It was more than a rule change, it virtually made it a different game. It's almost impossible to watch a game from before 1990 these days. Even the two-nil at Anfield you watch it and think 'Fùck me, this is awful'. The violence of the tackling is the most entertaining thing about large stretches of the game.
Also, how did anyone concede goals if they didn't want to? If you were one up with ten minutes to go, you could literally just keep passing it between the defenders and the goalkeeper. The only thing to stop you was a sense of shame or embarrassment.
“Other clubs never came into my thoughts once I knew Arsenal wanted to sign me.”