Royce Franklin takes a nostalgic look back at how football has changed in the 67 years since he watched his first live match.
FOOTBALL LAW No 7 indicates any game shall consist of two equal halves of 45 minutes unless there is agreement between the referee and the two teams for a lesser period and a shorter period must comply with the rules of the relevant competition.
On occasions it is necessary to abandon a match and over the years there have been instances where such an occurrence has had a significant effect.
The best locally was in April, 1915 when Oldham Athletic were challenging for the First Division championship. They were playing at mid-table Middlesbrough in the 31st game of their 38 season. They lost 4-1, but during the game their right back Billy Cook was sent off, but refused to leave the pitch.
The match was abandoned and, although there was sufficient time in the season for a replay, the result was allowed to stand. Cook was banned for 12 months. The result seriously affected Oldham’s quest for their only top sphere championship as they eventually finished second.
Another result which was allowed to stand was the Bradford City v Lincoln City game on May 11, 1985 when 56 spectators were killed in a fire with a further 265 injured. Litter had built up under a stand and caught fire with disastrous results.
As champions Bradford had received the Third Division championship trophy before the match, the 0-0 scoreline was allowed to stand, even though the game was abandoned after 40 minutes. It was the last match of the season with no football issue to be resolved as common sense prevailed.
Another abandoned game was the FA Cup, fourth-round tie between Manchester City and Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on January 28, 1961.
The game was called off after 69 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch with City leading 6-2, all the goals had been scored by Denis Law. The re-arranged game was won by Luton 3-1 with Law again the scorer for City.
Law’s goals in the first game were expunged from the record. Had they stood, he would have scored more FA Cup goals than anyone else in the 20th century. Instead that honour fell to Ian Rush with 44 while Law had 41 which comprised 34 for Manchester United, four for Manchester City and three for Huddersfield Town.
Colchester United’s record gate stands at 19,072 when they were a non-league club. It was in the first round FA Cup against Reading on November 27, 1948. The record is unique amongst football league clubs; it is the only ground record which stands for an abandoned game.
The game finished after 35 minutes due to fog. That club record is likely to remain as their current ground capacity is 10,105.
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