First viewed : 29 August 1990
This was the regional midweek soccer programme in the north west. The anchorman was the thoroughly mediocre Elton Welsby aided by former Liverpool and Ireland full back Jim Beglin, United-worshipping commentator Clive Tyldesley and gangling goon Rob McCaffery.
The programme suffered a major setback in 1992 with Sky's capture of the Premier League broadcasting rights leaving ITV out in the cold. Granada Soccer Night could only show the big four North West clubs ( and Blackburn Rovers ) when they played in the League Cup so there were a lot of crossed fingers that they stayed in the competition.
This meant that the teams in the re-branded "First" Division, predominantly Bolton Wanderers and Tranmere Rovers, received the lion's share of the coverage. Rochdale of course were relegated to little scraps of footage just before midnight.
The presentation generally reflected the second class football fare. They made a big deal about a "controversial" refereeing decision by Paul Harrison in a match at Burnley which was actually perfectly correct. Beglin said nothing memorable apart from a comment that a decision "seems a bit Irish to me".
Welsby's crowning moment came on 23 October 1996 when, at the start of the programme, he solemnly announced "Well I must say it is hard to be full of the football spirit tonight following the tragic death of Chelsea's vice-chairman and principal benefactor Malcolm Harding .ah he was killed in a helicopter crash. ah Matthew Harding rather". I'm sure the family were deeply touched by that heartfelt tribute.
Welsby's days in the sun came to an abrupt end in 2000 when his contract wasn't renewed, the programme continuing for another four years with other presenters.
My most memorable viewing of this would be the Arsenal v United League Cup tie in 1990. Arsenal were top dogs at the time, United still slightly struggling. Being only nine years old, I was banished to bed before knowing the score... waking up at 6am to watch the highlights was something of a pleasant surprise! Danny Wallace had the game of his life, a last hurrah before the injuries brought on by his now-known condition became too much.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I remember this being broadcast less on Border TV in the mid 90s, when Carlisle had their brief moment in the sun. I remember them beating Rochdale in the Northern Final of the 1995 Auto-Windscreens Final, and the news being a huge deal across Cumbria.
That was about the only time we had decent coverage on the programme. I remember them doing a before-the-break "Who's missing ? " quiz with pictures of Karen Brady, Barry Hearn, Michael Knighton ( you'll remember him ! ) and.....
ReplyDeleteThe answer being David Kilpatrick non-celebrity chairman of Rochdale AFC ( Birmingham and Leyton Orient being the Southern Finalists ).