Soccer Scribe

Watching The Big Match Revisited on ITV 4 this week, I was struck by how charming and engaging a figure David Pleat cut back in 1983.

Struggling to keep little Luton Town in Division One, Pleat was interviewed by the legendary Brian Moore in the wake of a dramatic last-minute 2-1 Luton win over Aston Villa.

Revealing that he had provided brandy and coffee to his players before the game, Pleat admitted that much of what passed for football manager-speak was really just psychobabble. In the process of claiming that he had never given up hope of a late win, he cracked into a wry smile and came clean that he had really given up.

It’s hard to fully understand how this amiable man changed into the rather pretentious syntax-mangling co-commentator that many of us now find boring. Perhaps it was the bruising treatment dished out at the hands of the gutter press that took its toll. Who knows? But in 1983, this man Pleat was a breath of fresh air.

1983 was Pleat’s high water-mark in terms of public affection. A month later he would be seen dancing like a maniac in a cream suit across the Maine Road pitch after Raddy Antic’s late winner kept Luton in the top flight.

The Big Match Revisited featuring Sheffield Wednesday v. Brighton in the 1983 FA Cup Semi-Final can be seen on ITV 4 from Thursday.