Opinion

Anyone remember the last time Newcastle United won the league?

Well, from memory, it was sometime in the early part of 1980, during season three of the quite excellent LOGacta game that I played endlessly during that era.

Bear with me here, because there’ll be folk just not getting it.

However, for those who were fortunate enough to discover this wonderful game that was advertised in Shoot magazine and could be obtained by sending a Postal Order to a residential address in Leeds, it was a godsend, particularly on those dank weekends when the real Newcastle United were in dire straits back in the day.

LOGacta was a gift from my parents for my eleventh birthday, in January 1980.

LOGacta was advertised in Shoot magazine as ‘Chart Soccer, the new football game you can play by yourself’ and its headline descriptor mentioned a system of charts, dice and cards used to organise true to life league and cup competitions for British clubs at home and in Europe, plus the European Championships and the World Cup Finals.

At its heart was the sixteen team Super League, together with a full schedule of fixtures and a points...