This film is part of Free
Danny Blanchflower
The Spurs and Northern Ireland football legend sets out his insightful views on violence on and off the pitch.
Overview
Some three years after he hung up his boots, legendary Spurs and Northern Ireland captain Danny Blanchflower still had a lot to say about the game. This unbroadcast February 1968 interview sees him commenting insightfully about violence on and off the field, and offering some practical suggestions for how to combat it. At the same time, he cautions against unrealistic expectations that violence can ever be truly stamped out.
At the time of the interview, Blanchflower had recently penned an article on the subject for the Sunday Express, and he would continue to write for the newspaper until the late 1980s. Given the growing public concern about football violence - particularly on the terraces - in the 1970s and 80s, Blanchflower's interest seems prescient. His analysis is nuanced and sophisticated, and surprisingly socially progressive for his profession - he suggests, for example, that football serves as an outlet for the legitimate social grievances of working-class men. This interview is one of more than 300 filmed for Braden's ultimately unbroadcast TV series, Now and Then. Several other examples are also available on BFI Player.
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