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Post by spitthedog on Apr 30, 2024 9:43:09 GMT
And so tonight, we played possibly the most controversial game that the Victoria Ground would ever witness. On Saturday, ManU were relegated in the midst of a riot that caused the players to leave the pitch after 85 minutes, never to return. Now the press were predicting worse would happen in their final league game at Stoke. I had stood on the Stoke End for years against all opposition, as had my Dad, uncles, Grandad and Great Grandad, but tonight my Dad refused to go and I stood on the Boothen End with a family friend. Depending on which paper you read, the Manchester Utd supporters were described as 'louts' and 'hooligans'. Dozens of shops in Stoke were smashed up and the police confiscated a horrifying array of weapons, including knives, hammers, chisels, coshes, screwdrivers and sharpened pieces of metal. A train was set on fire at Longport, 4 people were hospitalised and the police reported that there were dozens of fights inside and outside the ground. As the players entered the field of play, the police formed a barrier across the front of the Stoke End to stop a pitch invasion. After the game, MPs demanded the Home Secretary make a statement about the events. And yet this was a crucial game for us, one we had to win if we were to stand any chance of sneaking into Europe. Against a backdrop of bonfires on the Stoke End, we lined up; - Farmer, Dodd, Pejic, Bloor, Smith, Skeels, Robertson, Greenhoff, Ritchie, Hudson, Haslegrave. Sub; - Hurst. ManU included Brian Greenhoff, Lou Macari and Sammy McIlroy in front of 27,000 people. In the first half, we attacked towards the Stoke End. We were a class above our opponents, but events off the pitch were clearly affecting both teams. After 20 minutes, Haslegrave lobbed the ball over Alex Stepney as the keeper ran off his line and Ritchie scored with a tap in. The game was pretty much a stalemate until half-time but in the second period events on the Stoke End worsened. The police had now had enough of the fighting and bonfires and periodically charged the Manchester supporters with their dogs. John Farmer was supposed to be guarding our goal but he steadily moved up the field until he was nearly at the half way line by the time the game ended. The second half was pretty much played close to the Boothen End with none of the players seemingly wishing to go to the other end of the pitch. Brian Greenhoff did try a couple of speculative shots but that was pretty much all the Red Devils could muster. Ritchie went close with a header and Pejic forced a fine save from Stepney. Goodness knows how many minutes were played in that second half but the players and officials disappeared up the tunnel pretty quickly when the final whistle sounded. After the game a shocked and angry Waddo said: 'when a crowd can influence players in their performances then you have a serious situation developing'. He continued: 'The game is reaching a crisis point and I feel that young people who enjoy violence for its own sake should be treated in the only way they understand. Those who live by the sword should suffer by the sword'. Local MPs were also angry, demanding to know who was going to pay for the extensive police operation. After this 1-0 win, we have now lost only 2 games in the final 23 matches of the season and we finish the season in 5th place. We have to hope Liverpool win the FA Cup and Spurs lose in the UEFA cup final to claim a place in Europe next season. View AttachmentBrilliant summary, doffs cap. You've crystallised the weird atmosphere perfectly. My overriding memory of the evening is the Boothen chanting "Doc, Doc, Docherty - in the f***ing lavatory". Amazing to think that Tommy Docherty wasn't sacked after this relegation. Can you imagine this today? He was given the opportunity to rebuild a new team in Divsion 2 from scratch more or less, and he put together a very exciting young team. Naturally I have always had an immense dislike for Utd, but that team was very exciting to watch, with Coppell and Hill on the wings, Lou, McIllroy and Daly in midfield and the wonderful Martin Buchan at the back. ...and then he was sacked for having an affair. My goodness, how society and football has changed! |
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Post by march4 on Apr 30, 2024 11:39:36 GMT
Brilliant summary, doffs cap. You've crystallised the weird atmosphere perfectly. My overriding memory of the evening is the Boothen chanting "Doc, Doc, Docherty - in the f***ing lavatory". Amazing to think that Tommy Docherty wasn't sacked after this relegation. Can you imagine this today? He was given the opportunity to rebuild a new team in Divsion 2 from scratch more or less, and he put together a very exciting young team. Naturally I have always had an immense dislike for Utd, but that team was very exciting to watch, with Coppell and Hill on the wings, Lou, McIllroy and Daly in midfield and the wonderful Martin Buchan at the back. ...and then he was sacked for having an affair. My goodness, how society and football has changed! I met the Doc at a conference in London in early 2000s. He was generous with his time with those of us who wished to speak to him and was friendly and engaging. When I told him I was a Stoke fan, he spent ages eulogising about Jimmy Greenhoff. He was a larger than life character and I could see how he led a big football club with success. |
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Post by ihaveadream on Apr 30, 2024 11:55:32 GMT
April 27th 1974, has gone down in urban folklore as the day Denis Law relegated Manchester United with a back heel in front of the Stretford End playing for Manchester City. This is not entirely correct. The Red Devils needed to win their two remaining games and hope the teams around them lost all of their remaining games to stand any chance of staying up. Had Law not scored, they would have still been relegated on that day as they hadn't won. Anyway, Birmingham won and West Ham drew with Liverpool so ManU were well and truly relegated before Law's intervention. View AttachmentBoo hoo |
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Post by spitthedog on Apr 30, 2024 11:58:22 GMT
Amazing to think that Tommy Docherty wasn't sacked after this relegation. Can you imagine this today? He was given the opportunity to rebuild a new team in Divsion 2 from scratch more or less, and he put together a very exciting young team. Naturally I have always had an immense dislike for Utd, but that team was very exciting to watch, with Coppell and Hill on the wings, Lou, McIllroy and Daly in midfield and the wonderful Martin Buchan at the back. ...and then he was sacked for having an affair. My goodness, how society and football has changed! I met the Doc at a conference in London in early 2000s. He was generous with his time with those of us who wished to speak to him and was friendly and engaging. When I told him I was a Stoke fan, he spent ages eulogising about Jimmy Greenhoff. He was a larger than life character and I could see how he led a big football club with success. Nice story. Signing Greenhoff showed that he knew a good player when he saw one. Referring to the football confessions thread, mine might be the fact that I used to really enjoy watching that revitalised Man Utd team under Docherty, (I truly hated them before and since and ashamed of it now of course!) they had a lot of character, energy and raw talent. Steve Coppell was one of my favourite non-Stoke players, and Buchan too and I actually always wanted Jimmy G to do well there because I knew it was a forced move and his heart was still really at Stoke. |
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Post by march4 on Apr 30, 2024 12:11:02 GMT
The FA’s response to the hooliganism was an expectation that First Division clubs built a moat around the pitch that would stop pitch invasions. However, they then added that only clubs who had been affected by hooliganism would have to comply. Thanks to the Manchester Utd supporters, we were now on that list and had until August to complete the works.
Stoke estimated the cost to the club would be £100,000 and the work would not be finished in time as there was a shortage of skilled workers. There would be the additional cost of lost gate receipts as the moats would eat into the terraces and reduce attendances.
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Post by ihaveadream on Apr 30, 2024 12:28:41 GMT
I remember a picture in the Sentinel showing Waddington inspecting the newly built moat.
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Post by ihaveadream on Apr 30, 2024 12:29:58 GMT
The FA’s response to the hooliganism was an expectation that First Division clubs built a moat around the pitch that would stop pitch invasions. However, they then added that only clubs who had been affected by hooliganism would have to comply. Thanks to the Manchester Utd supporters, we were now on that list and had until August to complete the works. Stoke estimated the cost to the club would be £100,000 and the work would not be finished in time as there was a shortage of skilled workers. There would be the additional cost of lost gate receipts as the moats would eat into the terraces and reduce attendances. So Man United wouldn't have had to build one as they were in Division 2 |
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Post by lordb on Apr 30, 2024 13:20:19 GMT
I remember a picture in the Sentinel showing Waddington inspecting the newly built moat. my first game was 1978, can remember wondering what that was didn't last long (the moat, I'm still about) |
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Post by march4 on Apr 30, 2024 13:56:24 GMT
The FA’s response to the hooliganism was an expectation that First Division clubs built a moat around the pitch that would stop pitch invasions. However, they then added that only clubs who had been affected by hooliganism would have to comply. Thanks to the Manchester Utd supporters, we were now on that list and had until August to complete the works. Stoke estimated the cost to the club would be £100,000 and the work would not be finished in time as there was a shortage of skilled workers. There would be the additional cost of lost gate receipts as the moats would eat into the terraces and reduce attendances. So Man United wouldn't have had to build one as they were in Division 2 Sounds about right. Their supporters caused chaos the following season. I remember some of them falling through the stand roof at Norwich. |
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Post by J-Roar on Apr 30, 2024 14:14:28 GMT
I remember a picture in the Sentinel showing Waddington inspecting the newly built moat. my first game was 1978, can remember wondering what that was didn't last long (the moat, I'm still about) Did the gravity crocodile live in it? |
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Post by march4 on Apr 30, 2024 15:09:36 GMT
The MPs in parliament decided that the clubs should foot the bill for policing operations. I’m not sure if we had to pay for the ManU game.
Jumping forward a couple of years when we hit our financial troubles, the £100,000 we spent on the moat would have come in useful for day to day running costs.
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Post by march4 on May 2, 2024 7:27:37 GMT
Sir Alf Ramsey has been sacked as England manager after 11 years in charge. He remains our only manager to win the World Cup. Joe Mercer who is general manager at Coventry will become caretaker manager. Pejic, Smith, Hudson and Greenhoff will all be interested as they press their claims for an England place. Pej does retain his place in the squad for the Home Internationals. Our players travelled to Maine Road for a testimonial game for Johnny Hart. Farmer needs to rest his troublesome thigh muscle and McDonald's broken finger has still not healed, so Gordon Banks played in goal for us in a 3-1 defeat. Bert Trautmann played the second half in goal for our opponents. Mahoney scored our goal. The papers are saying we are poised to bring back Mike Bernard for a fee of over £150,000. This was a bizarre sale in the first place as Bernard's replacement Stuart Jump was never quite good enough and now John Mahoney has slotted into the defensive midfield role beautifully. Indeed, the Sunday People name Mahoney as the defensive midfielder in their team of the year. They also have Pej as the best left back in the country. Perhaps Waddo saw Mahoney as moving further forward alongside Hudson with Bernard anchoring the midfield. In Parliament, the rumblings about our final game of the season continue. The extra cost of policing will be approximately £500. And improvement work has begun on the Butler Street Stand. I wonder what they did - presumably not the roof!  |
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Post by ihaveadream on May 2, 2024 12:55:43 GMT
£500 does not sound much now but it was an absolute fortune then
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Post by smallthorner on May 2, 2024 19:38:12 GMT
Sir Alf Ramsey has been sacked as England manager after 11 years in charge. He remains our only manager to win the World Cup. Joe Mercer who is general manager at Coventry will become caretaker manager. Pejic, Smith, Hudson and Greenhoff will all be interested as they press their claims for an England place. Pej does retain his place in the squad for the Home Internationals. Our players travelled to Maine Road for a testimonial game for Johnny Hart. Farmer needs to rest his troublesome thigh muscle and McDonald's broken finger has still not healed, so Gordon Banks played in goal for us in a 3-1 defeat. Bert Trautmann played the second half in goal for our opponents. Mahoney scored our goal. The papers are saying we are poised to bring back Mike Bernard for a fee of over £150,000. This was a bizarre sale in the first place as Bernard's replacement Stuart Jump was never quite good enough and now John Mahoney has slotted into the defensive midfield role beautifully. Indeed, the Sunday People name Mahoney as the defensive midfielder in their team of the year. They also have Pej as the best left back in the country. Perhaps Waddo saw Mahoney as moving further forward alongside Hudson with Bernard anchoring the midfield. In Parliament, the rumblings about our final game of the season continue. The extra cost of policing will be approximately £500. And improvement work has begun on the Butler Street Stand. I wonder what they did - presumably not the roof! View AttachmentCan you remember the quirky bench seats in the corners of the Butler St stand? Used to love them when my uncle upgraded occasionally (from stoke end) usually for the bigger games. Like Hudson's debut. |
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Post by march4 on May 2, 2024 20:31:32 GMT
Sir Alf Ramsey has been sacked as England manager after 11 years in charge. He remains our only manager to win the World Cup. Joe Mercer who is general manager at Coventry will become caretaker manager. Pejic, Smith, Hudson and Greenhoff will all be interested as they press their claims for an England place. Pej does retain his place in the squad for the Home Internationals. Our players travelled to Maine Road for a testimonial game for Johnny Hart. Farmer needs to rest his troublesome thigh muscle and McDonald's broken finger has still not healed, so Gordon Banks played in goal for us in a 3-1 defeat. Bert Trautmann played the second half in goal for our opponents. Mahoney scored our goal. The papers are saying we are poised to bring back Mike Bernard for a fee of over £150,000. This was a bizarre sale in the first place as Bernard's replacement Stuart Jump was never quite good enough and now John Mahoney has slotted into the defensive midfield role beautifully. Indeed, the Sunday People name Mahoney as the defensive midfielder in their team of the year. They also have Pej as the best left back in the country. Perhaps Waddo saw Mahoney as moving further forward alongside Hudson with Bernard anchoring the midfield. In Parliament, the rumblings about our final game of the season continue. The extra cost of policing will be approximately £500. And improvement work has begun on the Butler Street Stand. I wonder what they did - presumably not the roof! View AttachmentCan you remember the quirky bench seats in the corners of the Butler St stand? Used to love them when my uncle upgraded occasionally (from stoke end) usually for the bigger games. Like Hudson's debut. I can indeed with the little chocks of wood to separate the individual seats. |
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Post by march4 on May 4, 2024 9:47:53 GMT
Excuse a little self-indulgence here but it is 50 years today since the FA Cup Final where Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-0. It was a special occasion because my elderly grandparents had started to rent a colour television earlier in the week from the Co-op in Longton and they asked me if I wanted to watch the match with them at their house in Normacot. Colour televisions were a rarity and they were the first people I knew who had one. Indeed this was the first football match that I ever watched on a colour TV. 21 years earlier, the first game I ever saw on any sort of TV was the Matthews Final at a neighbour's house. I ordered a copy of 1974 Cup Final programme via a newspaper advertisement and settled down for a whole day of Cup Final entertainment. I was so impressed with the colour television that I saved up so that I too could rent one in time for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. The TV was huge and took two men to carry into the lounge. It is hard to think that they were so expensive (about £200) that the only option was to rent one or buy one with a higher purchase agreement. In comparison, you could buy a new car for about £1000. And to really set the time machine spinning, my Gran made lunch which comprised a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie split between 3 of us, Smash mashed potatoes and tinned marrowfat peas! The Sentinel letters page is full of praise for Stoke's recent form. There are claims that a midfield of Hudson, Haslegrave and Mahoney is the best in the country and all we need to challenge the likes of Leeds and Liverpool is a goalscorer to support our ageing strikers. At least TC might be recovered from his knee surgery. There is also a suggestion that the season has seen no team do the double on us for the first time ever in our top flight history. And the prospect of no more football on TV is looming with talks between the football authorities and the television companies having completely broken down. The price for a Boothen End season ticket is now £9 with the poshest seats in the Boothen Stand costing £20 for the season. Pej and Josh are joining their international squads for the Home Internationals and Huddy is preparing to represent England u21s. Here are the details of our squad appearances for the season just gone;-  |
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Post by deeside2 on May 4, 2024 10:14:17 GMT
Excuse a little self-indulgence here but it is 50 years today since the FA Cup Final where Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-0. It was a special occasion because my elderly grandparents had started to rent a colour television earlier in the week from the Co-op in Longton and they asked me if I wanted to watch the match with them at their house in Normacot. Colour televisions were a rarity and they were the first people I knew who had one. Indeed this was the first football match that I ever watched on a colour TV. 21 years earlier, the first game I ever saw on any sort of TV was the Matthews Final at a neighbour's house. I ordered a copy of 1974 Cup Final programme via a newspaper advertisement and settled down for a whole day of Cup Final entertainment. I was so impressed with the colour television that I saved up so that I too could rent one in time for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. The TV was huge and took two men to carry into the lounge. It is hard to think that they were so expensive (about £200) that the only option was to rent one or buy one with a higher purchase agreement. In comparison, you could buy a new car for about £1000. And to really set the time machine spinning, my Gran made lunch which comprised a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie split between 3 of us, Smash mashed potatoes and tinned marrowfat peas! The Sentinel letters page is full of praise for Stoke's recent form. There are claims that a midfield of Hudson, Haslegrave and Mahoney is the best in the country and all we need to challenge the likes of Leeds and Liverpool is a goalscorer to support our ageing strikers. At least TC might be recovered from his knee surgery. There is also a suggestion that the season has seen no team do the double on us for the first time ever in our top flight history. And the prospect of no more football on TV is looming with talks between the football authorities and the television companies having completely broken down. The price for a Boothen End season ticket is now £9 with the poshest seats in the Boothen Stand costing £20 for the season. Pej and Josh are joining their international squads for the Home Internationals and Huddy is preparing to represent England u21s. Here are the details of our squad appearances for the season just gone;- View AttachmentThanks again for doing this March. Even though "we were there" the sands of time erode the memory somewhat but this thread has brought some long forgotten stories back to life. One of the best threads on here. |
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Post by Mr_DaftBurger on May 4, 2024 10:34:16 GMT
I was thinking the other day, growing up in the seventies, it really was a shit decade but a move forward decade, in lots of ways and I loved it. 😁
My grandad rented his TV from rubybottoms! 😁 TV then did not have the same association as TV now so any relation between TV's and Ruby bottoms is purely in your mind! 😛
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Post by march4 on May 11, 2024 10:29:17 GMT
Pej continued his England career in the Home International fixture away to Wales. This was Joe Mercer's first game in charge and England comfortably won 2-0. Mahoney played for Wales. Pej will hope to keep his place for the forthcoming matches against Northern Ireland and Scotland as will Josh.
Huddy has been made captain of the England u23 team. This is a big positive as he had been banned from national recognition by Sir Alf for 2 years after failing to appear after being selected in 1972. The first game of the u23 tour was a curious affair in Turkey. The pitch could have been used for water polo and the match had to be abandoned at half-time. This was after Bob Latchford had the ball in the net on three occasions only for all of them to be ruled out for marginal reasons. The tour continued with a 1-0 defeat in Yugoslavia. Again another strange match with the Yugoslavs insisting on playing three over age players. The final match was a 2-2 draw in France. With this game drifting to a stalemate, controversy erupted when John McDowell became injured in the closing minutes. England looked to make a substitution but the French refused and the game was delayed while negotiation took place. Eventually, England brought on Mervyn Day in goal and then put the original keeper, Alan Stevenson up front in place of McDowell. It is now well over a year since the u23s beat a side from outside the Home Nations. This was Huddy's final hurrah for the u23 side. He will be 23 in June and will then wait for a call up to the full England team.
Stoke's hopes of European football now rest on Feyenoord beating Spurs in the final of the UEFA cup. As a part of their preparation, Feyenoord today played Aston Villa in a friendly match to acclimatise to playing English opposition. Unfortunately Villa won 7-1 and so Stoke's prospects look a little less healthy.
In a fortnight, our players will be leaving to play in an 8 game tournament in Cyprus. Huddy, Pej and Mahoney will join the squad once their international duties have ended. I wonder when they had their summer break!
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Post by march4 on May 19, 2024 13:37:40 GMT
Pej played his final two games for England culminating in the disastrous 2-0 reverse at Hampden to the Scots in which Pej inadvertently turned the ball into his own goal for the first.
Although he stayed in the squad for a while, this was the end of his international career.
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Post by owdestokie2 on May 19, 2024 13:51:34 GMT
I bought my 1st ST in Boothen Stand and still a ST holder……….I have sought specialist treatment over the years to no avail 😁😁😁
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Post by march4 on May 19, 2024 14:06:52 GMT
I bought my 1st ST in Boothen Stand and still a ST holder……….I have sought specialist treatment over the years to no avail 😁😁😁 50 years service, mate. Your season ticket should be free now!! |
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Post by castokie on May 20, 2024 20:07:23 GMT
Hey March As many of us have mentioned you done a great job bringing this season to life and providing a lot of memories for those that were there. Just out of interest is this the end or does 1974/5 the new 50 years ago in august?
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Post by march4 on May 21, 2024 5:47:28 GMT
Hey March As many of us have mentioned you done a great job bringing this season to life and providing a lot of memories for those that were there. Just out of interest is this the end or does 1974/5 the new 50 years ago in august? I think I will keep going as it is another momentous season. |
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Post by ihaveadream on May 21, 2024 12:31:16 GMT
Hey March As many of us have mentioned you done a great job bringing this season to life and providing a lot of memories for those that were there. Just out of interest is this the end or does 1974/5 the new 50 years ago in august? I think I will keep going as it is another momentous season. I look forward to your post on November 30th. |
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Post by castokie on May 22, 2024 16:05:19 GMT
That's great news, your right a lot went on in this the "almost" season including the world record fee for a keeper. Can't wait to hear all about it.
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Post by ihaveadream on May 23, 2024 8:46:05 GMT
We will shortly be signing a player who shares his name with a Solicitors in Hartshill
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Post by march4 on May 25, 2024 10:18:37 GMT
The Sunday papers are all full of the news that Stoke are poised to bring back Mike Bernard from Everton for a fee in excess of £140,000. This seems a strange move as Josh has settled readily to the defensive midfield position and shifting him back to wide midfield to accommodate Bernard seems a touch extravagant especially as it is our goal threat that is holding us back.
Director Percy Axon has made a speech in which he is bemoaning the expenses that the club are currently carrying. A new social club is costing £45,000 and improvements to the Butler Street Stand £65,000. Now the club (alongside all 1st and 2nd Division clubs) have to build a moat to stop fans invading the pitch. This is costing £100,000 and the club have asked for extra time as August is an impossible deadline. However, Ted Croker, FA Secretary, has warned that clubs who had crowd trouble in the past 12 months would find themselves severely dealt with by the disciplinary committee if they do not comply on time. Axon wanted the deadline to be 2 or 3 years and not a matter of months. We, of course, are a club who had crowd trouble thanks to the Man Utd fans visit.
In 4 days time, Stoke will be eagerly watching the Feyenoord vs Spurs UEFA Cup Final, hoping that Spurs lose and Stoke can apply for a place in next season's UEFA competition.
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Post by spitthedog on May 25, 2024 13:45:44 GMT
The Sunday papers are all full of the news that Stoke are poised to bring back Mike Bernard from Everton for a fee in excess of £140,000. This seems a strange move as Josh has settled readily to the defensive midfield position and shifting him back to wide midfield to accommodate Bernard seems a touch extravagant especially as it is our goal threat that is holding us back. Director Percy Axon has made a speech in which he is bemoaning the expenses that the club are currently carrying. A new social club is costing £45,000 and improvements to the Butler Street Stand £65,000. Now the club (alongside all 1st and 2nd Division clubs) have to build a moat to stop fans invading the pitch. This is costing £100,000 and the club have asked for extra time as August is an impossible deadline. However, Ted Croker, FA Secretary, has warned that clubs who had crowd trouble in the past 12 months would find themselves severely dealt with by the disciplinary committee if they do not comply on time. Axon wanted the deadline to be 2 or 3 years and not a matter of months. We, of course, are a club who had crowd trouble thanks to the Man Utd fans visit. In 4 days time, Stoke will be eagerly watching the Feyenoord vs Spurs UEFA Cup Final, hoping that Spurs lose and Stoke can apply for a place in next season's UEFA competition. Seems bizarre now that the UEFA Cup Final was over 2 Legs Home and Away! |
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Post by Veritas on May 25, 2024 13:48:46 GMT
The Sunday papers are all full of the news that Stoke are poised to bring back Mike Bernard from Everton for a fee in excess of £140,000. This seems a strange move as Josh has settled readily to the defensive midfield position and shifting him back to wide midfield to accommodate Bernard seems a touch extravagant especially as it is our goal threat that is holding us back. Director Percy Axon has made a speech in which he is bemoaning the expenses that the club are currently carrying. A new social club is costing £45,000 and improvements to the Butler Street Stand £65,000. Now the club (alongside all 1st and 2nd Division clubs) have to build a moat to stop fans invading the pitch. This is costing £100,000 and the club have asked for extra time as August is an impossible deadline. However, Ted Croker, FA Secretary, has warned that clubs who had crowd trouble in the past 12 months would find themselves severely dealt with by the disciplinary committee if they do not comply on time. Axon wanted the deadline to be 2 or 3 years and not a matter of months. We, of course, are a club who had crowd trouble thanks to the Man Utd fans visit. In 4 days time, Stoke will be eagerly watching the Feyenoord vs Spurs UEFA Cup Final, hoping that Spurs lose and Stoke can apply for a place in next season's UEFA competition. Seems bizarre now that the UEFA Cup Final was over 2 Legs Home and Away! Even more bizarre that it, and it's forerunner the fairs cup, was at first restricted to one club per city |
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