The Big Match - Christmas Special 1974

In the 1970s, The Big Match ran a special edition on the Sunday before Christmas where a special guest panel would present the show.

For example, in 1972, David Webb presented the show with Mike England and Alan Mullery. In 1973, it was John Hollins with Alan Ball. 1974 saw Terry Mancini host alongside Rodney Marsh and Terry Venables. Bobby Moore took the chair in 1975 with Peter Taylor and Rodney Marsh again. And in 1976 it was Elton John alongside Kevin Keegan and Mike Channon.

Here is the complete 1974 Christmas edition of The Big Match, presented by Terry Mancini - from 21 December with Chelsea v West Ham, Grimsby v Charlton and Newcastle v Leeds United.

(Thanks to FootballGaffesGalore)

It's the FA Cup ... 1977

For the next few months we will be following the FA Cup of 1977 - for no other reason that it is the first cup run I remember and the first time I completed my Roy Of The Rovers FA Cup wall chart of 1977. We'll follow progress and I'll search YouTube for video clips.

The draw for the 3rd round, with games scheduled to take place on Saturday 8 January, is:

Blackpool v Derby County
Darlington v Orient
Burnley v Lincoln City
Liverpool v Crystal Palace
Southampton v Chelsea
Leicester City v Aston Villa
Notts County v Arsenal
Nottingham Forest v Bristol Rovers
Northwich Victoria v Watford
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Rotherham United
Sunderland v Wrexham
Everton v Stoke City
Sheffield United v Newcastle United
Ipswich Town v Bristol City
Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion
Queens Park Rangers v Shrewsbury Town
Fulham v Swindon Town
Coventry City v Millwall
West Ham United v Bolton Wanderers
Manchester United v Walsall
Hull City v Port Vale
Carlisle United v Matlock Town
Oldham Athletic v Plymouth Argyle
Wimbledon v Middlesbrough
Southend United v Chester
Cardiff City v Tottenham Hotspur
Halifax Town v Luton Town
Charlton Athletic v Blackburn Rovers
Leeds United v Norwich City
Hereford United v Reading
Kettering Town v Colchester United
Birmingham City v Portsmouth