The FA Cup Winner's Parade - Coventry 87

We're not quite done here in the Attic with FA Cup Week. Although the final may be over and the victors handed the cup, there's still one piece of FA Cup folklore to be examined...the winner's open top bus parade!

To this end, rather than blather on about buses and all things topless (you wouldn't believe what google throws up for that!), I thought I'd just share with you my own pictures from the day after that glorious day back in 1987, when the mighty Sky Blues showed off their well deserved silverware on a slightly overcast and rainy Sunday...

So...here they are...apologies for the ropey pics, but they were taken by the 12 year old me on a 110 camera (look it up) in a rather large crowd.

Spurs fans, look away now ;-)

The Unofficial FA Cup Championship

If any of you are aware of the Unofficial World Football Championships, you'll know about the simple unadulterated joy of considering a 'World Cup' where the reigning champions are decided on a match-to-match basis. You'll also be aware of the fact that seemingly any team can snatch the unofficial world title at any time, so long as they overcome the current holders at exactly their most vulnerable point. (If you're not sure what we're on about, visit the UFWC website and find out how the project works - it'll be time well spent.)

Anyway, it was with that working model in mind that we decided to do something similar. We wanted to find out who the Unofficial FA Cup Champions have been since the FA Cup first started in 1871, and who's won it most often.

To begin with we needed a starting point. Unfortunately there wasn't one single FA Cup match that preceded all the others 142 years ago (at least not from what we can tell), so a look back through the history books was required.

Because there wasn't one universal way of playing football back in the mid-1800's, it fell to Cambridge University to draw up a formal set of rules that everyone across the country could abide by. Once these 'Cambridge Rules' were drawn up, a match was organised by the newly-formed Football Association to demonstrate how the game should now be played, but because it took so long to arrange, the teams of Barnes and Richmond went ahead and played a game anyway at Mortlake on 19 December 1863. This was the first game ever to be played to official FA rules.

For a game of such importance, it seemed only natural that we should take one of these two teams as the starting point for our Unofficial FA Cup Championship (UFACC), and to that end we chose Barnes because they competed in the first ever FA Cup competition while Richmond didn't (because they weren't members of the Football Association).

And so we begin with the First Round of the FA Cup played on 11 November 1871. Barnes played Civil Service... and won 2-0! Barnes therefore became our first Unofficial FA Cup Champions... but in our system, that would only last until the next time Barnes played in the FA Cup. As long as they could avoid defeat in that match, they'd retain their UFACC title.

On 23 December 1871, they did just that - drawing 1-1 against Hampstead Heathens in the Second Round. Unfortunately in the replay, played two weeks later, Hampstead Heathens won 1-0 and in so doing became our new UFACC title holders!

(See how this works?)

Under our admittedly flimsy UFACC rules, a team gets to win the title by beating an existing holder and the holder can retain the title by not being defeated.

Now at this point you might have realised that because we're only dealing with FA Cup matches here, ultimately the UFACC title holders will be the same as the FA Cup winners at the end of every season. And yes, that is a bit of a shortcoming where this system is concerned, but in many ways that only adds greater significance to the games played earlier in the FA Cup every season. In our version, it's all about the journey rather than the destination, if you see what we mean.

So by now you might be wondering who the current UFACC title holders are? Well the answer is Manchester City, but of course if they're beaten by Wigan Athletic in today's FA Cup Final, it'll be Wigan that get to retain the title until Third Round day next season. And Manchester City only snatched the UFACC title by beating Chelsea in this season's semi finals. Before that, Chelsea held the title for seven consecutive FA Cup games stretching back to the 2011/12 Final against Liverpool.

All well and good, you might say, but which team has been UFACC title holders on the most occasions? Luckily we've worked that out (and you can take it as read we've only just come up with the answer after several weeks of number crunching - see left) - and the answer is Arsenal. Including the one UFACC win notched up under the name of Woolwich Arsenal, The Gunners have held the title for 84 matches. Not far behind them is Manchester United with 78 matches (they'll be ruing not playing in the 1999-2000 season), then it's Liverpool on 53 and Tottenham on 48.

But like we said, it's not just about the big teams stealing all the glory. Many other teams can hold the UFACC title (and have done), even if only briefly. The FA Cup is about giant-killing if nothing else, and a win for David over Goliath at the right time can mean a coveted place on our roll of honour.

As recently as five years ago, Barnsley were the UFACC title holders having dumped Chelsea out of the FA Cup. Port Vale held the title for two games back in 1998. Oldham Athletic did the same in 1994, and if you look back through the statistics for all 967 UFACC games so far, you'll see that anyone that's anyone in the English game has had their name writ large in our imaginary elysian world.

So why not take a look at the raw data we've provided for your analytical pleasure and see if your team's been the proud holder of the UFACC title. There may not be a trophy for the winners, but knowing your team once won something - no matter how small - is often all that really counts.

FA Cup Final Day - ITV-style (Part 2)

The second and final part of our look at the way ITV's World of Sport created a Cup Final Day experience for all of us watching in on the box.

1976
Duration: 12pm to 5.10pm

Everyone remembers the novelty of seeing the Cup Final teams in their chosen hotels before the big game, and in 1976 World of Sport made it their first port of call on the day. "Up-to-the-minute news on the fitness, mood and morale of the finalists" was what we were promised, but if anything we were probably more fascinated by the sight of both teams sitting around in their smart Admiral sweaters and freshly pressed slacks.

Fred Dinenage punctuated the day's coverage with 'Man In The Crowd' (i.e. interviews with fans and celebrities) while Ed Stewart returned for a third successive year with 'Football Crazy.' On this occasion, he took Martin Buchan and Peter 'Rodreegs' Rodrigues to a local school to meet young fans of Man United and Southampton rather than enlist the help of ne'er-do-wells like Gary Glitter. No bad thing either, if you ask us.

At 1.15pm, it was time for 'Be a Soccer Commentator' - a ten-minute feature where Brian Moore "talks to the winner of a brand new competition designed to find an under-16 year old who will surely never forget his Wembley debut." And you wondered how it all started for Clive Tyldesley...

But that wasn't the only quirky item on the agenda. An hour before kick-off, 'Cup Final Prediction' saw ITV once again aim for notoriety as Georges Bode, "famous Dutch astrologer who predicted the World Cup Finalists and result, and picked today's finalists" attempted to do the same for the 1976 FA Cup Final. Having tried to do the same with the 'ITV Computer' in 1970 and TV Times astrologer Roger Elliot in 1974, it was surely only a matter of time before someone or something got the score right beforehand.

Luckily the Final itself did live up to expectations with Kevin Keegan, Don Revie and Jack Charlton providing Dickie Davies and Brian Moore with all the wit and wisdom they required.

1977
Duration: 12pm to 5.10pm

The preamble to the 1977 FA Cup Final on ITV had a refreshingly cheeky sense of humour about it. Five minutes after World of Sport began, Brian Moore reported from the team hotels with 'On The Ball'. At 1.20pm, it was time for 'On The Coach' - a self-explanatory and by now familiar opportunity to share the journey to Wembley with one of the teams. Then at 1.40 there was 'On The Pitch' - interviews with the players on the hallowed turf. Who says programme planners can't have fun too?

Arguably the strangest feature in the 1977 Cup Final show on ITV was 'Eurovision Penalty Prize Final'. The description, courtesy of the TV Times magazine for that week states: "Jamie Gould from Manchester, representing ITV, challenges four other young European national champions in Rotterdam's giant Feyenoord Stadium for the TV Times trophy." Now a penalty-kick competition in itself is no bad thing, but European penalty champions competing under the Eurovision banner for a trophy sponsored by the TV Times?  The mind truly boggles...

As if that wasn't strange enough, there was also a chance before kick-off for viewers to win a competition by spotting 'Wembley's Wittiest Banners'. Go figure.

1978
Duration: 12pm to 5.10pm

The big build-up to Ipswich v Arsenal began with 'Cup Final On The Ball' in which Brian Moore presented team news from the hotels, plus "the views of two of the country's most famous football fans - Eric Morecambe and Elton John."

After that initial bout of celebrity hero worship, however, World of Sport opted for an altogether pared down approach for the rest of its broadcast. Gone were the eye-catching attempts to innovate, replaced by nothing more than a Golden Goals competition for viewers to enter and a raft of interviews with players on the coach, players arriving at the stadium or players standing on the Wembley pitch.

Kevin Keegan and Jack Charlton provided some punditry, but apart from that, not much to write home about.

1979
Duration: 11.30am to 5.30pm

As if someone had sent a memo to ITV's Head of Sport demanding a greater sense of occasion be created, an extra 50 minutes of broadcast time were spared this year, but it wasn't necessarily used for footballing purposes, so it would seem.

Soon after World of Sport had started, there was a 15-minute segment focusing on the European Women's Gymnastics Championships from Copenhagen. After a half-hour of Ian St.John speaking to some of the players and replaying some of the goals from previous rounds of the FA Cup, it was then time for wrestling in the first of two segments during the programme. Once the football was over and done with, there was also a second round of gymnastics to watch, too.

A by-the-numbers approach was once again used in the pre-match build-up, but a novel idea was applied in the sequence 'Matchwinners of the Seventies' where ITV tracked down all those players that had scored the winning goal in the last nine Cup Finals.

Yet again, the format for Cup Final Day on ITV looked a little tired on paper, even if it looked a little better on the screen. From here on in, though, the 1980's seemed to bring rather less in the way of innovation and freshness, relying ever more on the old ideas that worked best in the past and were easiest to achieve.

Then in 1985, it was announced that World of Sport would no longer appear on our screens after September of that year, and so the 1985 FA Cup Final would be the last to be featured in the Dickie Davies-fronted programme.

By this point, the Wembley Conference Centre bar had become a frequent focus for celebrities enjoying a drink and a chat with Jimmy Tarbuck in the hours leading up to the game, while up in the skies, Anneka Rice was buzzing around in a helicopter (where else) to provide an aerial view of the growing crowds down below.

Saint and Greavsie put in another Cup Final shift as was becoming the norm by then, and with Martin Tyler, Jim Rosenthal and Elton Welsby doing what they do best, this was a competent, cosy and comfortable way to bring World of Sport's biggest show of the year to an end.

The format had been set in stone, the gimmicks had been tried and the standard of broadcasting improved year on year, but the fact remained that the novelty of early starts and quirky features had well worn off by 1985. A new and ever-expanding era of live football on TV was just around the corner, and the FA Cup Final would soon have to compete for the viewers' attention with it all.

As it is, then, we're left with nothing more to do than pause and reflect on an era when the folk of ITV Sport - in front of and behind the cameras - tried their utmost to create a great sense of occasion for all of us watching on the big day. Though some of the ideas failed to hit the spot, there were undoubtedly some successes and in the round it's a combination of the two that will ensure the memory of ITV's Cup Final Day will linger on for many years to come.

Great Tracksuits of Our Time: No.14 - FA Cup Special

Not long to go now until FA Cup Final Day, so let's look back to 1978 when two rather fine tracksuit tops graced the biggest game in the English football calendar.

The scene was Wembley, the teams were Ipswich Town and Arsenal. Terry Neill and Bobby Robson emerged from the tunnel into the warm May sunshine and shortly after we got our first sight of the 22 players that would start the 1978 FA Cup Final.

Arsenal were bedecked in red tracksuit tops made by Umbro. Combined with the blue shorts of the away kit they were wearing on the day, the overall effect was a slightly confusing one for supporters and neutrals alike, yet the garment itself was a fine one.

Pat Rice and Frank Stapleton meet
Princess Alexandra

Umbro's familiar diamond logo was stitched in white contained within tramlines along the shoulders and sleeves, running up to the neck where an unavoidable white flappy collar appeared. A white zip divided both halves of the chest and on either side was a large Umbro logo and a depiction of Arsenal's 'cannon' motif which was so big that it could easily have been drawn on a scale of 1:1.

Allan Hunter (Ipswich)

Adidas were the creators of the Ipswich tracksuit top, and they too left no-one in any doubt as to what their corporate logo looked like. The styling was slightly different, however.

On a rich royal blue backdrop, the zip was this time inconspicuous by its similar colouring and a hood was provided instead of a big collar. To complete the look, the famous three stripes of the German sportswear company ran along the sleeves in white while the Ipswich club badge sat proudly on the right breast.

Mick Mills (right) walks the line

The backs of the tops were also different. As anyone that studied at The Football Attic's School of Tracksuit Design will tell you, the mark of a truly great track top can be found in the name of the team or the outfit's manufacturer spelled out in lettering on the back. In this respect, the Suffolk club score full marks for displaying 'Ipswich Town FC' in a perfect arc on theirs.

Rear Gunner: (right) Arsenal's cannon

Arsenal, however, applied a delightfully discrete sense of style by doing away with their club name in favour of a white cannon which looked absolutely spot on. Working on the basis that everyone knew what the badge was (apart from most of the people watching the match live from Australia and New Zealand), it was a very nicely executed piece of knowing understatement.

But on such an auspicious occasion, which one was best - the red of Arsenal or the blue of Ipswich?

On the occasion of the 1978 FA Cup Final, there was only one winner - that of tracksuit design itself.

Check out our other Great Tracksuits of Our Time here

FA Cup Final Programmes (1946-2012)

Continuing FA Cup Final Week here at The Football Attic, we present a video montage showing the front covers of all of the FA Cup Final match-day programmes from 1946 onwards.

Pick your favourites, pick your worst, then tell us what they are - we look forward to hearing from you!

FA Cup Final Day - ITV-style (Part 1)

With just seven days to go until the 2013 FA Cup Final, we begin a week-long series of FA Cup-themed articles here on The Football Attic..

If you heard our recent podcast called 'FA Cup Memories', you'll know that many people (ourselves included) still fondly remember the classic Cup Final Day coverage on TV.

As a child growing up in the UK, one tends to recall ITV and BBC starting their build-up to the big event well before lunchtime. Special features would be shown involving the Cup Final players, celebrities and all manner of novelty fare. This was, after all, the biggest game of the domestic season and the two main UK TV channels did all they could to make sure you tuned in to them for Cup Final Day.

While the BBC's coverage was somewhat earnest and straight-laced, ITV allowed itself to have a bit more fun in its presentation of the big event. To that end, let's remind ourselves of how World of Sport did 'FA Cup Final Day' down the years, starting here with Part 1...

1967

Duration: 12.30pm to 4.55pm

Presented by Eamonn Andrews, Dickie Davies (or Richard Davies as he was still known at the time) was just a roving reporter at Wembley along with Peter Lorenzo (father of Matt, ITV's anchorman during the 1994 World Cup).

The era of bold, eye-catching coverage hadn't yet arrived, so if Davies or Lorenzo had managed to grab a quick chat with a celebrity before kick-off, you'd have counted yourself lucky. This was, to all intents and purposes, a fairly ordinary edition of World of Sport, albeit one presented from Wembley.

Among the non-football items were horse racing from Lingfield, wrestling from the Clifton Hall, Rotherham (featuring Jackie Pallo), and the Australian Pools results.

1969

Duration: 12pm to 5.15pm

Richard Davies was now the main presenter of World of Sport while Brian Moore had taken over commentating duties from Hugh Johns. Jimmy Hill and Barry Davies were on hand to interview ITV's pundits including Danny Blanchflower and Billy Wright, while Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton were brought in as special guests.

One or two special features were now forming part of the Cup Final feast on the commercial channel, one of which was 'Wembley In The Sixties' - a chance to show highlights from great games including the 1966 World Cup Final, the 1968 European Cup Final and the 1969 League Cup Final between Arsenal and Swindon Town. Ten minutes were also spared to look at the Football Writers Dinner at London's Café Royal.

Once again, a few footballing palate cleansers were provided in the form of Whitbread Gold Cup horse racing and professional wrestling.

1970

Duration: 12pm to 5.15pm

Not much change on the previous year. Instead of 'Wembley in the Sixties' we had 'Cup Finals of the Sixties', plus there was the usual recap of all the best goals scored earlier in the competition and interviews with players and pundits.

One big gimmick came to light, however, in the form of the ITV Computer. Fred Dinenage provided an early explanation on how the computer (think tape reels and flashing lights) would, by 2.15pm, be churning out a prediction on the FA Cup Final result. Inevitably the prediction, based on the statistical data fed into it, was wrong, but it did give Jimmy Hill and co. plenty of reasons to discuss its accuracy prior to kick-off.

No horse racing this year, but the wrestling was an 'International Special,' for what it's worth.

1971

Duration: 11.30am to 5.15pm

ITV's earliest start yet as Richard Davies partnered up with Jimmy Hill who refereed a pre-Final debate on the Arsenal v Liverpool match with Malcolm Allison, Pat Crerand and Derek Dougan - the classic ITV Sport panel, for many people.

'Wembley Starspot' was a regular feature throughout the day where Davies interviewed personalities in the 'World of Sport Celebrity Bar.' Around lunchtime was 'Penalty Prize' - a five-minute item where "On The Ball's penalty champion, 15-year-old Ken Henderson from Sunderland" tried to outdo "the panel's penalty king, Bob McNab".

Kids also featured in 'My Dad's At Wembley' where the sons of some of the Arsenal and Liverpool players talked to Brian Moore and Keith Macklin about their fathers and favourite players.

Again, horse racing and wrestling were present in the line-up, along with the cursory five-minute check to see how the Scottish FA Cup Final had gone.

1972
Duration: 11.15am to 5.10pm

Very much 'as you were' in '71 with many of the pundits, presenters and features from the previous year retained, but fortunately we could now call Richard Davies 'Dickie' to cast aside all that unnecessary formality.

Fortunately a couple of new items were brought in to freshen up the schedule. 'Cup Final Comedians' appeared at 1.25pm with 15 minutes of football fun and gags from the likes of Mike Reid, Frank Carson, Bernard Manning and Charlie Williams. With half an hour to go before kick-off, 'The Football Association Pageant' was a 20-minute parade inside Wembley to celebrate the FA's centenary, commentated on by Brian Moore.

'International Athletics' was also added to the non-football content.

1973
Duration: 10.30am to 5.10pm

ITV really pushed the boat out with a super-early start in 1973. Replacing 'The Comedians' this year was a special edition of 'Who Do You Do?' - a popular show featuring impersonators of the day including Eddie Large and Janet Brown. A five-minute segment called 'My Man's At Wembley' also appeared at 1.15pm where the British public got to 'meet' the players' wives.

Another brief change of pace came along in the shape of 'Cup Final Athletics' - "special pre-match invitation races held at Wembley Stadium." Exactly why we're not entirely sure. More interesting, perhaps, was the ITV 'Sky-High' camera providing "a sensational plan-view of the stadium."

1974
Duration: 11am to 5.10pm

Back to an 11 o'clock start this time, shortly after which was 'Football Crazy!'  Here, Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart combined football songs and goal action with children from Liverpool and Newcastle, the 1974 finalists. "Two pop-stars who love their football" were also on hand along with some kids "with well-known sporting dads."

This was the year when 'Camera on the Coach' arrived to give us a unique insight into how 20 angst-ridden men travelled five miles to Wembley in near silence but for the encouraging words of a roving reporter and his microphone. And if the satellite link remained intact for more than five minutes at a time, so much the better, but there was no guarantee of this.

'Talk of the Stars' gave a knowing nod back to the days of the ITV computer by enlisting TV Times astrologer Roger Elliot to predict the outcome of the 1974 FA Cup Final. Five minutes later, 'Footballer's Fancies' invited some of the players to give their tips for the winner of the 2,000 Guineas which was shown immediately afterwards as part of ITV's Cup Final coverage.

A reminder for anyone that might have forgotten: this was 1974 - not 2013.

1975

Duration: 11am to 5.10pm

Quite honestly there wasn't much innovation in ITV's 1975 Cup Final schedule, except for the inclusion of some... how shall we say... 'dubious' personalities?

Aside from the wrestling, the horse racing, the highlights package from previous rounds of the Cup and the Australian Pools results, the only 'highlights' of note were 'Freddie Starr!' at 12pm, 'Freddie Starr Again!' at 1pm and 'Football Crazy' which followed the same format as in 1974 but this time featured various guests including Gary Glitter.

We'll be moving not-so-swiftly onto Part 2 of our ITV Cup Final Day guide very soon, and in it we'll take in juvenile commentators, Dutch astrologers and hopefully no-one questioned as part of Operation Yewtree.

Retro Random Video: Man United NOT appearing on Top of the Pops

We've seen it so often before, the sight of a football team appearing on Top of the Pops, singing (or rather 'miming') badly to their latest chart hit (if indeed 'hit' is the word we're looking for there).

But in 1983 there was one occasion when a football team were due to appear in the BBC studios to perform their song but didn't. This was because Manchester United, the team in question, were rendered unavailable on account of their participation in the 1983 FA Cup Final replay at Wembley against Brighton & Hove Albion.

What to do? The answer: Simply show a selection of recent Man United goals (and one Brighton one) with their song "Glory Glory Man United" playing in the background. This rendered the 21st May 1983 edition of Top of the Pops (already shortened because the match was shown directly afterwards) nothing more than a musical version of Football Focus. As for the song, it proved to be as unconvincing as Pat Sharp's presenting style, yet it still hauled its way up to number 13 in the charts. If anyone knows how that happened, please get in touch.

So here it is then - Manchester United's non-appearance on Top of the Pops, preceded as it is by Big Country's rendition of 'In a Big Country'.

If you want to get straight to the Man United bit, you'll need to fast forward to 05:06. If, on the other hand, you want to know when the Man United bit starts so you can avoid it, you'll need to hit the stop button at 05:06.

Warning: Video contains images of Pat Sharp pretending to be interested in the FA Cup Final replay.

Attic Podcast 7 - FA Cup Memories

As it's nearly time for another FA Cup Final, we thought we'd wander down memory lane and ramble all about our own FA Cup memories from hours of match build up to why it's all gone wrong nowadays!

Listen to Rich go for an hour without really mentioning Coventry in 87 or Sutton Utd in 89...useless!

Subscribe on iTunes or download here

Chris O's Favourite 5... FA Cup Finals

As it's FA Cup Third Round day, I thought I'd take a slow walk down memory lane to remind myself of my favourite five Finals from years gone by.

1. West Ham v Liverpool (2006)

“Surely the best Cup Final of modern times” according to BBC commentator John Motson and even now, some six-and-a-half years later, it’s difficult to disagree with him.

For any fan of a losing finalist in any competition, it’s some consolation at least when your team gives a good account of itself, and for me, West Ham certainly did that in 2006. Going 2-0 up through a Jamie Carragher own goal and a Dean Ashton toe-poke from close range, West Ham took the game to Liverpool but they hadn’t accounted for a one-man colossus in red called Steven Gerrard.

The Merseyside club clawed their way back to 2-2 thanks to a Djibril Cissé volley and a Gerrard thunderbolt, but even after Paul Konchesky’s speculative cross had put West Ham back in front at 3-2, Liverpool still weren’t prepared to accept defeat. A second incredible strike by the England captain ensured the game was tied at 3-3 going into injury time, and with the resulting penalty shoot-out swinging in favour of The Reds, this was not to be West Ham’s day.

And what of my feelings after the game?  Not disappointed really, no. Pride – that was my predominant emotion. Pride that my favourite club had played its part in a memorable Final and earned the respect of many neutrals watching from afar. You can’t ask for much more than that, can you?



2. Arsenal v Manchester United (1979)

When dewy-eyed nostalgists think of the perfect FA Cup Final, they probably think of one where both teams play football of the highest order for 90 minutes before a thrilling climax ensues. In many ways, the 1979 Final was exactly that.

Much like the West Ham/Liverpool clash of 2006, one of the teams – Arsenal – went 2-0 up and were leading comfortably by half time. Brian Talbot, who played for Ipswich against Arsenal the previous year, scored the first goal after 12 minutes and Frank Stapleton added a header just before the interval.

That two-goal cushion remained in place until four minutes from the end when United staged a late comeback. First, Scottish international defender Gordon McQueen swivelled and put the ball past Pat Jennings from close range, then, Sammy McIllroy industriously battled his way through the Arsenal defence to make it 2-2 in the 88th minute.

Everyone, myself included, couldn’t believe how Arsenal’s dominance could crumble in the space of two minutes. According to Brian Clough, ITV’s co-commentator on the day, United had earned their stay of execution having battled all afternoon, but surely Arsenal shouldn’t have given them the opportunity in the first place? Had they lost the plot?

Remarkably, the answer came only a minute later when, soon after kick-off, Graham Rix crossed to find Alan Sunderland in the penalty area. His outstretched leg reached the ball before Arthur Albiston could get to it and in so doing poked the ball over the line. With just a minute left on the clock, Arsenal had taken the lead once more and were able to hang on until the final whistle blew just moments later.

Very few Cup Finals had ever set such a high standard for excitement but this one became the benchmark for all future Finals to reach. I can still remember that last goal going in as if it were yesterday, but to be honest the rest of the game doesn’t come quite so readily to mind. Maybe it doesn’t have to when you have an ending to beat all endings.



3. Liverpool v Newcastle United (1974)

In 1974, Malcolm MacDonald seemed to be single-handedly transforming the fortunes of Newcastle United. Having won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969, the Tyneside club had failed to build on their new-found success but the acquisition of MacDonald from Luton Town had gone some way to correct that.

A prolific striker in his day, he was at the top of his game come the 1974 FA Cup Final – so much so that, according to Emlyn Hughes, he’d been telling the press that The Magpies were going to turn over Liverpool at Wembley and that they had a far superior team.

When the big day arrived, Liverpool had other ideas – and a top strike duo that were more than a match for Newcastle. Kevin Keegan and John Toshack were fast developing a reputation as a lethal partnership that provided many goals for the Anfield club, and in the ’74 Final they and the rest of the Liverpool team were ruthlessly dominant.

Shots rained in on the Newcastle goal all day and quite honestly they were different class. Newcastle tried in vain to compete but Liverpool, having burst the black and white dam through Keegan’s first of two goals in the 57th minute, didn’t settle until they’d got what they came for. A second from Heighway a quarter of an hour before the end and another from Keegan two minutes from time eventually secured the 3-0 win that had been on the cards throughout.

“Goals pay the rent and Keegan does his share” said David Coleman during his BBC commentary, and if that was the case, Malcolm MacDonald and his Newcastle team-mates must have been in arrears for months.



4. Liverpool v Everton (1986)

It’s not often you get an FA Cup Final played between the two teams finishing first and second in England’s top flight, but in 1986 that very thing happened and we got a great final as a result.

The sight of Kenny Dalglish leading the team out as manager yet ready to play alongside his team-mates must have been a stirring sight for Reds fans everywhere, but Everton had talent throughout their ranks too. Andy Gray had been replaced by Gary Lineker, Kevin Sheedy and Trevor Steven provided flair and reliability while at the back Kevin Ratcliffe and Derek Mountfield provided a rock-solid base in defence. At the back, however, Bobby Mimms was deputising for the absent Neville Southall. Would that be the weak point in this all-too-rare Merseyside Cup Final?

The start of the match suggested otherwise as Lineker grabbed the opening goal after his early shot was spilled by Bruce Grobelaar. Everton still led 1-0 at the start of the second half and looked to have the bit between their teeth until Ian Rush rounded Mimms to equalise in the 56th minute. After that, Liverpool smelled blood and Craig Johnston was on hand to finish off a great move six minutes later to make it 2-1.

As Everton tried to get back into the game, the inevitable gaps opened up in defence and Liverpool finally took advantage when Ian Rush scored a second, just seven minutes before the end. When the final whistle blew, Bob Paisley’s side had won the double – the first time any team had achieved it since Arsenal in 1971 – and a truly great side from the red half of Merseyside rightly basked in the glory.

Despite being a Londoner who had seen so many local sides grace FA Cup Finals throughout the 1970’s and early 1980’s, this was still an enjoyable spectacle for me and one which lingered long in the memory thereafter. Everton, however, were still to have their day –they’d win the First Division title the following season.



5. West Ham v Arsenal (1980)

And so back to West Ham, I’m afraid. A final indulgence from me, but unashamedly so, not least because it was the last time I saw my own team actually win the FA Cup.

I remember the day of the Final with some clarity, despite my ever-faltering memory. Early on, my sister had been making rosettes from claret and blue ribbons – something that people probably rarely do these days. Yet it was all part of the build-up to the event for us local Hammers fans, keen as we were to wear the club’s colours with pride.

The weather was glorious. Warm, bright sunshine illuminated Wembley as Terry Neill and John Lyall led their teams out in front of a capacity crowd. West Ham were the Second Division underdogs and Arsenal were the First Division favourites. This was The Gunners’ third consecutive FA Cup Final but would ultimately be their second defeat in that run.

To their credit, West Ham never looked overawed by their opponents throughout. Under the cosh they may have been at times, but they didn’t look unduly flustered or nervy, and this was helped in no uncertain terms by Trevor Brooking’s goal after 13 minutes. ITV’s Brian Moore thought the goal had been scored by Stuart Pearson – in fact we all did, I seem to remember – but the confusion caused by the way the fast-moving ball in a congested Arsenal penalty area was eventually resolved and the tone was set for an ultimately joyous afternoon.

Of course we can’t let this review of the 1980 Final go by without mentioning the deliberate foul on Paul Allen by Willie Young when the former was clean through on goal late in the game, but it’s all water under the bridge now and not worth dwelling on. Instead, here’s a less than flattering picture of Willie during his Aberdeen days. Now let that be a lesson to anyone thinking of doing the same.

Radio Times: 1971 FA Cup Final preview

For many people, the iconic image of the 1971 FA Cup Final is that of Charlie George slamming the ball past Ray Clemence in the Liverpool goal before celebrating horizontally on the Wembley turf. All that was still to come when the Radio Times was published for the week of 8-14 May 1971, but the big day was still looked forward to with the traditional customary air of excitement and anticipation.

On the front cover, Steve Heighway and John Radford added a splash of colour (the latter cut out and superimposed as if running in a trench) while the headline informed us that all the action from Wembley would be 'Live on Grandstand' and BBC Radio 2.

And what a schedule lay in store for us on BBC1. Cup Final Grandstand began at 11.45am (following The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?) and was introduced by David Coleman 'direct from Wembley.' Providing capable punditry and gobbits of relevant anecdotage were Manchester City manager Joe Mercer, Leeds United manager Don Revie and Manchester United captain Bobby Charlton.

'Who'll win the Cup?'
Arsenal, but we didn't
know it yet...

The opening sequence of the programme was referred to as 'The Wembley Scene' and featured Frank Bough and Barry Davies profiling the two sets of players from their respective team headquarters (typically a hotel in Borehamwood or some such). After that at 12.30, it was time to meet 'The Cup Final Managers' where Bertie Mee and Bill Shankly conveyed their hopes and concerns ahead of kick-off.

The 'Goal of the Season' was announced at 12.45 along with the lucky competition winner who scribbled it down on his/her postcard. A £300 cheque was the prize for choosing Ernie Hunt's donkey kick volley in correspondence with Grandstand's panel of experts - a staggering amount that in today's money is equivalent to more than £3,600.

At 12.55 it was time for 'It's a Cup Final Knockout' featuring two teams representing Arsenal and Liverpool, led by disc jockey Pete Murray and actor Anthony Booth respectively. The show was hosted by David Vine who, let it be remembered, was the presenter in the early days of It's A Knockout before Stuart Hall made the programme his own.

By 2.25, kick-off was within tantalising reach and all the pre-match protocol was in full swing. The Band of the Coldstream Guards were doing their thing, the crowd was in full voice and the Duke of Kent was busy shaking the hands of the players out on the pitch. In the blink of an eye, the match would be played, won and reflected upon as David Coleman rounded up the best of the action and interviewed the key players - all in time for tea.

'Are goalkeepers crazy?' Who better
to provide an answer than Bob
Wilson...

Towards the back of this issue of the Radio Times, there's a lengthy interview with both goalkeepers - Bob Wilson for Arsenal and Ray Clemence for Liverpool. Wilson comes across as a man who thought about every  moment of every possible game; a worrier to some extent, but with good reason. He was a man that clearly took his job of goalkeeper seriously and his analysis of the team he faced in the Final was detailed and thorough.

Clemence, by contrast, was younger and seemed merely happy with his achievement of breaking through the talented ranks at Anfield to earn a regular spot in the team. He refers to his close friendship with Larry Lloyd and their scrupulous adherence to the same pre-match rituals ("We always order breakfast at exactly the same time, Larry always gets up, makes the tea and brings in the papers... Then we go out for a ten-minute walk.")

Taking superstition to the extreme, Clemence was happily cosseted in his own footballing world, however his comments about Charlie George bordered on the flippant: "...From what you see on television, he seems to be a bit erratic. He must have been booked two or three times and he hasn't played for all of the season. I've never faced his shooting, but he certainly hit that goal against Newcastle pretty well, didn't he?" Probably best to keep that in mind for the Final, Ray...

Of course the main purpose of the Radio Times was (and still is) to inform us of all the top programmes appearing on BBC TV during the coming week. In this issue you might have singled out The Andy Williams Show and The Good Old Days as special highlights to look forward to, or perhaps an attempt at brand diversification in the form of A Question of News. Presented by Richard Baker, this was a short-lived attempt at replicating the success of A Question of Sport which, at that point, had been running for just over a year.

Green Cross Code: Stop,
Look, Listen, Think.

Elsewhere, there was the chance to catch up on England's Euro '72 campaign with highlights of the match against Malta in Sportsnight, while on Radio 1 there were the audible delights of Tony Blackburn, Terry Wogan and Anne Nightingale to pass the time away.

Finally, to round off this issue, there's the customary saunter through the many pages of adverts, and what better way to teach our kids road safety skills than with a relatively new campaign called 'The Green Cross Code'. Dave Prowse in a green-and-white superhero suit was still four years away at this point, but like Gerry Francis looking from side to side in all his interviews, there was more than one way to tell kids how to cross the road.

FA Cup Final Programme, 1980

A quick skim through the Official Souvenir Programme of the 1980 FA Cup Final shows that it was a mixed bag of trivia, some of it dry, some of it brilliantly evocative.

Inside, we first see the Timetable and Programme of Events for May 10th 1980. The running order for the biggest afternoon in English football had a familiar feel; marching regimental bands at 1.10pm, the marching band of Kansas State University at 1.35, more from the regimental bands of the Guards' Division at 2.30 and again at half time, Abide With Me at 2.45 and The Duke of Duchess of Kent shaking hands with the players at 2.50. So far, so regimented.

On page 5, we get a word from Ted Croker, FA Secretary, who speaks of the growing trend for Second Division clubs to do well in the FA Cup Final (Sunderland and Southampton being recent examples at the time). This was a good omen for West Ham although, as Croker said, Arsenal "seemed to have reserved a permanent place at Wembley. This will be the club's third Wembley Final in succession – a record…" He signed off by telling readers that the Final would "be seen on TV in over 60 countries" and by hundreds of millions of people. It would probably have been more were it not for all those regimental marching bands showing up every five minutes.

Further inside the programme, there are detailed club profiles on Arsenal and West Ham along with full colour pictures of the two teams, in case you'd forgotten what they looked like. Furthermore, there are double-page profiles of the two teams to give some detail on the playing staff in each case. We're told that "in August 1977, [Pat Jennings] joined Arsenal from neighbours Tottenham Hotspur. Would Spurs have let him go for £45,000 if they had known he would play for their greatest rivals at Wembley in 1978, 1979 and 1980?" Probably not, but there again if my aunt had balls, would she be my uncle? The answer to both questions is likely to be the same.

The FA Cup Final programme of 1980 serves as much as a condensed reference book as any kind of souvenir. There are pages devoted to previous Cup Final results, Cup Facts ('compiled by Jack Rollin') and Goals Galore ('Scoring feats from past FA Cup Finals') but aside from the statistics and the plentiful colour action photos of both teams, the real charm can found in the filler material. Here, we get a perfect snapshot of the era through the adverts dotted willy-nilly throughout.

There's one for the Sunday Mirror featuring "Kevin Keegan of England and Hamburg – soon Southampton" who was writing a column for the weekend tabloid at the time. Keegan also cropped up in a small advert for Mitre Sports, alongside another for Adidas bearing a tiny caption telling us that Umbro International (Footwear) Ltd were "the sole UK distributors of Adidas products." Quite a sporting gesture on the part of the future England kit suppliers in more ways than one.

Elsewhere, there's an advert for the Victor range of men's toiletries - a useful reference for anyone wondering whether Brut 33 was the low point in male grooming products at the start of the 1980's. Another advertises Skol, surely as ubiquitous in pubs back then as pictures of topless models on Big D peanut dispensers and a predilection for cirrhosis of the liver and lung cancer among the regulars.

But for those wanting a lasting memory of a wonderful day at the FA Cup Final, page 48 of the programme was where it was all happening. There it was possible to choose your commemorative gift to remind you of the big day from a range of Wembley branded products. Blue and white wrist band? Certainly – that'll be 90p. How about a "slide card" as a pocket size-record of all FA Cup Final matches since 1872? No problem – 55p.

And if the 'Italian-made sports bag' didn't take your fancy (despite being made from 'durable nylon - £4.99') there was always the opposite page featuring 8mm soccer home movies. Two hundred feet of celluloid bliss – some even with sound – from just £8.30. What more could a football fan want? Perhaps a ticket to the upcoming Harlem Globetrotters game, but for that you'd need to contact the Wembley Box Office.