The good old days?

Go back 40 years and youll soon realise the best time to watch sport is now

- Sean Ingle

More than 15 million watched England lose to Diego Maradona and Argentina. Polo and croquet were also on TV screens in 1986

(DANIEL MOTZ/PA)

Forty years ago this month, the Pet Shop Boys track West End Girls topped the charts. Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea were locked in a four-way battle for the title. And Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on Wogan. Terry: “This new film you’ve made, Commando: it’s very violent isn’t it?” Arnie: “Actually, it’s low-key. I only kill around 100 people.”

How do I know this? Because Facebook’s algorithm serves it to me daily. Terrifyingly, it understands me better than I understand myself. A half-forgotten goal, race or innings? That is my sugar-salt-fat magic. An old Top 40 chart or TV listing? My double-strength nicotine patch.

Inevitably, in the comments, there’s always someone saying things were better back in the day. But were they really? To put such cosy recollections to the test, I rewatched as much sport as possible from this week in 1986. Then I delved into the Guardian’s archives to see what people were saying about the state of sport at the time. What I found often surprised me.

The first thing I learned? There was 16 hours of sport shown on television between 18 and 24 January, 40 years ago - if you count Bullseye, Pot Black, A Question of Sport and Pro-Celebrity Golf, which featured the unlikely pairing of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player with the comedians Mike Read and Eddie Large. Almost none of it was live.