Match of the Day
Season 1984/85
Not Rated
The show celebrated its 20th anniversary and matches were still being broadcast on Fridays. Most other sports were now seen live on television so the production team wanted to continue the football experiment as well. 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." This was to be the last time that Match of the Day contained weekly League highlights until the beginning of the 1992-93 season.
Where to Watch Match of the Day • Season 1984/85
39 Episodes
- 29th September 1984E6
29th September 1984Action highlights from First and Second Division matches plus analysis and interviews. Also, the chance to win £100-worth of premium bonds in the August-September Goal of the Month competition. Manchester City v Crystal Palace Newcastle United v West Ham United - 12th October 1984: Tottenham Hotspur v LiverpoolE8
12th October 1984: Tottenham Hotspur v LiverpoolMatch of the Day's second live transmission of the season brings together the clubs who earned European honours for Britain last spring -Tottenham, UEFA Cup winners, and Liverpool, European Cup winners. - 2nd November 1984: Manchester United v ArsenalE11
2nd November 1984: Manchester United v ArsenalAt the start of the season, opinion was widely held that if Liverpool were to be denied a fourth successive Championship, the prize would be most likely to go to Manchester United or Arsenal. Experts are sometimes right, and in the early months of 1984-85 United and Arsenal have gone above Liverpool in both the table and the odds. - 24th November 1984E14
24th November 1984Action highlights from Canon League First and Second Division matches with analysis and interviews. Plus news round-up and pools check. Also a chance to win £100-worth of Premium Bonds in the November Goal of the Month competition. Sunderland v Manchester United Oxford United v Leeds United - 21st December 1984: Queens Park Rangers v LiverpoolE18
21st December 1984: Queens Park Rangers v LiverpoolSince spending £350,000 to install England's only artificial playing pitch in 1981, QPR have put together the finest home record of any club in the four divisions of the Football League-better even than that of Liverpool, champions for the past three seasons. Liverpool's one previous experience of this wall-to-wall carpet pitch brought no complaints-substitute Steve Nicol's lone goal earned them three points in October last year. - 29th December 1984E19
29th December 1984Action highlights from two Canon League First Division matches plus analysis and interviews. Plus News Round-up and Pools Check. Also, a chance to win £100 worth of Premium Bonds in the December Goal of the Month competition. Newcastle United v Arsenal Ipswich Town v Everton - 26th January 1985: FA Cup Fourth RoundE23
26th January 1985: FA Cup Fourth RoundAction highlights from three matches in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Also a chance to win £100 worth of Premium Bonds in the January Goal of the Month competition. York City v Arsenal Leyton Orient v Southampton Grimsby Town v Watford - 2nd February 1985E24
2nd February 1985Action highlights from two Canon League First Division matches with analysis and interviews, plus the news round-up and pools check. Also in tonight's programme the result of the January Goal of the Month competition. Luton Town v Tottenham Hotspur Sheffield Wednesday v Liverpool - 15th February 1985: FA Cup Fifth Round: Blackburn Rovers v Manchester UnitedE26
15th February 1985: FA Cup Fifth Round: Blackburn Rovers v Manchester UnitedThe FA Cup Fifth Round begins with live coverage of a real 'Lancashire hotpot' tonight as Manchester United continue their bid for a sixth triumph in the competition that Blackburn have already won that many times. - 23rd February 1985E27
23rd February 1985Action highlights from Canon League First and Second Division matches with analysis and interviews, plus the news round-up and pools check. Also a chance to win £100 worth of Premium Bonds in the February Goal of the Month competition. Leicester City v Everton Blackburn Rovers v Oxford United - 15th March 1985: West Ham United v Manchester UnitedE30
15th March 1985: West Ham United v Manchester UnitedIn the last of this season's live Canon League fixtures on BBC television, Manchester United's pursuit of their eighth championship takes them to one of the First Division's most compact grounds, Upton Park, the home of West Ham United, who often make life difficult for the best. - 24th March 1985: League Cup Final: Norwich City v SunderlandE31
24th March 1985: League Cup Final: Norwich City v SunderlandNorth East meets East Anglia in a major final for the first time. Sunderland have travelled the hard path, needing to beat four First Division clubs on the way, whereas Norwich City faced lower division opponents in every round before the semi-final. The winners will receive £64,000 - the top team prize in British sport - and the chance of further rich rewards with a place in Europe next season in the UEFA Cup. BBC outside broadcast cameras bring you live coverage of the action and after-match scenes on this Silver Jubilee occasion -the 25th Final of the competition launched by the Football League in 1960. - 13th April 1985: FA Cup Semi-FinalE34
13th April 1985: FA Cup Semi-FinalCan Luton Town reach an FA Cup final for only the second time in the club's history, having last appeared there in 1959 ending as runners-up? They face the current Cup holders Everton, eager to retain the trophy, at Villa Park in one of this afternoon's FA Cup Semi-finals. - 27th April 1985E36
27th April 1985Action highlights from two Canon League First Division matches with analysis and interviews, plus the news round-up and pools check. Also in tonight's programme a chance to win £100 worth of Premium Bonds in the April Goal of the Month competition. Manchester United v Sunderland Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - 4th May 1985E37
4th May 1985As the season draws to a close, Match of the Day cameras bring action highlights from two Canon League matches affecting championship honours, promotion and relegation. Plus the result of the April Goal of the Month competition. Sheffield Wednesday v Everton Blackburn Rovers v Portsmouth
