Notts on the box - The 1970's

Notts on the box
The 1970�s

Season by season
Click the season header links for the corresponding results & stats pages.

1970/71
Jimmy Sirrel had been installed as Notts Manager in November 1969, he transformed Notts from a has-been club fighting re-election into serious promotion contenders, County had finished 7th in 1970 and now embarked on a famous record breaking 4th Division championship season.

20/03/71 Northampton Town 1 (Large) Notts County 1 (Hateley)
commentator: Gerry Harrison for ANGLIA
One minute's worth of monochrome footage from this highlights broadcast still exists in ANGLIA's tape vaults, the earliest known surviving televised images of Notts in action shows Tony Hateley (in traditional stripes but with black socks) heading Brian Stubbs' free kick into the net for the equaliser prompting an impressive roar from the sizeable away following who can be seen waving their Notts scarves around behind the goal, the earlier Northampton strike is all but obliterated by tape damage. Extended highlights were only shown in the ANGLIA region on their exclusive Match of the Week programme, the main match for Midlands viewers of ATV's Star Soccer this weekend was Stoke City 1 Manchester United 2 (George Best scoring both United goals) but a brief edit of the Notts game was shown afterwards (County's first ever appearance on the show). For further details of Star Soccer in general see here.

1971/72
13/11/71 Aston Villa 1 (Graydon) Notts County 0
commentator : Barry Davies for BBC1
County had to wait seven years before they finally made it onto the UK�s no.1 football show Match of the day, but what an entrance it was - A top of the table clash from the old Third Division with a mostly standing 37,462 crowd packed into Villa Park, later that night to be watched by around 12 million TV viewers. Notts, playing in front of colour TV cameras for the first time (in change red socks!!!), were desperately unlucky not to earn at least a draw. They hit the woodwork twice, there were clearances off the Villa goal-line and frantic goalmouth scrambles, Masson even had a penalty saved. The Villa goal was scored by Ray Graydon on 32 minutes. TV viewers declared the match to have been among the best they'd ever seen.
The highlights were the second of two matches screened that night, Manchester United's 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur was shown first.
A 35mm film of the Notts match was apparently given to a County board member by the producer. In the late 1980's/early 1990's the BBC produced a series of Match of the day compilation video's devoted to certain clubs, clips from this game were included on the Aston Villa tape.
BBC Programme Number: LOS6782K

A newsreel of the 4-1 victory at Watford in the FA Cup 3rd round on 15/01/72 exists in the British Movietone archive, all the goals and a Notts near miss are included.

25/03/72 Shrewsbury Town 1 (Wood(pen)) Notts County 1 (Bradd)
commentator : ? (probably Hugh Johns) for ATV
This appears to be Notts first "main match" appearance on ATV Midlands' Star Soccer but not, according to those that remember, a particularly exciting one. Notts had slipped to 4th at the time having occupied top spot for a month over the Christmas and New year period.

Despite winning 25 and losing only 9, County narrowly missed out on an immediate promotion double. But County fans were still smiling as Forest's relegation from the top flight closed the gap between the Nottingham clubs to just one Division.

Tommy Lawton report
On 4th May 1972 the BBC broadcast a report on Notts legend Tommy Lawton as part of their "24 hours" series, Notts longtime trainer Jack Wheeler also contributed.

1972/73
29/07/72 Notts County 0 Sheffield United 3 (Watney Cup)
commentator: Barry Davies for BBC1
The first Meadow Lane match to be screened by Match of the day was this Watney cup clash, a short lived early 1970's pre-season tournament contested by the previous season's top two highest scoring teams from each of the four league divisions. Highlights of Bristol Rovers 2 Wolves 0 were shown first followed by the Notts match, the Blades goals were scored by Woodward and two from Tony Currie. Clips were later included on the Sheffield United Match of the Day compilation video.
BBC Programme Number: LOS6802H

02/09/72 Notts County 1 (Nixon) Walsall 1 (Mayo)
commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
Notts fan Alan Coulthard recalled... "Jon Nixon scored for Notts, Joe Mayo equalised for Walsall. I was at this game and watched the highlights again the next day. This was the first time that I had attended a televised match". Walsall supporter Albert Gilsop remembers it too "Joe Mayo was making his debut and had come on as a sub, someone (Nick Atthey?) shot, the goalie spilled it and Mayo prodded home. It was the main match (on Star Soccer), there used to be a couple a season from the bottom two divisions back then."
This would have been the first time Meadow Lane had hosted commercial television cameras (at least for a Notts match - see late 1960's).

23/09/72 Watford 1 Notts County 0
commentator: Probably John Motson for BBC1
Although 1972/73 was to be a significant campaign for Notts, this September fixture was their 2nd and final League highlights appearance on TV this season. The token Match of the day screening followed Newcastle United's 3-2 home win over Leeds United from the favoured league.
BBC Programme Number: LOS6810K

Eventually, this season proved to be another successful assault on promotion. Despite being a lowly 16th at the turn of the year, Notts were on the up for the 2nd time in three seasons. ANGLIA cameras captured one of the latter matches for a 40 second local news report, this being the 07/04/73 clash with Grimsby Town at Meadow Lane which Notts won 4-0.

1973/74
Just 8 years earlier Nottingham had come close to losing its' original league club and few seemed to care, yet Notts resilience had endured in the face of Forest's then greatest period of success. Now, here in 1973, Forest fans were deserting their club as the Notts crowds boomed, the two Nottingham clubs were once again competing on a level playing field.

06/10/73 Blackpool 0 Notts County 1 (Mann)
commentator: ? (probably Gerald Sinstadt) for GRANADA
Notts first appearance on TV following their return to the 2nd tier and the first known properly televised match that Notts actually won! Nobody seems to remember it, suggesting it was not shown in the Midlands (ATV's main match this weekend was Wolves 2 Manchester United 1), but it was shown in the North West on GRANADA's Kick off match and a tape still exists to prove it, the goal was repeated on a Granada football preview show in 1989.

27/10/73 Sheffield Wednesday 0 Notts County 0
commentator: ? (probably Keith Macklin) for YORKSHIRE
Notts first appearance in front of neighbouring YORKSHIRE Television cameras. Some Nottingham viewers would have been able to tune into County's first ever televised goalless draw*.
*Of the three channels then available (BBC1, BBC2 & a regional ITV station), ATV Midlands was the official commercial choice for viewers in Nottingham. However, those perched high on Nottingham's hills (as well as a handful of households in the valleys who relied on cable) had access to neighbouring alternate ITV regions which, in those days, offered a very different schedule, they effectively served as a 4th channel. ANGLIA Television was one such channel until YORKSHIRE Television acquired their high powered mast at Belmont in Lincolnshire on January 1st 1974, this left many viewers in Eastern Nottingham with YORKSHIRE's football highlights as an alternative to ATV's "Star Soccer" instead of ANGLIA's "Match of the week". The Nottingham Evening Post TV Guide included YORKSHIRE's listings who's signals had long since been receivable by those to the north of the city in range of the Emley Moor transmitter.

10/11/73 West Bromwich Albion 2 (T.Brown, Shaw) Notts County 1 (Randall)
commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
Notts first main match appearance on ATV's Star Soccer this season (unfortunately Notts were reluctant to allow TV cameras into Meadow Lane at the time). Notts fan Alan Coultard recalls that Referee Jim Bent(!) disallowed two "perfectly good Notts goals".

22/12/73 Aston Villa 1 (B. Rioch) Notts County 1 (Randall(pen))
commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
It was never going to live up to Notts previous televised clash at Villa Park two years earlier, but County did at least earn a point this time. Extended highlights were shown in the Midlands on Star Soccer whilst London viewers got to see a brief edit on The Big Match (their main game was QPR v Newcastle United)

06/04/74 Middlesbrough 4 (Hickton, Needham(og), Armstrong, Foggon) Notts County 0
commentator: ? (probably David Taylor) for TYNE TEES
The local Sunday football highlights show in the North East was called Shoot! who's cameras also captured behind the scenes footage for a TYNE TEES special programme celebrating Middlesbrough clinching the Second Division championship - Titled "Charlton's Champions" it was broadcast in the North East on 1st May 1974 (Charlton being the then Middlesbrough manager Jack Charlton who had also been a member of the England 1966 World Cup winning team), Notts footage included in this special programme showed the team arriving at the ground as well as action on the pitch. All four goals were scored in the 2nd half.

20/04/74 Orient 1 (Fairbrother) Notts County 1 (Masson)
commentator: ? for BBC1
Notts first ever Match of the day net bulger, and who better to score it than Don Masson with a magnificent strike on the half volley. Barrie Fairbrother had put Orient 1-0 up at half-time and Notts also survived a penalty scare. This was the first time Notts were billed as the opening match on the programme (a goalless Merseyside derby at Anfield followed it). Jimmy Hill, joining the BBC from LWT, had taken over the Match of the day presenters chair at the start of the season replacing David Coleman.
31 years later the Notts goal was repeated on Football Focus as a visual for Masson's nomination as County's all-time cult hero.
BBC Programme Number: LOS6866F

1974/75
07/09/74 Notts County 3 (Randall, Stubbs, Masson(pen)) Southampton 2 (Peach, Osgood)

commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
The following home matchday programme referred to this televised game in the editorial......
"A lot has already been said publicly about the size of the attendance for our last home game against Southampton, but with the presence of the ATV cameras the match (or at least highlights of it) were seen by many thousands more. This club's attitude to the screening of matches is well known. We do not think it is altogether in the game's best interests and may be a contributory factor to falling attendances. We have made that point during this year's debates on the issue at Football league level. We have hitherto discouraged both the commercial companies and the BBC from sending their cameras here, but in view of the majority decision during the summer by the clubs to sign a new agreement with television we take the view that we have to go along to some extent with this decision. This was why we acceded to an ATV request to show the Southampton game, and the decision was given a bonus when the game provided such a good and successful one from our point of view. Neutral or lukewarm followers, who may doubt what they read in the press or hear from first-hand observers, were actually able to see for themselves the standard of football played here nowadays. It was, in short, a good advertisement! Will it produce more interest and higher gates? Only time will tell."
Although the extended highlights (as seen in the Midlands) appear to have been wiped, edited highlights (as shown in some other regions as a 2nd feature) were included on a Notts Christmas video compilation produced in 1990. A feature on Don Masson was also included on at least one region's broadcast of this match (Granada).

ANGLIA cameras were at the 14/09/74 match at Norwich City for a one minute local news report broadcast the following Monday, Notts lost 3-0. The archive description of the footage reads; "Zoom out from clock to football match being played. Goal. Crowd. Miss. Miss. Crowd. MS of referee. Goal. Crowd. Goal. Ambulance men and women on side line."

12/10/74 Manchester United 1 Notts County 0
commentator: ? for BBC1
United in Division Two! and this Old Trafford clash was screened on Match of the day following highlights of a 2-2 draw between Newcastle United and Stoke City.
In the early-mid 1970's, monochrome telerecordings of Match of the day broadcasts were sent to commonwealth countries for the benefit of British interest abroad, some of these films have since been unearthed, so it is therefore possible that a black & white copy of Notts highlights at Old Trafford in the 1970's might still exist somewhere, the same conclusion can be drawn for other lost Notts BBC appearances during this period. The goal will probably still exist in colour at the BBC as these clips were kept for possible repeat screenings on Football Focus.

HTV WALES reported on the 21/12/74 goalless draw at Cardiff City in their local Monday news programme "Report Wales".

1975/76
30/08/75 Nottingham Forest 0 Notts County 1 (Bradd)

commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
The first ever televised Nottingham derby. Notts were making strong claims to be Nottingham's number one club again and this match proved to be the 2nd of 4 successive League victories for the Maggies at the City ground, the last minute goal was repeated on the ITV Sport channel's On the Road programme in 2001 - Ian Scanlon beats Viv Anderson to centre, cue Hugh Johns.... "Good cross - and there's Bradd with the winner! Les Bradd, 45 seconds to go!"

13/09/75 York City 1 (McMordie) Notts County 2 (Scanlon(pen), McVay)
commentator: ? (probably Keith Macklin) for YORKSHIRE
A match won by a looping 40 yard deflection which was seen in edited form on ATV whilst YORKSHIRE viewers got to see extended highlights. The goals, at least, still survive on an ITV goals compilation tape.

27/09/75 Sunderland 4 (Robson 2, Kerr, Halom) Notts County 0
commentator: ? (probably Ken Wolstenholme) for TYNE TEES
The 3rd Notts match to be televised in 5 weeks! Notts were in pole position having been unbeaten in their opening 9 games (winning 7), Sunderland were 2nd but came out on top with this comfortable victory which suggested it was perhaps time for Notts to bring in new faces if they were serious about maintaining the ultimate promotion challenge, County had sold star player Don Masson the previous year and it was now two seasons since a notable new signing had been introduced to the first team.

11/10/75 Notts County 0 Oxford United 1 (D. Clarke)
commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
Just 3 days after Notts sensational League cup victory at Leeds United (European Cup finalists 5 months earlier) came this televised home reverse followed by the shock departure of Manager Jimmy Sirrel to Sheffield United (then rock bottom of the top division), Sirrel was said to feel he had taken Notts as far as he could which was perhaps a veiled reference to the lack of ambition behind the scenes, indeed Notts merely replaced Sirrel by promoting from within. Ronnie Fenton took charge having joined Notts as Youth team coach.

15/11/75 Chelsea 2 Notts County 0
commentator: ? for BBC1
Another Match of the day appearance, this one was screened after Wolves 5-1 win at Burnley. A 3rd straight televised defeat for Notts without a goal in reply illustrated County's fall from table topping grace to frustrating 5th placed promotion outsiders, a position they would pretty much occupy for the rest of the season.

20/03/76 Notts County 1 (Mann) Blackpool 2 (Smith 2)
commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
An extremely physical Blackpool overcome Notts. The 3rd of 4 straight defeats in a run of 7 without victory and a huge blow to any last vestige of top flight fantasy. Extended highlights were shown on ATV's Star Soccer in the Midlands whilst a brief edit was included on LWT's The Big Match (The London region's main match was Arsenal v West Ham)

24/04/76 Bristol City 1 (Whitehead) Notts County 2 (O�Brien, Benjamin)
commentator: ? (probably Roger Malone*) for HTV WEST
A main match appearance on HTV's highlights programme for West England and Welsh viewers who saw Notts spoiled City�s promotion party, Ray O'Brien's goal was apparently a 30 yard special. Whilst the Robins were destined for the top flight, Notts had to settle for 5th place - but yet again they could justifiably claim to be Nottingham's number 1 club having finished ahead of Forest for the 2nd season running.
*BFI says Fred Dineage commentated on this game, but this seems unlikely, he probably just presented the show.

Notts & the Hooligan TV documentary
Sometime in the late 1960's, as the fast changing face of Britain became highly politicized, football as a spectator sport became a catalyst for violence and political exploitation. A sense of lawlessness now pervaded football grounds across the country, Television had made household names of 'dirty' players such as Norman "Bite yer legs" Hunter and Ron "Chopper" Harris as sportsmanship fell foul of gamesmanship's two footed tackle. Players would now kick the ball away when a free kick was given against them and they would blatantly time-waste and argue with decisions. With no precedent set for dealing with this new type of behaviour, referee's risked a riot if they dared to send off the offenders.

TV viewers could now witness full on fist fights between England capped players and when the players weren't fighting, TV cameras were only too happy to turn their attention away from the pitch to the latest mass brawl on the terraces between often armed supporters. Segregating fans inside spiked metal cages only increased the tension as visiting "firms" would seek to infiltrate the home end. Police were only too eager to wade into the melee as the perception of the innocent and the perpetrators often blurred. Many grounds notoriously degenerated into raucous cauldron's of hate, cheering was now drowned out by the booing, traditional chants of encouragement gave way to threatening taunts with an emphasis on the four letter word. As some clubs began to harvest the talents of mass immigration, racist cries were freely employed by young and old alike. Football grounds were no place for the faint hearted, the experience had reached a climactic intensity that was equally seductive for some as it was abhorrent for others.

Future Notts Manager Neil Warnock, a Yorkshire based player in the lower divisions at the time, later said of Notts; "I used to absolutely hate coming to Meadow Lane, that's what I remember about Notts County, the black & white, they all seemed giants, the crowd was nasty, and that is a goal start I think". Notts had originally been known as Lambs, not Magpies, in honour of a local gang of infamous toughs who were known to 'influence' elections whilst the team itself was equally notorious for their special brand of 'tactics'. Yet, here in Punk's year zero, Notts County's reputation for crowd bother was hardly that of Millwall or Leeds United. Surprising then that whilst Notts were playing at Oxford United on 13th March 1976, visiting thugs were filmed in the stands for a documentary on hooliganism. The Notts "supporters" in question had never been seen by regular County fans before or since. The programme went out during the close season, it was one of several TV football hooligan documentaries made around that time. TV blamed Football and Football blamed TV. As the arguments over the causes and the cures raged on, supporters who found it all too much simply stopped attending as the more violent factions of football were largely left to get on with it.

1976/77
22/09/76 Derby County 1 (George(pen)) Notts County 1 (O�Brien) League Cup 3rd Round
commentator: ? ATV or BBC?
This all East Midlands League Cup clash is thought to be the first mid-week broadcast of Notts highlights (documentation suggests that ATV only covered Aston Villa v Norwich that night, but it could have been on the BBC). Derby boss Dave MacKay said of Notts keeper Eric McManus afterwards; "A once in a lifetime performance, and it had to be against us." Notts took the lead on 50 minutes after a Dave Smith's free-kick on the edge of the Rams box found Ray O'Brien whose shot deflected in off the defensive wall. Just two minutes later Pedro Richards and Mick Vinter combined to bring down Archie Gemmill just inside the Notts area and the ref gave a penalty. McManus had never previously saved a spot kick for the club, but he saved Charlie George's penalty - only for the ref order a re-take as McManus was judged to have moved. This time George made no mistake for 1-1. Notts' John Sims then saw his 58th minute shot crash down off the underside of the bar and out.
Notts lost the Meadow Lane replay 2-1.

20/11/76 Fulham 1 (Slough) Notts County 5 (Vinter 2, Carter, Busby, Howe(og))
commentator: Brian Moore for LWT
Compelling viewing made all the more remarkable by the Fulham line up which included legends George Best, Bobby Moore and Rodney Marsh. Notts scored right at the start of each half (and were 3-0 up at half-time), Steve Carter netted an absolute screamer, Mick Vinter was robbed of recording perhaps the cheekiest Notts goal ever seen on TV (as well as a hat-trick) - the Fulham 'keeper (having been clattered by Les Bradd) finally let go of the ball to receive treatment, Vinter then calmly rolled the ball into the net but sadly his picture of innocence "I've scored haven't I?" face could not convince the referee to point to the centre circle. The bulk of The Big Match extended highlights were included on Notts' 1990 Christmas video. ATV broadcast Leicester City 1 Manchester United 1 as the main match to Midlands viewers.

04/12/76 Southampton 2 (Holmes, Channon) Notts County 1 (Vinter)
commentator: ? (possibly Gerald Williams) for SOUTHERN
The Magpies only known appearance in front of SOUTHERN cameras, County losing at the Dell to the FA Cup holders.

The Back Page
A BBC2 play entitled "The Back Page" written by Andrew Nickolds and Stan Hey was based around Notts' 1-1 draw at Charlton Athletic on the 29th January 1977. The acting was shot entirely in the press box on 21/10/77 and then intercut with scenes from the match, the story was based on a young Notts reporter and the hostility he faced from his older local peers. The half hour show was part of the "Second city firsts" series produced at Birmingham's Pebble Mill studio's and it was eventually broadcast on BBC2 on 08/04/78 (21:36-22:03).

Although Notts finished a respectable 8th, Forest snatched promotion on the final day of the season, the consequences of this were as swift as they were unexpected and devastating.

1977/78
This would prove to be the most difficult season Notts had endured for some time, the 'goings on' over the river were not easy to live with for non red-converts struggling to come to terms with becoming an instant minority on a previously unprecedented scale. Notts lack of TV coverage this and the previous season only served to underline the huge problem they would now have to learn to live with. Merely two proper local ITV appearances and none on national BBC this term.

County failed to win any of their opening 8 league matches and Ronnie Fenton was duly sacked at the beginning of October, the Magpies next fixture was at Sheffield United - the club who had poached Jimmy Sirrel 2 years earlier, yet Sirrel was unable to conjure the same magic at Bramall Lane as he had at Notts. Two days after a 4-1 defeat to the Blades, Jimmy Sirrel was back as manager of Notts County and the Magpies soon responded with 3 straight league wins (this run was however interrupted by a regrettable 25/10/77 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup, the goals from which were captured for an X rated screening on ATV).

17/12/77 Notts County 3 (Hooks, Thompson(og), Vinter) Burnley 0
commentator: ? (probably Hugh Johns) for ATV
Foot of the table Burnley visited Meadow Lane with Notts only 5 places above them. Happily, County recorded their biggest televised home victory of the decade with all three goals scored in the first half. Extended highlights were broadcast on ATV's Star Soccer and an edit was also shown in the GRANADA region.

ITV's "World of Sport" programme had it's own Saturday lunchtime football preview sequence "On the ball" presented by LWT commentator Brian Moore. Notts would, I'm sure, have been the subject of numerous reports over the years. At full-time the various regional commentators would give reports direct to camera relayed by a temporary transmitter which could be seen towering above Notts' main stand whenever ATV (or later Central TV) were in town. You can download the 'World of Sport' title sequence as broadcast in December 1977 and the quirky World of Sport 'Results' title sequence from Jim Edwards TV World

On 7th March, YORKSHIRE Television's "Calendar News" reported that Notts player Paul Hooks was recovering in hospital following a car crash near Mansfield.

15/04/78 Sunderland 3 (Rostron, Kerr, Lee) Notts County 1 (Sims)
commentator: ? (probably Roger Tames) for TYNE TEES
The season was over for 7th placed Sunderland whilst Notts still needed points to guarantee their safety, none were brought back from Roker Park in a match that saw Sunderland 3-0 up at half-time with John Sims then scoring a consolation goal in what turned out to be his last ever appearance for Notts.

22/04/78 Notts County 2 (Vinter, Bradd) Crystal Palace 0
commentator: ? (probably Hugh Johns) for ATV
Notts fan Steve Parker recalls "I watched the game on my honeymoon on a Sunday afternoon in a hotel at Bourton-on-the-Water. I'm sad to report on the previous day my wedding was dramatically spoilt by hearing the news that F***** had clinched the Old First Division Championship by drawing at Coventry." A dark red shadow had been cast across Meadow Lane, but this crucial televised 2-0 victory (a goal in each half) helped Notts to avoid relegation by one point.

1978/79
30/12/78 Stoke City 2 (Irvine, O'Callaghan) Notts County 0
commentator: Hugh Johns for ATV
Notts fan 'Natty' recalls that this match was played in a snow storm and that Notts striker Mick Vinter collected a forehead full of stitches after a high kick by ex Man City defender Mike Doyle. Sammy Irvine and Brian O'Callaghan scored the Stoke goals. Pictured left is a cutting from Look-In (the "Junior TV Times") for the corresponding weekend's listings for children (30th/31st December 1978), Notts fans would have had to tune in to ATV at 2pm to see highlights of this defeat. Edited highlights were also included on LWT's The Big Match as a supporting feature to Arsenal v Birmingham City and this edition was repeated on ITV in 2001.

27/01/79 Arsenal 2 Notts County 0 (FA Cup 4th round)
commentator: Barry Davies for BBC1
Another Notts blank on Match of the day which followed Shrewsbury Town's giant killing 2-0 victory over Manchester City.

28/04/79 Crystal Palace 2 (Swindlehurst, Murphy) Notts County 0
commentator: Brian Moore for LWT
I recall seeing this as a 2nd feature on Star Soccer. It was the penultimate Saturday of the season and the home side were involved in an exciting promotion climax, a crowd of 23,454 watched this Palace victory that brought them level on points with the final promotion place (3rd) and just 1 point behind the league leaders. Notts were 6th but they were 10 points adrift and not in the race. Palace won their remaining two matches and went up as champions.

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