It was even better in the early 80s imo. Not only were we playing the top teams, we were competing on level terms. 3 years in the top league 2
Yes, our early 80s team was very much superior, maybe only the center back pairing of Yates and Short would be worth swapping plus Tommy Johnson on the bench.
Terrible result for Mansfield in mid-week, Clough might have a much more tough task than I thought.