posted Jan 3, 2007

As to the celebration I seem to recall Charlie saying that he couldn't think what to do so thought he'd just lie down for a while because he was "just too knackered to do anything else...."

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posted Jan 3, 2007

Charlie George's "unstoppable" goal was anything but. I was in line with Charlie when he made the shot. The shot was covered by Ray Clemence but took a deflection off Larry Lloyd's leg, a point often forgotten about. For the majority of the game Liverpool had been the better side, a team rebuilt after the 1969/70 cup defeat at underdogs Watford, which had seen the end to the great Liverpool team of the 60's. The 1971 final appearance was the start of the momentum that eventually saw Liverpool become the greatest English team in the history of football.

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posted Jan 3, 2007

As a 6 year old, this was the game that I decided to follow in my big brother's footsteps and support LFC. No regrets.

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posted Jan 3, 2007

Remeber the game if it was yesterday. At the ripe old age of 10, I had been to shite hart lane the week before, to see us clinch the league (pt1) and then hammer the scousers who were lucky to take us to extra time.
My memory of the crowd that day was the lack of noise from the so called legendry liverpool fans who were outsung by their north london counterparts.

Still have the programe and the Daily Express giveaway hat as a reminder of a special day in my life

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posted Jan 4, 2007

It was my first trip to London as a ten year old. I remember the hungarian family B&B we stayed in on the friday night before the game. The day itself was baking hot. Wembley itself was awe inspiring to a football mad 10 year old. We only had two tickets between three, but I manged to get smuggled in underneath a gents coat! I remember Steve Heighways Goal, and the celebrations that followed left an indelible image. before and after that it becomes a blur of goals and the 'good old Arsenal' theme booming out over Wembley.
I also remember a happy Jimmy Hill emerging from the stadium after the game ( I never Liked him after that!)
Revenge was a long time coming but Michael Owens double in Cardiff just about eased the pain of that hot day in May 1971.

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posted Jan 4, 2007

I clearly remember hiding my ticket out of sight until I reached the turnstile as I had been warned that it would almost certainly be snatched from my grasp. I then saw loads of Liverpool supporters performing some elaborate human pyramid and risking their lives in order to scale the high barbed wire fences and get in for free. As for the match itself, if Charlie's winning goal had burst the net, it would have hit me in the crowd. Amazing day!

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posted Jan 4, 2007

I was three and it in in the time the final was shown on both BBC and ITV. I remember asking my dad, through floods of tears (I am a Liverpool fan after all), if we could turn the TV over to see if we'd won on the other side.

Very sad. But I'm nearly 40 now and I've been there when we won it in 74, 86, 89, 92, 2001 and last years Gerrard special so they've more than made up for it

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posted Jan 4, 2007

I wasn't there but this final has had a big impact on my life. The reason why.......

I was born 9 months after the final took place February 1972. My dad is a big Liverpool fan and obviously needed cheering up after we had lost the final.

Being a Liverpool fan myself it's probably the only match I can say I'm glad we lost!!

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posted Jan 6, 2007

The 1971 Cup Final is the reason I'm an Arsenal supporter. I was 11 years old and living in Australia, it was the first Cup Final I ever saw. I think it was the first time the final was shown live on our TVs, and staying up for the kick-off at 11.30pm was a big deal in itself. Before the game I thought I would support Arsenal for a couple of reasons; "The Big Match" had been on here for a couple of years, and they highlighted the London clubs, so I was more familiar with Arsenal. Secondly and bizarrely, I liked the yellow strip the Gunners wore that day, even though I was watching on a black and white TV!! Anyway, after what seemed a long drawn out 90 minutes, extra time was magnificient and after Charlie George's winner, I was hooked. By the time they buttered up to defend their title the next year I was a confirmed Gunners supporter and have been ever since.

The other great occasion in my life as an Arsenal supporter was also against Liverpool. Can you guess? The climax to the 1988-89 season - this time getting up for a 4.30am kickoff, seeing them get the 2-0 result in the most extraordinary fashion... I must have been a sight jumping around my living room at 6.30am. That was a weekend I'll never forget and not just for the football. Later that night my wife went into labour and our first child was born the next morning.

By the way, my initials are GAH and for many years I've said it is G for gunners, A for arsenal and H for highbury... alas, I can say that no more...

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posted Jan 9, 2007

7 years old screamed at the telly and at the arrogance of Charlie George's celebration (okay it was a classic, I am 42 now and can take a reasonably balanced view!)I had never experienced that level of raw emotion before, my Liverpool shirt was soaked in tears. Glad to say there have been more tears of joy than pain since! So CG thanks for convincing me that I would be red till I am dead and to all true LFC fans YNWA.

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