The Ugly Face of the Beautiful Game
In an alternate reality, supporters of the two sides fortunate enough to have fought their way through to the FA Cup final following last weekend’s semis at Wembley will have spent the week basking in the reflected glory of their teams, and lording it up over fans of clubs who no longer have anything to […]
Read More Losing My Favourite Game: The Ox and LeBoeuf with Henry MoeranWith the hopes and dreams of 734 football teams dashed into smithereens, the stage is now set for the FA Cup Final, as the Goliath of Manchester City prepares to go toe-to-toe with the Large David of Watford in the showdown of the Spanish managers. Will City find themselves stung by the Hornets? Can Will Hughes […]
Read More FA Cup Flashback: Do The Wright Thing (1989/90)We’re down to the final four as this season’s FA Cup rolls towards its denouement. To celebrate this season’s competition we’re looking back on some of the great cup ties from years gone by. Not necessarily the biggest shocks (Coventry City actually won the bloody thing…), nor even the most entertaining games (…it wasn’t a […]
Read More FA Cup Flashback: Spireites in the Sky (1996/97)“Wembley Way beckons for the Wolves!” It’s was on a dreary day at Wembley just over thirty-nine years ago that Wolverhampton Wanderers last lifted a major trophy in English football. Like Andy Gray, the winning goalscorer against Nottingham Forest in that League Cup final, most of the Old Gold supporters that witnessed that victory are […]
Read More Golden Years: Wolverhampton Wanderers On the Brink of a Vintage Season.“Ifill goes alone…blocked by Poom…Cahill! He’s earned a spot, that’s his game. Tim Cahill puts Millwall in front at Old Trafford in an FA Cup semi-final” The primal roar that greeted Millwall’s greatest FA Cup moment seemed almost incongruous in the surroundings of Manchester United’s Theatre of Dreams. Up until Tim Cahill’s 26th minute goal, […]
Read More The Den of Opportunity: Millwall Hope That Home Advantage Can Prove Their Secret Weapon Once Again.The first football match I ever went to was an FA Cup First Round tie between Boston United and Morecambe in 1996. Taking my seat in the main stand at York Street next to my Dad and Granddad on a grim November afternoon, there was a palpable sense of excitement around the ground. The Pilgrims […]
Read More Could it be Magic?: Despite the Doom-Mongers, the FA Cup Remains Vital to English Football.We’ve reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, and now only sixteen teams retain the dream of lifting the world’s oldest cup in May. To celebrate this season’s competition we’re looking back on some of the great cup ties from years gone by. Not necessarily the biggest shocks (we all remember Bradford City winning […]
Read More FA Cup Flashback: Leaving of Liverpool (1990/91)“Sanchez, Cork, Young, and Fashanu in there…SANCHEZ IS IN THERE! AND IT’S A GOAL FOR WIMBLEDON!” The cliché goes that a lot can happen in ninety minutes. At Wembley in the 1988 FA Cup Final, Wimbledon completed their remarkable rise from non-league to surprise cup winners via four promotions in ten years. Lawrie Sanchez’s goal […]
Read More Underground, Overground: AFC Wimbledon Put Relegation Fears Aside in a Bid to Make History.The FA Cup motors on to the Fourth Round this weekend, with thirty-one teams still dreaming of playing at Wembley, while Spurs continue to claim squatters rights. To celebrate this season’s competition we’re looking back on some of the great cup ties from years gone by. Not necessarily the biggest shocks (however remarkable Shrewsbury’s win […]
Read More FA Cup Flashback: We Need To Talk About Kevin (1994/95)“Warren Neil…oh, that’s a good looking ball! It’s Anderton! A real chance for Pompey! Darren Anderton! IT’S THERE!” Ask any Portsmouth fan for their favourite memories of the FA Cup, and you’re likely to receive similar answers. Watching Harry Redknapp’s side lift the trophy in 2008 is surely the pinnacle for Pompey supporters in recent […]
Read More Play Up For The Cup: Pompey are Rolling Back the Years and Firing for Round Five.