The Ugly Face of the Beautiful Game
Though we might barely be two months into the new season, the nights are already drawing in, the Saturday afternoons are getting colder, and teams beginning to nestle into the comfort of midtable are already allowing their eyes to wander to that most glorious of distractions from the slog of a league campaign: the cup […]
Read More Losing My Favourite Game: ‘Hammer To Fall’ with Chris Scull.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)“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.“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.“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.The best weekend of the season is among us, as the third round of the FA Cup arrives and with it the hopes and dreams of sixty-four teams across England’s top four leagues and beyond. To celebrate this season’s competition, we’re looking back on some of the great cup ties from years gone by. Not […]
Read More FA Cup Flashback: To Have and To Havant (2007/08)“And now Biggins is away! Franks in the middle…Cowler…now Buzaglo! That’s his hat-trick! And that is brilliant stuff by Tim Buzaglo.” Arsenal were unbeaten and top of the First Division, Iron Maiden were Top of the Pops, and Watford manager Javi Gracia was a fresh-faced youngster making his way with Athletic Bilbao’s B-Team the last […]
Read More Play Your Cards Right: Woking Look to Summon the Spirit of Buzaglo.“And the Crazy Gang have beaten The Culture Club!” A lot of water has passed through the River Brent since Wimbledon pulled off the biggest shock Wembley Stadium had ever seen by beating the all-conquering Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final. Sixteen years after Vinnie Jones’ reducer, Lawrie Sanchez’s header and Dave Beasant’s famous […]
Read More Heaven N17: Haringey Borough Preparing for Friday Night Lights.