As tall orders go, explaining to younger followers of the game just how significant FA Cup third round day was on the yesteryear football calendar, is a task as hard as they come.
In recent times with the ties spread over four days and any number shown live on a welter of television channels, there feels something distinctly quaint and olde world about an era when each of the 32 ties kicked off at 3pm on the first Saturday in January – the handful of games to be televised shown as edited highlights and aired on ‘Match of the Day‘ later that day or on Sunday lunchtime in a regional football programme.
Indeed, the annual return to school after the Christmas holidays on the Monday 48 hours after the third round, was made more palatable if your team had advanced to round four.
One recurring feature of the lunch break on the first day back was a huddle of young teenagers in the playground gathered around the pocket transistor brought in by one enterprising youth – his team no doubt involved in a scenario that involved interruption of the Jimmy Young show on Radio Two, to inevitably begin:
‘We now go over the the headquarters of the Football Association in Lancaster Gate for the fourth round draw of the FA Cup – the first voice you hear will be that of Mr. Ted Croker, secretary of the Football Association……..’
Thus beneath a slate gray mid-winter sky, as minnows were paired with mammoths or with heavyweights now on course to collide, ‘ums‘ and ‘aahs‘ would emanate from pupils more preoccupied with the fourth round fate of Leeds, Liverpool or Manchester United than a forthcoming maths lesson.
Through an era long, long before squad numbers and rotation, the FA Cup was paramount in the thinking of every club in the land and with good reason. Aside from the few contesting the league title, the cup represented the last genuine hope of the season ending in any form of glory, there being no European gravy train to chase in finishing from second to fifth.
For arguments sake, a fourth-placed ’70s Division One finish was not to be sniffed at, but given the choice of UEFA Cup qualification or going to Wembley on the first Saturday in May, most, if not all, clubs would have plumped for the twin towers rather than an October visit to Oslo.
Fifty years ago as the FA Cup third round of 1975-76 rolled around, there were the usual suspects knowing they were in with a shout of lifting the trophy, along with those needy where silverware was concerned.
Since the dawn of the 1970s, in six successive seasons there had been a different winner of the competition, ten on the trot in fact if counting the last four years of the ’60s. If current holders West Ham could emerge from an erratic league campaign in 1974-75 to be triumphant, then any number of top flight sides whose week-to-week form was iffy could be forgiven in thinking the old adage of ‘They’re playing badly enough to win the cup‘ might apply to them.
By the same token, given that second division Sunderland had caused the biggest post-war FA Cup Final upset three years earlier in defeating overwhelming favourites Leeds United, there was no reason for any Division Two outfit not to dream big in hoping it might be their year.
But this was a long ago time when most in the second tier viewed the FA Cup as opportunity for publicity and in fairness pound notes, the competition not treated as a blot on the fixture landscape in regard to their latter-day singular vision of securing Premiership prosperity.
With the favourites and thoroughbreds now joining the colts and novices still in the field, the FA Cup third round in early January 1976 came under starter’s orders. Given the stories and intrigue about to unfold it was somewhat appropriate the fixtures coincided that week with the first episode of BBC comedy series ‘Ripping Yarns’ written by and starring Monty Python member Michael Palin.
Having said that, given the extraordinary twist the FA Cup would take when it reached a climax four months later, the most accurate portent for what lay ahead was found in a Mike Leigh play broadcast on BBC1 the following January week entitled ‘Nuts in May‘…………
Selected FA Cup Third Round ties of 1975-76 – (Saturday 3 January 1976):
WEST HAM UNITED 0 LIVERPOOL 2 (32,363):
The most discernable dust-up on third round day 1976 involved West Ham, FA Cup winners the previous season, playing host to perennial there or thereabouters Liverpool – Upton Park staging a showdown between the last two clubs to have tasted FA Cup glory.
It did not prove much of a contest when all was said and done, the visitors ruthlessly reliable in securing victory – goals in each half from established strike pairing of Kevin Keegan (37) and John Toshack (82) extending their unbeaten trot to seven matches with plenty to spare.
While Anfield boss Bob Paisley could look on with downplayed satisfaction as his charges built up an ominous head of steam, opposite number John Lyall was in the early throes of seeing the Hammers domestic campaign run aground.
Defeats in their two previous league games began a slide from sixth at Christmas to a finishing spot of 18th, West Ham winning just once in the interim – a baffling season at the Boleyn only salvaged by ongoing progress in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
DERBY COUNTY 2 EVERTON 1 (31,647):
Two sides, who in terms of current league position stood just above and below West Ham at kick-off time, came face to face at the Baseball Ground – reigning league champions and fourth in the table Derby edging out ninth placed Everton by the odd goal in three.
For the Rams their route to round four was cleared by a brace (3/62) from Charlie George, a player who knew all about scoring crucial FA Cup goals – the former Arsenal man weighing in with The Gunners 1971 cup final winner against Everton’s Merseyside neighbours, his extra-time thunderbolt securing a league and FA Cup double for the Highbury outfit.
While winger Gary Jones responded late on for The Toffees it was not enough to extend their current six match unbeaten run into a Goodison replay – Derby meanwhile, recovering well from a second round European Cup exit against Real Madrid, took on the look of a decent FA Cup bet after emerging victorious from a closely contested tie.
NOTTS COUNTY 0 LEEDS UNITED 1 (31,129):
The same theory of a former FA Cup Final winning goal scorer enabling his side to reach round four in becoming a serious cup threat applied to Leeds. Their success at Meadow Lane was ensured by an effort from Allan Clarke, the England striker on target after the break against second division Notts County – just as he had been against Arsenal in the 1972 final.
After all the upheaval of the previous season, which brought the short Elland Road reign of Brian Clough and long road to a losing European Cup Final appearance, the steadying influence of Clough-successor Jimmy Armfield was becoming evident in their concurrent title challenge.
Yet third in the table Leeds were made to work hard for a fourth round berth by a Notts side who had put five past Oldham in their previous game, already won at city rivals Forest and were on course for a commendable fifth-placed Division Two finish.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 3 ARSENAL 0 (22,215):
Despite having four post-war FA Cup triumphs between them, this Molineux match-up was more a meeting of ailing aristocrats than glory-bound giants – both in the midst of a league campaign that saw both languishing in the bottom six.
Indeed, Bill McGarry’s misfiring second-bottom unit had not won since mid-November, Wolves scoring just twice in a seven match sequence of five defeats and two draws. The Gunners, however, enduring their worst season since the post-World War One days of King George V, could not have been more accommodating to the, of late, hapless hosts – Norman Bell (13) and John Richards (44) going some way to lift the old gold gloom.
Ten minutes from time Kenny Hibbitt wrapped up a resounding step into round four, although in truth victory, let alone the margin, owed more to Arsenal being abject rather than anything wondrous by Wanderers.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 STOKE CITY 1 (26,715) – Replay 24/1/76: Stoke City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1, (29,757);
Across North London from Highbury, Spurs were having a season veering more towards write off than anything to write home about, their turn of the year consolation being a League Cup semi-final spot and 16th place in Division One, which if nothing else was two above the neighbours.
Eighth placed Stoke represented a stern proposition to the sombre mood that had descended on the Seven Sisters Road, the outlook becoming even more solemn when Welsh international midfielder John Mahoney gave the Potters a 31st minute lead.
Scottish striker John Duncan restored parity after the break, his 54th minute strike proving enough to force a replay, although the sides would not meet again until the day of the fourth round on Saturday 24th January, due to Spurs having midweek League Cup meetings against Newcastle in the ensuing fortnight.
But one cup exit in the month would shortly become two (Tottenham losing out to Newcastle over two legs at the League Cup semi-final stage), their FA Cup interest ending despite taking a 29th minute replay lead through long-serving midfielder Steve Perryman.
It was an advantage only briefly held as the hosts’ responded with a 35th minute effort from young striker Ian Moores (whose goal could be viewed as having longer term significance) – the tie decided by an 88th minute penalty safely converted by midfield man Geoff Salmons, a cold afternoon in Stoke suddenly becoming decidedly warmer for the home crowd.
Yet if exiting two competitions in the space of four days was, metaphorically speaking, the roof coming in at White Hart Lane it had been the literal case for Stoke, as the previous week high winds in the vicinity inflicted widespread damage to the Butler Street Stand of Victoria Ground. With the club unable to meet the cost of repairs, funds were raised through the sale of several star performers – one of whom, England U-23 forward Moores, was sold to Spurs for £75,000 later in the year.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 OXFORD UNITED 1 (41,082):
Contesting the FA Cup once more as a top flight club (and high-flying one at that) after their one season second division stay, the draw paired third in the table Manchester United with opposition to whom they had lost while in the reduced circumstances of Division Two.
At half-time it appeared Oxford may be on course to defeat Tommy Docherty’s side for a second time in 11 months. Derek Clarke, who scored the Manor Ground winner on that occasion, joined older brother Allan (Leeds) on the third round scoresheet by giving the visitors a 43rd minute lead.
It would require two successful efforts from the penalty spot by Republic of Ireland international Gerry Daly (46/54) to turn the tie around, United avoiding the third round mishap of going out of the FA Cup to a side from a lower division – unlike the previous season when they came a cropper against third tier Walsall.
BLACKPOOL 1 BURNLEY 0 (20,573):
With five FA Cup Final appearances between them through the years 1947-62, there was distant cup pedigree in the sea air of Bloomfield Road but little in the way of present day pleasure.
The home side were now a middling second tier ensemble, while their visitors from 40 miles away had dropped from near-miss UEFA Cup qualification of the previous season to be embroiled in a relegation struggle becoming more desperate by the week.
This all-Lancashire set-to came with added irony attached to the two managers. Home boss Harry Potts had guided the Clarets to their 1960 league title and losing FA Cup appearance of 1962, his side in both instances featuring current Burnley incumbent Jimmy Adamson.
Of all the outcomes on third round day 1976, it would be this one that had the most immediate consequences. On being dumped out of the cup by a goal from Seasiders leading marksman Mickey Walsh, Adamson resigned the following day, thus bringing his six year Turf Moor tenure to an end.
Succeeded by first team coach Joe Brown, Burnley were unable to beat the drop, although when the clubs met on equal second division footing the following season, Potts too had departed, sacked at the end of 1975-76 as Blackpool meandered to a mid-table finish.
QPR 0 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 (20,012) Replay – 7/1/76: Newcastle United 2 QPR 1 (37,725):
For anyone seeking a third round tie with the promise of fluent football, W12 was an obvious stopping off point.
Fourth in the table Rangers, whose artistry had turned them into genuine title contenders, had lost only two of their last 12 matches, while improving Newcastle were starting to look a capable unit. The upturn in fortunes of Gordon Lee’s black and whites had coincided with a run to the League cup semi-finals, encompassing a 3-1 fourth round victory at Loftus Road in mid-November.
While both sides proved themselves shot-shy through the encounter in Shepherd’s Bush, the Magpies only needed 14 minutes of the Tyneside replay to fly ahead, striker Alan Gowling on hand to prod home when Rangers ‘keeper Phil Parkes failed to hold a low drive from Irving Nattrass.
On the hour Dave Sexton’s side restored level terms with a smartly taken goal from soon-to-be Scottish international Don Masson. But in a month when they would book a Wembley visit by virtue of a two-leg League Cup semi-final triumph over Spurs (advancing to face Manchester City), Newcastle maintained hopes of silverware on two fronts with a 75th minute winner – winger Tommy Craig blasting home from the penalty spot after QPR centre-back Dave Webb (scorer of the winning goal for Chelsea in their 1970 FA Cup Final replay victory over Leeds), handled on the line.
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 BURY 0 (20,785) Replay – 6/1/1976: Bury 3 Middlesbrough 2 (11,488):
For twice turn-of-the-century FA Cup winners Bury (1900/1903) reaching round three as a struggling third division entity was worthy of present day plaudits – the Shakers subsequently giving round three a shake-up with a remarkable replay win over Division One Middlesbrough, a result that became a decade-defining victory for the Gigg Lane club.
After each side drew a blank on Teesside, things seemed to be going the way of status when the teams reconvened three days later, prolific striker John Hickton (penalty) and midfielder Peter Brine both finding the target as Jack Charlton’s men posed the question of why a replay had been necessary in the first place.
But in a complete about turn, a visiting XI containing an FA Cup winner (Terry Cooper, Leeds) and European Cup winner (Bobby Murdoch, Celtic) had no answers as Bury rallied to dramatic effect.
Ayresome Park boss Jack Charlton, who like Cooper collected an FA Cup winners medal with Leeds four years earlier, could only watch aghast as goals from Jimmy McIlwraith, John Hulme and Andy Rowland enabled Bury to secure an unlikely victory that saw ‘Boro crash out of the competition – their cup misery for the month not yet done as they would be dispatched at the League Cup semi-final stage by eventual winners Manchester City before January was out.
SOUTHAMPTON 1 ASTON VILLA 1 (24,138) Replay – 7/1/76: Aston Villa 1 Southampton 2 aet (44,623):
Among any selection of FA Cup ties from these times there is generally an anomaly to be found – and if not immediately apparent your genial host here at SAMTIMONIOUS.com will search high and low to find it.
Quite possibly referenced at the time, although given the tenuous connections raised in such articles on this blog-site perhaps not, but being drawn away to Southampton might well have prompted some of an Aston Villa persuasion to think this could be their year – given that FA Cup holders West Ham (another side who traditionally play in claret and blue), began their road to ultimate FA Cup glory with victory at The Dell 12 months earlier.
When young Scottish striker Andy Gray put the visiting top flighters ahead just after the hour it appeared second division Saints would be departing the cup for the second season running to a side destined to go far. It looked more a certainty when the tie reached its last knockings, but seconds before the final whistle Southampton’s Glasgow-born midfielder Hugh Fisher popped up with his first goal in sixteen months – which necessitated a replay and in the process reshaped FA Cup destiny through the months to come.
At Villa Park four days later with the hosts’ now firm favourites to advance, there was an early shock for the Holte End when former Scottish international Jim McCalliog gave the visitors a second minute lead.
The home side, however, gradually recovered and drew level shortly before the break through winger Ray Graydon, who ten months earlier had netted their League Cup Final winner against Norwich City.
Yet rather than signal Villa taking full control, the tie developed into a stalemate as the Saints refused to yield. Such was their resourcefulness they moved unscathed to the final whistle and from one enterprising counter-attack mustered the deciding goal twelve minutes into extra-time – Lawrie McMenemy’s side clinching a fourth round place by virtue of a second from McCalliog.
It was not the first time former Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves man McCalliog had produced a vital Villa Park cup strike, having done so for The Owls at the same venue in 1966 with a goal that clinched Wednesday a Wembley place in a semi-final victory over Chelsea.
Ten years on was fate again aligning for McCalliog? Abstract to be sure, but a portent nevertheless.
FA Cup Third Round 1975-76:
Blackpool 1 Burnley 0; Southampton 1 Aston Villa 1 (R) Aston Villa 1 Southampton 2; Leicester City 3 Sheffield United 0; Notts County 0 Leeds United 1; Nottingham Forest 0 Peterborough United 0 (R) Peterborough United 1 Nottingham Forest 0; Wolves 3 Arsenal 0; Middlesbrough 0 Bury 0 (R) Bury 3 Middlesbrough 2; West Bromwich Albion 3 Carlisle United 1 Sunderland 2 Oldham Athletic 0; Derby County 2 Everton 1; Luton Town 2 Blackburn Rovers 0;
Swindon Town 2 Tooting & Mitcham United 2 (R) Tooting and Mitcham United 2 Swindon Town 1; Scarborough 1 Crystal Palace 2; Shrewsbury Town 1 Bradford City 2; Ipswich Town 3 Halifax Town 1; Spurs 1 Stoke City 1 (R) Stoke 2 Spurs 1; Manchester City 6 Hartlepool 0; QPR 0 Newcastle United 0 (R) Newcastle United 2 QPR 1; Fulham 2 Huddersfield Town 3; Brentford 0 Bolton Wanderers 2 Brentford 0; Coventry City 2 Bristol City 1; Portsmouth 1 Birmingham City 1 (R) Birmingham City 0 Portsmouth 1;
West Ham United 0 Liverpool 2; Manchester United 2 Oxford United 1; Norwich City 1 Rochdale 1 (R) Rochdale 0 Norwich City 0 (R2) Norwich City 2 Rochdale 1; Hull City 1 Plymouth Argyle 1 (R) Plymouth Argyle 1 Hull City 4; Chelsea 1 Bristol Rovers 1 (R) Bristol Rovers 0 Chelsea 1; Southend 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1; Charlton Athletic 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1; York City 2 Hereford United 1; Aldershot Town 1 Lincoln City 2; Orient 0 Cardiff City 1;
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