Mud, Poor Pitches and the FA Cup
The state of the playing surface – and specifically, mud – has been a concern of English football since its earliest days. Many clubs spent their formative years using makeshift pitches on public or private land, in conditions which did not encourage ‘the beautiful game’. Even by 1888 and the founding of the Football League,…
Orient v Chelsea, 1972 FA Cup
Orient hosted their illustrious London rivals Chelsea in 1972 hoping to add to a number of FA Cup upsets in the early 1970s. Among the spectacular results were Don Revie’s mighty Leeds United humbled at Colchester in 1971, and Southern League Hereford’s defeat of First Division Newcastle a year later – perhaps the most famous…
Denis Law and FA Cup Goalscorers
In a January 1961 FA Cup Third Round tie, Denis Law scored six goals for Manchester City against Luton Town. It would have set a record for the competition, but unfortunately the game was abandoned after 69 minutes, with City leading 6-2. Luton won the re-arranged game 3-1, though Law scored again for City. There…
Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal, 1979 FA Cup
Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal – this Third Round FA Cup clash at a snowy Hillsborough in January 1979 was the first of a series of five games between Division Three side Wednesday and First Division Arsenal. At the time, Cup ties were played to the death, without penalty shoot-outs. It took nine hours of football…
The FA Cup (Second Half)
The credibility of the competition was undermined in 2000 by the Football Association’s decision to encourage holders Manchester United to withdraw from the FA Cup – they opted to take part in the inaugural World Club Championship in Brazil which, it was believed, would help England’s ill-fated 2006 World Cup bid. Then-United manager Alex Ferguson…
FA Cup (The First Half)
The 2018 FA Cup Final took place last weekend, with Chelsea beating Manchester United in a tedious match between familiar opponents. Chelsea (who had won a single Cup, in 1970, before 1992) have now reached 10 Finals since the Premier League began, winning 7; Manchester United have appeared in 9 and won 5 of those.…
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