A Moment in Time - 1974-75 Fulham's Record Cup Run

What’s the record for the most FA Cup matches played by one club to reach a Final?  11, set by Fulham in 1974-75.  They fell just short of winning the trophy for the first time in their history.  Their performance during that campaign remains their best ever in the competition. 

They provided one of the most romantic stories for an FA Cup Final as England’s World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore lead Fulham out at Wembley against West Ham, the club he’d lifted the tophy for in 1964.  He was joined by another former England international, Alan Mullery, who himself had been an FA Cup winner with Tottenham in 1967. 

Throughout the sixties Fulham had enjoyed First Division status, but back-to-back relegations saw them begin the 1969-70 season in the Third Division.  Two years later they were back in the second tier of English football.  In March 1974 Moore was allowed to leave West Ham, where he had set an appearance record (later to be overtaken by Billy Bonds) and played with utter distinction in an auspicious career spanning sixteen years.  Mullery had begun his career at Fulham in 1958, the same year Moore made his professional debut, and moved to Tottenham in 1964 where he won FA, League and UEFA Cup winners medals.  By 1972 he was back at Craven Cottage.

1974-75 became famous for the year Manchester United played in the Second Division.  They were top of the table at the turn of the year, with Fulham sitting smack bang in mid-table.  For the Third Round they’d been drawn against the side immediately above them, Hull City.  This is where our story begins

SQUAD

GOALKEEPER

PETER MELLOR (age 27, 12 apps)  -  Began his career at Burnley in 1969.  Joined Fulham in 1972.  Played in every game of the 1974-75 season.  Stayed at the club until 1977 when the emergence of Gerry Peyton reduced his first team appearances. He moved to Hereford for a year and then settled at Portsmouth for the remaining years of his career in England.  He became a firm favourite with Fratton Park supporters who voted him Player of the Season in 1979

DEFENDERS

JOHN CUTBUSH (age 25, 9 apps)  -  Born in Malta he started his professional career at Tottenham in 1966, but moved to Fulham six years later having never gained a first team appearance.  Spent five years at Craven Cottage before moving to Sheffield United.  He made almost as many appearances at Bramall Lane as he did for Fulham and in 1981 he moved to United States for take part in indoor soccer.

JOHN FRASER (age 21, 4 apps)  -  Joined Fulham’s youth system in 1971.  He was never a regular first choice at full-back, but stepped in whenever injuries occurred.  During the 1974-75 season he came in when Cutbush was injured and then when Les Strong was going to miss the FA Cup Final, Fraser came in at left-back.

LES STRONG (age 22, 11 apps)  -  A local lad, he joined the youth team at Fulham and spent the majority of his professional career at Craven Cottage.  Was an ever-present in all matches during the 1974-75 season until he picked up an injury just two weeks before the FA Cup Final.  He remained at the club until 1983 making 372 league appearances.

JOHN LACY (age 24, 11 apps)  -  Born in Liverpool, Lacy was recommended to Fulham by former player, George Cohen.  Played in all but one of Fulham’s FA Cup matches, missing one of the replays against Hull City.  He developed a good partnership with Bobby Moore, and earned a transfer to Tottenham in 1978.  Eventually he moved onto Crystal Palace for a season in 1983.

BOBBY MOORE (age 34, 12 apps)  -  The most famous player at the club and at the time was possibly one of the most famous players throughout the world.  Captained England to the World Cup win in 1966 whilst also captaining West Ham to several honours in the mid-sixties.  He was allowed to leave Upton Park and chose to move across London to Fulham.  Missed just one league game during 1974-75 and played in every FA Cup match.  Played his final game for the club in May 1977 and moved to America to play in the NASL.  In February 1993, Moore died from bowel and liver cancer.  He was one of the most decorated players England has ever produced.

ERNIE HOWE (age 22, 1 app)  -  Joined Fulham’s youth ranks in 1973 often deputising when defenders were injured.  Made just three league appearances in 1974-75 and replaced John Lacy in one of the FA Cup replays against Hull City.  Moved to QPR in 1977 spending five years there before moving to Portsmouth.

MIDFIELD

ALAN MULLERY (age 33, 12 apps)  -  Began his career at Fulham in 1958, taking over from Johnny Haynes as captain before moving to Tottenham in 1964.  Was capped by England in March 1964 but missed out on the 1966 World Cup.  Earned infamy as the first England international to be sent-off in a full match.  Played an important part of England’s World Cup team in 1970.  Won FA, League and UEFA Cups with Tottenham and was club captain, before moving back to Fulham in 1972.  Captained Fulham throughout their cup run.  Gave up playing in 1976 to embark on a fairly successful career at manager.

ALAN SLOUGH (age 28, 12 apps, 2 goals)  -  Began his career at his local club, Luton Town, in 1965.  Moved to Fulham in 1973 and became an important part of their midfield.  Played in all but the last two league games in the 1974-75 season but played in every FA Cup game.  Left Fulham for Peterborough in 1977 before finishing his career at Millwall.

JIMMY CONWAY (age28, 10 apps, 1 goal)  -  Born in Dublin he began his career with Bohemians in 1964 before moving to England and Fulham in 1966.  Played as a winger or inside-left and made over 300 appearances for the club before he moved to Man City in 1976 and then eventually onto Portland Timbers in America.

JOHN CONWAY (age 23, 2 apps)  -  Brother of Jimmy, he also started his career with Bohemians and moved to Fulham in 1971.  Only played seven league games of the 1974-75 season and only twice in the FA Cup run.  During his four years at Craven Cottage he only made a total of 38 appearances and moved to Switzerland in 1976.

BARRY LLOYD (age 26, 3 apps)  -  Started as an apprentice at Chelsea before he moved to Fulham in 1969.  Made over 250 appearances for the club.  Began the 1974-75 season as a regular in the number ten shirt for the first twenty games and then only made a handful of appearances after that.  Was substitute in the FA Cup Final but never came on.

STRIKERS

JOHN DOWIE (age 29, 8 apps, 1 goal)  -  Born in Hamilton, Scotland and was a schoolboy at Rangers but never made the grade at the club.  Moved to Fulham in 1973.  Never really established himself in the team although started most of the last 15 league games during the 1974-75 season.  Missed the Third Round matches against Hull City but played in the following FA Cup matches.  Made way for Jimmy Conway in the Final.

VIV BUSBY (age 26, 12 apps, 6 goals)  -  Began his career at Wycombe in 1966 before moving to Luton Town four years later.  In August 1973 he signed for Fulham and became a firm favourite at Craven Cottage.  During the 1974-75 season he scored 18 goals, including 6 in the cup run.  He left a year later to join Norwich before moving again a year after that to Stoke City.

LES BARRETT (age 27, 12 apps, 1 goal)  -  Only two other players have made more appearances for Fulham than Barrett.  He joined in 1965 and stayed until 1977.  He was top scorer during their Third Division promotion push in 1970-71.  Missed just one match during the 1974-75 season and moved to Millwall in 1977 before moving to America to play for California Surf a year later.

JOHN MITCHELL (age 23, 6 apps, 2 goals)  -  Born in St.Albans he started his career with his local club before moving to Fulham in 1972.  Played 170 games, scoring 57 goals during a six year career.  Made as many sub appearances as starts in the league in 1974-75 but two goals against Norwich in the league earned him a place in the Semi-Final games against Birmingham, where he scored both goals and then scored another double against Portsmouth back in the league.  He left Fulham in 1978 to join Millwall.

THIRD ROUND

3^rd January 1975, Craven Cottage, 8897

FULHAM   (1)   1   (Jimmy Conway)
HULL CITY   (0)   1   (Wagstaff)

FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; John Conway (Mitchell), Busby, Barrett
HULL CITY: Wealands; Banks, Croft, Burnett, Daniels; Lord, Grimes, Galvin, Greenwood; Wood, Wagstaff (Deere)

The two had met in the league almost two months earlier at Boothferry Park where Hull ran out 2-1 winners.  Going into the game Fulham had just played three 0-0 draws over the Christmas period, and had only scored one goal in their previous five matches.  Despite this lack of success in front of goal, they were unbeaten in their last seven matches.  Hull, in comparison had suffered back-to-back defeats against Nottingham Forest and York City.  They hadn’t won in their last five matches which had seen them slip from fifth to tenth.

Dubliner, Jimmy Conway, had scored three times in the first five games of the season but had not found the net since.  He chose the ideal moment to end his drought by giving Fulham as first half lead.  Hull’s top scorer, Ken Wagstaff, then levelled in the second half before he aggravated a knee injury and had to go off.  Unfortunately, for the Wagstaff and Hull City they would not see him again all season.  The game ended 1-1 and so a replay for set four days later

7^th January 1975, Boothferry Park, 11,850

HULL CITY   (0)   2   (Fletcher, Croft)
FULHAM   (0)   2   (Busby 2)

HULL CITY: Wealands; Banks, Croft, Burnett, Daniel; Grimes, Lord, Galvin, Greenwood; Fletcher, Hemmerman
FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Howe, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; John Conway, Busby, Barrett

One eleven ties which went to a replay as the two teams travelled up North to try and settle things.  The first half was goalless, but just after the hour mark Viv Busby put the visitors ahead.  Fulham’s left-back, Les Strong, then made an error with a backpass and Peter Fletcher equalised for Hull.  The tie was level after ninety minutes so extra time was required.  Stuart Croft put Hull in front for the first time in the tie, but Busby was again on hand to score for Fulham and take the game to a third meeting.

13^th January 1975, Filbert Street, Leicester, 4,929

FULHAM   (1)   1   (Slough)
HULL CITY   (0)   0

FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; Mitchell, Busby, Barrett
HULL CITY: Wealands; Banks, Deere, Burnett, Daniel; McGill (Fletcher), Lord, Galvin; Wood, Grimes, Greenwood

This match was played just two days after league matches for both clubs.  Fulham had lost 0-1 at home to a Barry Butlin goal for Nottingham Forest, who had just installed Brian Clough as manager, whereas Chris Galvin’s goal gave Hull a 1-0 win at home to Oxford United.  Neutral grounds were chosen for second replays and the two travelled to Leicester’s Filbert Street to try and find a winner.  The game was decided by a solitary goal in the first half when Viv Busby broke clear just inside his own half and then slid the ball to Alan Slough who fired it home.  Fulham had eventually won and were through to the next round.

OTHER MATCHES

Cup holders, Liverpool, went through comfortably as Steve Heighway and Kevin Keegan were on target to give them a 2-0 win at home to Stoke City.  League leaders, Ipswich Town, came from behind to win 2-1 at Wolves, with goals from Colin Viljoen and David Johnson.  There were shocks as non-league Leatherhead won at Brighton (then of the Third Division).  But the biggest was Wimbledon (also a non-league side then) beating First Division Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor.  Altrincham, also a non-league side, pulled off a shock themselves by taking Everton to a replay as a Kenny Clements penalty had saved the First Division side’s blushes in the first match at Goodison, only for Joe Royle and Mick Lyons to see them through in a replay which was held at Old Trafford to accommodate a larger crowd.  Stafford forced Rotherham to a replay and beat them 2-0 away from home.  Manchester United, recently relegated to the Second Division, were held at home to a goalless draw by Walsall who then put them out 3-2 in the replay after extra time.  Future Walsall manager, Alan Buckley, scored twice.

FOURTH ROUND

In between the victory over Hull and the next round of the cup, Fulham’s league form continued on its withering slump.  They were beaten 0-1 at Blackpool, extending their run of league games without a goal to five, with just one goal in their previous seven matches.   Torrential rain meant the game, originally scheduled for Saturday 25^th January, couldn’t be played until the following Tuesday

28^th January 1975, Craven Cottage, 20,000

FULHAM   (0)   0
NOTTINGHAM FOREST   (0)   0

FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong (Dowie); Slough, Mullery, Lloyd; Mitchell, Busby, Barrett
NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Middleton; O’Kane, Chapman, Cottam, Greenwood; O’Neill, Lyall, Bowyer, Robertson; Butlin, Martin

Forest had only played twice since Clough took over, including their win at Fulham and were the more dominant of the sides.  They included players such as John Robertson, Martin O’Neill, Ian Bowyer, Barry Butlin and John Middleton, all of whom would have roles to play, with varying success, in the club’s rise to the top of European football by the end of the decade.  Peter Mellor kept the home side in the game with some important saves and the match ended goalless.

3^rd February 1975, City Ground, 25,361

NOTTINGHAM FOREST   (0)   1   (Martin)
FULHAM   (1)   1   (Dowie)

NOTTINGHAM FOREST:Middleton; Jackson, Chapman, Cottam, Greenwood (Dennehy); O’Neill, Richardson, Lyall, Robertson; Martin, Butlin

FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; Dowie, Busby, Barrett

This would be Fulham’s eighth match of the year and six of them had been against either Hull City or Nottingham Forest, as Fulham’s league match before this cup replay was another meeting with Hull.  They finally scored as John Dowie ended their drought in a 1-1 draw. 

The cup replay saw Fulham take the lead in the first half as Busby found Dowie who beat Middleton.  Forest had lost at Oldham in their league match before this replay, but managed to fight back when Neil Martin equalised in the second half, to take the game into extra time.  No further goals could separate the two teams and for the second successive round, Fulham’s cup tie would go into a third game.

5^th February 1975, Craven Cottage, 11,920

FULHAM   (1)   1   (Slough)
NOTTINGHAM FOREST   (0)   1   (Robertson)

FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; Dowie, Busby, Barrett
NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Middleton; O’Kane, Chapman, Cottam, Richardson; O’Neill, Lyall, Bowyer, Robertson; Martin, Butlin

As was the case back in those days, replays would often be scheduled within a few days of the previous match, and this one was no different.  Just two days after the draw in Nottingham, the two teams donned their gear again for another go back at the Cottage.  Fulham were again the first team to score when Alan Slough pounced on a poor clearance from Bob Chapman and the home side lead at the break.  But a brilliant free-kick from John Robertson levelled things in the second half and once again a period of an extra half an hour couldn’t split them, and a fourth meeting was necessary.

10^th February 1975, City Ground, 23,240

NOTTINGHAM FOREST   (0)   1   (Chapman)
FULHAM   (1)   2   (Busby 2)

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Middleton; O’Kane, Chapman, Jones, Richardson; O’Neill, Lyall, Bowyer, Robertson; Dennehy, Martin
FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; Dowie, Busby, Barrett

As if two cup games in a week wasn’t enough, Fulham had a league fixture to fulfil at the weekend when they travelled to Villa Park to take on an Aston Villa side pushing for promotion.  Viv Busby put Fulham in front but Chris Nicholl equalised and Fulham fans had yet another draw to endure.  Forest weren’t so fortunate, ending up on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller at Bolton.

Two days later the two sides met for a fourth time to try and sort out a result, with the next round of scheduled for the coming weekend.  For the third game running, Fulham took the lead in the first half as Viv Busby converted Jimmy Conway’s cross.  Busby then grabbed his second in the second half when Mullery played a brilliant through-ball and the striker rounded Middleton to slide the ball into the empty net.  Chapman got one back for the home side but at last we had a winner, and for Fulham they could now looked forward to a trip to Goodison Park.

OTHER MATCHES

The Fourth Round saw the end of Liverpool’s defence of the cup as they were beaten 0-1 at Ipswich Town.  Ipswich, who were second in the First Division at the time, won thanks to a Mick Mills strike.  League leaders Everton, who’d been taken to a replay by Altrincham in the previous round, won at Plymouth with Mick Lyons grabbing a double.  Lyons was now being employed as Bob Latchford’s strike partner owing to an injury to Joe Royle.  West Ham were held at home by Swindon and were behind in the replay before goals from Brooking and Holland took them through.

The shock of the round came at Fellows Park where Third Division Walsall put out First Division Newcastle United. They’d knocked out Manchester United in the previous round so they were gaining a reputation.  Lowest ranked club Leatherhead chose to host their home tie against Leicester City at Filbert Street and were rewarded by a crowd of over 32,000.  Amazingly they were 2-0 up at half-time but Sammels, Earle and Weller got the ‘home’ side out of the mire for Leicester to progress 3-2.  The other non-league side, Stafford, also chose an away ground for their home tie against Peterborough and 31,000 watched them get narrowly beaten 2-3 at Stoke.

FIFTH ROUND

Fulham’s reward for finally seeing off Nottingham Forest was a trip to league leaders Everton.  It normally takes a club six matches to reach a Final and Fulham had already played seven games.

15^th February 1975, Goodison Park, 45,223

EVERTON   (0)   1   (Kenyon)
FULHAM   (1)   2   (Busby 2)

EVERTON: Davies; Bernard, Clements, Kenyon, Seargeant; Jones, Hurst, Dobson; Lyons, Latchford (Telfer), Pearson
FULHAM: Mellor; Cutbush, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway; Dowie (Lloyd), Busby, Barrett

Everton lead the First Division on goal average in a season littered with draws. Everton were top but had drawn more games than they’d won.  Fulham should feel proud the attendance was the second highest at Goodison all season, bettered only for the visit of Liverpool back in November.  Fulham again went in front after a strange mistake between goalkeeper Dai Davies and Roger Kenyon.  During the build-up play Busby and Jimmy Conway set Barrett away down the left and his ball across the six yard box looked to have eluded Conway at the near post, but as Davies went down to smother the ball Kenyon, who’d been tracking Busby back, collided with his keeper and appeared to knock the ball out of his hands. As the keeper and the defender lay on the ground Busby cooly tapped the ball over the line to give the Second Division club a first half lead.  Fulham were unlucky not to go further ahead when after a corner, the ball into the box appeared to come off John Hurst and Conway put the ball into the net.  Conway was clearly offside but only if the ball had come from his own player.  Everton were given a reprieve by Clive Thomas, the referee, who would earn more infamous notoriety from Evertonians for his cup decisions a couple of years later.

In the second half Everton pressed for an equaliser and finally got their reward when a left-wing corner curled in right-footed into the six-yard box by Jones, was headed in by Roger Kenyon.  As the game got stretched towards the end it opened up and Everton’s right-back, Bernard found space down the right near the bye-line. His high cross saw Lyons challenge the Fulham keeper, Mellor. He headed it against Lacy on the line and then put in the rebound, but Thomas blew for a foul on Mellor. Replays would suggest Everton were unlucky but maybe that evened things up from the earlier refereeing howler.  Within minutes, though, Fulham scored a goal which wasn’t chalked off.  Conway again found himself clear on the left-hand edge of the area and his ball across found Busby on the penalty area.  The big Fulham striker had time to turn and shoot left-footed past Davies and Fulham had pulled off a famous win.  Manager Alec Stock would later claim it to be “our finest hour”.  After needing seven attempts to get past the first two rounds, they must’ve been relieved to do this at the first time of asking.

OTHER MATCHES

The lowest ranked side still left in the competition, Mansfield Town, were top of the Fourth Division when they played host to Carlisle United who were enjoying their only ever season as a First Division club.  Carlisle managed to put away their relegation concerns as Bobby Owen scored the only goal of the game to give the Cumbrians their first ever FA Cup Quarter-Final appearance.

Third Division side, Walsall’s cup run finally came to an end as they went down 1-2 to Birmingham at St. Andrews.  Goals from Bob Hatton and Kenny Burns gave the home side the win, despite a goal from Brian Taylor for the visitors.  Peterborough, also of the Third Division, took First Division Middlesbro to a replay but were beaten in the end.  West Ham beat QPR at Upton Park with goals from Pat Holland and Pop Robson giving them a 2-1 win.  Ipswich, just one point off the lead in the league, strengthened their claim as favourites to lift the trophy as they saw off Aston Villa at Portman Road.  Bryan Hamilton came off the bench to score twice in a 3-2 win.

The two all-First Division clashes saw Arsenal needing three attempts to beat Leicester when John Radford scored in extra time in the third game.  A David Nish own goal gave Leeds United a 1-0 win at Derby County.

SIXTH ROUND

Fulham were drawn against Carlisle United for the Quarter-Finals.  Carlisle were enjoying their most successful period in their history having won promotion to the First Division last season for the one and only time.  In the same season they were now into the FA Cup Quarter-Finals for their first time ever too.  By the time of the game Carlisle were in awful league form having lost their last five and eight of their last nine.  Fulham’s league form had finally changed for the better with them registering their first wins since mid-December as they beat Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday in successive weeks.

8^th March 1975, Brunton Park, 21,570

CARLISLE UNITED   (0)   0
FULHAM   (0)   1   (Barrett)

CARLISLE: Ross; Carr, Parker, Green, Gorman; Train, O’Neill, Martin, Balderstone; Owen, Laidlaw
FULHAM: Mellor; Fraser, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway (Lloyd); Dowie, Busby, Barrett

Peter Mellor had another inspired day in goal for Fulham and was largely responsible for a memorable performance from the team.  Sixty-eight minutes in with the game still goalless, substitute Barry Lloyd made a fine run down the right-wing taking on future England Assistant Manager, John Gorman, and his cross into the area looked likely to be gathered by Carlisle keeper, Alan Ross.  But as Peter Carr ran in trying to shepherd Viv Busby away from the ball, Ross decided to go for the ball with his feet and proceeded to knock it into the path of Les Barrett who put the ball into the empty net.  Fulham had only beaten Carlisle once in their eight previous meetings but this one put them into the Semi-Finals for the sixth time in their history.

OTHER MATCHES

The four Quarter-Final ties only brought four goals but along with Fulham, West Ham booked their place in the Semis when two Alan Taylor goals gave them a win over Arsenal at Highbury.  Bob Hatton scored the only goal of the game to help Birmingham beat Middlesbrough.  Ipswich and Leeds United played out a 0-0 draw at Portman Road.  The two were on the same number of points in the top seven in the First Division and there was no separating them in the cup either.  Three days later they drew again, 1-1.  The second replay wasn’t possible until the end of March and was another draw, 0-0 at Filbert Street before the tie was finally settled back at Leicester two days later.  Trevor Whymark, Bryan Hamilton and Clive Woods scored the goals to beat Leeds 3-2.

SEMI-FINALS

Three First Division clubs and a Second Division club in the semis.  Ipswich, the tournament favourites since they knocked out the holders Liverpool in the Fourth Round, were up against the next best ranked side, West Ham at Villa Park.  Birmingham, down in sixteenth in the First Division would take on Fulham at Hillsborough.

5^th April 1975, Hillsborough, 55,000

FULHAM   (0)   1   (Mitchell)
BIRMINGHAM   (0)   1   (Gallagher)

FULHAM: Mellor; Fraser, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Jim Conway (Dowie); Mitchell, Busby, Barrett
BIRMINGHAM: Latchford; Page, Gallagher, Roberts, Pendrey; Campbell, Kendall, Taylor; Francis, Burns, Hatton

The Birmingham side Fulham were up against included Howard Kendall, future Everton manager, Gordon Taylor, future Chairman of the PFA, Kenny Burns, future European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest and Trevor Francis, who was going to become the first million pound footballer in England.  These accolades may all have been impressive but of course Fulham had a World Cup winning captain in their starting line-up. 

Going into the game Fulham’s form was so much better than it had been when they began this amazing cup run.  They had lost just once in their previous eleven league games and were scoring regularly.  They were up to eighth in the table, although promotion was probably out of reach.  Birmingham had just lost to Liverpool and Ipswich which ended a run of five games unbeaten. They were sixteenth in the table but only four points above the relegation zone.

A huge crowd created a wonderful atmosphere which made for a breathless match with Fulham certainly not being overawed in any way.  The first half was goalless with Busby looking the most dangerous for the underdogs.  Five minutes into the second half and Fulham pressed the Birmingham goal.  Howard Kendall’s misplaced pass saw Les Barrett run at Joe Gallagher and forced a corner, which he took.  The corner was half cleared but Bobby Moore got the move going again down the right as he clipped the ball inside to Alan Mullery, who in turn flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot to Alan Slough on the edge of the ‘d’. With his back to goal, he knocked it first time to his left to John Mitchell. Mitchell flicked the ball up with his left foot and then volleyed it into the top corner from twenty yards out.  It was a stunning strike.  Mitchell had only made four starts all season before he got the nod against Norwich in the week before this game, and he crowned it with two goals.  It earned him a place in the Semi-Finals and will go down in history with one of the best goals in an FA Cup Semi-Final.

Fulham, having had the better of the chances, were rampant, especially Les Barrett down the left.  Within minutes of the goal Barrett charged down the left again and combined with Busby to square the ball for Slough to hit a ferocious strike which Roberts managed to deflect over his own bar.  It could easily have been 2-0 and game over.  Birmingham gradually fought back into it and Campbell should’ve finished after he pounced on a loose ball in the six yard box but dragged his shot wide.  As Birmingham pushed men forward, Page floated the ball into the box where Fulham failed to clear and Joe Gallagher turned and shot past Mellor to equalise.  Then in the dying minutes Busby found some space for a shot in the area but it deflected wide for another corner.  Lacy also had a chance when he got up above the defence but his header was straight into Latchford’s hands when if he’d put it either side the keeper wouldn’t have reached it.  The game ended 1-1 and Fulham were heading for their sixth replay of the competition.

9^th April 1975, Maine Road, 35,025

FULHAM   (0)   1   (Mitchell)
BIRMINGHAM   (0)   0

FULHAM: Mellor; Fraser, Lacy, Moore, Strong; Slough, Mullery, Barrett;  Dowie, Mitchell, Busby
BIRMINGHAM: Latchford; Page, Gallagher, Pendrey, Bryant; Hendrie, Kendall, Taylor; Francis, Burns, Hatton

The following Wednesday the two sides moved to Maine Road, Manchester.  Both sides made one change.  John Dowie started for Fulham replacing Jim Conway and for Birmingham Steve Bryant came into defence in place of John Roberts.  This was a tense affair, without any of the drama of the first meeting.  The game was goalless after ninety minutes and so extra time loomed.  As time moved towards the end of the extra thirty minutes, suddenly there was a breakthrough.  Alan Slough crossed the ball from the right into the area where Dowie got up first to head the ball down.  John Mitchell was running in but his shot seemed to hit the keeper in the face, came back to Mitchell where it bounced off him and into the net.  It was a thrilling finish to the game and seemed to sum up their cup run.  They’d dominated the first match and were a little unlucky not to be successful then, but in the end they got their rewards – their first ever FA Cup Final appearance.

OTHER SEMI-FINAL

West Ham were up against the cup favourites, Ipswich, who were fifth in the First Division but just one point behind the leaders, Liverpool.  The two met at Villa Park and played out a goalless draw.  The replay, on the same night as the other one, was at Stamford Bridge.  Our old friend, Clive Thomas refereed this one and not surprisingly there were goals scored which he disallowed.  Unfortunately, for Ipswich both of them were theirs.  Alan Taylor put West Ham in front in the first half, heading in at the far post from a left wing cross by Brooking.  Ipswich then drew level when Billy Jennings sliced his kick at the near post from a corner and the ball flew past Mervyn Day.  With just ten minutes to go Alan Taylor was on hand again to put West Ham in front.  A free-kick from the left wing by Lampard was headed to Taylor by an Ipswich defender and he fired past Sivell.  West Ham wouldn’t be denied this time and they were through to their first FA Cup Final since Bobby Moore led them out in 1964.

5^th April 1975, Villa Park, 58,000

WEST HAM UNITED   (0)   0
IPSWICH TOWN   (0)   0

WEST HAM: Day; McDowell, Bonds, T. Taylor, Lampard; Jennings, Lock, Brooking, Gould (Holland); Paddon, A.Taylor
IPSWICH: Sivell; Burley, Hunter (Osborne), Beattie, Mills; Viljoen, Hamilton, Talbot; Lambert, Whymark, Woods

9^TH April 1975, Stamford Bridge, 45,344

WEST HAM UNITED   (1)   2   (A. Taylor 2)
IPSWICH TOWN   (1)   1   (Jennings o.g.)

WEST HAM: Day; McDowell, Bonds, T. Taylor, Lampard; Jennings (Holland), Lock, Brooking, Gould; Paddon, A. Taylor
IPSWICH: Sivell; Burley, Beattie, Wark, Mills; Viljoen, Hamilton, Talbot; Lambert, Whymark, Woods

FA CUP FINAL 1975

There were so many stories in the run-up to the Final it seemed as if things had been set up.  The last time West Ham were at Wembley was back in 1964, when they were lead out by Bobby Moore.  Eleven years later Moore would again be leading a team out but this time he would be on the opposite side as captain of Fulham.  Moore left West Ham in March 1974, in September of that year John Lyall replaced Ron Greenwood as manager of the club.  Two months later he signed a 21 year old from Fourth Division Rochdale, Alan Taylor.  Taylor made his first full debut in a defeat at Stoke at the end of December and by the time of the Sixth Round cup match at Arsenal that was his only starting place thus far.  He scored twice at Highbury and then twice to beat Ipswich in the Semi-Finals and his was another of the fascinating stories of this FA Cup Final.

On the morning of the Final there was a High Court verdict denying Bobby Moore and one or two other Fulham players from showing advertising logos on their boots.  Can you imagine that today?

Fulham were managed by Alec Stock, who’d spent over 30 years in management in the game yet was making his first appearance at Wembley.  In contrast, West Ham were managed by John Lyall, who was also making his first appearance at the home of football, but he’d only been in management for nine months.  Lyall had played for West Ham but a serious knee injury ended his career a year before their FA Cup win in 1964.

The two clubs had met in the League Cup back in October when Fulham won 2-1 at Craven Cottage thanks to goals from Alan Mullery and Alan Slough after Trevor Brooking gave West Ham a first half lead.

On the playing side, Fulham had Moore and Mullery who’d both captained their country.  Moore was making his 47^th , and as it turned out his final, appearance at Wembley.  West Ham had Mervyn Day in goal who at nineteen was the youngest keeper in FA Cup Final history. 

You had to feel sorry for Fulham’s usual left-back, Les Strong.  He had played every game of the season until he picked up an injury at home to Portsmouth towards the end of April.  He’d played 40 league games and all eleven of the FA Cup matches, yet agonisingly missed out on the big one.  John Fraser took his place

Fulham had the better of the early stages in the game and the first shot on target came when Alan Slough hit one from outside the area but it was straight at the young Hammers keeper.  Fulham were certainly the first out of the traps and West Ham looked very shaky to begin with.  Fulham were awarded a free-kick about 30 yards out in the inside-left position which Moore stepped up to take.  If you can remember England’s first goal in the 1966 World Cup Final then you’ll be able to picture this.  Moore floated the ball left-footed into the area and John Mitchell lost his marker, rose to glance the header but it didn’t trouble Day’s far post.  West Ham eventually settled into the game but Fulham certainly weren’t prepared to be overawed.

Moore and Mullery came more into the game for the Second Division side and forced a corner after a quarter of an hour.  Conway took it and drove the ball to the far edge of the six-yard box where Lacy got up unchallenged but again his header went wide of the post.  Within minutes Fulham won the ball back on their left wing after a McDowell throw and Viv Busby tested Day with a fizzing shot after he beat a couple of defenders but his shot was straight at the young Hammers keeper.

For the first twenty-five minutes Fulham seemed to enjoy the lion’s share of possession.  Mullery orchestrating things in midfield with Conway proving a willing runner.  Kevin Lock, who would later move to Craven Cottage, put in some important tackles.  The underdogs were knocking the ball around with ease.  But then West Ham had a chance when Brooking floated a ball, left-footed to the far post where Jennings got up above Fraser but his header was caught by Mellor just under his crossbar.  Brooking was coming more and more into the game for the First Division side but then we were given another glimpse of Moore at Wembley ten years before.

He intercepted a pass just inside his own area and calmly came forward with the ball, when others may have lumped it aimlessly.  Then with the vision which had encapsulated Hurst’s third goal v West Germany in ’66, he played a long ranging pass ahead of Busby allowing the bearded striker to run at Lock.  But unlike nine years earlier, the defender was equal to the striker and the chance had gone.

Then with ten minutes to go to the break, West Ham had a free-kick on the left which Paddon took left-footed and Alan Taylor got his head first to the ball but it looped just over the crossbar.  It was probably The Hammers best chance of a half they were struggling to get hold of.  As the half came to an end West Ham came more into things but just couldn’t break down a determined and dogged Fulham defence.  Fulham had looked the more likely to score and had equipped themselves very well.  The half-time score was 0-0 and Fulham had every reason to be the happier of the two.

Both sides took time to settle in the second half but John McDowell livened things up with a break into the Fulham half and hit a shot along the turf from about 30 yards out, but Mellor got down to save it.  Although there was a slight concern as the ball appeared to slip clear of the keeper’s grasp, momentarily but he grabbed it quick before Taylor could nip in.  Then a few minutes later Mitchell turned Lock in the area and fired a shot which Day parried round the post.  It was the first defensive mistake from Lock who’d looked assured all afternoon.

Then on the hour we finally had a breakthrough.  Holland stole the ball on the left wing for West Ham, turned inside and found Jennings whose shot was only parried by Mellor, low down to his left and as the ball ran clear there was Alan Taylor to hit a low shot from a tight angle and it went through Mellor’s legs for the opening goal

It was tough on Fulham who’d made a game of it, but Mellor should’ve held onto the shot.  Four minutes later the lead was doubled.  Again the move came down the left as Holland clipped the ball inside to Paddon who fired a low shot, left-footed and once again Mellor stopped it but couldn’t hold onto it and yet again there was Alan Taylor, who pounced in to knock the ball into the roof of the net.  It was an amazing story for the 21-year old.  Two goals in the Sixth Round, two goals in the Semi-Final and then two goals in the Final.  

Back in mid-November, Taylor had scored in what was his final appearance for Rochdale, in front of 1,600 spectators at Scunthorpe.  Six months later he’d scored twice in an FA Cup Final in front of 100,000 spectators at Wembley.

You had to have some sympathy for Mellor.  His saves saw Fulham past Birmingham in the Semi-Finals and he’d put in some good performances in the earlier rounds but his mistakes in this game just showed what a fine line there was between hero and villain, especially for a goalkeeper.

Fulham did their best to fight back but West Ham were happy to sit back and take any pressure.  Lacy came close with a header from a left-wing corner which Day just pushed away one-handed.  Now it was West Ham who were looking comfortable and in control, knowing their opponents had to make all the running.  With a quarter of an hour left, Mitchell finally got clear of Tommy Taylor but his left foot shot bounced off Mervyn Day and away to safety.

Within the final ten minutes West Ham had another chance when Lampard joined the attack and fired a right-footed shot from the left-hand edge of the area but Mellor did well to push it past the post.  Mellor’s afternoon may have been remembered for his two errors but he had made some decent saves.

With just five minutes to go, Les Barrett was finally able to run at the West Ham defence.  One of the features of their earlier rounds had been Barrett’s runs down the left wing but in this match he had hardly seen anything of the ball.  He picked up the ball in the centre circle and headed straight towards Day beating Holland for pace.  Bonds slid in but couldn’t make contact and as Barrett got to the ‘D’ John McDowell grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back.  It was a cynical challenge, a professional foul and surprisingly Pat Partridge just awarded a free-kick and didn’t give McDowell a card.  Nothing came of the free-kick other than West Ham throwing bodies in the way of everything.

But Fulham weren’t able to make any real impression and threaten Day’s goal and West Ham won the cup.  It was a wonderful occasion for Alan Taylor but Alan Mullery and Bobby Moore had done as much as they could to help their side but in the end they didn’t really create enough clear-cut chances to justify the periods where they were dominant in the game.

It had been a fantastic run and for Fulham it remains the one and only time they have reached a FA Cup Final.  That West Ham side was the last to win an FA Cup with a full team of English players.

What is Going on Out There?

This season has been different right from kick-off.  Up to the halfway point there is no runaway leader and the previous big four are now spread throughout the table.  Chelsea’s awful season has opened up opportunities for other clubs, but also Leicester City’s emergence has thrown the form book out the window.  Right from the early part of the season Crystal Palace and West Ham have occupied top seven places, and Watford’s recent run has seen them move into that once longed for esteemed group.

The big clubs have struggled to put consistent runs together as what was thought just a strange start to a season has become a constant source of frustration for those who believed they knew the script.  For some this is a welcome alternative to believing you could predict the top four or top six before a ball has been kicked.  For others, the trend of each team beating each other has created the sense that despite losing a few matches, a club can still climb several places with a few wins.  My own club, Liverpool are a case in point.  Despite taking just one point from games against Newcastle, West Brom and Watford, we are only five points off a top four place.

So what is it about this season that has made it so close?

I believe there are several important factors which have all contributed.  During this article I will make reference to ‘bigger’ and ‘lesser’ clubs.  This is not to denigrate or disrespect any club, it is merely to demonstrate how some clubs are perceived to be perennial achievers or strugglers and how some clubs performances this season has been very different to how they were expected to perform.

Fancy Dans

First of all the Premier League is a poorer place as far as world class players are concerned.  When you look back a number of stars of the world game have left these shores over the past five years or so.  Players such as Suarez, Modric, Bale, Mascherano, Tevez, van Persie, Drogba, Gerrard and Lampard have all vacated the league and it is poorer for it.  The likes of Aguero, Toure, Hazard, Ozil, Sanchez, Di Maria, Falcao have come in with varying degrees of success but it is difficult to say who is the best player in the league right now.  Hazard was fantastic last season and a deserved player of the year but this season has been a shadow of his former self.  Aguero can’t seem to string more than a couple of games together, Di Maria came in and was a complete failure and Falcao looks as if he’d be better off in another country.  Ozil is beginning to show his class and Sanchez has been excellent since his arrival at Arsenal, but he’s suffering an injury at the moment.

My point is there are some decent players, some very good ones but world class?  Not sure.  But what does seem to have happened is we have gone back to the type of player from abroad who is given the label “he’s good but can he do it on a cold Tuesday night at Stoke?”

When the Premier League began to plunder foreign leagues for new talent this was a common problem.  Often it would take foreign players a season or so to adjust to the pace and physicality of the league.  Which is what made Fernando Torres debut season for Liverpool all the more stunning.  Of course there have been a whole host of players who have come in and hit the ground running, but for those who possess ‘potential’ or maybe just average ability then they can take a while to settle in.  Some of the ‘bigger’ clubs have gone for this type of player, a fancy dan rather than a grafter. 

TV Deal

The new TV deal, a reported £5.14bn, has given many clubs the ability to buy players who once may have been out of reach.  The equality with which the Premier League dishes out the prize money from TV has contributed to many lesser clubs being able to sign players who may only have previously come over here for the bigger clubs.  Yohan Cabaye at Crystal Palace is an example.  He was at Paris St. Germain and with Champions League football almost guaranteed every year, but he chose to return to England to play under Alan Pardew who’d been his boss at Newcastle. 

Stoke City is another example where they have been able to sign the likes of Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri.  Bojan was signed from Barcelona, having spent time at Roma, Milan and Ajax, yet he chose Stoke City for his chance to play in the Premier League.  This in no way is to suggest there is anything wrong with Stoke but Bojan is not the type of player they have attracted in the past.  Shaqiri, a Swiss international, was at Basle when there was intense speculation over his next move.  He was reportedly a target for Liverpool but when Bayern Munich came calling he found it too tempting to turn down.  He then moved onto Inter yet Stoke managed to lure him from Serie A. 

The new riches enjoyed by more clubs within the Premier League has enabled players like Cabaye, Bojan and Shaqiri to go to clubs not really considered ‘big’.  The FFP rules have also had an effect on stopping the bigger clubs from just hoovering up all the best talent, and so this talent can now be spread more evenly within the league.

Counter Attack

Many of the lesser clubs no longer just turn up at Old Trafford, Anfield or The Emirates believing they should just lay down and hand over the three points.  They believe if they have a go they might be able to get something from the game.  The other major contributory factor with this is the adoption of the counter attack as a tactic.  Teams are happy to sit back and soak up the pressure and then hit their opponents on the break, at pace.  Leicester City is a prime example of that.  This has been particularly effective in enticing the bigger clubs to keep the ball, knock it around and generally show off but then when they lose it, they’re hit on the break and found to have not left anyone manning the fort at the back.

If you put these two factors together you have a toxic mix, as far as the bigger clubs are concerned, where many league games can be like cup ties with a baying crowd urging their team on as they smell the blood of big names who have spent the past ten to fifteen years lauding it as if it’s some sort of birth right.

It makes for an exciting season and with points seemingly more generously spread throughout the table then few can be sure of where they will finish until we move towards March and April.

Is this a trend or a freak? 

Going back to the point about the type of foreign player who has been recruited by Premier League clubs, many of them are young and come under the ‘potential’ category.  Within a few seasons many of these players should start to realise this potential and become stars.  We may well find those clubs who have recruited more wisely will begin to pull away from the others again, but until this happens we can enjoy a much more equitable competition than we have had to endure for the past five years or so.

History of European Championships

Regarded as the international tournament, second only to the World Cup.  In Brazil and Argentina, they refer to it as ‘the World Cup without us’.

The idea for this type of competition was originally proposed back in 1927 by Henri Delaunay.  Delaunay was secretary-general of the French Football Federation, and was involved with Jules Rimet, in developing the idea for the World Cup.  Delaunay went on to become General Secretary of UEFA until his death in 1954.  Ironically, his dream of a European tournament didn’t become reality until 1958.  Just as the original World Cup trophy was named after Rimet, the trophy for the European Championships was named after Delaunay.

The first competition was called the European Nations Cup.  Only 17 nations entered, with countries such as West Germany, Italy and England declining to take part.  The format was simply a knock-out over 2 legs until the Semi-Finals.  When the final four teams were known, one of them was selected as a host and then Semi-Finals and Final matches were played over 5 days in July 1960.

The competition continued in this format right up to 1976.  From 1980, UEFA started to expand the tournament to include more teams for the finals.

Republic of Ireland were involved in a Preliminary Round where they lost 2-4 to Czechoslovakia, after winning the 1^st leg, 2-0.  In the First Round, France, who had finished third in the World Cup in 1958, thumped Greece, 7-1, with Juste Fontaine (top scorer in Sweden in ’58) and Raymond Kopa amongst the goals.  Spain beat Poland, 7-2 on aggregate with Di Stefano scoring 3.

After France had beaten Greece, 8-2, they then saw off Austria, 9-4 in the Quarter-Finals.  Fontaine grabbed a hat-trick in the 1^st leg.  Yugoslavia overturned a 1-2 deficit to beat Portugal, 5-1.  Czechoslovakia were barely in trouble against Romania, as they won 5-0 over 2 legs.  There were only 3 ties in the Quarter-Finals as Spain refused to travel to Soviet Union and so withdrew from the tournament.

The four nations to compete the final stages of the tournament were USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and France.  France was selected as hosts.

6^th July 1960 in Parc des Princes, Paris saw the first Semi-Final between France and Yugoslavia.  The two had met in the Group stages in Sweden ’58, with Yugoslavia winning 3-2.  The Yugoslavs took the lead in the 11^th minute, but the French hit back a minute later.  France lead, 2-1 at the break and within 10 minutes of the re-start, they were 3-1 up.  Zanetic then got a goal back, before Heutte scored his 2^nd of the game and France lead 4-2.  Into the last 15 minutes and the Yugoslavs remarkably hit back with 3 goals in 4 minutes, to progress to the final.  Two of the goals were scored by Drazan Jerkovic, who would go on to share the Golden Boot in the World Cup in 1962.

All of a sudden, the hosts were out and fears for the future of this type of tournament seemed valid.  USSR easily beat Czechoslovakia, 3-0 in the other Semi, in Marseille.  The Czechs won the Third Place Play-off, beating France, 2-0, a day before the first ever European Championship Final.

10^th July 1960 was the date for the inaugural European Championship Final.  A disappointing crowd of just 17,966 at the Parc des Princes, witnessed a match decided after extra time.  Galic had given Yugoslavia the lead 2 minutes before half-time, which was then equalised by Metreveli, 4 minutes into the second period.  With 7 minutes of extra time remaining, Viktor Ponedelnik headed the winner for the USSR and they won 2-1.  It still remains the only major international championship won by either USSR or Russia.

Trivia fans might be interested to know the referee for the first final was one Arthur Ellis, who would later attract fame as referee on ‘It’s-a-Knockout’.

10^th July 1960, Parc des Princes, Paris, 17,966

USSR   (0)   2   (Metreveli 49, Ponedelnik 113)

YUGOSLAVIA   (1)   1   (Galic 43)

USSR: Yashin; Chokheli, Maslenkin, Krutikov; Voinov, Netto; Metreveli, Ivanov, Ponedelnik, Bubukin, Meskhi

YUGOSLAVIA: Vidinic; Durkovic, Mladinovic, Jusufi; Zanetic, Perusic; Matus, Sekularac, Galic, Kostic; Jerkovic

The second tournament saw an increase in the countries competing as 29 nations took part.  Austria, Luxembourg and USSR received a bye to the first round and Greece withdrew after they were drawn against Albania.

West Germany was still missing, but Italy and England decided to enter this time round.  England were up against France.  A 1-1 draw at Hillsborough, then saw England being given an exhibition in Paris when France romped home, 5-2.  An England team which included Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Charlton had been dumped out at the first hurdle.  Italy didn’t have any trouble with Turkey.  4 goals from Alberto Orlando helped them win 6-0 in the 1^st leg, then a solitary goal was enough in the 2^nd leg.

Northern Ireland beat Poland, 2-0 in both legs, but Wales lost, 2-4 to Hungary.  There was drama between Bulgaria and Portugal.  Portugal lost the 1^st leg, 1-3, but were 3-0 up in the return with 6 minutes to go before Iliev grabbed a late goal for Bulgaria and the tie was levelled.  The replay was held in Rome, in front or barely 2,000 spectators, with Georgi Asparuhov scoring the only goal of the game to give Bulgaria the win with just 4 minutes to go.

The First Round saw Northern Ireland pull off a great result by holding Spain to a 1-1 draw in Bilbao.  Unfortunately, Gento grabbed the only goal of the game at Windsor Park and the Irish were out.  The shock of the round was when Luxembourg went to Rotterdam and beat the Dutch, 2-1.  This was enough to see them progress with, probably, the best result of their history.  Italy were then knocked out by the defending champions, USSR.

In the Quarter-Finals, Spain beat Republic of Ireland, 7-1 on aggregate, and USSR saw off Sweden, 4-2.  France were beaten at home by Hungary, 1-3 and then in front of over 70,000 spectators, the Hungarians finished the job off with a 2-1 win.  Luxembourg continued their excellent form with a 3-3 draw against Denmark.  Ole Madsen scored a hat-trick for the Danes and then grabbed another double in the 2^nd leg, but a late goal from Schmit saw Luxembourg force a replay.  Madsen then scored again in the replay, which Denmark won 1-0.

The final tournament was held in Spain in June 1964.  In Madrid, Spain were taken to extra time by Hungary, before Armancio won it for the hosts.  In Barcelona, USSR won through to their 2^nd successive final as they beat Denmark, 3-0. 

Ironically, the final would be between Spain and USSR.  The irony was that four years earlier the Spanish refused to play their opponents on political grounds, but presumably because the final was held in their country, they ignored this minor detail.  Until their win in 2008, this remained Spain’s only major tournament success.

The Final was held in Madrid on 21^st June 1964, in front of over 79,000 supporters.  The USSR contained just two survivors from their 1960 triumph.  Both teams scored in the opening 10 minutes, but the game seemed to heading for extra time before Spain won with a late goal from Marcelino Martinez in the last 6 minutes. 

21^st June 1964, Bernabeu, Madrid, 79,115

SPAIN   (1)   2   (Pereda 6, Marcelino 84)

USSR   (1)   1   (Khusainov 8)

Spain: Iribar; Rivilla, Oliveila, Calleja; Zoco, Fuste; Amancio, Pereda, Marcelino, Luis Suarez, Lapetra

USSR: Yashin; Anichkin, Shustikov, Shesternyov, Mudrik; Voronin, Koreneyev; Chislenko, Ivanov, Pondelnik, Khusainov

This was when the competition had a makeover.  Renamed the European Championships, it now consisted of a qualifying competition with 31 teams divided into 8 groups.  Each group winner then went into a knock-out stage.  Holders Spain, won their group, as did Bulgaria, USSR, Hungary and France.  Italy won a goal-laden group.  Italy, Romania and Switzerland all scored 53 goals between them.  Group 4 contained just 3 teams, West Germany, Yugoslavia and Albania.  Yugoslavia pulled off the first surprise by beating West Germany, 1-0 in Belgrade twelve months after the Germans were losing finalists in the ’66 World Cup.  West Germany then won the return, 3-1, and then travelled to Tirana in December 1967, needing a 1-0 win to progress.  They couldn’t do it, and remarkably Albania held their illustrious opponents to a 0-0 draw with Yugoslavia going through.  To date, Germany/West Germany has then qualified for the finals of every major tournament since.

Group 8 contained the home nations and the results were taken from the British Home International Championships of 1967 and 1968.  15^th April 1967 is a date many Scottish fans remember as Scotland became the first side to beat the World Champions, England.  Dennis Law gave the Scots a first-half lead at Wembley.  Bobby Lennox then doubled it with 12 minutes to go, before Jackie Charlton got a goal back 6 minutes from time.  Jim McCalliog then scored Scotland’s 3^rd and Geoff Hurst’s goal 2 minutes from the end was merely a consolation.  Scotland had been held in Cardiff and then lost 0-1 in Belfast, which ultimately cost them as England twice beat Wales and Northern Ireland.  This set things up for the big game at Hampden in February 1968.  Martin Peters 20 minute goal was then cancelled out by John Hughes (his only ever international goal) and the game ended 1-1 and England were through.

The Quarter-Finals were held around April and May and played over 2 legs.  Italy overturned a 2-3 deficit to beat Bulgaria, 4-3 on aggregate, and USSR came from 0-2 down in 1^st leg to win 3-0 in return against Hungary.  France were held at home 1-1 by Yugoslavia, but then in Belgrade they were stuffed, 1-5.  England were up against Spain and a Bobby Charlton goal 6 minutes from time won the 1^st leg at Wembley.  A month later in Madrid, Spain took the lead but then Martin Peters and Norman Hunter won it for England.

The finals were held in Italy and contained two nations (Italy and England) who weren’t interested in the competition when it first started in 1960.  The first Semi-Final in Naples was a 0-0 draw between Italy and USSR.  Neither side could be separated after 120 minutes of football and so the bright idea UEFA had to settle it all was, the toss a coin!  The Soviet captain called incorrectly and Italy were through to the final.  In Florence, the game between Yugoslavia and England looked to be heading for extra time before Dragan Dzajic scored a late winner and the World Champions were out.

Goals from Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst gave England a 2-0 win over USSR to claim third place.  The Final was played in front of 85,000 in Rome and Dzajic was on the scoresheet again giving Yugoslavia a first half lead.  Angelo Domenghini levelled things with just 10 minutes remaining.  The game ended 1-1 after extra time, and this time a replay was necessary.  Only 55,000 turned up two days later to see Italy carry off the trophy with a 2-0 win.

8^th June 1968, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 68,817

ITALY   (0)   1   (Domenghini 80)

YUGOSLAVIA   (1)   1   (Dzajic 32)

Italy: Zoff; Burgnich, Guarneri, Castano, Facchetti; Lodetti, Ferrini, Juliano; Domenghini, Anastasi, Prati

Yugoslavia: Pantelic; Fazlagic, Paunovic, Holcer, Damjanovic; Trivic, Pavlovic, Acimovic; Petkovic, Musemic, Dzajic

10^th June 1968, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, 32,866

ITALY   (2)   2   (Riva 12, Anastasi 31)

YUGOSLAVIA   (0)   0

Italy: Zoff; Burgnich, Guarneri, Salvadore, Rosato, Facchetti; Mazzola, De Sisti; Domenghini, Anastasi, Riva

Yugoslavia: Pantelic; Fazlagic, Paunovic, Holcer, Damjanovic; Trivic, Pavlovic, Acimovic; Hosic, Musemic, Dzajic

The Qualifying round had settled into the standard group phase, with 8 groups of 4.  As in previous qualifying phases, Eastern European teams came to the fore.  Hungary won their group containing France, and USSR won theirs containing Spain.  Yugoslavia beat Netherlands to Group 7, and holders Italy were unbeaten in theirs.  Belgium won Group 5, beating Scotland in the process, and Romania won Group 1, which contained Wales.  West Germany won Group 8 with Gerd Muller scoring 6 of their 10 goals.

England were in Group 3 with Switzerland, Greece and Malta.  They won the group, unbeaten, conceding just 3 goals.  England were quite a changed team from the one which reached the Quarter-Finals in the World Cup in Mexico 1970, illustrated by just 5 of their 15 goals being scored by players who were in the World Cup squad that year.

During the Quarter-Finals, Belgium pulled off a shock when they knocked-out the holders, Italy.  A 0-0 draw in Milan saw Belgium win 2-1 in Brussels.  USSR continued their tradition of good performances in this competition by beating Yugoslavia, 3-0 over 2 legs.  Hungary needed a replay to get past Romania.  1-1 in Budapest and then 2-2 in Bucharest, as the away goals rule didn’t apply.  Hungary won the replay, 2-1 in Belgrade.  The 4^th tie was a repeat of the 1966 World Cup Final as England took on West Germany.  The Germans, still buoyant from having put out England in Mexico, scored first at Wembley through Uli Hoeness.  Into the final 15 minutes and Francis Lee equalised.  Then with 5 minutes left, Gunter Netzer converted a penalty and Gerd Muller finished things off and England had been beaten 1-3 at home.  Two weeks later in Berlin the game ended 0-0 and England were out.

From the four qualifiers, Belgium was announced as hosts.  The final competition was held between 14^th June-18^th June 1972.  The hosts, Belgium were up first against West Germany and Gerd Muller, in Antwerp.  ‘Der Bomber’ scored another 2 goals and the Germans prevailed 2-1.

The other Semi-Final, in Brussels saw Anatoli Konkov score the only goal of the game to see USSR beat Hungary, 1-0, and reach their 3^rd final in the last 4 tournaments.  Belgium won the Third Place play-off, and then came the main event between West Germany and USSR.

The Germans were in a transition period, but were putting together a squad of players who would dominate European football for much of the decade.  9 of the players were drawn from just 2 clubs, Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach.  Gerd Muller scored 2 more goals to take his tally to 11 for the competition, and West Germany won comfortably, 3-0.

18^th June 1972, Heysel, Brussels, 43,437

WEST GERMANY   (1)   3   (Muller 27, 58, Wimmer 52)

USSR   (0)   0

West Germany: Maier; Hottges, Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Breitner; Hoeness, Wimmer, Netzer; Heynckes, Muller, Kremers

USSR: Rudakov; Dzodzuashvili, Khurtsilava, Kaplychnyi, Istomin; Troshkin, Kolotov, Konkov (Dolmatov); Baidachny, Banishevski (Kozynkevych), Onischenko

This would be the last tournament with just 4 teams in the final stages.  During the qualifying round, Yugoslavia beat Northern Ireland to win Group 3.  Spain beat Scotland to win Group 4, and USSR beat Republic of Ireland to win Group 6.  Belgium reached the Quarter-Finals again, by beating France to win Group 7.  Netherlands, runners-up in the 1974 World Cup, won their group beating Italy in the process.  World Champions, West Germany won Group 8 despite only winning 3 of their 6 matches.  In Group 2, Wales were drawn with Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg.  They lost their opening match, 1-2 in Vienna and then won the rest of them, conceding just a further 2 goals, and stormed to become group winners.  There were plenty of goals in this group, and all against Luxembourg, who conceded 28 goals in their 6 matches.  Tibor Nyilasi scored 5 when Hungary beat them 8-1.  Wales beat them 5-0 and Austria won 6-2.

England were drawn in Group 1 along with Czechoslovakia, Portugal and Cyprus.  Having failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup, Don Revie had replaced Alf Ramsey.  England began well beating the Czechs, 3-0 at Wembley, but were then held at home to a 0-0 draw by Portugal.  In April 1975 they beat Cyprus, 5-0 when Newcastle United’s Malcolm MacDonald scored all 5.  Kevin Keegan scored the only goal of the game to win in Cyprus but then just when they were leading in Bratislava to a Mick Channon goal, the Czechs then hit back and won 2-1.  England couldn’t win in Lisbon either and they finished 2^nd in the group to Czechoslovakia.

The Quarter-Final stage saw Czechoslovakia beat USSR, 4-2 on aggregate.  West Germany beat Spain, 3-1, and Wales were beaten by the same score by Yugoslavia.  Netherlands were up against neighbours, Belgium.  Rob Rensenbrink scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win for the Dutch in Rotterdam.  Johnny Rep and Johann Cruyff then scored in Brussels and Netherlands progressed 7-1.

From the four nations who qualified, Yugoslavia was named as hosts.  Czechoslovakia were up against Netherlands, including most of the side who were runners-up in the recent World Cup.  19 minutes in and Czech captain, Anton Ondrus opened the scoring.  This remained the only goal of the game until Ondrus scored again with 17 minutes to go.  Unfortunately for the Czechs, it was at the wrong end and the game went into extra time.  In the second period of extra time, Nehoda and Vesely completed a surprise 3-1 win for Czechoslovakia.

The next day, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia were 2-0 up inside the opening half-hour with goals from Popivoda and Dzajic.  Heinz Flohe then got a goal back midway through the 2^nd half, before Dieter Muller (no relation to Gerd) forced extra time.  Muller then scored twice in extra time to complete his hat-trick and West Germany were through to their 3^rd successive major Final.

Netherlands then won the Third Place Play-off, which again went to extra time.  The Final looked set for another major trophy for West Germany.  Jan Svehlik put the Czechs in front in the opening 10 minutes.  Karol Dobias then doubled the lead, before Dieter Muller got a goal back.  With a minute to go, Bernd Holzenbein grabbed a dramatic late equaliser for West Germany, to take the game into extra time.  The two sides couldn’t be separated and so, for the first time in international football, a major Final went to penalties. 

The Czechs lead 4-3 as each kicker had been successful, before Uli Hoeness skied his kick over the bar.  Up stepped Antonin Panenka.  Score and his nation were European Champions, miss and the Germans were still in the game.  Panenka, who played his football for Bohemians Prague, calmly stepped up to the ball and as Sepp Maier dived to his left, he coolly chipped the ball into the middle of the goal.

This was the first time the watching football world had seen this type of penalty and it went down in history, mainly down to, not just the cheek of it, but the fact that Panenka, hitherto unknown, could commit such an act under such pressure.

Czechoslovakia were European Champions.  This was the last tournament under this 4-nation final stage, as the tournament was expanded to 8 countries for the next competition.

20^th June 1976, Belgrade, 30,790

CZECHOSLOVAKIA   (2)   2   (Svehlik 8, Dobias 25)

WEST GERMANY   (1)   2   (Muller 29, Holzenbein 90)

Czechoslovakia: Viktor; Pivarnik, Ondrus, Gogh, Capkovic; Dobias (Vesely), Panenka, Moder; Masny, Svehlik (Jurkemik), Nehoda

West Germany: Maier; Vogts, Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Dietz; Bonhof (Bongartz), Beer, Wimmer (Flohe); Hoeness, Muller, Holzenbein

Czechoslovakia won 5-3 on penalties.

For the rest of this series we will concentrate on each tournament.  Next up is the 1980 Championships in Italy.