Matthew Eastley - From Barry Stobart to Neil Young: When the FA Cup Really Mattered Part 1

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO
THE MEMORY OF BARRY STOBART

6 June 1938 to 28 August 2013

A true Wembley hero

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2014
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Matthew Eastley, 2014

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978 1 90962 644 7
eBook ISBN: 978 1 90962 672 0

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Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers
Saturday 7 May 1960

Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 6 May 1961

Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 5 May 1962

Leicester City v Manchester United
Saturday 25 May 1963

Preston North End v West Ham United
Saturday 2 May 1964

Leeds United v Liverpool
Saturday 1 May 1965

Everton v Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday 14 May 1966

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 20 May 1967

Everton v West Bromwich Albion
Saturday 18 May 1968

Leicester City v Manchester City
Saturday 26 April 1969

H UNDREDS of people were kind enough to take the time to share their memories with me during the research of this book. I would like to say how grateful I am to everyone who responded with such enthusiasm to my requests for help.

I would like to extend special thanks to Mo Stobart, widow of Barry, who unselfishly and uncomplainingly gave me hours of her time while bearing with fortitude and dignity the cruel illness which befell her beloved husband.

I have no hesitation in dedicating this book to Barry. A big thanks also to Steve Gordos, another man of Molineux, who was kind enough to read through the entire manuscript of both this and the 1970s volume and offer many suggestions as well as providing me with the benefit of both his excellent proofreading and sub-editing skills.

Big thanks also go to the following people, true football fans, every one of them:

Tony Andrews (Burnley), Dunc Anson (Spurs), Joe Baker (Everton), Arnie Baldursson (Liverpool), Ernie Barrow (Manchester City), Ian Bason (Leicester), Muriel Bates (Wolves), Roger Booth (Blackburn), Roger Booth (Man City), Peter Brailsford (Leicester), Ray Brown (Wolves), Andy Burbidge (Chelsea), David Buxton (Manchester City), Alfred Camilleri (Wolves), Alex Channon (Manchester City), Rob Clarke (Leicester), Martin Cloake (Spurs), Mike Collard (Manchester City), Steve Cowell (Preston), Janet Crawford (Manchester City), Bernard Dickinson (Blackburn), Martin Dexter (Leicester), Alan Digby (Leicester), Bob Downing (West Brom), Mick Doyle (Leicester), John Durham (Manchester City), Steve Ellis (Leeds), Terry Fanning (Wolves), Ray Fell (Leeds), Peter Gilkes (Spurs), Peter Godkin (Manchester City), Andrew Goodwin (Leicester), Vernon Goodwin (Leicester), Brian Green (Burnley), Philip Gregory (Manchester City), Lynton Guest (Leicester), Roger Haigh (Manchester City), John Hands (Everton), Peter Hargreaves (Manchester United), John Harmer (Leicester), Gavin Hill (Wolves), Paul Hince (Manchester City), Steve Hodson (Leicester), Tony Holding (Everton), Andrew Holmes (Leicester), Val Hubbard (Leicester), Graham Hughes (Wolves), Tony Hunt (Leicester), John Hutchinson (Leicester), Damian Inwood (Chelsea), Gilbert Ivens (Leicester), John Jennings (Manchester City), Pete Johnson (Leicester), Mick Kelly (Arsenal), John Kelly (Manchester United), Jack Keogh (Burnley), Morris Keston (Spurs), Trevor Kilburn (Leicester), Bernie Kingsley (Spurs), Kelvin Ladkin (Leicester), Grant Leslie (West Ham), Geoff Lilley (Spurs), John Lunn (Manchester United), Pauline Martland (Burnley), Michael Masters (Leicester), Tony Matthews (West Brom), Kevin McCall (Burnley), Ian Mitchell (Leeds), Toni Miziolek (West Ham), Clive Morrick (Leicester), Bob Newton (Leicester), Pauline Nicholas (Liverpool), Ian Noble (Spurs), John Parker (Manchester City), Kevin Parker (Manchester City), Philip Parker (Burnley), Carole Parkhouse (Leeds), Bill Pearson (Burnley), Andy Philip (Liverpool), Malcolm Plaiter (Manchester City), Brian Playfair (Leicester), Andy Porter (Spurs), Jeremy Poynton (Manchester City), Bob Rawlinson (Burnley), Martin Reeves (Leicester), Ray Roche (Everton), Terry Roper (West Ham), Chris Ryder (Manchester City), Frank Sankey (Everton), Ron Schofield (Liverpool), Tony Scholes (Burnley), Bob Scott (Everton), George Sinagra (Wolves), Barry Slack (West Brom), Pat Smalley (Leicester), Alan Smith (Leicester), Rex Smith (Leicester), Neil Stanford (Chelsea), Peter Stubbs (Leicester), Jim Sweeney (Spurs), Keith Taylor (Everton), Newell Thornton (Burnley), Gerry Toms (Chelsea), Alan Trinder (Burnley), Jeff Van Doorn (Chelsea), Steve Van Doorn (Chelsea), Phil Walker (Manchester City), Dave Walsh (Everton), Paul Walshaw (Sheffield Wednesday), Paul Walters (Leicester), Alan Ward (Leicester), Phil Watkin (West Brom), Jim Weedon (Everton), Maureen Wells (Leicester), Bryn Williams (Wolves), Terry Wills (West Brom), Michael Wilson (Manchester City), Chris Wood (Liverpool), Tony Worn (Leicester), Martin Wright (Leicester), Simon Wright (West Brom), Andy Cryer (journalist), Steve Pumfrey (journalist), Jon Rayner (Spurs), Chris Boden, Barney at Red News (Manchester United), Steve Jones at the Blue Kipper website (Everton), Graham Melton (Leicester Mercury).

T HE FA Cup doesnt matter anymore. Not really. Not like it used to. That is not to say the competition doesnt still have romance and the ability to shock. Just ask the fans of recent winners like Wigan Athletic or Portsmouth or finalists like Millwall or Cardiff City.

It can still mean a memorable day out at Wembley and a shot at Europe and the earlier rounds can still throw up some extraordinary results. But it still doesnt matter like it used to and especially the Cup Final itself. Dare I say that in these times of wall-to-wall satellite television and more live games in one weekend than there once was in the whole of a season, it is just another match, albeit still a fairly high profile one? For the big boys, the FA Cup is a nice to have whereas it used to be a must have.

You see the FA Cup Final used to stop this nation in its tracks. Once the semi-finals had been decided the talk in football was of little else. And, unlike today, everyone knew who was in the final. That is the difference. It is impossible to compare the FA Cup finals of, say, the 1970s, with those of today. Back then, the final was the seasons showpiece. Always played at 3pm, usually on the first Saturday in May and it was always live on the two major broadcasting channels, BBC1 and ITV.

The streets would start getting quieter at around lunchtime as people took their places. Friends and relatives would gather at each others houses. Many people used to dress up for the match, even just to watch it on the television. I remember in May 1974, just after we had acquired our first colour television, my grandfather came over wearing a suit and tie. The reason? It was FA Cup Final day and it was special.