AUTHOR JON SPURLING LOOKS BACK AT AN UNFORGETTABLE FOOTBALL DECADE...

Cup kings: Manchester United celebrate beating Liverpool in the 1977 FA Cup final

SOME argue that the ’70s represent football’s golden era. At its best, the sport back then was thrilling, uplifting, unifying and touchingly innocent. The game was certainly far less moneyed and overblown than today.
The FA Cup was at the height of its popularity – with Southampton and Sunderland winning the trophy from the Second Division.
A raft of carpenters (Ronnie Radford), upholsterers (Chris Kelly) and miners (Alan Shoulder) b...