There was also the state of the pitches in those days too..........Even Hoddle as well, i think some people forget or just don’t know how physical the game was back then , with the rules now I bet most games would finish 5 a side with the rest being sent off for dangerous tackles.
That grass isn't far off from Hackney Marshes in the summer nowadays, for us having a kick about it's great compared to the boggy winter waterlogged ones (he would also have played on back then) but this was the best of the best they could be back then, the grass is long and the ground was hard as concrete. This wasn't an issue for Terry Butcher lumping it into row Z but for a baller, dribbling around an entire team to score, is the mark of a genius.
Note Shilton's arm, half of it deep in two inches long grass???