Back in the days before squad numbers..

[GrayBlade]

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, if a regular United player had to be moved from his normal position to cover for an injured player, they changed their shirt number to denote their new position. So if the regular left winger had to play as main striker, he’d lose the number 11 shirt and don the number 9, and if the regular right back had to be moved to left back, he’d get the number 3 shirt and somebody else would get his. Nobody kept their regular shirt, even TC prior to the 70-71 season.

It seems inconceivable now that clubs would basically flag up to the opposition who was playing where, and it eventually changed and you’d see a number 4 on the wing and a number 7 at CB etc. even before squad numbers started but back in the day, if for instance Gill Reece had to play CF, he’d lose his regular number 11 shirt and get Billy Dearden’s number 9 shirt. Do others recall it the same way?

 

[Cradleyblade]

Yes, that's correct, us old timers remember it well!!!

 

[super_pig]

Yes, that's correct, us old timers remember it well!!!

someone once messed about with the numbers/positions caused uproar (revie?)
that’s why us old farts still say he’s playing the number nine role (cf) or the number 11 (left wing)

 

[Cradleyblade]

Funny enough just the other night myself and CB Junior where discussing "old fashioned" position numbers and their names. I got as far as Left Back (2), Centre Half (5), Right Back (3),Left Wing (7),Centre Forward (9) andRight Wing (11) but could not for the life of me think what the mid field positions were called (Half Backs?) positions 4, 6, 8 and 10. Any one care to enlighten me? Old age memory loss is worrying!!!

 

[mattbianco1]

Numbers are different in Europe to those in South America too.

In Argentina #4 was always a RB (Javier Zanetti wore this throughout his career at inter). In Brazil #6 is a LB (R.Carlos) and #5 CM

https://www.football-lineups.com/numbering/AR

 

[GrayBlade]

Funny enough just the other night myself and CB Junior where discussing "old fashioned" position numbers and their names. I got as far as Left Back (2), Centre Half (5), Right Back (3),Left Wing (7),Centre Forward (9) andRight Wing (11) but could not for the life of me think what the mid field positions were called (Half Backs?) positions 4, 6, 8 and 10. Any one care to enlighten me? Old age memory loss is worrying!!!

4 and 6 were right half (back) and left half. 8 and 10 were inside right and God’s position.. erm sorry inside left.

 

[super_pig]

4 and 6 were right half (back) and left half. 8 and 10 were inside right and God’s position.. erm sorry inside left.

 

[JohnDenver]

Funny enough just the other night myself and CB Junior where discussing "old fashioned" position numbers and their names. I got as far as Left Back (2), Centre Half (5), Right Back (3),Left Wing (7),Centre Forward (9) andRight Wing (11) but could not for the life of me think what the mid field positions were called (Half Backs?) positions 4, 6, 8 and 10. Any one care to enlighten me? Old age memory loss is worrying!!!

90s football taught me 2=RB and 3=LB.

Did that change at some point prior?

 

[GrayBlade]

Numbers are different in Europe to those in South America too.

In Argentina #4 was always a RB (Javier Zanetti wore this throughout his career at inter). In Brazil #6 is a LB (R.Carlos) and #5 CM

https://www.football-lineups.com/numbering/AR

Really interesting stats those. In England, thinking back the number 4 did usually sit deeper than the number 6 about the time I’m talking about although I seem to think our number 8 was usually the second striker and number 10 the playmaker. Amazing how diffferent countries developed different styles.

 

[Ginger Gnome]

90s football taught me 2=RB and 3=LB.

Did that change at some point prior?

No, 2 and 7 have always been on the right, 3 and 11 on the left. Even in the different variations around the world like the Dutch way of numbering right to left from front to back (so left back ends up wearing 5 and the striker is 11), the right back (or some kind of right sided defender) is always 2.

 

[Blade for Sale]

9 - 10

11 - 8 - 4 - 7

3 - 5 - 6 - 2

1

is how I recall it in the 90s

 

[Golden Gordon]

Surely everyone had the Ladybird Book of Football?
I did!

 

[mattbianco1]

No, 2 and 7 have always been on the right, 3 and 11 on the left. Even in the different variations around the world like the Dutch way of numbering right to left from front to back (so left back ends up wearing 5 and the striker is 11), the right back (or some kind of right sided defender) is always 2.

Not quite true. See my post above. South Americans used to do it differently. Argentina always used #4 for RB. More evidence of this is here

https://squadnumbers.wordpress.com/2014/10/16/the-history-of-numbers-argentina/

Here are 3 examples from the weekend just gone of 3 teams in the Argentinean league playing their #4 at RB. I only checked four games.

 

[Cradleyblade]

90s football taught me 2=RB and 3=LB.

Did that change at some point prior?

Never could tell my right from my left!!

• 

 

[boo radley]

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, if a regular United player had to be moved from his normal position to cover for an injured player, they changed their shirt number to denote their new position. So if the regular left winger had to play as main striker, he’d lose the number 11 shirt and don the number 9, and if the regular right back had to be moved to left back, he’d get the number 3 shirt and somebody else would get his. Nobody kept their regular shirt, even TC prior to the 70-71 season.

It seems inconceivable now that clubs would basically flag up to the opposition who was playing where, and it eventually changed and you’d see a number 4 on the wing and a number 7 at CB etc. even before squad numbers started but back in the day, if for instance Gill Reece had to play CF, he’d lose his regular number 11 shirt and get Billy Dearden’s number 9 shirt. Do others recall it the same way?

I used to have a game called Subbuteo. Seems inconceivable now that someone would bother to set a cloth pitch up when they can look at a screen and press buttons on a keypad.

 

[Sean Thornton]

90s football taught me 2=RB and 3=LB.

Did that change at some point prior?

Always been 2RB, 3LB.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I used to have a game called Subbuteo. Seems inconceivable now that someone would bother to set a cloth pitch up when they can look at a screen and press buttons on a keypad.

Magnetic football!

 

[Trigger Blade]

Always been 2RB, 3LB.

2 Len Badger - RB
3 Ted Hemsley (or EJO Hemsley in the summer months) - LB

 

[blade.i.am]

Surely everyone had the Ladybird Book of Football?
I did!

I'm guessing Nigel Clough didn't have it

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Magnetic football!

Ha-Ha! I remember it well. Magnets on like a stick and footballers with magnets on their feet. Slip the stick under the table and make the footballers run around and kick the ball.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, if a regular United player had to be moved from his normal position to cover for an injured player, they changed their shirt number to denote their new position. So if the regular left winger had to play as main striker, he’d lose the number 11 shirt and don the number 9, and if the regular right back had to be moved to left back, he’d get the number 3 shirt and somebody else would get his. Nobody kept their regular shirt, even TC prior to the 70-71 season.

It seems inconceivable now that clubs would basically flag up to the opposition who was playing where, and it eventually changed and you’d see a number 4 on the wing and a number 7 at CB etc. even before squad numbers started but back in the day, if for instance Gill Reece had to play CF, he’d lose his regular number 11 shirt and get Billy Dearden’s number 9 shirt. Do others recall it the same way?

I remember it well. I also seem to remember players wearing a shirt with no number on it on some occasions. I'm trying to remember now, but I'm pretty sure there was one match played at the Lane in the 1970's when it was so muddy that the players were barely recognisable by half-time. They looked like mud wrestlers - no, I mean literally! You couldn't even tell whether they were United players or the opposition. This was back in the day of "proper" football pitches, made of grass. They went in at half-time and re-emerged in a brand spanking clean, dry, kit. But none of the shirts had numbers on them.

It would happen on other occasions as well, for example if a player got his shirt torn, or something like that, he may be given one without a number on it.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Surely everyone had the Ladybird Book of Football?
I did!

That’s a high press!
Shouldn’t the centre half and half backs be halfway between the full backs and the forwards?

 

[GrayBlade]

I remember it well. I also seem to remember players wearing a shirt with no number on it on some occasions. I'm trying to remember now, but I'm pretty sure there was one match played at the Lane in the 1970's when it was so muddy that the players were barely recognisable by half-time. They looked like mud wrestlers - no, I mean literally! You couldn't even tell whether they were United players or the opposition. This was back in the day of "proper" football pitches, made of grass. They went in at half-time and re-emerged in a brand spanking clean, dry, kit. But none of the shirts had numbers on them.

It would happen on other occasions as well, for example if a player got his shirt torn, or something like that, he may be given one without a number on it.

Haha that brings back some great memories buddy, although the shirt with no name thing is still happening. Was it O’Connel against Hull had to change his shirt because it had blood on it and he got a blank one?

 

[GrayBlade]

I used to have a game called Subbuteo. Seems inconceivable now that someone would bother to set a cloth pitch up when they can look at a screen and press buttons on a keypad.

I spent many a happy hour ‘Just flicking to kick’ with my two lads in the 80’s. Floodlights, stands the lot.

We did have alternative ways of playing footie games back then like Match Day on their Sinclair Spectrum computer and on the Atari game centre, but it was obvious back then that stuff like that was just a passing phase and would never ever replace Subbuteo

 

[bromtom]

I spent many a happy hour ‘Just flicking to kick’ with my two lads in the 80’s. Floodlights, stands the lot.

We did have alternative ways of playing footie games back then like Match Day on their Sinclair Spectrum computer and on the Atari game centre, but it was obvious back then that stuff like that was just a passing phase and would never ever replace Subbuteo

I had football games on the Spectrum and Master System but I don't think they were worth playing until the N64 or PS1 3D games, until then it was Subbuteo and latterly Total Action Football for me, had Michael Owen on it at the time. I remember going to get it from Woolworths on the moor with my Mum and we saw Tony Capstick.

 

[GrayBlade]

I had football games on the Spectrum and Master System but I don't think they were worth playing until the N64 or PS1 3D games, until then it was Subbuteo and latterly Total Action Football for me, had Michael Owen on it at the time. I remember going to get it from Woolworths on the moor with my Mum and we saw Tony Capstick.

I was lucky, I used to repair video games back in the 80’s (the type you saw in pubs and motorway service stations), so I had to (ahem) give them a thorough testing to make sure I’d cured the fault.

 

[tincan]

I remember it well. I also seem to remember players wearing a shirt with no number on it on some occasions. I'm trying to remember now, but I'm pretty sure there was one match played at the Lane in the 1970's when it was so muddy that the players were barely recognisable by half-time. They looked like mud wrestlers - no, I mean literally! You couldn't even tell whether they were United players or the opposition. This was back in the day of "proper" football pitches, made of grass. They went in at half-time and re-emerged in a brand spanking clean, dry, kit. But none of the shirts had numbers on them.

It would happen on other occasions as well, for example if a player got his shirt torn, or something like that, he may be given one without a number on it.

Number s on shirts not as old as I thought. 1930s. Interesting read:
http://www.englandfootballonline.com/teamunif/UnifNosNames.html

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

In the 70s when most teams played 4-4-2. The numbers were as follows

 

[grafikhaus]

That’s a high press!
Shouldn’t the centre half and half backs be halfway between the full backs and the forwards?

Where's the sweeper keeper?

Haha that brings back some great memories buddy, although the shirt with no name thing is still happening. Was it O’Connel against Hull had to change his shirt because it had blood on it and he got a blank one?

That was last Saturday v Wigan. Martin Samuel is urging a points deduction.

 

[super_pig]

I used to have a game called Subbuteo. Seems inconceivable now that someone would bother to set a cloth pitch up when they can look at a screen and press buttons on a keypad.

me too. i preferred Striker though (press their heads down)