Keane - The FA Cup miscellany: trivia, history, facts & stats from footballs most famous cup

THE FA CUP

Miscellany

THE FA CUP

Miscellany

Michael Keane

Michael Keane has asserted his rights in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Published By:
Pitch Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ

Email:
Web: www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

First published 2013

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

ISBN: 978-1-9091784-8-9 (print book)
978-1-909178-95-3 (eBook)

Typesetting and origination by Pitch Publishing.

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This book is dedicated to Gabby, Thomas, Oliver, Patrick and Annabelle, who remain my favourite team.

I was fortunate enough to enjoy a fantastic playing career spanning four decades, I came through the non-league route and ended up playing for close to 20 years at the top level of the game in this country, I was capped by England during Bobby Robsons reign as boss and was part of the Three Lions squad that went to Italia 90 - but the one standout memory from my playing days is winning the FA Cup with Wimbledon in 1988.

It was every football-loving schoolboys dream to lead their team out in the FA Cup Final as captain, and I was no different when I was working towards making it as a professional footballer with Edgeware Town in the late 1970s. I eventually got my break into the pro game in 1979, when Wimbledon, then in the old Third Division put their faith in me as a 20-year-old, but having stepped up to full-time football, never in my wildest dreams did I envisage that one day I would be leading out the Crazy Gang in the May sunshine beneath those famous Wembley twin towers... and neither did I think Id be saving a penalty against one of the greatest club sides in the world, to help us pull off one of the greatest Cup Final shocks of all time. We went to Wembley with everyone outside of Wimbledon expecting us to make up the numbers against league champions Liverpool. As crazy as it might sound, we fancied our chances and Lawrie Sanchezs winning goal meant we came home with the FA Cup!

Thats just my story it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, every time I tell it. There are so many romantic tales from the games oldest and most-famous cup competition, and you will find plenty of those stories and anecdotes in The FA Cup Miscellany. The competition may have evolved, just as the game has over the years, but the FA Cup will always have its own special magic, and its celebrated in the pages of this book.

Thanks are due to several people who have helped me put this book together. From the last 12 months, thanks to Pitch Publishing for giving me the opportunity to write this book, and particular thanks to Paul Camillin, Gareth Davis and Dave Beasant. A huge thank-you is also due to my family for their encouragement, their patience and their support. Lastly, I want to thank the players, the teams and even the managers who have taken part in footballs longest running, and best competition; for its drama and its unpredictability, the FA Cup stands apart.

The FA Cup Miscellany covers over 140 years of fantastic knockout football. Throughout all that time, the oldest and simplest domestic cup competition in the world has provided spectators with a glut of great entertainment and many memories to treasure.

There have been games with terrific twists and turns; there have been players who were villains and players who were heroes; for the many millions of fans who have followed the FA Cup there has also been the great fun of watching the stories unfold. All sorts of FA Cup-related stories, facts and figures are included here. Those memorable upsets are mentioned; from the great Wembley shocks of Sunderland and Southamptons victories, to Sutton Uniteds humbling of then-First Division Coventry City.

Great players are covered; from Stanley Matthews wing wizardry in 1953 to Steven Gerrards Millennium masterclass of 2006. Great stories are also included; from the day a 20-stone, naked goalkeeper chased a referee into a broom cupboard, to the time when a Teletext page catapulted Wycombe to a semi-final.

By writing this collection of FA Cup tales I hope to gently jog readers memories of many cup highlights, and to share my enthusiasm for the best unscripted drama that you can find the surprising, the dramatic and the glorious, game of football. As Danny Blanchflower once famously said, the game is about glory and I hope this book proves it.

Michael Keane

When the FA Cup was first contested, in the 1871/72 season, the competition was unrecognisable from the national landmark it has since become. Only the following 15 teams took part in the inaugural event: Clapham Rovers; Upton Park; Crystal Palace; Hitchin; Maidenhead; Great Marlow; Barnes; Civil Service; Wanderers; Harrow Chequers; Royal Engineers; Reigate Priory; Queens Park; Donnington School; Hampstead Heathens. The first winners of the trophy, Wanderers, enjoyed an unconventional route to cup success. In the first round Wanderers opponents, Harrow Chequers, scratched, so next up was a second round tie with Clapham Rovers. Wanderers beat Clapham 3-1 and then drew with Crystal Palace in the quarter-final before both teams were allowed into the semi-final. There had been an odd number of teams in the quarter-finals so Queens Park were given a bye, then Wanderers and Palace were allowed through to make up the numbers. Scotlands Queens Park drew 0-0 with Wanderers in the semi-final, but then had to withdraw from the competition as they could not afford to travel back to London for a replay, allowing Wanderers to play in the final against Royal Engineers. Wanderers famously won the first FA Cup Final 1-0 thanks to a goal from Morton Betts. The 2,000 spectators at the Kennington Oval might not have thought it then, but they had witnessed the birth of the most prestigious domestic cup competition in the world.

Denis Law almost rewrote the FA Cup record books when he played for Manchester City in the fourth round at Luton Town in January 1961. Law scored all six of Citys goals as the Maine Road men ran riot. Sadly for Law, as the goals rained in the heavens opened and the pitch was fast becoming unplayable. With barely 20 minutes left the ground was so waterlogged the referee abandoned the match and the result was not allowed to stand. Just days later the hastily rearranged fixture was replayed and while Law added another to his tally, this time the Second Division Hatters sprang an upset and won 3-1. Had Laws six goals stood he would have sat at the top of the all-time FA Cup scorers list, clear of Ian Rushs subsequent record. In later years Law remained modest about his deeds, declaring simply: Its not every day that you score six goals. He might have added: And lose!