Even by the late 1960s there was no greater challenge for followers of the domestic game than trying to list all the ill-conceived notions dreamed up by The Football Association.
But at the dawn of a new decade, in this instance the 1970s, the daft idea department at Lancaster Gate came up with a proposal so perplexing, the sheer scope of this bewildering brainchild must have dazzled those who subsequently applied the rubber stamp.
During an era when the first rumblings that top footballers played too many games began to reverberate (to this end some high-profile clubs were still exercising their right not to enter the League Cup), the governing body decided to create another fixture – believing what the two clubs who had recently suffered the bitter blow of losing an FA Cup semi-final needed was to play each other.
Thus for the next five seasons, in the ultimate presentation of flogging a dead horse, the FA Cup 3/4th place play-off match came into being.
In truth what The FA had actually done is replace a fixture to have lost its relevance with one that was totally irrelevant. Since 1954, as a curtain-raiser to FA Cup Final ‘weekend’, on the night before the main event England had played ‘Young England’ at a London venue (sometimes Stamford Bridge, but mainly Highbury), tapping into a school of thought those staying in the capital before heading to Wembley the next day, might fancy attending a Friday night appetizer.
(Despite the somewhat mocking tone of this article, it must be stated that if such practice had still been in place during the 1980s or 90s, your genial host at SAMTIMONIOUS.com would have been an attendee).
That, however, is beside the point. Since the early-1960s the fixture had begun to run out of steam, (The FA trialled an England v Football League XI contest in 1963 only to revert back to the usual opposition 12 months later) and in 1969, the fixture, which drew a crowd of almost 19,000 for its final staging, was consigned to history.
Ironically enough, in April 1970 Sir Alf might have welcomed the chance to give some ‘probables’ and ‘possibles’ of his forthcoming World Cup squad, shorn obviously of Leeds and Chelsea players on cup final duty the following day, a Friday night runout. This Highbury-staged game, for the sake of argument, is sure to have attracted a larger crowd than the ensuing FA Cup semi-final losers’ lark, the World Cup holders sent Mexico way with resounding goodwill from those who had converged on N5.
Nevertheless, an FA think-tank – more think-blank in this case – had come up with a sure-fire way to generate interest in the FA Cup Final and not let it go for the next 18 or so hours.
Around 5pm the following day Wembley Stadium would be no place for the losers, the crowd and vast television audience focused entirely on the winners. Yet the real losers had generally spent the previous evening hacking about in front of a meagre gathering – contesting a match in which they or anyone else, invested much interest.
The FA Cup Third/Fourth Place Play-Off Match – 1970-74:
1970: Friday 10 April – WATFORD 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 2 (Highbury – 15,105):
As portents go there was something sadly appropriate about the first of these misbegotten matches taking place on the day when every front page was dominated by news The Beatles had formally broken up. Although given the way their future chairman would by the dominating figure in early-70s rock, perhaps pertinent that Watford should be involved.
Dubbed the ‘Fifth Beatle’ during the mid-60s, the incomparable George Best was among eight of Sir Matt Busby’s 1968 European Cup winners selected by manager Wilf McGuiness for this insignificance in Islington.
Inclusion of the Northern Ireland international and 1968 European Footballer of the Year in a side that also included 1966 World Cup winners Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles, who would shortly be heading off with defending champions England to the World Cup in Mexico, sent the North London attendance north of double figures – but still well short of the crowd figure that attended the England v Young England contest of the previous year.
Two second half goals from Brian Kidd (65/88) settled this inauspicious affair as United lurched toward the end of an undistinguished season, arriving at Highbury in the midst of a dispiriting run yielding only two wins from the last nine league games. In fairness one was a 7-0 Old Trafford thumping of West Brom, but defeat at Spurs and home draw against already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday in the final two matches saw them finish 1969-70 among the also-rans in eighth.
While United lost out in a marathon three-match semi-final against Leeds, opponents Watford had been sandblasted by Chelsea on a White Hart Lane pitch that was part beach and part bog – the Stamford Bridge outfit reaching Wembley (and going on to lift the trophy) by virtue of a comfortable 5-1 win.
Their run to the last four – that included a notable quarter-final Vicarage Road victory over Liverpool – was the memorable element of a hard season for the Hornets, who maintained second division status despite ending the campaign with a seven match winless streak.
The two first division matches to have taken place on the same evening (Coventry defeating Wolves by the odd-goal at Molineux, Nottingham Forest doing likewise against Ipswich in front of barely 10,000 at the City Ground), may have generated a few more column inches than the humble fare on offer at Highbury – described by Norman Fox, football correspondent of The Times, in these disparaging terms:
‘The play-off failed as an aperitif for no more subtle reason than that it was a non-event between two losers.’
1971: Friday 7 May – STOKE CITY 3 EVERTON 2 (Selhurst Park, 5,206):
Undeterred by the apathy surrounding the initial fixture 12 months earlier, The FA proceeded with unflinching obdurance, the logic hard to discern in sending the protagonists to the furthest London ground from their doorsteps. As a result the mid-table fourth division fixture between Colchester United and Southport taking place at the same time attracted more spectators than a match involving two World Cup winners.
If ever a club needed a season to end then it was Everton in 1970-71. The stylish champions of 1970 had floundered badly in defending the title, finishing well down the field in 14th as the last 14 league fixtures yielded just two wins. These woes were amplified by a shock European Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Greek champions (and ultimate finalists) Panathinaikos – while even harder to bear was an FA Cup semi-final defeat in a Merseyside derby transported to Old Trafford.
Stoke, who finished one place above the Toffees, had been a minute from reaching Wembley only to concede a last minute FA Cup semi-final penalty against Arsenal at Hillsborough. On being converted by England international Peter Storey, it secured the Gunners a Villa Park replay they went on to win in comfortable fashion, their ambitions of completing the league and cup double boiling down to a FA Cup Final showdown with Liverpool the day after this non-event in Norwood -Bertie Mee’s men having clinched the title at Tottenham a few days before.
Winger Alan Whittle fired Harry Catterick’s side ahead in the ninth minute, the lead extended by World Cup winner Alan Ball nine minutes later. In the 23rd minute Stoke pulled one back through midfielder Mike Bernard (destined for a move to Goodison Park 11 months later for a club record £140,000 fee), but opportunity for Everton to restore a two goal buffer went begging ten minutes before half-time – Ball sending a penalty beyond ’66 World Cup winning team-mate, Stoke ‘keeper Gordon Banks, only to hit the bar with his effort.
After the break prolific Stoke striker John Ritchie netted a brace (51/83) to decide things in the Potters favour. The Evening Sentinel (a Stoke-based newspaper), reported: ‘The entertainment was worthy of a better response than a meagre crowd.’
But among plenty who gave the match a swerve were press box representatives of The Times and The Sun, neither of whom made no reference to the game the following morning – sections of Fleet Street not prepared to give the fixture even a fleeting mention.
1972 – Saturday 5 August: BIRMINGHAM CITY STOKE CITY 0 (Birmingham won 4-3 on penalties, St Andrew’s 23,841):
Almost as crushing for Stoke in losing to Arsenal at the FA Cup semi-final stage for the second season running would have been the prospect of contesting another 3rd/4th place fixture – the indignity now held over from a Friday night nuisance in May to a Saturday afternoon slumber in early August.
For their latest appearance in a fixture whose necessity was already nigh on impossible to justify, they made the short trip down the M6 to St. Andrew’s, where Birmingham City promoted back to Division One in May, had agreed to host the contest – Blues having lost to eventual cup winners Leeds in a Hillsborough semi-final five months earlier.
With Birmingham on a high due to their first division return and Stoke fielding new signing Geoff Hurst along with seven of the side who lifted the League Cup back in March, for the first time proceedings carried a shred of anticipation.
Unfortunately for a bumper crowd, at least in terms of this fixture, there was little to be roused by. Not until after the final whistle that is – the game on ending goalless decided by penalty kicks, Stoke midfield man Peter Dobing missing from the spot as Birmingham prevailed by a 4-3 margin.
The first FA Cup tie ever to be decided by penalties, the method of determining the winners and match itself prompted disapproval from The Sunday Times who lamented the ‘coconut shy ritual’ of the shoot-out, dismissing what occurred as ‘a truly artificial climax to a totally artificial match.’
In terms of pre-season preparations it was the West Mercia Constabulary who underwent the most strenuous workout as just a couple of miles away Villa Park hosted the annual Charity Shield match, the home side playing host to Manchester City in front of just over 35,000.
Quite how many clubs said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to overtures from The FA in regard to participation is unknown, those who accented being the third division champions and fourth-placed Division One finishers City. There was little of note here either where matters were also decided from the penalty spot – the spoils going to Maine Road by virtue of a first half spot-kick from England striker Francis Lee.
1973 – Saturday 18 August: ARSENAL 1 WOLVES 3 (Highbury – 21,038):
In what proved the penultimate of these pointless preambles, focus moved back to Highbury where the 3/4th play-off pageant involved the sides who came second and fifth the previous season – neither attaining such a lofty Division One perch again through the rest of the decade.
Having lost an FA Cup semi-final to second division giant-killing cup winners Sunderland and taken a 6-1 hiding at Leeds in their final six games (winning just one) of last season, there is already a sense of Arsenal sailing close to choppy waters – Scottish international Jim McCalliog and talisman striker Derek Dougan allowed oceans of room in securing for the visitors a 2-0 interval lead.
Wolves have their own defensive frailties exposed when teenage Arsenal midfielder Brian Hornsby reduced the deficit four minutes after the restart. But through an afternoon when there is barely a cloud in the North London sky, defenders repeatedly give the impression they are playing on an ice rink – the scoring completed when a slip from young Arsenal full-back Brendan Batson presented Northern Ireland man Dougan with a close range chance he could not miss.
Composing a match report for The Sunday Times, the great Brian Glanville was at his most sardonic, when writing, ‘Wolves for what it is worth take third place in last season’s FA Cup,’ adding with rueful amusement, ‘and if that sentence makes little sense to you, it is nonetheless factually impeccable.’
For Arsenal what developed from this slipshod display was a suitably lacklustre season where they stumbled around to finish 10th. Wolves were also to make heavy weather of their Division One campaign dropping from the upper reaches into mid-table, yet this low key Highbury success began a run of seven undefeated visits to the capital – one of which, a 2-1 League Cup Final victory over Manchester City, returned silverware to Molineux for the first time in 14 years.
1974 – Thursday 9 May: LEICESTER CITY 0 BURNLEY 1 (Filbert Street, 4,432):
For what proved its final incarnation, the play-off fixture limped back to its original end of season origins. But rather than have a place on the cup final undercard, The FA in their wisdom insisted the competing unfortunates wait five days until the following Thursday – by which time Leicester and Burnley had released players to country call-ups for the Home internationals. The governing body, in insisting on the delay further devaluing (if that were possible), a game of their own creation.
As a result the sub-4,500 gate would go down as the lowest ever for a competitive fixture played by The Foxes during their entire 111 years at Filbert Street.
This instantly forgettable encounter was decided by a first half goal from Burnley centre-forward Ray Hankin. It proved the last twitch of an appendage about to be removed altogether. Such was the lack of interest in a game contested by two understrength, uninterested teams even The FA finally caught on.
When the last rites were administered soon afterward, the statement issued by Lancaster Gate announcing the demise contained inference the decision to create the fixture had been sound, its absence from the football calendar something supporters would come to regret:
‘After a full discussion and bearing in mind the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the clubs and public for this match, it was agreed it should be discontinued.’
Thank heaven then for a full discussion – who knows what might have transpired had it merely come up in conversation.
Just over 50 years later this spurious selection of matches should stand as a curious cul-de-sac in FA Cup history, but their very existence has, overtime, become shrouded in denial by those who brought them into existence.
The FA website, on which every result in the history of the competition is claimed to be listed, does indeed reveal that in 1926-27 Oswestry Town defeated Brierley Hill in the first qualifying round before coming to grief against Cannock at the next stage. The involvement of 21-year-old Herbert Roberts in the victory over Brierley Hill prohibited him from playing for Arsenal during their run to the 1927 FA Cup Final after being signed for £200 by Highbury boss Herbert Chapman in December 1926.
Yet despite their long association with the FA Cup the record of Arsenal, along with those of Manchester United, Watford, Everton, Birmingham City, Stoke City (twice in their case), Wolves, Leicester City and Burnley are incomplete due to no mention of the third/fourth play-off fixture – The FA needing no reminder of a fixture folly of their own making.
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NEIL SAMBROOK is also the author of MONTY’S DOUBLE – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book: