Category: Sport
Date: 24.07.2004
Printable version
1964-65
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Presenter - Kenneth Wolstenholme
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Match of the Day begins on 22 August 1964, for coverage
of Liverpool versus Arsenal.
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Kenneth Wolstenholme opens the programme with the words:
"Welcome to Match of the Day, the first of
a weekly series coming to you every Saturday on Â鶹ԼÅÄ TWO. As you can
hear we're in Beatleville for this Liverpool versus Arsenal match."
The programme began on Â鶹ԼÅÄ TWO – where it remained until 1966.
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Leeds United
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1965-66
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Presenter - Kenneth Wolstenholme
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Despite attempts by some clubs to prevent its return
due to fear over ticket sales, Match of the Day returned to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ
in October 1965 – two months after the start of the new season.
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The duration of each programme had been reduced to
45 minutes in length and it could no longer be broadcast before 10.00pm.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Leeds United
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1966-67
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Presenter - Kenneth Wolstenholme
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In the year that saw England win the World Cup, Match
of the Day moves to Â鶹ԼÅÄ ONE.
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Nottingham Forest
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1967-1968
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Presenter - Kenneth Wolstenholme
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Once again, protracted negotiations during the summer
ensured the return of the show. In order to secure the deal the Â鶹ԼÅÄ
had to agree to broadcast five matches from Division Two and two from
Divisions Three or Four as well as the 23 Division One games that they
wanted.
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Champions – Manchester City
Runners-Up – Manchester United
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1968-69
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Presenter - Kenneth Wolstenholme and David Coleman
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Grandstand presenter David Coleman begins regularly
presenting Match of the Day.
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Champions – Leeds United
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1969-70
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Presenter – David Coleman
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From 1969, the programme becomes live and studio based,
rather than being pre-recorded at the ground of the featured match,
and there were now two games seen each week.
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Champions – Everton
Runners-Up – Leeds United
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1970-71
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Presenter – David Coleman
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1970 saw the introduction of the Goal of the Month competition,
which led to thousands of postcards being sent to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.
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Champions – Arsenal
Runners-Up – Leeds United
Prime Minister – Edward Heath
1971-72
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Presenter – David Coleman
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John Motson makes his debut as a Match of the Day commentator.
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Champions – Derby County
Runners-Up – Leeds United
Prime Minister – Edward Heath
1972-73
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Presenter – David Coleman
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The current contractual agreement meant that Match of
the Day had to lead with a Division Two fixture, and twice with a match
from Division Three.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Arsenal
Prime Minister – Edward Heath
1973-74
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Match of the Day appoints Jimmy Hill as the new presenter,
after signing him from LWT. He was the first programme to both present
the programme and offer expert analysis.
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Champions – Leeds United
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Edward Heath
1974-75
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Match of the Day signs a new three-year contract with
the Football League.
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Champions – Derby County
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
1975-76
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Queen's Park Rangers
Prime Minister – Harold Wilson/James Callaghan
1976-77
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Manchester City
Prime Minister – James Callaghan
1977-78
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Match of the Day celebrates its 500th edition, marked
with a special Radio Times cover and a new set of opening titles –
with hundreds of school children holding up cards that depicted Jimmy
Hill's face and the Match of the Day logo.
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Champions – Nottingham Forest
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – James Callaghan
1978-79
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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In November ITV signed a secret three year deal with
the Football League to show edited highlights on Saturday nights instead
of Sundays in an attempt to break away from the joint negotiating strategy
and replace Match of the Day.
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A ruling by the Office of Fair Trading prevented ITV's
exclusive contract being signed but a compromise was reached.
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For the duration of the next four year contract it was
agreed that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ and ITV would have to alternate their programme
coverage with Match of the Day switching to Sunday afternoons for the
1980-81 and 1982-83 seasons.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Nottingham Forest
Prime Minister – James Callaghan
1979-80
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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For the first time Match of the Day was allowed to screen
additional games, and on 13 weekends there were highlights from three
different matches.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Manchester United
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1980-81
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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After 16 seasons in the Saturday night slot, Match of
the Day moved to Sunday afternoons.
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Champions – Aston Villa
Runners-Up – Ipswich Town
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1981-82
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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The programme returned to Saturday nights. Only two
games were allowed to be shown per show.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Ipswich Town
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1982-83
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Watford
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1983-84
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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Match of the Day was back on Saturday nights as a highlights
show but was supplemented by live matches on Friday evenings.
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The Â鶹ԼÅÄ and ITV had been allocated seven games each
with the commercial channel choosing to broadcast theirs on Sunday afternoons.
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This was a radical change in strategy by all involved
as prior to this new two year contract the only regular live domestic
football had been the FA Cup Final, England against Scotland and the
European Cup Final.
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Match of the Day was cancelled from 15 October to 19
November due to strike action at the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Southampton
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1984-85
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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The show celebrated its 20th anniversary and matches
were still being broadcast on Fridays.
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Most other sports were now seen live on television so
the production team wanted to continue the football experiment as well.
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Jonathan Martin, the Head of Sport at the time, recalled
that the experiment was disappointing: "We only got six or seven
million viewers on a Friday night which was poor for the slot so we
moved to Sundays in the following year."
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This was to be the last time that Match of the Day contained
weekly League highlights until the beginning of the 1992-93 season.
Champions – Everton
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1985-86
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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In 1985 the television rights came up for renegotiation
and Â鶹ԼÅÄ and ITV offered £16m for four years. This was in return
for 19 live games plus weekend highlights.
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The Football League met on Valentine's Day and rejected
it.
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Football was, however, in a weak negotiating position
as the game was rife with hooliganism and the two sides became deadlocked.
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The result was a total black-out for the first part
of the season which annoyed fans and concerned the sponsors.
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The Football League finally backed down and agreed a
deal that gave them less money per game than before on a short term
two and a half year contract.
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The remaining six months was worth £1.3m with
a two year £6.2m extension confirmed in June.
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The supporters were delighted and Match of the Day resumed
in January.
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It concentrated mainly on FA Cup highlights and the
occasional live League match on a Sunday.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Everton
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1986-87
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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With highlights out of fashion there were only 14 editions
of Match of the Day all season and the only League action came in the
seven live games on Sunday afternoons.
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Champions – Everton
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1987-88
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Presenter – Jimmy Hill
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The focus was still on the big clubs and the shows were
very irregular.
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They followed the same format as the previous year with
a mixture of live League games on Sunday afternoons and highlights shows
for the FA Cup.
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Everything changed with the launch of satellite TV.
British Sky Broadcasting wanted to buy football rights and in May they
bid £9m per season over ten years.
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The Â鶹ԼÅÄ and ITV bid jointly, offering less but just
when the Football League looked as though they were going to agree the
BSkyB deal, Greg Dyke, the Chairman of ITV Sport, negotiated directly
with League behind the backs of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.
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On 8 August the League Chairmen voted to sell all their
matches exclusively to ITV from 1988 leaving the Â鶹ԼÅÄ and BSkyB with
the FA Cup and England Internationals.
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This was also Jimmy Hill's final season as presenter
after a record 15 years in charge of the show.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Manchester United
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1988-89
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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Match of the Day celebrated its 25th anniversary and
had to cope with the fact that, for the first time since its inception
in 1964, it couldn't broadcast any League football.
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Instead, the team settled into the four year contract
with the intention of breathing new life into the FA Cup.
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With the new contract came a totally revamped show.
It was now officially titled Match of the Day – the Road to Wembley
and was presented by Des Lynam.
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Champions – Arsenal
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1989-90
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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Des Lynam continued to present the show, joined by Jimmy
Hill and Terry Venables as regular pundits.
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Champions – Liverpool
Runners-Up – Aston Villa
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher
1990-91
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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In the third season of the new contract there were 20
editions of Match of the Day but they were still restricted to covering
FA Cup matches.
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Champions – Arsenal
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher/John Major
1991-92
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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After several years of speculation it was announced
in February that a new, breakaway FA Premier League was going to be
formed.
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ITV were expected to win the TV rights but the Â鶹ԼÅÄ
and BSkyB combined to place a counter bid and had strong influence within
the new organisation.
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In May 1992 the rights were decided and each club had
one vote.
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BSkyB were awarded live matches on Sundays and Mondays
and the Â鶹ԼÅÄ gained the Saturday night highlights as part of a five year
deal.
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The two companies also joined forces to sign a new five
year deal to cover FA Cup and International matches.
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ITV would be covering the Football League and the League
Cup.
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Champions – Leeds United
Runners-Up – Manchester United
Prime Minister – John Major
1992-93
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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With the new season came a new Premier League, a new
contract and a new show, fronted by Des Lynam.
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Des was joined by new regular pundits, Alan Hansen and
Trevor Brooking, and the show reverted to the classic format of extended
highlights from three main games.
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Now, however, as well as all the extra analysis, viewers
were also able to see the goals from all the other matches as well.
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Aston Villa
Prime Minister – John Major
1993-94
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Blackburn Rovers
Prime Minister – John Major
1994-95
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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Match of the Day celebrated its 30th anniversary.
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Champions – Blackburn Rovers
Runners-Up – Manchester United
Prime Minister – John Major
1995-96
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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When Alex Ferguson's side were discussed on Match of
the Day on the opening day of the season Des remarked that "United
were scarcely recognizable from the team we've known over the past couple
of seasons, what's going on do you feel?"
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Alan Hansen famously replied: "You can't win anything
with kids... he's got to buy players, it's as simple as that."
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Newcastle United
Prime Minister – John Major
1996-97
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Newcastle United
Prime Minister – John Major
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1997-98
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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A new four year deal secured Premier League highlights
on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.
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Mark Lawrenson joined Trevor Brooking and Alan Hansen
as a regular pundit during the second half of the season.
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Champions – Arsenal
Runners-Up – Manchester United
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
1998-89
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Presenter – Desmond Lynam
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Des presented 36 of the 45 League and Cup programmes
plus eight more live UEFA Cup shows.
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Gary Lineker also fronted five editions with Ray Stubbs
hosting the remaining four.
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Arsenal
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
1999-2000
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Presenter – Gary Lineker
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Before the season began, on 2 August, Des Lynam resigned
from the Â鶹ԼÅÄ and moved to ITV to become their main football presenter.
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Arsenal
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
2000-01
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Presenter – Gary Lineker
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ITV won back the Premier League highlights as part of
a three year deal.
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They also obtained Nationwide League rights whilst
the Â鶹ԼÅÄ regained the FA Cup and England games.
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It was a major blow to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ, but Match of the Day
continued to show live FA Cup and European games.
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Arsenal
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
2001-02
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Presenter – Gary Lineker
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With Saturday night highlights now being shown on ITV's
The Premiership, Match of the Day reverted to covering live FA Cup and
England matches as well as some UEFA Cup games.
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Champions – Arsenal
Runners-Up – Liverpool
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
2002-03
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Presenter – Gary Lineker
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Champions – Manchester United
Runners-Up – Arsenal
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
2003-04
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Presenter – Gary Lineker
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In August 2003, it is announced that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ has won
back the right to show Premiership highlights from 2004, for three years.
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Champions – Arsenal
Runners-Up – Chelsea
Prime Minister – Tony Blair
2004-05
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Presenter – Gary Lineker
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Match of the Day returns to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ for the new season,
as part of a new football package on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.
