posted Jan 2, 2009

i was at 1st year of college and managed to get a ticket for the final.Having followed the Reds all year and fully expecting them to win I put on a wager that if we lost I had to get my (long)hair shaved off.The rest is history and all around me Reds supporters were in tears.I was crying the next day!Fond memories.

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posted Jan 2, 2009

I'd been to every round, but couldn't get a ticket for the final. I was gutted! A friend rang me to say a friend of his had a won a ticket in a raffle - he wasn't interested in football & wanted to sell it. I met this dodgy looking geezer on a street corner in Putney, and he sold me a £2.50 ticket for £10!!! - a fortune then - but, boy, was it worth it! The only problem was that I was in the Man Utd end! When Bobby Stokes scored, I went mildly berserk & suddenly realised where I was! I thought I'd be lucky to get out of Wembley alive, but in fairness, the Man Utd fans were pretty decent. I met up with my pals & visited every pub between Wembley & Putney and ended up at a very posh party somewhere in Knightsbridge, where I met my then girlfriend. Along the way, I'd acquired a rattle and a horn. God knows what the party's host thought, when she opened the door to a very drunk and very noisy football supporter! Got the milk train to S'oton (they still ran back then) and joined in the celebrations at the Civic Centre. My abiding memory is of a huge banner parodying Mick Channon's remarks - made from the baths at Stamford Bridge after beating Crystal Palace in the semi's "Well .... we won the bloody thing!!!" A great day - one that lives on ...

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posted Jan 2, 2009

I bought my ticket outside from a tout for £26, more than I could really afford. United fans never thought that it would be a walkover. We might have been the first division team but we were a young, naive, go for it team playing 4-2-4 and looking to win every game 4-3. They were the hard bitten, experienced pros and we knew that they would defend to the death and try to nick one, which was exactly what they did. Our pre-game prediction was that if it was a good game we would win, if a bad one they would. It was a stinker. Southampton played to their game plan and it worked. What really riled the United fans afterwards was all of the press stuff about plucky little Southamption. Nonsense.

Was it offside? Nobody near me cared. We all saw it coming.

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posted Jan 2, 2009

I remember it like yesterday. I was 15 and hated Man United because they were so good and cocky. I nearly did not watch because it thought it would be a rout. My dad pursuaded me that it was a big game so I committed to it. Will always remember Bobbie Stokes' winner and the whining Mau United players calling offside...which it probably was but oh what joy! I live in the States now and to this day although I am a Sheff United fan I always look for The Saints score on a Saturday as a tribute to a wonderful feat by a great team. Rest In Peace Bobbie S.

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posted Jan 2, 2009

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rZo6i0WQjYU

Nobody remembers this, i see.

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posted Jan 3, 2009

To Chrisleather:

Great story, I cried laughing! And brilliantly told too!

Cheers!

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posted Jan 3, 2009

It's the only cup final I've seen live. Dad had a "contact" at the FA who gave him a few tickets each year but this was the only time he gave me a ticket, presumably because none of his mates wanted to go to a supposedly one sided match. I was really pleased the underdogs beat the much vaunted Man U and I got to support Osgood again! (Chelsea were my team!)

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posted Jan 3, 2009

I was only 11 at the time, and frustratingly was part of a local parish church choir that had a wedding to sing at, scheduled for 3p.m.!
I don't know what would have happened if Southampton had scored, but fortunately they didn't, and I rushed home to watch it on the telly, and leapt up & down ecstatically when Bobby Stokes scored.

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posted Jan 4, 2009

As big United fans, my dad and myself managed to get tickets for the final. I got mine through a mate, whose father sat in the House of Lords and dad got his from his MP!! (Good to have contacts in high places). We ended up sat next to each other near the corner flag at the end where the goal was scored.

The press and TV build up focussed on how many United would win by as Southampton had no chance against the Doc’s young side – even Bobby Charlton predicted a 4 or 5 nil win.

On the tube to Wembley and walking along Wembley Way, the Southampton fans were determined to enjoy their day in the sun regardless of the result. Bearing in mind that this was the era when the trade unions were running (ruining) the country, one banner had the words ‘Osgood strikes quicker than British Leyland’. (You would have to be of a certain age to understand that).

United never seemed to get out of 2nd gear during the whole match with ‘Pancho’ Pearson missing an easy chance early on. Gordon Hill could impersonate Norman Wisdom and to be perfectly honest he played like him.

Once Southampton scored, there was no way back for United and although it may have been offside, Stepney was slow in getting down.

John Motson has often been quoted as saying that while interviewing Lawrie McNenemy in the tunnel after the game that his glasses were knocked off by an object thrown by a UNITED fan. It must have been one hell of a throw as the United fans were at the opposite end of the stadium!!

This was the third cup final that I attended, the others being 1967 (Spurs v Chelsea) and 1972 (Arsenal v Leeds) – all three can be described in one word.

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posted Jan 4, 2009

i was nearly 16 at the time and all decked out with rosettes,rattle and a scarf on each wrist behind the goal. when bobby scored we all went berserk and me and my mates were thrown about 10 yards forward and when i surfaced from the mayhem i had lost a scarf and rosette. didnt care but those last 7 mins lasted a lifetime.

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