd tier and 27 of their goals were scored by John O'Rourke, but Darlington were swiftly relegated back down to the basement league. Hartlepools improved to finish 8th but at the end of the season Brian Clough left to manage Derby County.

Season 1967/68
11/May    Newcastle United 3 (Robson, Sinclair, McNamee) Manchester City 4 (Sumerbee, Young 2, Lee) *commentator was George Bayley

Newcastle managed a top half finish - 10th, Sunderland were 15th with manger Ian McColl departing in February prompting the return of Alan Brown. Back in the 2nd tier Middlesbrough finished 6th and had the division's leading scorer in John Hickton with 24 goals. Down in the 4th tier, Hartlepools United won promotion for the first time since joining the Football league in 1921 and they would now drop the 's' and 'United' from their name to become known as merely 'Hartlepool'. Darlington reached the Quarter-finals of the League Cup losing 5-4 away at Derby.

Season 1968/69
10/Aug    Newcastle United 1 (B. Robson) West Ham United 1 (Dear)
17/Aug    Sunderland 1 (Mulhall) Southampton 0
24/Aug    Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton) Carlisle United 0
31/Aug    Sunderland 1 (Suggett) Newcastle United 1 (B. Robson)
07/Sep    Sunderland 2 (Porterfield, Mulhall) Leicester City 0
14/Sep    Middlesbrough 3 (Gates 2, Hickton) Birmingham City 1 (Vincent)
21/Sep    Sunderland 0 Manchester City 4 (Lee 2, Bell, Summerbee)
28/Sep    Newcastle United 2 (McNamee, Allen) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Pearce, Mulbery)
05/Oct    Newcastle United 0 Leeds United 1 (Charlton)
12/Oct    Darlington 0 Rochdale 0
19/Oct    Middlesbrough 2 (McMordie, Downing) Fulham 0
26/Oct    Sunderland 3 (Harris 2, Mulhall) Coventry City 0
02/Nov   Newcastle United 0 Leicester City 0
09/Nov   Darlington 3 (Robson, Lawton, Gauden) Peterborough United 3 (Price 2, Hall)
16/Nov
23/Nov    Sunderland 2 (Harris, Herd) Burnley 0
30/Nov    Newcastle United 4 (Dyson, B.Robson 2, Foggon) Southampton 1 (Paine) *YTV were at Middlesbrough
07/Dec    Sunderland 3 (Palmer, Suggett, Mulhall) Chelsea 2 (Baldwin, Birchenall)
14/Dec    Intended match Middlesbrough v Sheffield United was postponed
21/Dec    Sunderland 2 (Palmer, Harris) West Ham United 1 (Hurst)
28/Dec    Showed Yorkshire TV's match *Intended match was probably postponed
04/Jan     Middlesbrough 1 (Allen) Millwall 1 (Possee) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
11/Jan     Sunderland 1 (Suggett) Everton 3 (Royle 2, Kendall)
18/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (B.Robson, Davies) Arsenal 1 (Gould)
25/Jan     Newcastle United 0 Manchester City 0 [FA Cup 4th Round]
01/Feb    Sunderland 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0
08/Feb    Showed Southern's match *Only 4 fixtures played from all divisions
15/Feb    Showed LWT's match
22/Feb    Middlesbrough 2 (Hickton(pen), Webb) Blackpool 1 (Craven)
01/Mar    Darlington 6 (O'Neill 2, Robson, Gauden 2, Hale) Workington 2 (Spencer, Trail)
08/Mar    Newcastle United 1 (Horsfield) Burnley 0 *YTV were at Middlesbrough
12/Mar    Newcastle United 5 Vitoria Setubul 1 [Fairs Cup QF 1st Leg] *George Taylor commentated on this one, Newcastle lost the 2nd leg 3-1 (won 6-4 on agg)
15/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Swindon Town 3 (Smart, Rogers 2) Arsenal 1 (Gould)
22/Mar    Newcastle United 1 (Sinclair) Sunderland 1 (Suggett)
29/Mar    Middlesbrough 0 Cardiff City 0
05/Apr    Sunderland 0 Arsenal 0
12/Apr    Middlesbrough 2 (Maddren, McMordie) Bury 3 (Kerr, Arrowsmith 2(1pen))
19/Apr    Sunderland 2 (Kerr, Tueart) Wolverhampton W. 0
26/Apr    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Manchester City 1 (Young) Leicester City 0

A memorable season for Newcastle who won the Fairs Cup (now known as the UEFA Cup) - The European adventure began with a 4-0 home leg win v Feyenoord, then Sporting Lisbon and Real Zaragoza were overcome in the 2nd & 3rd rounds before Vitoria Setabul were beaten in the Quarter-finals, Newcastle were paired up with Glasgow Rangers in the Semi-finals, United came away from Ibrox with a 0-0 draw and the home leg was won 2-0 to set up a 2 leg final with Ujpest Dozsa, a 3-0 win in the 1st leg at St.James Park was as convincing as could be hoped for and Newcastle went on to win 6-2 on aggregate. In the league, Newcastle finished 9th with 21 goals from by Bryan Robson, Sunderland were 17th. 2nd tier Middlesbrough finished 4th. 3rd tier Hartlepool were relegated after one season. 4th tier Darlington finished 5th.

Season 1969/70
Many ITV regions began transmitting in colour from November, but all of this season's editions of "Shoot" continued to be broadcast in 405-line black & white on VHF only.
09/Aug    Sunderland 0 Coventry City 0
16/Aug    *Yorkshire TV were at Middlesbrough 2 Leicester 1, Tyne Tees may have showed this
23/Aug
30/Aug    Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton) Aston Villa 0
06/Sep    Sunderland 2 (Tueart, Kerr) West. Bromwich Albion 2 (Suggett, Brown)
13/Sep    Newcastle United 0 Derby County 1 (McFarland)
20/Sep    Hartlepools United 0 Colchester United 0
27/Sep    Newcastle United 1 (Robson) Wolverhampton W. 1 (McCallion)
04/Oct
11/Oct    Newcastle United 1 (Foggan) Liverpool 0
18/Oct    Sunderland 1 (Hughes) Arsenal 1 (Sammels)
25/Oct    Newcastle United 0 Chelsea 1 (Osgood)
01/Nov
08/Nov   Newcastle United 3 (Dyson 2, Davies) Sunderland 0
15/Nov
22/Nov
29/Nov   Intended match Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion was postponed
06/Dec    Sunderland 2 (Harris, Park) Ipswich Town 1 (Viljoen)
13/Dec
20/Dec    Intended match Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers was postponed
27/Dec    Sunderland 1 (Balcer) Manchester United 1 (Kidd)
03/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round]
10/Jan     Intended match Newcastle United v Southampton was postponed
17/Jan     Sunderland 2 (Harris(pen), Hughes) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Morgan)
24/Jan     Middlesbrough 4 (McMardie, Smith, Hickton(pen), Laidlaw) York City 1 (Boyer) [FA Cup 4th Round]
31/Jan     Newcastle United 0 Crystal Palace 0
07/Feb    Carlisle United 1 (Winstanley) Middlesbrough 2 (Hickton, Downing) [FA Cup 5th Round]
14/Feb
21/Feb    Probably showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton) Manchester United 1 (Sutton) [FA Cup QF]
28/Feb    Newcastle United 1 (McNamee) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Pearce Chivers)
07/Mar    Networked ATV coverage of the League Cup Final - W.B.A. 1 (Astle) Man City 2 (Doyle Pardoe)
14/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of Chelsea 5 (Webb, Houseman 2, Osgood, Hutchinson) Watford 1 (Garbett) [FA Cup SF]
21/Mar
28/Mar
04/Apr
11/Apr    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Chelsea 2 (Houseman, Hutchinson) Leeds United 2 (Charlton, Jones) AET
29/Apr    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final Replay - Chelsea 2 (Osgood, Webb) Leeds United 1 (Jones) [Old Trafford] AET

Newcastle finished 7th and defended their Fairs Cup title all the way to the Quarter-finals - Dundee United, Porto and Southampton were overcome before they lost out to Anderlecht on away goals. Sunderland were relegated from the top flight in 21st place. In the 2nd tier Middlesbrough again finished 4th and John Hickton returned to the top of the division's scoring charts with 24, 'Boro also reached the FA Cup Quarter-finals, going out to Manchester United in a replay at Old Trafford. In the 4th tier both Darlington and Hartlepool had to apply for re-election.

Season 1970/71
Tyne Tees began broadcasting in colour on 17th July 1970, "Shoot" would probably have been in colour from early this season.
15/Aug    Newcastle United 3 (Smith, Foggon, Gibb) Wolverhampton W. 2 (Dougan, Curran) *black & white
22/Aug    Sunderland 3 (Park, Hughes, Kerr) Watford 3 (Walley, Wigg, Lees)
29/Aug
05/Sep    Showed Yorkshire's match
12/Sep    Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 0
19/Sep    Showed YTV coverage of Sheffield United 1 (Dearden) Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton)
26/Sep    Newcastle United 0 Coventry City 0
03/Oct    Sunderland 4 (Porterfield, Harris, Park, Baker) Bolton Wanderers 1 (Fletcher)
10/Oct    Newcastle United 1 (Robson) Arsenal 1 (Graham)
17/Oct    Carlisle United 1 (Owen) Middlesbrough 0
24/Oct    Darlington 0 Northampton Town 0
31/Oct    Showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 2 (Laidlaw, Downing) Watford 2 (Scullion 2) *in black & white due to a technicians 'colour strike'.
07/Nov   Showed Southern coverage of Southampton 2 (Channon, Gabriel) Newcastle United 0
14/Nov   Showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 3 (Hickton, Downing, McIlmoyle) Charlton Athletic 0 *in black & white due to a technicians 'colour strike'.
21/Nov   Sunderland 0 Sheffield United 0 *black & white due to a technicians 'colour strike'.
28/Nov   Showed Grananda coverage of Blackburn Rovers 0 Sunderland 1 (Kerr) *black & white.
05/Dec   Hartlepool 0 Lincoln City 0 *black & white.
12/Dec   Newcastle United 2 (Robson, Dyson) Huddersfield Town 0 *black & white.
19/Dec   Showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton) Hull City 0 *black & white.
26/Dec   Showed YTV coverage of Leeds United 3 (Giles, Epens, Clarke) Newcastle United 0 *black & white.
02/Jan    [FA Cup 3rd Round] *black & white.
09/Jan    Newcastle United 0 Stoke City 2 (Greenhoff, Burrows) *black & white.
16/Jan    Sunderland 2 (Watson, Hughes) Carlisle United 0 *black & white.
23/Jan    Showed LWT's FA Cup 4th Round match *black & white.
30/Jan
06/Feb   Newcastle United 0 Chelsea 1 (Hudson) *black & white.
13/Feb   [FA Cup 5th Round]
20/Feb   Showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton) Sheffield Wednesday 0 *Technicians strike ended, now back in colour
27/Feb   Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Chivers 2) Aston Villa 0
06/Mar   FA Cup QF's
13/Mar   Sunderland 0 Portsmouth 0
20/Mar   Showed Yorkshire's match
27/Mar   Networked LWT coverage of Stoke City 2 (Smith, Ritchie) Arsenal 2 (Storey 2(1pen)) [FA Cup SF]
03/Apr    Showed Yorkshire's match
10/Apr    Newcastle United 1 (Tudor) Leeds United 1 (Lorimer)
17/Apr    Sunderland  0 Leicester City 0
24/Apr    Newcastle United 1 (Tudor) West Ham United 1 (Hurst) *YTV were at Middlesbrough
01/May
08/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Arsenal 2 (Kelly, George) Liverpool 1 (Heighway) AET

Newcastle had again qualified for the Fairs Cup and they knocked out Inter Milan in the opening round, but then suffered a 2nd round exit in a penalty shoot out to Pecs Dozsa. In the league the Magpies finished 12th. In the 2nd tier Middlesbrough finished 7th and with 25 goals John Hickton was the division's top scorer for the third time, Sunderland finished 13th. Down in the 4th tier Darlington were 12th, Hartlepool again had to apply for re-election in 23rd.

Season 1971/72
14/Aug    Sunderland 1 (Watson) Birmingham City 1 (Bowker)
21/Aug    Newcastle United 3 (Macdonald 3(1pen)) Liverpool 2 (Hughes, Keegan)
28/Aug    ??? Sunderland 2 Orient 0 ???
04/Sep    ??? Newcastle 2 West Ham 2 ???
11/Sep    ??? Sunderland 1 Swindon 0 ???
18/Sep    ??? Newcastle 2 Wolves 0 ???
25/Sep    ??? Sunderland 4 Preston 3 ???
02/Oct    Newcastle United 0 Derby County 1 (Hinton)
09/Oct    ??? Sunderland 1 Norwich 1 ???
16/Oct    ??? Newcastle 1 Crystal Palace 2 ???
23/Oct    Newcastle United 0 Manchester United 1 (Best)
30/Oct    ??? Sunderland 2 Luton 2 ???
06/Nov    ??? Newcastle 3 Southampton 1 ???
13/Nov   ??? Sunderland 0 Blackpool 0 ???
20/Nov    Newcastle United 2 (Macdonald 2) Nottingham Forest 1 (Cormack)
27/Nov    ??? Sunderland 1 Bristol City 1 ???
04/Dec    ??? Newcastle 0 Chelsea 0 ???
11/Dec    ??? Sunderland 2 Fulham 1 ???
18/Dec    Sunderland 3 (Pitt, Hughes, Kerr) Millwall 3 (Bolland, Smethurst, Possee)
01/Jan     Sunderland 1 (Kerr) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Stuart)
08/Jan    ??? Newcastle 4 Coventry 2 ???
15/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round] ??? Sunderland 3 Sheffield Wed 0 ???
22/Jan     Middlesbrough 2 (Hickton 2) Sunderland 0
29/Jan     ??? Sunderland 3 Charlton 0 ???
05/Feb    [FA Cup 4th Round]
12/Feb    Sunderland 3 (Tueart 2, Porterfield) Oxford United 0
19/Feb    ??? Newcastle 0 Everton 0 ???
26/Feb    [FA Cup 5th Round]
04/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Stoke City 2 (Conroy, Eastham) Chelsea 1 (Osgood)
11/Mar    BBC at Newcastle
18/Mar    [FA Cup QF]
25/Mar    BBC at Newcastle
01/Apr    Sunderland 0 Hull City 1 (Wagstaff)
08/Apr    ??? Sunderland 1 Cardiff City 1 ???
15/Apr    Networked coverage of Stoke City 1 (Simpson(og)) Arsenal 1 (Armstrong) [FA Cup Semi-Final]
22/Apr    ??? Sunderland 0 QPR 1 ???
29/Apr
06/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Leeds 1 (Clarke) Arsenal 0

Newcastle ended the season in 11th with their new £180,000 superstar striker Malcom Macdonald chipping in with 23 goals. In the 2nd tier Sunderland finished 5th, Middlesbrough 9th. In the 4th Hartlepool, now managed by Len Ashurst, slightly improved to finish 18th above Darlington in 19th.

Season 1972/73
12/Aug    Probably showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 2 (Smith 2) Sunderland 1 (Latham)
19/Aug    ??? Sunderland 1 Orient 0 ???
26/Aug    ??? Newcastle 1 Ipswich 2 ???
02/Sep    Sunderland 3 (Tueart, Lathan, Kerr) Swindon Town 2 (Treacy, Rogers)
09/Sep    Newcastle United 2 (MacDonald, Craig) Arsenal 1 (Kennedy)
16/Sep    ??? Sunderland 1 Sheffield Wed. 1 ???
23/Sep    Middlesbrough 1 (Mills) Hull City 0
30/Sep    Sunderland 4 (Lathan 2, Porterfield, W.Hughes) Nottingham Forest 1 (Richardson)
07/Oct    ??? Newcastle 3 Norwich 1 ???
14/Oct    Sunderland 0 Luton Town 2 (Halom, Jim Ryan)
21/Oct    ??? Newcastle 2 Man United 1 ???
28/Oct    ??? Sunderland 0 Fulham 0 ???
04/Nov    Sunderland 2 (W.Hughes, Kerr) Aston Villa 2 (B.Rioch, Little)
11/Nov    Newcastle United 3 (Gibb, Howard, Macdonald) Birmingham City 0
18/Nov   ??? Sunderland  1 Hull City 1 ???
25/Nov    ??? Middlesbrough 0 Swindon 2 ???
02/Dec    Sunderland 0 Burnley 1 (Fletcher)
09/Dec    ??? Newcastle 0 Southampton 0 ???
16/Dec    ??? Sunderland  0 Preston North End 0 ???
23/Dec    ??? Newcastle 2 Man City 1 ???
30/Dec    Newcastle United 4 (Tudor, Nattrass, Macdonald, Craig) Sheffield United 1 (Dearden)
06/Jan     Sunderland 4 (W.Hughes, Tueart, Bolton) Brighton & Hove Albion 0
13/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (Macdonald, Nattrass) Bournemouth 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round]
20/Jan     ??? Newcastle 2 Crystal Palace 0 ???
27/Jan     Sunderland 2 (Tueart, Kerr) Millwall 0
03/Feb    Sunderland 1 (Tueart) Reading 1 (Chappell) [FA Cup 4th Round]
10/Feb    May have showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 2 (Hickton, Boam) Bristol City 1 (Emanuel) ??? Newcastle 1 Coventry 1 ???
17/Feb    ??? Sunderland 4 Middlesbrough 0 ???
24/Feb    Probably showed Granada coverage of Man City 2 (Towers, Montgomery(og)) Sunderland 2 (Horswill, Hughes) [FA Cup 5th Round]
28/Feb    Sunderland 3 (Hallam, Hughes 2) Manchester City 1 (Lee) [FA Cup 5th Round Replay] *Tape is b&w
03/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Spurs 1 (Coates) Norwich City 0
10/Mar    ??? Newcastle 1 Stoke City 0 ???
17/Mar    Probably showed other region's FA Cup QF's *BBC covered Sunderland 2 Luton 0
24/Mar    ??? Newcastle 1 Chelsea 1 ???
31/Mar    ??? Sunderland 2 Bristol City 2 ???
07/Apr    Networked LWT coverage of Sunderland 2 (Halom, Hughes) Arsenal 1 (George) [FA Cup SF] *Played at Hillsborough
14/Apr    Hartlepool 1 (Honour) Barnsley 4 (Butler 3, O'Connor)
21/Apr    BBC at Newcastle ??? Middlesbrough 3 Sheffield Wednesday 0 ???
28/Apr    ??? Sunderland 1 Blackpool 0 ???
05/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Sunderland 1 (Porterfield) Leeds United 0

After sacking Alan Brown in November and replacing him with Bob Stokoe, 1973 turned out to be a legendary year in the history of Sunderland - In one the greatest FA Cup final upsets of all time, the 2nd tier club (who finished 6th) beat the mighty whites of Leeds United 1-0 thanks to a 32nd minute goal by Ian Porterfield and a miraculous double save by Jim Montgomery, it was undoubtedly one of British football's major highlights of the 1970's and the first time a non-top flight club had won the FA Cup for 42 years. Newcastle also lifted silverware in the form of the Anglo-Italian Trophy by beating Fiorentina 2-1 in Florence, the Magpies had finished 9th in the league. In the 2nd tier Middlesbrough finished 4th having changed manager in January, Harold Sheperdson took charge until the end of the season following Stan Anderson's resignation. It was another poor season for the region's 4th tier clubs with Hartlepool 20th and Darlington rock bottom of the entire Football league.

Season 1973/74
25/Aug
01/Sep    Newcastle United 1 (McDermott) Arsenal 1 (George)
08/Sep    Sunderland 1 (Guthrie) Cardiff City 1 (Vincent)
15/Sep
22/Sep
29/Sep    Newcastle United 2 (Tudor 2) Queens Park Rangers 3 (Thomas, Francis, Leach)
06/Oct    Sunderland 3 (Hughes, Porterfield, Halom) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Coyle)
13/Oct
20/Oct    Newcastle United 2 (Macdonald 2(1pen)) Chelsea 0
27/Oct
03/Nov   Middlesbrough 2 (Foggon, Armstrong) Luton Town 1 (Butlin)
10/Nov
17/Nov   Newcastle United 3 (Cassidy 2, Hope) Manchester United 2 (Macari, Graham)
24/Nov
01/Dec
08/Dec
15/Dec     Middlesbrough 1 (Boam) Nottingham Forest 0
22/Dec
29/Dec
05/Jan      Newcastle United 1 (Howard) Hendon 1 (Haider) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
12/Jan
19/Jan
26/Jan      Newcastle United 1 (McDermott) Scunthorpe United 1 (Keeley) [FA Cup 4th Round]
02/Feb     Sunderland 4 (Halom 2, Hughes 2) Millwall 0
09/Feb     Newcastle United 5 (Craven(og), Bruce, Dugdale(og), Tudor, Macdonald) Coventry City 1 (Alderson)
16/Feb     [FA Cup 5th Round]
23/Feb
02/Mar     Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Wolves 2 (Hibbitt, Richards) Manchester City 1 (Bell)
09/Mar     Newcastle United 4 (Craig, McDermott(pen), Tudor, Moncur) Nottingham Forest 3 (Bowyer, O'Kane, Lyall) [FA Cup QF]
16/Mar     Sunderland 1 (Longhorn) Fulham 0
23/Mar
30/Mar     Networked coverage of Newcastle United 2 (Macdonald 2) Burnley 0 [FA Cup SF] *at Hillsborough
06/Apr     Middlesbrough 4 (Hickton, Needham(og), Armstrong, Foggon) Notts County 0
13/Apr
20/Apr     Newcastle United 1 (Robson) Birmingham City 1 (Francis)
27/Apr     Possibly showed Yorkshire coverage of York City 1 (Jones) Oldham Athletic 1 (Whittle)
01/May    "Charlton's Champions" (A Wednesday night Tyne Tees Special programme celebrating Middlesbrough's promotion)
04/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 3 (Keegan 2, Heighway)

Newcastle were no-doubt doubly determined to make an impression in the FA Cup this season following their neighbours success the previous year, United had won the cup three times during the 1950's but it had now been over 12 years since they had even reached the last eight. 1974 almost proved to be Newcastle's year in a run which included an extraordinary Quarter-final tie v Nottingham Forest which Newcastle won 4-3, but only after a pitch invasion had interrupted play when United went 3-1 down to a hotly contested penalty which resulted in Pat Howard being sent off. Despite Newcastle playing on with 10 men the FA decided that the pitch invasion had influenced the result and the match had to be replayed, the re-match at a neutral venue was drawn before Newcastle went through at the 3rd attempt and went on to beat Burnley in the Semi-final, but at Wembley they came up against a Liverpool side in dazzling form and in a one sided final Newcastle were soundly beaten 3-0. In the league, Newcastle finished 15th. England World Cup 1966 hero Jack Charlton was the new manager of 2nd tier Middlesbrough and he guided them to a Championship winning campaign. Sunderland were 6th but only two points short of a promotion place, the Rokerites cup success of the previous season had also earned them a place in Europe to compete in the Cup-winners Cup, they overcame Vasas Budapest in the opening round and then beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 at Roker Park but lost the 2nd leg 2-0. It was now three up/three down between the top three divisions and fringe Tyne Tees club York City were one of those benefiting from the new rule as they claimed promotion by finishing 3rd in the Third tier. In the Fourth Division Hartlepool finished 11th (manager Len Ashurst was then tempted away to manage elsewhere), Darlington were 20th.

Season 1974/75
17/Aug
24/Aug    Middlesbrough 1 (Mills) Luton Town 1 (Butlin) *Ken Wolstenholme now commentating for Tyne Tees
31/Aug    Newcastle United 2 (Tudor, Macdonald) West Ham United 0
07/Sep    Middlesbrough 1 (Maddren) Chelsea 1 (Hutchinson)
14/Sep    Newcastle United 1 (Tudor) Carlisle United 0
21/Sep    Sunderland 0 Bolton Wanderers 0
28/Sep
05/Oct    Sunderland 2 (Robson 2) Oxford United 0
12/Oct    York City 3 (Seal 2, Hinch) Bristol Rovers 0 *One source says Darlington 0 Barnsley 0
19/Oct    Middlesbrough 4 (Souness 2, Mills, Foggon) Coventry City 4 (Stein, Cross, Holmes 2)
26/Oct
02/Nov   Hartlepool 3 (Gauden 2, Dawes) Workington 0
09/Nov
12/Nov   Hartlepool 1 (Moore) Aston Villa 1 (Aitken) [League Cup 4th Round] *Probably Gerald Sinstadt commentating, Villa won replay 6-1
16/Nov   Newcastle United 5 (Cannell, Macdonald 2, Kennedy, Barrowclough) Chelsea 0
23/Nov
30/Nov    Newcastle United 2 (Macdonald, Howard) Manchester City 1 (Marsh)
04/Dec    Probably showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 0 Manchester United 0 [League Cup QF] *'Boro lost replay 3-0
07/Dec    Sunderland 4 (Halom, Hughes(og), Malone, Robson) Portsmouth 1 (Mellows)
11/Dec    Newcastle United 3 (Tudor, Bruce, Cannell) Southampton 0 AET [Texaco Cup Final 2nd Leg] *4-2 on agg, Gerald Sinstadt commentated
14/Dec    Middlesbrough 3 (Foggon, Hickton, Page) Birmingham City 0
21/Dec    Newcastle United 3 (Tudor, Kennedy, Howard) Leeds United 0
28/Dec
04/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round]
11/Jan
18/Jan
25/Jan     [FA Cup 4th Round]
01/Feb    Newcastle United 2 (Macdonald, Burns) Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton)
08/Feb    Sunderland 3 (Towers(pen), Morgan(og), Robson) Cardiff City 1 (Anderson)
15/Feb    [FA Cup 5th Round]
22/Feb
01/Mar   Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Aston Villa 1 (Graydon) Norwich City 0
08/Mar
15/Mar    Possibly showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 3 (Hickton, Souness 2) Tottenham Hotspur 0
22/Mar
29/Mar    Middlesbrough 2 (Murdoch, Foggon) Burnley 0
05/Apr    Probably LWT coverage of Fulham 1 (Mitchell) Birmingham City 1 (Gallagher) [FA Cup SF]
12/Apr    Darlington 2 (Cattrell, Sinclair) Mansfield Town 1 (Clarke)
19/Apr    Sunderland 3 (Bolton, Robson, Belfitt) Bristol City 0
26/Apr
03/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - West Ham United 2 (A.Taylor 2) Fulham 0

Back in the top flight, Middlesbrough finished a creditable 7th and threatened to make it a successive hat-trick of North East clubs reaching the FA Cup final, but 'Boro lost 1-0 at Birmingham in the Quarter-finals, they also reached the last eight of the League Cup - only to be knocked out by Manchester United in an Old Trafford replay. Newcastle finished 15th, won the Texaco (Anglo-Scottish-Irish) Cup and Malcom Macdonald was the top flight's leading scorer with 21 goals, but under pressure from fans the club then decided to move Joe Harvey 'upstairs' after managing the team for 13 years. In the 2nd tier there was yet another near-miss for Sunderland in 4th - again just two points short of a promotion place, York City were 15th. In the 4th tier, Hartlepool were 13th, Darlington 21st.

Season 1975/76
09/Aug    Newcastle United 2 (Hibbitt, Gowling) Middlesbrough 2 (Willey, Armstrong) [Anglo-Scottish Cup]
16/Aug
23/Aug
30/Aug    Sunderland 2 (Towers 2) Blackpool 0
06/Sep    Middlesbrough 3 (Hickton, Mills 2) Stoke City 0
13/Sep    Sunderland 2 (Halom, Hughes) West Bromwich Albion 0
20/Sep    Middlesbrough 0 Queens Park Rangers 0
27/Sep    Sunderland 4 (Robson 2, Kerr, Halom) Notts County 0
04/Oct    Newcastle United 2 (Tudor, Barrowclough) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Pratt, Duncan)
11/Oct    Sunderland 3 (Towers(pen), Hughes, Robson) Orient 1 (Queen)
18/Oct    Newcastle United 5 (Macdonald 2, Gowling 2, Jones(og)) Norwich City 2 (McGuire, Macdougal) *YTV at Middlesbrough
25/Oct    Hartlepool 1 (Smith) Barnsley 0
01/Nov   Newcastle United 2 (Gowling, Nattrass) Arsenal 0
08/Nov   Possibly showed YTV coverage of Leeds United 3 (McKenzie 2, Yorath) Newcastle United 0
15/Nov   Middlesbrough 0 Leeds United 0
22/Nov
29/Nov   Sunderland 2 (Robson 2) Oldham Athletic 0
06/Dec    Newcastle United 4 (D.Craig, T.Craig 2(1pen), Burns) Coventry City 0
13/Dec    Sunderland 1 (Porterfield) Oxford United 0
20/Dec    Middlesbrough 1 (Hickton) Tottenham Hotspur 0
27/Dec
03/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round]
10/Jan     Newcastle United 5 (Gowling 3, Nattrass, Nulty) Everton 0
17/Jan
24/Jan     [FA Cup 4th Round]
31/Jan     Middlesbrough 3 (Mills, Keeley(og), Maddron) Newcastle United 3 (Gowling, Kennedy, Nattrass)
07/Feb    Newcastle United 4 (Todd(og), Nulty, T.Craig, Macdonald) Derby County 3 (Powell, George, Rioch)
14/Feb    Stoke City 0 Sunderland 0 [FA Cup 5th Round] *Tyne Tees cameras outside the region, ATV at Leicester
21/Feb    Possibly showed YTV coverage of Leeds United 0 Middlesbrough 2 (Hickton 2)
28/Feb    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Newcastle United 1 (Gowling) Manchester City 2 (Barnes, Tueart)
06/Mar    Sunderland 0 Crystal Palace 1 (Whittle) [FA Cup QF]
13/Mar    Middlesbrough 0 Leicester City 1 (Boam(og))
20/Mar
27/Mar
03/Apr     Showed networked coverage of Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 2 (Gilchrist, Peach(pen)) [FA Cup SF]
10/Apr     Darlington 2 (Sinclair 2(1pen)) Tranmere Rovers 0
17/Apr
24/Apr     Sunderland 2 (Bolton, Hughes) Portsmouth 0
01/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Southampton 1 (Stokes) Manchester United 0

Middlesbrough were again pride of the North East in 13th and there was very nearly an all North East League Cup final as 'Boro went one better than last season by reaching the Semi-finals, but they crashed 4-0 at Manchester City after taking a 1-0 lead in the 1st leg. Newcastle had appointed Gordon Lee as manager in the summer but yet again finished 15th for the third successive season, a degree of success came in the cups as Newcastle returned to Wembley in the League Cup final - Struck by a flu epidemic days before the match they lost 2-1, the Magpies were also among the last eight in the FA Cup (losing to Derby) alongside 2nd tier Sunderland who lost out to 3rd tier Crystal Palace, but Sunderland finally went on to win promotion to the top flight as champions, York City however were relegated in 21st. Down in the 4th tier it was pretty much business as usual with Hartlepool finishing 14th and Darlington 20th.

Season 1976/77
14/Aug    Newcastle United 3 Middlesbrough 0 [Anglo-Scottish Cup]
21/Aug    Newcastle United 2 (Hudson, Craig(pen)) Derby County 2 (Nish, George)
28/Aug
04/Sep
11/Sep    Middlesbrough 2 (Willey 2) Sunderland 1 (Greenwood)
18/Sep    Sunderland 0 Manchester City 2 (Tueart, Royle)
25/Sep
02/Oct    Darlington 2 (Rowles, Lyons) Aldershot 1 (Wooler)
09/Oct    Middlesbrough 1 (Souness) Norwich City 0
16/Oct    Sunderland 0 Aston Villa 1 (Cropley)
23/Oct
30/Oct    Newcastle United 1 (Cannell) Stoke City 0 *Yorkshire TV showed Middlesbrough 0 Leicester City 1
06/Nov   Sunderland 0 Liverpool 1 (Fairclough)
13/Nov
20/Nov
24/Nov   Newcastle United 4 (Craig, Gowling 2, Cannell) Everton 1 (Lyons)
27/Nov   Newcastle United 2 (Cannell, Burns) Queens Park Rangers 0
04/Dec
11/Dec    Abandoned match - Newcastle United 1 (Barrowclough) Ipswich Town 0 *abandoned after 32 minutes
18/Dec    Sunderland 0 Norwich City 1 (Busby)
01/Jan
08/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round]
15/Jan     Middlesbrough 2 (George(og), Mills) Derby County 0
22/Jan     Sunderland 0 Stoke City 0
29/Jan     [FA Cup 4th Round]
05/Feb    Middlesbrough 2 (Mills 2) Tottenham Hotspur 0 *possibly YTV coverage
12/Feb
19/Feb
26/Feb    Showed YTV coverage of Middlesbrough 4 (Mills 3, Armstrong) Arsenal 1 (MacDonald) [FA Cup 5th Round]
05/Mar    Sunderland 6 (Holden 2, Rowell 2, Kerr, Lee) West Ham United 0
12/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Aston Villa 0 Everton 0
19/Mar    Showed other region's FA Cup QF's
26/Mar
02/Apr    Sunderland 1 (Lee) Queens Park Rangers 0
09/Apr    Possibly showed YTV coverage of Leeds United 1 (Cherry) Sunderland 1 (Lee)
16/Apr    Newcastle United 3 (Gowling, Cannell, Nulty) West Ham United 0
23/Apr    Sunderland 1 (Towers(pen)) Derby County 1 (Powell)
30/Apr
07/May   Sunderland 1 (Holden) Birmingham City 0
14/May
21/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Manchester United 2 (Pearson, J.Greenhoff) Liverpool 1 (Case)

Tyne Tees TV now had three clubs to cover in the top flight for the first time, but it didn't last long as Sunderland could only manage one season among the elite by finishing 1 point short of safety, Bob Stokoe had left the winless club in October and Ian MacFarlane took over before Jimmy Adamson was appointed in December. There were further managerial changes at the region's other top clubs - With Malcom Macdonald sold to Arsenal pre-season, Newcastle's Gordon Lee left for Everton in January, player power then ensured first team coach Richard Dinnis was handed the job and United went on to finish 5th - their highest finish for 26 years! Middlesbrough were 12th and again reached the FA Cup QFs (knocked out by Liverpool at Anfield) but Jack Charlton resigned towards the end of the campaign in the hope of landing the England job, 'Boro replaced him with John Neal. York City suffered a successive relegation to the basement division where Darlington finished 11th and Hartlepool 22nd.

Season 1977/78
20/Aug    Newcastle United 3 (Burns 2, Kennedy) Leeds 2 (Hankin, Lorimer)
27/Aug    Middlesbrough 2 (Armstrong 2) Newcastle United 0
31/Aug    Newcastle United 0 Millwall 2 (Seasman, Pearson) [League Cup 2nd Round]
03/Sep    Newcastle United 2 (Burns, Cassidy) West Ham United 3 (Jennings, A.Taylor, B.Robson)
10/Sep    Middlesbrough 1 (Ashcroft) Birmingham City 2 (Francis 2)
17/Sep    Sunderland 0 Bolton Wanderers 2 (Whatmore, Reid)
24/Sep    Newcastle United 1 (Gowling) Coventry City 2 (Wallace 2)
01/Oct    Sunderland 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 2 (Piper, Ward)
08/Oct    Middlesbrough 2 (Mills, Ashcroft) Manchester United 1 (Coppell)
15/Oct    Darlington 2 (Maitland, Rowles) Huddersfield Town 2 (Baines, Johnson)
22/Oct    Newcastle United 1 (Burns) Chelsea 0 *Yorkshire TV covered Middlesbrough 2 Leeds 1
29/Oct    Sunderland 3 (Elliott, Ashurst, Lee) Oldham Athletic 1 (Taylor)
                    *First 30 minute edition of the Tyne Tees series "Skilful Soccer - With Jack Charlton" was also broadcast on this date.
05/Nov   Middlesbrough 1 (Hedley) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Busby)
12/Nov   Sunderland 5 (Arnott, Greenwood, Henderson, Elliott, Lee) Bristol Rovers 1 (Staniforth)
19/Nov   Middlesbrough 0 Wolverhampton W. 0
26/Nov   Sunderland 1 (Bolton) Luton Town 1 (R.Futcher)
03/Dec    Newcastle United 2 (Burns, Nattrass) Leicester City 0
10/Dec
17/Dec    Middlesbrough 1 (Hedley) Aston Villa 0
24/Dec    No fixtures played
31/Dec    Newcastle United 0 Liverpool 2 (Thompson, Dalglish)
07/Jan     Middlesbrough 3 (Mills 2, McAndrew) Coventry City 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round]
14/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (Cassidy, McGhee) Middlesbrough 4 (Boam, Ashcroft 2, Cummins)
21/Jan     Sunderland 5 (Kerr, Rowell 2(1pen), Rostron, Elliott) Sheffield United 1 (Campbell)
28/Jan     Middlesbrough 3 (Mahoney, Mills 2) Everton 2 (Telfer, Lyons) [FA Cup 4th Round]
04/Feb
11/Feb
18/Feb    Probably showed other region's FA Cup 5th Round games
25/Feb    Middlesbrough 3 (Mills, Craggs, Mahoney) Derby County 1 (Daly)
04/Mar    Sunderland 0 Southampton 0
11/Mar    Middlesbrough 0 Orient 0 [FA Cup QF]
18/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Nottingham Forest 0 Liverpool 0 AET
25/Mar
01/Apr    Sunderland 2 (Docherty, Lee) Fulham 2 (Margerrison, Mitchell)
08/Apr    Middlesbrough 2 (Ramage, Cummins) Bristol City 0
15/Apr    Sunderland 3 (Rostron, Kerr, Lee) Notts County 1 (Sims)
22/Apr    Hartlepool United 1 (Houchen) Newport County 1 (Goddard)
29/Apr
06/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Ipswich Town 1 (Osborne) Arsenal 0

Middlesbrough finished 14th and yet again reached the FA Cup Quarter-finals only to suffer a frustrating exit to 2nd tier Orient, Newcastle were back in Europe but only for a 2nd round UEFA Cup exit to Bastia, and there was to be no repeat of the league form which had got them there - Richard Dinnis was sacked on 9th November and replaced by Bill McGarry but an appalling season saw them relegated in 21st. In the 2nd tier Sunderland finished 6th whilst in the basement division Hartlepool finished 21st having to apply for re-election along with York City. Darlington were only slightly better off in 19th.

Season 1978/79
19/Aug    Sunderland 1 (Rowell) Charlton Athletic 0
26/Aug
02/Sep
09/Sep    Newcastle United 3 (Withe 2, McGhee) Blackburn Rovers 1 (Gregory)
16/Sep    Sunderland 1 (Brown) Fulham 1 (Margerrison(pen))
23/Sep    Hartlepool United 3 (Houchen, Newton(pen), Goldthorpe) Halifax Town 1 (Lawson)
30/Sep    Middlesbrough 2 (Ashcroft, Mills) Arsenal 3 (O'Leary, Price, Walford)
07/Oct
14/Oct    Sunderland 1 (Greenwood) Newcastle United 1 (Withe)
21/Oct    Middlesbrough 2 (Burns, Armstrong) Wolverhampton W. 0
28/Oct    Newcastle United 3 (Connolly, Withe, Robinson) Cardiff City 0
04/Nov   Sunderland 0 Stoke City 1 (O'Callaghan)
11/Nov
18/Nov   Middlesbrough 2 (Burns, Mills) Southampton 0
25/Nov   Newcastle United 1 (McGhee) Oldham Athletic 1 (Valentine)
02/Dec    Sunderland 5 (Entwistle 3, Lee, Rowell) Bristol Rovers 0
09/Dec
16/Dec    Middlesbrough 7 (Proctor, Burns 4, Armstrong, Cochrane) Chelsea 2 (Osgood, Bumstead)
23/Dec    Possibly no programme due to an industrial strike
30/Dec    Possibly no programme due to an industrial strike
06/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round]
13/Jan
20/Jan     Intended match was probably postponed
27/Jan     Newcastle United 1 (Withe) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Hibbitt) [FA Cup 4th Round]
03/Feb    Middlesbrough 1 (Proctor) Nottingham Forest 3 (Birtles 2, Robertson(pen))
10/Feb
17/Feb    Bad weather *only 5 fixtures from all divisions played
24/Feb    Newcastle United 1 (Connolly) Sunderland (Rowell 3(1pen), Entwistle)
03/Mar    Newcastle United 5 (Shoulder 2(1pen), Martin, Mitchell, Connolly) Charlton Athletic 3 (Gritt, Shipperley, Robinson) *Roger Tames commentated
10/Mar    Sunderland 3 (Rowell(pen), Bolton, Rostron) Oldham Atheltic 0 *Ken Wolstenholme commentated
17/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Nottingham Forest 3 (Birtles 2, Woodcock) Southampton 2 (Peach, Holmes)
24/Mar    Middlesbrough 2 (Burns, Ashcroft) Birmingham City 1 (Givens) *Ken Wolstenholme commentated
31/Mar    Probably networked coverage of Manchester United 2 Liverpool 2 [FA Cup Semi Final]
07/Apr     Darlington 1 (Peachey) Newport County 0 *Roger Tames commentated
14/Apr
21/Apr
28/Apr    Sunderland 1 (Ashurst) Cardiff City 2 (Moore, Bishop) *Ken Wolstenholme commentated
05/May   Newcastle United 1 (Shoulder) Brighton & Hove Albion 3 (Horton, Ward, Ryan) *Ken Wolstenholme's last commentary for Tyne Tees
12/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Arsenal 3 (Talbot, Stapleton, Sunderland) Man Utd 2 (McQueen, McIlroy)

Another mid-table finish for the region's sole top flight club Middlesbrough in 12th. In the 2nd tier, Sunderland manager Jimmy Adamson had left for Leeds in August, David Merrington and then Billy Elliot took charge only to see Sunderland repeat their 70's habit of just missing out on promotion, this time in 4th - two points behind the champions, Gary Rowell netted 21 goals. Newcastle adapted to life in the 2nd tier by finishing 8th and there were predictable bottom half finishes in the 4th tier for Hartlepool (13th) and Darlington (21st).

Season 1979/80
All ITV regions (except Channel TV) were taken off the air in early August 1979 due to a strike which lasted for almost three months! (So we only had BBC1 and BBC2 from 6th August-24th October).
27/Oct
03/Nov    Sunderland 2 (Arnott, Gilbert) Chelsea 1 (Johnson)
10/Nov    Newcastle United 1 (Shoulder) Cardiff City 0
17/Nov    Middlesbrough 1 (Armstrong) Bristol City 0
24/Nov    Sunderland 3 (Elliott, Cummins, Robson) Bristol Rovers 2 (Parkinson, White)
01/Dec    Newcastle United 2 (Withe, Rafferty) Fulham 0
08/Dec    Middlesbrough 0 Southampton 1 (Williams)
15/Dec    Newcastle United 4 (Shoulder, Withe 2, Cassidy) Queens Park Rangers 2 (Goddard, Roeder)
22/Dec    *All but 4 of this weekend's fixtures were played on Friday night, there were no Tyne Tees home games on the Saturday
29/Dec    Newcastle United 2 (Shoulder, Cassidy) Charlton Athletic 0
05/Jan     Sunderland 0 Bolton Wanderers 1 (Whatmore) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
12/Jan     Middlesbrough 1 (Armstrong) Manchester United 1 (Thomas)
19/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (Barton, Connolly) Orient 0
26/Jan
02/Feb
09/Feb    Middlesbrough 3 (Burns, Ashcroft, Armstrong) Derby County 0
16/Feb    Probably showed other region's FA Cup 5th Round ties
23/Feb    Middlesbrough 1 (Burns) Stoke City 3 (Cook, Crooks 2)
01/Mar    Newcastle United 0 Watford 2 (Barton(og), Jenkins)
08/Mar    Sunderland 0 Leicester City 0
15/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Wolves 1 (Gray) Nottingham Forest 0
22/Mar    Middlesbrough 2 (Hodgson, McAndrew) Everton 1 (Hartford)
29/Mar    Hartlepool United 2 (Hampton, Houchen) Northampton Town 1 (Ingrams)
05/Apr     Sunderland 1 (Cummins) Newcastle United 0
12/Apr     Sunderland 1 (Arnott) Orient 1 (Coates)
19/Apr     Newcastle United 1 (Shoulder) Swansea City 3 (Stevenson, Giles 2)
26/Apr
03/May    Newcastle United 2 (Shoulder, Rafferty) Luton Town 2 (Hatton 2)
10/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - West Ham United 1 (Brooking) Arsenal 0

Top flight Middlesbrough finished 9th whilst in the 2nd tier new manager Ken Knighton won Sunderland promotion as runners-up leaving Newcastle behind in 9th. Sunderland's Bryan Robson and Newcastle's Alan Shoulder both netted 20 league goals each. Hartlepool and Darlington continued to struggle in the Fourth division finishing 19th and 22nd respectively.

Season 1980/81
"Shoot" was on Saturday nights for this season.
16/Aug    Sunderland 3 (Hawley(pen), Cummins, Lyons(og)) Everton 1 (Eastoe)
23/Aug    Darlington 2 (Hamilton, Walsh) Stockport County 2 (Sword, Bradd)
30/Aug    Newcastle United 2 (Koenen, Hibbitt) Luton Town 1 (Stein)
06/Sep
13/Sep    Sunderland 0 Middlesbrough 1 (Jankovic)
20/Sep    Newcastle United 0 Oldham Athletic 0
27/Sep    Sunderland 4 (Robson 2, Rowell, Brown) Leeds United 1 (Parlane)
04/Oct    Newcastle United 0 West Ham United 0
11/Oct    Sunderland 1 (Rowell) Crystal Palace 0
18/Oct    Middlesbrough 1 (Jankovic) Southampton 1 (Watson)
25/Oct    Sunderland 0 Ipswich Town 2 (Muhren, Brazil)
01/Nov   Newcastle United 2 (Hibbitt, Shinton) Watford 1 (Poskett)
08/Nov
15/Nov   Middlesbrough 1 (Johnston) Manchester United 1 (Jordan)
22/Nov   Possibly Newcastle United 0 Wrexham 1 (McNeil) *YTV showed Middlesbrough 2 (Johnston(pen), Shearer) Wolves 0
29/Nov
06/Dec    Middlesbrough 2 (Johnston, Shearer) Aston Villa 1 (Shaw)
13/Dec    Sunderland 2 (Hawley, Arnott) Arsenal 0
20/Dec
27/Dec    Middlesbrough 1 (Ashcroft) Everton 0
03/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (Waddle 2) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Pearson) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
10/Jan     Sunderland 3 (Rowell 2, Cummins) Norwich City 0
17/Jan
24/Jan     Probably Middlesbrough 1 (Bailey) West Bromwich A. 0, possibly Newcastle United 2 (Clarke, Martin) Luton Town 1 (Ingram) [FA Cup 4th Round]
31/Jan     Newcastle United 2 (Clarke, Martin) Bolton Wanderers 1 (Bennett)
07/Feb    Middlesbrough 1 (Hedley) Sunderland 0
14/Feb    Middlesbrough 2 (Proctor, Jancovic) Barnsley 1 (Lester) [FA Cup 5th Round]
21/Feb    Newcastle United 0 Bristol Rovers 0
28/Feb    Sunderland 1 (Bowyer) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Crooks)
07/Mar    Sunderland 1 (Hinnigan) Aston Villa 2 (Evans, Mortimer)
14/Mar    Hartlepool United 2 (Houchen, Newton) Wimbledon 3 (Cork 2, Downes)
21/Mar    Sunderland 3 (Hinnigan 2, Cummions(pen)) Coventry City 0
28/Mar    Newcastle United 1 (Halliday) Chelsea 0
04/Apr
11/Apr     Middlesbrough 1 (Shearer) Brighton & Hove Albion 0
18/Apr
25/Apr     Sunderland 1 (Brown) Brighton and Hove Albion 2 (Robinson, Williams)
                     *also Whickham 3 (Scott, Williamson, Peck(og)) Willenhall Town 2 (Smith, Stringer) [FA Vase Final at Wembley]
02/May    Middlesbrough 2 (Jancovic 2) Ipswich Town 1 (Mariner)
09/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Man City 1 (Hutchison) Spurs 1 (Hutchison(og)) AET
14/May    Networked LIVE coverage of FA Cup Final Replay - Man City 2 (MacKenzie, Reeves(pen) Spurs 3 (Villa 2, Crooks) [Wembley]

For the 5th time in 12 season's Middlesbrough exited the FA Cup at the QF stage (this time to Wolves in a Molineux replay). In the league 'Boro finished 14th, newly promoted Sunderland managed to stay up this time, but not before manager Ken Knighton left to be temporarily replaced by Mick Docherty in April who oversaw a 17th placed finish. In the 2nd tier, just weeks into the season, Newcastle sacked Bill McGarry, his replacement was Arthur Cox and United finished 11th. It was a much improved season for the region's long suffering Fourth Division pair as Darlington finished 8th and Hartlepool 9th.

Season 1981/82
"Shoot" was back on Sunday afternoon's for this season.
29/Aug    Middlesbrough 1 (Otto) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Falco, Hoddle, Villa)
05/Sep    Sunderland 0 West Ham United 2 (Goddard, Cross)
12/Sep
19/Sep    Darlington 2 (Speedie, Hamilton) Blackpool 2 (Bamber, Morris)
26/Sep
03/Oct
10/Oct    Middlesbrough 1 (Gunn(og)) Nottingham Forest 1 (Fashanu)
17/Oct    Sunderland 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Archibald, Hazard)
24/Oct    Newcastle United 1 (Shinton) Rotherham United 1 (Gooding)
31/Oct    Sunderland 0 Liverpool 2 (Souness, McDermott)
07/Nov
14/Nov
21/Nov   Middlesbrough 3 (McAndrew(pen), Ashcroft 2) Aston Villa 3 (Withe, Cowans, Shaw)
28/Nov
05/Dec
12/Dec
19/Dec    Possibly showed Granada coverage of Manchester City 2 (Francis 2) Sunderland 3 (Cummins, Rowell, Venison)
26/Dec
02/Jan     [FA Cup 3rd Round]
09/Jan     *Intended match probably postponed
16/Jan     *Intended match probably postponed
23/Jan     Sunderland 0 Liverpool 3 (Dalglish 2, Rush) [FA Cup 4th round]
30/Jan     Middlesbrough 0 Southampton 1 (Keegan)
06/Feb
13/Feb    Newcastle United 2 (Varadi, Trewick) Cardiff City 1 (Stevens)
20/Feb
27/Feb    Sunderland 1 (Brown) Notts County 1 (McCulloch)
06/Mar    Middlesbrough 0 Wolverhampton W. 0 *corrected score
13/Mar    Networked LWT coverage of the League Cup Final - Liverpool 3 (Whelan 2, Rush) Spurs 1 (Archibald) AET
20/Mar
27/Mar
03/Apr    Probably showed Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Crooks, Wilson(og)) Leicester City 0 [FA Cup SF]
10/Apr
17/Apr    Sunderland 3 (Rowell 2(1pen), West) Everton 1 (Irvine)
24/Apr    Hartlepool United 3 (P.Linacre, Newton(pen), Staff) Port Vale 1 (M.Chamberlain)
01/May   Sunderland 3 (Rowell 2(1pen), West) Brighton & Hove Albion 0
08/May   Middlesbrough 1 (Baxter) Arsenal 3 (Talbot, Davis, Rix)
15/May   Sunderland 1 (Buckley) Manchester City 0
22/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Spurs 1 (Hoddle) QPR (Fenwick) 1 AET
27/May   Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final Replay - Spurs 1 (Hoddle(pen)) QPR 0 [Wembley]

Under new manager Alan Durban, Sunderland were now the region's leading club despite finishing one place above relegation in 19th. A change of manager at Middlesbrough proved disastrous as Bobby Murdoch's men ended their top flight campaign in last place. In the 2nd tier Newcastle finished disappointing 9th whilst in the 4th tier Darlington and Hartlepool slipped back to mid-table in 13th and 14th place.

Season 1982/83
"Shoot" was on Saturday night's again for its' final season.
28/Aug    Newcastle United 1 (Keegan) Queens Park Rangers 0 *Kevin Keegan's debut for Newcastle
04/Sep    Sunderland 1 (Rowell) West Ham United 0
11/Sep    Newcastle United 1 (Clarke) Chelsea 1 (Lee)
18/Sep
25/Sep
02/Oct    Middlesbrough 1 (Otto) Oldham Athletic 1 (Palmer)
09/Oct    Sunderland 1 (McCoist) Southampton 1 (Williams)
16/Oct    Middlesbrough 1 (Macdonald) Bolton Wanderers 0
23/Oct    Newcastle United 1 (Waddle) Crystal Palace 0
30/Oct    Sunderland 2 (Pickering, Rowell) Stoke City 2 (Maguire, M.Chamberlain)
06/Nov   Middlesbrough 2 (Shearer, Wood) Barnsley 0
13/Nov
20/Nov
27/Nov
04/Dec    Probably showed LWT coverage of Charlton Athletic 2 (McAllister, Simonsen) Newcastle United 0
11/Dec    Newcastle United 1 (Wharton) Wolverhampton W. (Eves)
18/Dec    Sunderland 3 (Rowell 3) Arsenal 0
01/Jan
08/Jan     Sunderland 0 Manchester City 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round] *City won replay 2-1
15/Jan     Sunderland 2 (McNaught(og), Worthington) Aston Villa 0
22/Jan     Newcastle United 4 (Wharton 2, Varadi, Keegan) Shrewsbury Town 0
29/Jan     Middlesbrough 2 (Hankin, Beattie(pen)) Notts County 0 [FA Cup 4th Round]
05/Feb    Middlesbrough 1 (Baxter) Newcastle United 1 (Keegan)
12/Feb
19/Feb    Middlesbrough 1 (Otto) Arsenal 1 (Rix) [FA Cup 5th Round]
26/Feb    Sunderland 3 (Atkins, Rowell 2(1pen)) Manchester City 2 (Caton, Reeves)
05/Mar    Sunderland 2 (Rowell 2(1pen)) Everton 1 (Sharp)
12/Mar    Probably showed Granada and TVS FA Cup QF's
19/Mar
26/Mar    Middlesbrough 3 (Bell, Baxter 2) Charlton Athletic 0
02/Apr
09/Apr     Newcastle United 3 (Metcalfe(og), Waddle, Varadi) Blackburn Rovers 2 (Keeley 2)
16/Apr     Probably showed Brighton & Hove Albion 2 (Case, Robinson) Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Mirocevic) [FA Cup SF]
23/Apr     Middlesbrough 0 Wolverhampton W. 0
30/Apr     Sunderland 1 (West) Birmingham City 2 (Blake(pen), Harford)
07/May    Hartlepool United 3 (Hogan(pen), Staff, Dobson) Rochdale 0
14/May    Showed LWT coverage
21/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final - Brighton 2 (Smith, Stevens) Man Utd 2 (Stapleton, Wilkins) AET
26/May    Networked LIVE coverage of the FA Cup Final Replay - Brighton 0 Man Utd 4 (Robson 2, Whiteside, Muhren(pen)) [Wembley]

The final season of Shoot saw the region's sole top flight representatives Sunderland finish 16th, but the main focus of attention was on 2nd tier Newcastle United who signed England striker Kevin Keegan in time for the start of the season, the Magpies improved to finish 4th (4 more points would have been required to gain promotion) and both Kevin Keegan and Imre Varadi scored 21 league goals apiece. Despite last season's relegation, Bobby Murdoch kept his job at Middlesbrough but only until the end of September, Malcom Allison arrived a month later but 'Boro sunk to an alarming 16th placed finish. Elsewhere there was a return to the old familiar gloom of Fourth division struggle for Darlington in 17th and Hartlepool 22nd.

Email
[email protected]

ITV regional football highlights 1968-83 home page
It�s up for grabs now! The history of football on ITV

North East football 1963-83 links
Newcastle United FC - A Statistical Journey
The Stat Cat - An excellent Sunderland resource
Ken Wolstenholme - Guardian Obituary

YouTube Shoot Clips
24/Apr/1965 - Whitby Town 1 Hendon 3 [Amateur Cup Final] - commentator George Taylor at Wembley
11/May/1968 - Newcastle United 3 Manchester City 4 - commentator is George Bayley
28/Feb/1973 - Sunderland 3 Man City 1 [FA Cup 5th Round Replay] - commentator is Gerald Sinstadt
07/Apr/1973 - Sunderland 2 Arsenal 1 [FA Cup SF] - commentator is Brian Moore (at Hillsborough)
09/Mar/1974 - Newcastle United 4 Nottingham Forest 3 [FA Cup QF] - A report on the pitch invasion + Hugh Johns (ATV) commentary on the last two goals.
09/Apr/1983 - Newcastle United 3 Blackburn Rovers 2 - commentator Roger Tames
Shoot title sequence (1982/83)

Tyne Tees stuff
TV Ark - Tyne Tees section
 

Page last updated June 2008