I am of an age which saw the FA Cup as one of the ultimate goals for West Ham. The competition now seems to pale into insignificance compared to the league and European endeavours but for me growing up, the FA Cup was the ultimate. I grew up in an age before Sky, before football being on nearly every day of the week and so FA Cup final day was the ultimate day of sport for me. The first game I ever watched on television was the FA Cup final Leeds versus Chelsea in 1970 that went to a replay. For some strange reason I became a West Ham fan soon after that; I can’t fathom the reasons why. Living in rural Wales I could’ve had my pick of teams but for some reason I chose the Hammers. Just two years later I was rewarded with a cup final against Fulham, the Bobby Moore final. There’s only a certain amount of people that will remember what final day was like then. Yes I had no tickets but the television coverage started early in the morning. You had such things as a ‘It’s a Knockout” competition between fans of West Ham and Fulham and ultimately leading to each team having a reporter and a camera crew on board as the teams made their way by bus to the stadium. It was a fairytale day for West Ham and in particular Alan Taylor. He had scored two goals in the previous round and there he was again once more to score two to give West Ham their first victory in the competition since 1964. It was a glorious day to be a West Ham supporter. It was that day that I realised just how special this competition was and how important it was to my team.
Trevor Brooking’s Header and Giant-Killing Glory
For our next cup final West Ham had gone through the mires of relegation and we entered the cup as severe underdogs to Arsenal. I was working part time then and couldn’t get the cup final day off and so missed all the build up that was still on the TV in those days. But imagine my joy when Trevor Brooking bizarrely scored from a header to beat Arsenal and prove once again that the underdog could come through. The 70s had been the years where we had seen Sunderland and Southampton do such giant killing tricks in the cup and I guess that’s what made the FA cup so special.
From Boleyn Ground Debuts to the Heartbreak of 2006
My relationship with the cup changed when I was able to get more time away from education or from work. Now rather than watch games on television, I was able to attend in person. It would take almost four hours to get up to Upton Park and so home games were not an option for many years and I was content to see West Ham in such places as Villa Park or when I was in university at Anfield and Old Trafford, but never a home game. My first home game though was back to that FA Cup competition and a visit from a team from Yorkshire, non-league called Emley. We came away 2-1 winners. Even though the football was pretty dire, I was hooked on the Boleyn Ground atmosphere and soon after became a season ticket holder, something I still am, next year probably being my 27th year as a ticket holder. I was fortunate to finally make a cup final in 2006, the infamous game against Liverpool. We were massive underdogs but on that day we deserved the victory but were robbed in the last minute of regulation time by Steven Gerrard. However, I left the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff proud to be a West Ham supporter. It was only the next day that it dawned on me how close we’d come to winning and the disappointment then hit.
Paolo Di Canio’s Heroics and the Unpredictable West Ham Way
There have also been great moments throughout the years of me supporting West Ham. One of the greatest for me to witness personally was in 2001 at Old Trafford. I was there to see Fabien Barthez stick his hand up trying to convince the linesman that Paolo Di Canio was offside but Paolo ignored that and slotted home the winner to knock Manchester United out of the cup. But then of course we have the West Ham way. Just two years later we were back at Old Trafford and I was almost certain that we were on for another momentous victory. At the final whistle we traipsed off back onto the motorways after being beaten six nil and out of the cup. But at least there was some comfort in that this was a great Manchester United team. And here’s that phrase again – the West Ham way – and oh how that is typified by some of our results in the FA Cup. No doubt there were many before my time as a West Ham supporter but the first one that sticks in my mind was a local game. West Ham had been drawn against southern league Hereford United. Hereford being just 30 miles away from home and it gave me the chance to see my team for the very first time live. I remember being in a phone box as we didn’t have a home phone in those days trying to get tickets and failing miserably. While I failed to see the game live, it was Hereford that came away with a victory at a muddy Edgar Street. Our recent game against Burton where we needed extra time to win reminded me of our trips to Shrewsbury and Kidderminster where we had to bring out the big guns to take us across the line. As a West Ham supporter, I almost pray for games against Premier League teams knowing that a game against the lesser team always leads to it being on TV because the cameras believe they’re going to see a giant killing opportunity for our opponents. Even this season, after sneaking past Burton, I’d secretly hoped that we would see our team at somewhere like Wrexham, a ground I’ve never been to. We have been drawn against Brentford at home under the lights and on TV and a chance to progress even further in my favourite competition.
The Farewell Boleyn Season and the Pain of Old Trafford
Of course the cup wins stand out, the Di Canio goal stands out, and of course that run to the cup final in 2006 and the subsequent defeat against Liverpool also stand out as great FA Cup moments for yours truly but when I look at cup runs its a different one that stands out and one that ultimately ended in disappointment. It was our cup run and subsequent failure in the 2015-16 season that hurt the most. It was a magical season, our last at the Boleyn ground. The fourth round draw was not kind to us Hammers as we were drawn as the visitors to Anfield but a solid defensive performance away from home resulted in a 0-0 draw and in those days a replay under the lights at the Boleyn. This resulted in one of our greatest cup games where an extra time winner from Angelo Ogbonna resulted in us coming away with a 2-1 victory. And then came our quarter final clash, once again away from home and at Old Trafford against Manchester United. To say we were robbed is an understatement. After a glorious Dimitri Payet free kick we were on the road to victory only for the referee to make a horrendous error of judgement by not awarding us a clear penalty. A late equaliser took the game to a replay in what was to be the last ever cup tie at the Boleyn. A 2-1 defeat after a late Kouyate goal was disallowed meant that our cup run came to an end. It was heartbreaking. Manchester United went on to win the cup. We were that close as I truly believe we would have beaten the teams that followed.
Why the FA Cup Remains the Greatest Club Competition
Now of course the FA Cup has been overshadowed by Europe and the Premier League. But for those of us of a certain age it still remains a glorious competition. There are still some big names involved in this year’s competition but who knows, could this be our year? It remains to be seen but for me this is the greatest club competition in the world and we have a rich varied history in this cup and long may it continue.
Growing Up With the FA Cup: A TV Spectacle
I am of an age which saw the FA Cup as one of the ultimate goals for West Ham. The competition now seems to pale into insignificance compared to the league and European endeavours but for me growing up, the FA Cup was the ultimate. I grew up in an age before Sky, before football being on nearly every day of the week and so FA Cup final day was the ultimate day of sport for me. The first game I ever watched on television was the FA Cup final Leeds versus Chelsea in 1970 that went to a replay. For some strange reason I became a West Ham fan soon after that; I can’t fathom the reasons why. Living in rural Wales I could’ve had my pick of teams but for some reason I chose the Hammers. Just two years later I was rewarded with a cup final against Fulham, the Bobby Moore final. There’s only a certain amount of people that will remember what final day was like then. Yes I had no tickets but the television coverage started early in the morning. You had such things as a ‘It’s a Knockout” competition between fans of West Ham and Fulham and ultimately leading to each team having a reporter and a camera crew on board as the teams made their way by bus to the stadium. It was a fairytale day for West Ham and in particular Alan Taylor. He had scored two goals in the previous round and there he was again once more to score two to give West Ham their first victory in the competition since 1964. It was a glorious day to be a West Ham supporter. It was that day that I realised just how special this competition was and how important it was to my team.
1980 FA Cup Winners: Underdogs Defeating Arsenal
For our next cup final West Ham had gone through the mires of relegation and we entered the cup as severe underdogs to Arsenal. I was working part time then and couldn’t get the cup final day off and so missed all the build up that was still on the TV in those days. But imagine my joy when Trevor Brooking bizarrely scored from a header to beat Arsenal and prove once again that the underdog could come through. The 70s had been the years where we had seen Sunderland and Southampton do such giant killing tricks in the cup and I guess that’s what made the FA cup so special.
Becoming a Season Ticket Holder and the Steven Gerrard Final
My relationship with the cup changed when I was able to get more time away from education or from work. Now rather than watch games on television, I was able to attend in person. It would take almost four hours to get up to Upton Park and so home games were not an option for many years and I was content to see West Ham in such places as Villa Park or when I was in university at Anfield and Old Trafford, but never a home game. My first home game though was back to that FA Cup competition and a visit from a team from Yorkshire, non-league called Emley. We came away 2-1 winners. Even though the football was pretty dire, I was hooked on the Boleyn Ground atmosphere and soon after became a season ticket holder, something I still am, next year probably being my 27th year as a ticket holder. I was fortunate to finally make a cup final in 2006, the infamous game against Liverpool. We were massive underdogs but on that day we deserved the victory but were robbed in the last minute of regulation time by Steven Gerrard. However, I left the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff proud to be a West Ham supporter. It was only the next day that it dawned on me how close we’d come to winning and the disappointment then hit.
FA Cup Upsets and the Magic of the Boleyn Ground
There have also been great moments throughout the years of me supporting West Ham. One of the greatest for me to witness personally was in 2001 at Old Trafford. I was there to see Fabien Barthez stick his hand up trying to convince the linesman that Paolo Di Canio was offside but Paolo ignored that and slotted home the winner to knock Manchester United out of the cup. But then of course we have the West Ham way. Just two years later we were back at Old Trafford and I was almost certain that we were on for another momentous victory. At the final whistle we traipsed off back onto the motorways after being beaten six nil and out of the cup. But at least there was some comfort in that this was a great Manchester United team. And here’s that phrase again – the West Ham way – and oh how that is typified by some of our results in the FA Cup. No doubt there were many before my time as a West Ham supporter but the first one that sticks in my mind was a local game. West Ham had been drawn against southern league Hereford United. Hereford being just 30 miles away from home and it gave me the chance to see my team for the very first time live. I remember being in a phone box as we didn’t have a home phone in those days trying to get tickets and failing miserably. While I failed to see the game live, it was Hereford that came away with a victory at a muddy Edgar Street. Our recent game against Burton where we needed extra time to win reminded me of our trips to Shrewsbury and Kidderminster where we had to bring out the big guns to take us across the line. As a West Ham supporter, I almost pray for games against Premier League teams knowing that a game against the lesser team always leads to it being on TV because the cameras believe they’re going to see a giant killing opportunity for our opponents. Even this season, after sneaking past Burton, I’d secretly hoped that we would see our team at somewhere like Wrexham, a ground I’ve never been to. We have been drawn against Brentford at home under the lights and on TV and a chance to progress even further in my favourite competition.
Dimitri Payet, Angelo Ogbonna, and the 2016 Quarter-Final Heartbreak
Of course the cup wins stand out, the Di Canio goal stands out, and of course that run to the cup final in 2006 and the subsequent defeat against Liverpool also stand out as great FA Cup moments for yours truly but when I look at cup runs its a different one that stands out and one that ultimately ended in disappointment. It was our cup run and subsequent failure in the 2015-16 season that hurt the most. It was a magical season, our last at the Boleyn ground. The fourth round draw was not kind to us Hammers as we were drawn as the visitors to Anfield but a solid defensive performance away from home resulted in a 0-0 draw and in those days a replay under the lights at the Boleyn. This resulted in one of our greatest cup games where an extra time winner from Angelo Ogbonna resulted in us coming away with a 2-1 victory. And then came our quarter final clash, once again away from home and at Old Trafford against Manchester United. To say we were robbed is an understatement. After a glorious Dimitri Payet free kick we were on the road to victory only for the referee to make a horrendous error of judgement by not awarding us a clear penalty. A late equaliser took the game to a replay in what was to be the last ever cup tie at the Boleyn. A 2-1 defeat after a late Kouyate goal was disallowed meant that our cup run came to an end. It was heartbreaking. Manchester United went on to win the cup. We were that close as I truly believe we would have beaten the teams that followed.
Hoping for Cup Glory Once Again
Now of course the FA Cup has been overshadowed by Europe and the Premier League. But for those of us of a certain age it still remains a glorious competition. There are still some big names involved in this year’s competition but who knows, could this be our year? It remains to be seen but for me this is the greatest club competition in the world and we have a rich varied history in this cup and long may it continue.
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