3 replies to this topic

[Caveman]

In my opinion it is a bad system where league games are played on F.A.Cup Final Day. Hope it is the last time the authorities in England allow it to be arranged in this way.

Anyway this was the case yesterday and two of those fixtures were

West Bromwich Albion v Everton
Blackpool v Bolton Wanderers

These games finished with the scores:

2011: West Bromwich Albion 1 Everton 0
2011: Blackpool 4 Bolton Wanderers 3


Funny or perhaps somewhat spooky, because-

West Bromwich Albion's last F. A. Cup Final win (and also their most recent appearance in an F. A. Cup Final)

and

Blackpool's one and only triumph in an F. A. Cup Final (and this was also their most recent appearance in an F. A. Cup Final)

were in these years with the following scores

1968 West Bromwich Albion 1 Everton 0
1953 Blackpool 4 Bolton Wanderers 3


The exact same results for both games.

A 1-0 result in both games between WBA and Everton is hardly out of the ordinary, but the 4-3 for both 2011 and 1953 would be a fair surprise I reckon!

[Lisbon]

That's quite a bit of research! Unfortunately Blackpool went down on the final day, after losing 4-2 at Old Trafford. People were tipping them to lose pretty much every match, but they fought to the end, all credit to them.

There are also some good news from England, AFC Wimbledon beat Luton Town in the Conference play-off final and can now call themselves a League team. And they're only 1 division below the Milton Keynes mob. A great day for fan power!

Still, I feel sorry for Luton Town. They lost their league status a couple of years ago after their unscrupulous owner's misdeeds landed them a 30-point penalty, that basically had them relegated from day one. I hope that they too end up going up, carn the Hatters!

[Caveman]

That is a great story about the 'real Wimbledon' getting back in the football league.

1988 wasn't all that long ago- less than 25 years and you may recall how one of the F.A.Cup Semi Finals that season was at White Hart Lane between Luton Town and Wimbledon. Luton lost that one 1-2 but did have sucess in the League Cup Final at Wembley beating Arsenal 3-2. That League Cup Final was the game were Andy Dibble saved a penalty near the end. Wimbledon of course won the F.A.Cup Final a few weeks later beating Liverpool.

The first season that an Aussie like me took a genuine interest in the 'Pommy soccer' was 1984-1985 and I recall a few Luton Town games in that season. There was a 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur- one of the goals scored by Luton saw the ball become stuck in the area between the cross bar and the post. It was at the right hand end in front of the away Tottenham support

There was also the much discussed incident of the Millwall fans rioting at their ground- the next morning here in Melbourne, saw Freddie Villiers the soccer presenter on World of Sport endure an inquisition from the others(Sandy Roberts I think mainly)? on World of Sport- like it was Freddie Villiers fault that the Millwall fans decided to destroy Luton Town's ground?

That game at Kenilworth Road was the F.A.Cup Quarter Final which Luton won.Then they were 5 minutes away from winning and going to Wembley for the 1985 F.A.Cup Final, but Everton got an equaliser in that Semi Final from 'KEVIN SHEEDY' then Derek Mountfield got the winner for Everton in the 2nd period of extra time. I remember that game well- it wasn't live so I knew that Everton were going to get this goal when they were one -nil down. All the three goals scored at the Holte End (then it was the left hand end- Villa Park is one ground like Upton Park where the camera team has changed sides.) I love how the English give something like that a bona fide name that becomes an institution like 'The Holte End' and others like 'The Stretford End' 'The Gallowgate End' etc

Most of the names of our 'ends' don't have the same impact- 'The Geelong Road End' at our ground just sounded all wrong and inappropriate for me- even though it was geographically 100% correct! Huddersfield Town's old ground name of Leeds Road is very similar to what we had of Footscray kicking to the Geelong Road End. We weren't alone- 'The School End, The Railway End, The South Road End- they just didn't really capture the imagination either. I suppose South Melbourne playing St Kilda away at Moorabbin may have sounded funny if it was mentioned how South were kicking to the South Road End. However it couldn't have been worse than listening on the radio or watching on the tv replay that 'Geelong are kicking to the Geelong Road End' when they were at Footscray?

Anyway Luton were planning to leave Kenilworth Road to build a new stadium, it was going to be named after their chairman -'The Kohler Dome' wasn't it after David Kohler? So sadly it has been downhill for Luton Town from their admirable 'punching above their weight' era of the 1980's. Hopefully they will come back to the Football League very soon.

Congratulations again to Wimbledon though- a definite victory for 'fan power'

[Lisbon]

Yes, the 80s were a golden era for both Luton Town and Wimbledon FC.

Wimbledon won the FA Cup against Liverpool against all odds, in a game that featured the first ever penalty save in a Cup Final (David Beasant keeping out John Aldrige's shot) and generated the famous "Crazy Gang beats Culture Club" headlines.

As for Luton, they fought bravely to win a League Cup that seemed in the bag for Arsenal at one stage. It was the game when the Gunner's Gus Caesar became a "legend" for all the wrong reasons, after falling flat on his arse trying to clear a ball that rebounded to a Luton player who duly scored.

Also, who can forget their great escape in 83, when they scored 4 minutes from time at Maine Road to keep themselves up and send Man City down (long before the sky blues were awash with petrodollars), triggering coach Pleat's famous pitch invasion ? Those were the days indeed!

And as for the Milwall incident, that was one of the lowest points of English soccer, people still talk about it with horror...

And don't forget Highbury's Clock End, or Chelsea's The Shed, or Celtic's The Jungle, all great "ends" of British soccer, along with all the Kops!