Episode #1
1974 Charity Shield & Kevin Keegan
How did a supposedly friendly curtain-raiser become one of Wembley’s most infamous matches — and just how great was Kevin Keegan? Season 5 of By Far The Greatest Team begins with the story of an English football institution: the Charity Shield. Jamie Rooney and Graham Dunn trace its wonderfully strange history from the Sheriff of London Charity Shield , professionals against amateurs and shared trophies, through unusual qualifiers and changing formats, to the point where the traditional season opener became established at Wembley. And that brings us to 1974 . English football was emerging from a turbulent period. Attendances were falling, hooliganism was rising, England had failed to qualify for the World Cup, Bill Shankly had unexpectedly resigned from Liverpool , and Brian Clough had just walked into Leeds United . Then Liverpool met Leeds at Wembley. What followed became one of the defining Charity Shield moments: aggression, confrontation, Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner becoming the first players sent off at Wembley , and a penalty shootout that eventually decided the game. Along the way, Jamie and Graham head down some classic football-history rabbit holes — including referee Ken Aston , the origins of yellow and red cards, how violence and controversy helped reshape football’s laws, and why penalty shootouts eventually became part of the game. The episode then turns its attention to Kevin Keegan . European champion. Twice European Footballer of the Year. England captain. Hamburg superstar. Newcastle hero. Pop-culture celebrity. But Keegan's greatness goes beyond the trophies. His willingness to take risks, move abroad, reinvent himself and embrace life beyond the pitch made him one of the most recognisable British sportsmen of his generation. For the first time on the podcast, the Greatness Index is introduced as Jamie and Graham ask not simply whether Kevin Keegan was great — but attempt to measure, score and rationalise exactly how great he really was. Style of Play The 1974 Charity Shield brought together two of English football's dominant forces. Liverpool , transitioning from Bill Shankly to Bob Paisley, combined organisation, movement, possession and increasingly sophisticated collective football. Leeds United , champions under Don Revie before his departure for the England job, arrived with the physicality, experience, competitiveness and edge that had defined one of the outstanding English teams of the era. At Wembley those characteristics collided. What should have been a celebratory curtain-raiser instead became a wonderfully revealing snapshot of English football in 1974: talented, fiercely competitive, combustible and on the verge of enormous change. Takeaways The remarkable history of the Charity Shield — from professionals versus amateurs to the modern Community Shield Why the 1974 Liverpool v Leeds match became one of the competition's defining games How Ken Aston , red and yellow cards and football's disciplinary laws changed the sport Why Kevin Keegan became far more than simply a brilliant footballer — emerging as a genuine British cultural icon The introduction of the Greatness Index , as Keegan becomes one of the first football figures to have his greatness measured, scored and rationalised Join Us Season 5 is only just beginning. Subscribe to By Far The Greatest Team wherever you get your podcasts and head over to our YouTube channel , where you can now watch the show and discover additional football-history rabbit holes linked to the teams and personalities we cover. And visit the By Far The Greatest Team website for accompanying stories, articles, typical starting XIs and the growing Greatness Index — our attempt to answer football's most enjoyable question with a little more evidence: How great were they? If you enjoy these podcasts, please don't forget to subscribe and give us a rating and also tell everyone about them!
