sutton012

“Bobby Robson can start looking for alternative employment if England fail to reach the last 16 of the World Cup.” The words of Harry Miller in the Daily Mirror, under the headline ‘Nice and easy for England’, seemed to imply that Bobby Robson’s team basically had a bye out of the 1986 World Cup group stages. But the course for England at major tournaments is rarely smooth. Read more »

It’s strange to think that if all had gone to plan, that there would never have been a Mexico 86. No shadow on the pitch of the Azteca Stadium, no Mexican Wave, no Pique . All these sights, sounds, and memories of my first World Cup would simply not have existed if the original host country had not been forced to step aside. It should have been Colombia 86. Read more »

I compiled an A to Z of Mexico 86 four years ago, so I thought I'd give Spain 82 the same treatment. Read more »

It hasn’t always been a case of winning titles and triumphing in Europe for Chelsea. There was a time when the club were playing in a rundown stadium, with property developers lurking, and just staying in the top flight was a challenge in its own right. The 1987/88 season was a prime example of the down side of supporting the West London club. And people say Chelsea have no history. Read more »

Uruguay entered the 1986 World Cup as one of the favourites; they left with their reputation in tatters. Like it or not, there has always been a place in sport for a pantomime villain. The kind of behaviour that generally unifies opinions, as a competitor or team acts in a way that brings derision from all quarters. Think of the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and the names Harald Schumacher and Diego Maradona immediately spring to mind. Read more »