When I was just a wee lad and footballs were made of leather and got as heavy as a sack of potatoes in the rain, way back then, the English FA Cup was the only game that was ever televised live in Australia.
It was also, without any doubt, the biggest game of the English season, played in front of 100,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, with a rotating list of Royals given the duty of presenting medals to the winning andw losing teams as they climbed the 39 steps to receive the ultimate prize.
The very first English game I saw was the 1972 FA Cup final between Leeds United and Arsenal, beamed live into my grandmother’s living room in glorious black and white.
Leeds’ all white strip was so striking in monochrome I adopted them as my team straight away (an affliction that accurses me to this day)
It was my Sheffield-born Nan that infused me with a love for football and an appreciation for the magic of the FA Cup, especially its famed unearthing of the “underdog” team.
Only a year after that first exposure, the mighty Leeds were back at Wembley to defend their crown, only to be knocked over by Sunderland in the biggest Cup Final upset of all time.
This was the essence of the FA Cup. The fact that non-League pub teams got a possible shot at glory via a draw that might see them heading to Anfield or Old Trafford for a classic David vs Goliath clash.
In 1975, Fulham, then of the second Division, went all the way to the Final before being beaten 2-0 by West Ham. My Nan cheered for the underdog.
The following season, Southampton, also a second tier side, rode their luck by beating a fourth Division side in the quarter finals (Bradford City) and a third Division side in the semis (Crystal Palace, before finally coming up against an insurmountable barrier in the form of Manchester United at Wembley.
But as my Nan and I cheered for the underdog again, Southampton pulled off a stunning 1-0 win to lift the Cup for the only time in their history.
In 1981, West Ham became the last team from outside the top division to win the Cup, by beating Arsenal 1-0. Underdogs still fought their way to Wembley; the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion (who were a top division team that had been relegated days earlier in 1983), Millwall, Cardiff City and Portsmouth have made the final, but none have toppled their more fancied rivals on the day.
In 1997, third tier Chesterfield came within minutes of history in an epic semi final against Middlesbrough. No team from outside the top two divisions had ever made the Cup Final, and little Chesterfield were only denied in a replay.
In 2000, Manchester United did serious damage to the reputation of the FA Cup by declining to contest it, even though they were the holders.
It was an outrageous affront to a tournament that had created new fans throughout the world, an unforgivable arrogance by United, but it did usher in an era of thinking that the FA Cup was of far less importance than the League title, or avoiding relegation, or qualifying for Europe. The big sides began playing their reserve teams in early rounds; this practise has extended to sides having their “Cup squads” throughout the course of the tournament.
The gulf in standard between the Premier League and the lower divisions has taken some of the unpredictability out of the Cup. The final was, for a period in the last decade, a routine line-up of any of the so-called “Big Four.”
However, recent seasons have seen a re-kindling of that old “Cup Magic”. Who could forget Exeter City’s brave 0-0 draw at Old Trafford a few seasons back? Or Cardiff City’s bid to be the first non-English team to win the Cup since… well, Cardiff City in the early 1930s?
Or even Leeds United becoming the giant-killer by beating Manchester United three seasons ago when the Yorkshire team were in the third tier?
The Cup is now down to the last 16 and when the draw for the 5th round takes place in the next 24 hours, six sides from outside the top flight are certain of being there, with the possibility of a seventh if Middlesbrough beat Sunderland.
If Sheffield Wednesday get past Blackpool in a replay, they’ll join fellow third tier side Stevenage in the last 16. Crawley Town are still there, from the fourth tier of the English leagues, as are Championship sides Brighton, Birmingham and Leicester City, with Millwall or Southampton set to join them pending their fourth round replay.
It might be a case of the big sides knocking each other over in the early rounds but that’s just part of the FA Cup magic, and it would be nice to see some of the minnows get a favourable draw or, even better, create a true FA Cup upset in the next round.
My Nan is up there somewhere, cheering on those Cup underdogs, just like me.
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January 30th 2012 @ 7:55am
Fussball ist unser leben said | January 30th 2012 @ 7:55am | Report comment
Fantastic walk down memory lane, apaway. I reckon I’m one year behind you.
My first FA Cup memory is the Leeds v Sunderland – yes, in glorious black & white – live from Wembley and one of 2 occasions each year that mum & dad let us stay up past midnight (of course, Midnight Mass was the other occasion).
But the year I fell in love with football – and, found my first football team – was the 1976 FA Cup Final, when Bobby Stokes (sadly, he passed away a few years ago, way too young) broke Man United hearts with less than 10′ remaining.
Prior to the match, I had no particular football team that I followed but, when the whistle sounded, I found myself empathising with the losing players from Manchester rather than vicariously reveling in the glory of the 2nd division winners from the south coast of England.
Hard to believe that all happened nearly 36 years ago … still seems like yesterday.
January 30th 2012 @ 10:43am
clipper said | January 30th 2012 @ 10:43am | Report comment
The Leeds Sunderland game was one of the few times a lower division team won the cup, and a thrilling game – especially from the Goal Keeper. Pity that sort of upset hasn’t happened since 1981, it really makes the FA cup exciting.
January 30th 2012 @ 5:20pm
apaway said | January 30th 2012 @ 5:20pm | Report comment
Clipper
Sunderland keeper Jim Montgomery’s save in the 1973 final is one of the most replayed moments of cup history. It is, along with the Gordon Banks save from Pele at the 1970 World Cup, the most famous goalkeeping save ever (along with Rene Higuita’s Scorpion, but for different reasons!)
January 30th 2012 @ 5:24pm
apaway said | January 30th 2012 @ 5:24pm | Report comment
Thanks Fuss, and didn’t even get to touch on some of the great giant-killing acts from teams like Hereford United, Colchester United, Sutton United, Bournemouth, York City and Slough.
January 30th 2012 @ 9:45am
Futbanous said | January 30th 2012 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Whilst the ECL has taken some of the attention away from the cup for the biggest EPL clubs ,for those clubs further down the football food chain,the magic remains.
Still for me a competition that belongs in the days of “Roy of the Rovers”.
How many sporting comps can you say that about nowadays.
Heres footage of the first final I remember as a small lad,the Matthews final.
January 30th 2012 @ 11:15am
Matt F said | January 30th 2012 @ 11:15am | Report comment
Damn Brighton……….
January 30th 2012 @ 2:41pm
Ballymore said | January 30th 2012 @ 2:41pm | Report comment
This article fills me with excitement – thinking about the romance and giant-killing that the FFA Cup will bring us. Hopefully from next season.
January 30th 2012 @ 4:54pm
nordster said | January 30th 2012 @ 4:54pm | Report comment
the regional round too is a great preview of a cup … the local Bathurst team playing a cup tie against Newcastle or Adelaide next time!
January 31st 2012 @ 8:27am
Mr Celery said | January 31st 2012 @ 8:27am | Report comment
Nice article, but one correction – West Ham beat Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup Final, not 1981. I was on the terraces at that game with Craig Johnston, then playing for Middlesbrough. I remember asking Craig how he would feel if he ever got to score a goal in a final himself. Little did I know he would do just that with Liverpool some years later!
January 31st 2012 @ 2:47pm
apaway said | January 31st 2012 @ 2:47pm | Report comment
Well spotted Mr Celery. Of course the 1981 Final is one of the most famous, with Spurs beating Man City 3-2 in a replay, and Ricky Villa scoring a famous winner after being replaced in the first game and looking disconsolate as he trudged down the sideline.
January 31st 2012 @ 1:06pm
Ben of Phnom Penh said | January 31st 2012 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
A nice article indeed, apaway. Like Ballymore I am rather looking forward to the FFA Cup, whenever it should emerge. Now that is what I call a national competition.
January 31st 2012 @ 4:15pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | January 31st 2012 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
Slightly off topic but still relevant to the fairytales that can be generated by Cup competitions is the story in Spain that is currently unfolding with 3rd Division team, Mirandés, in this year’s Copa del Rey.
I’d never heard of Mirandés until TWG last night when I found out they just knocked out Primera Division team, Espanyol (who are the “other Catalan team”) and will meet Athetico Bilbao in the Semi Final!
So, there is every chance that Mirandés – a team that has 6 professional players and the rest are all amateurs, who hold other day jobs – could reach the final of the Copa del Rey and have to play against the most famous footballers and, arguably, the best team ever assembled in the history of football … Barcelona! (The other semi-final is Barca v Valencia)
Unlike the English FA Cup, all pre-final stages of the Copa del Rey are played over 2 legs (H&A) so, what Mirandés has achieved so far is outstanding. And, it’s not a flash-in-the pan result. So far Mirandés has knocked out 2 Primera Division clubs, Villareal & Espanyol and, with the Final played over 1 x 90′ game, could the unthinkable happen and an amateur team beats Barcelona?
This is the lure of Cup football – anything is possible.
January 31st 2012 @ 4:25pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 31st 2012 @ 4:25pm | Report comment
“This is the lure of Cup football – anything is possible.”
And one of the best arguments for making sure your league structure has at least some form of interplay, such as in this kind of knock-out cup.
Best of luck to Mirandés and hats off for having made it so far!
February 1st 2012 @ 10:59am
Roarchild said | February 1st 2012 @ 10:59am | Report comment
I have been enjoying the FA cup this year.
The big Korean channels don’t cover it so Star Sports (a generic pay TV sports channel for Asia) are the only ones that show it; which means English commentary.They obviously don’t have exclusive rights in all countries as they seem to show what would be most peoples second choice rather than the first choice game.
So while they didn’t show Liverpool vs Man Utd they did show Watford vs Spurs and it was really entertaining. Something different from the usual EPL team vs EPL fare.
Watford really had a crack and spurs were lucky to get through.