PITCH IMPERFECT – THE 1970 FA CUP FINAL

[email protected] April 10, 2020

How we come to the view the FA Cup Final – or a particular FA Cup Final for that matter – is shaped to a large extent on whether the team we support is a finalist.

For me there is no difficulty in taking an overview of every FA Cup Final since the late-60s, some of the recent ones no more than a slice of mental mush given my dwindling interest in who wins, this brought on by a ridiculous change to the kick-off time and semi-finals played at Wembley.

Indeed, my latter-day curiosity is based mainly upon first reference to ‘show piece occasion‘ which has replaced ‘strength sapping Wembley turf‘ to become the commentary cliche of our times. Having said that my legs felt distinctly tired crossing the famous pitch for a better view of The Who in August 1979 – even if the grass was covered by canvas.

Those who kindly follow this blog will come to recognize that as a digression to which your genial host is prone – the point intending to be made is the past fifty-odd years have seen my team twice reach the quarterfinals (losing both times), the most sobering aspect now being forty years have passed since the first, with the second rapidly approaching that milestone.

Such is my FA Cup Final detachment it allows me to propagate theories without concessions to partisan loyalty – in terms of entertainment, cup finals that spring to mind are 73, 78, 80, 81 (replay), 86, 87, 89, 90 and 95, but after that they become something of a muchness with little to distinguish one from the other.

On the other hand, there are FA Cup finals predating my observations (in a few cases my life even) whose virtues continue to be extolled – 53, 54, 58, 64, 66 – and most hallowed of all, the 1948 meeting of Blackpool and Manchester United, a match still acclaimed as ‘the greatest post-war FA Cup final.’

Yet in terms of drama, contention, sub-plot and intrigue, the most fascinating for this observer is the two-go Chelsea v Leeds United affair of 1970 – the drawn Wembley ‘set-to’ (a term not used lightly), taking place fifty years ago this weekend.

For the football theorist there is just so much to digest; the vastly different way the teams are viewed, north v south demarcation, an underlying antipathy, Puritan v Party Boy perceptions and battleground of a Wembley pitch in atrocious condition.

Beyond the first FA Cup Final of a new decade, England are the reigning world champions (the match staged on Saturday 11 April to aid preparations for the forthcoming Mexico World Cup), but the garden is far from rosy. The day before brings news The Beatles have split up and Number One in the charts is Irish songstress Dana – the title of her ‘All Kinds of Everything‘ hit inadvertently describing what would unfold during an enthralling FA Cup Final and equally dramatic replay.

Both teams arrived at Wembley with huge incentive to succeed, each having lost an FA Cup Final in the previous five years. Three seasons on from a 2-1 defeat to Spurs, seven of the Chelsea team were making a return, with an eighth, talisman striker Peter Osgood, missing the Tottenham encounter through injury.

Then under the stewardship of Tommy Docherty, but now with Dave Sexton in charge, Chelsea had gained favour for their attractive and expansive play.

Boasting gifted individuals such as Osgood, his strike partner Ian Hutchinson, dazzling Scottish winger Charlie Cooke and fast-emerging midfield virtuoso Alan Hudson (absent from the final through injury), Chelsea imbued the last vestiges of ‘Swinging London‘ in their colourful pop-art football – endearing them not only to thousands on the terraces but also a growing troupe of film-star supporters, Stamford Bridge taking over from nearby Kings Road as the West London haunt to be seen.

Balance was provided by tough-tackling defenders Eddie McCreadie, David Webb and skipper Ron Harris, work-rate of schemer Tommy Baldwin, while in the energy and passing prowess of John Hollins they had an all-purpose midfield player in similar vein to Howard Kendall (Everton) and Kenny Hibbitt (Wolves), who teams aspiring to success could not be without.

In Peter Bonetti Chelsea had a goalkeeper of rare agility, yet for all their talent a League Cup success under Docherty in 1965 had been their last honour. Despite being on course for another commendable league finish, a major trophy was required to cement their place among the elite.

From the team who suffered a 2-1 extra-time Wembley defeat against Liverpool in 1965, Leeds contained six survivors and still had manager Don Revie at the helm. The ensuing five years had seen introduction of mercurial Scottish talents Peter Lorimer and Eddie Gray into a potent attack, which now also included England strikers Mick Jones and Allan Clarke.

Full-back Terry Cooper had further reinforced a redoubtable defence built upon long-established central defensive pairing of Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter, a fearsome combination who mixed awareness with aggression (or, put another way, they were always aware of the aggressive option).

But at the hub of a supremely organised outfit was the midfield axis of skipper Billy Bremner and creative linchpin Johnny Giles – as a fulcrum they were the most influential duo in the game, none better at taking on opposition one minute and no prisoners the next.

In becoming an established first division force since being promoted in 1964, Leeds had developed into a striking blend of sublime and cynical, ruthless and rampant. Such a mix had taken them to several semi-finals a number of top three finishes and brought home the League Cup in 1968 – Leeds turning up to face Chelsea as the reigning League Champions, winning the title with a record points tally 12 months before.

But of both sides, Leeds’ need for silverware was greater. They had entered the final quarter of the 1969-70 season engaged on three fronts; not only were they defending their title under intense pressure from Everton, a first tilt at the European Cup progressing to a two-leg semi-final meeting with Celtic – while an FA Cup Final place was only secured after a titanic, three-match semi-final struggle against Manchester United.

In March alone they played nine matches, the month ending with defeats against Southampton and Derby to erode their league title chances, wear and tear on a small squad of first team players evident in niggling injuries carried by several from game to game.

When FA Cup Final day dawned, Leeds were already facing their fourth game of the current month. Since April began the Championship had become destined for Goodison Park, with Celtic ahead in the European Cup semi-final stakes by a virtue of a 1-0 first leg triumph at Elland Road. To compound matters, full-back Paul Reaney suffered a serious leg injury in a fixture at West Ham played just twenty-four hours after the visit from Celtic – the severity of his knock taking him out of contention not just for the matches Leeds had left, but also the England squad for Mexico.

Even contending with these setbacks, Leeds could be expected to perform with customary brio and belligerence, the cup final emerging as their best opportunity to end the season with a trophy. Chelsea meanwhile had swagger and subtlety to put on show – yet at the end of two hours spent slogging through the Wembley mud, deciding who was a ‘Roundhead’ or ‘Cavalier’ was not so easy, the safest assumption being those English Civil War protagonists had never clashed in such deplorable conditions.

Within ten minutes the sand-laden pitch is a rutted, lifeless mess (at least an April shower would have given it some zip) but did not prevent Leeds starting in enterprising manner – through the drive of Giles and Bremner and artistry of Lorimer and Gray they dominate possession.

The reward is taking a 20th minute lead, Charlton rising to head in a corner from Gray – the cow-pat surface emphasized by flailing legs of Chelsea defenders on the goal-line, deceived by a ball that trickles rather than bounces into the net.

Chelsea respond with some enterprise of their own and in reverting to defensive duties, goalscorer Charlton is in position to clear when a shot from Osgood eludes Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake. Whether causing problems out on the left or breaking from midfield, Gray proves a constant source of danger – but his side come to rue a series of missed half-chances when Chelsea strike back against the run of play.

When Hutchinson wins an aerial dual the ball drops at the feet of Peter Houseman. His first-time low shot from twenty-five yards is on target although not especially powerful, the flat bounce deceiving Sprake as the ball passes beneath his dive. ‘Sprake has let in a sitter,’ exclaims BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme, ‘what a tragedy for the Welsh international goalkeeper.’

By strange irony this, the most remarked upon FA Cup Final goalkeeping error of them all, occurs in the same goalmouth where Jim Montgomery of Sunderland would make the defining cup final save three years later – both occasions causing Leeds to suffer.

Despite equalising four minutes before the break, Chelsea are still fortunate to reach half-time level, Gray showing superb balance as he weaves to the edge of the penalty area. His powerful shot is rising sharply toward the top corner before Bonetti makes an agile save. In describing moments of such excitement, Wolstenholme commentates in a tone reminiscent of comedian Eddie Izzard when impersonating actor James Mason.

After the break Leeds continue to hold sway but find Bonetti in smart form, his alertness and assured handling hard to reconcile with the goalkeeper who would produce such a nervy, error-strewn performance two months later as England exit the World Cup on losing to West Germany. When Leeds find a way past him, they are twice denied by the woodwork – but with seven minutes remaining finally breakthrough when Jones shoots home from ten yards.

Their lead, however, is short-lived. Delivering a delicious centre from the left of the Leeds penalty, Hollins finds Hutchinson who escapes his marker to nod home from six yards. Extra-time brings another escape for Chelsea when Clarke shoots against the crossbar, while at the other end there is redemption of sorts for Sprake who this time saves well from Houseman – but ultimately two sides, neither of whom had won the FA Cup before, finish deadlocked at 2-2.

The first FA Cup Final replay since 1912 is taken away from the ploughed field of Wembley to the greener pastures of Old Trafford – the match scheduled for Wednesday 29 April.

Before the teams meet again they each have fixtures to fulfill. Chelsea win two of their three remaining Division One games to ensure third spot and just as importantly pick up no injuries. Leeds, on the other hand, lose both of their last league games, defeats that come after a 2-1 second-leg European Cup semi-final reversal to Celtic, the Scottish champions advancing on the strength of a 3-1 aggregate win to face Dutch side Feyenoord in the final.

Into the Celtic defeat Leeds also have to factor the cost of an injury to Sprake that rules him out of the cup final replay and although Billy Bremner has been named Footballer of the Year, the pile-up of fixtures had not only taken its toll on the players, but also club finances – Leeds fined £5,000 by an unsympathetic Football League for fielding a weakened team in the late-March game at Derby, the Baseball Ground encounter coming at the end of a nine day stretch where they played five times.

For the Old Trafford replay, reserve goalkeeper David Harvey deputizes for Sprake in the one Leeds change to their Wembley starting XI. Chelsea field the same side, albeit with a notable alteration to their defensive set-up. After David Webb was tormented by Gray in the first match, manager Sexton assigns man-marking duties to skipper Harris – who early on plants a boot into Gray to largely nullify his threat for the rest of the night.

It was a tackle that set the tone for the overtly physical encounter which ensues. At the Wembley final whistle, the players had taken a combined lap of honour, but at Old Trafford the anxiety rooted in winning and antagonism built up during the season (Leeds had completed a league ‘double’ over Chelsea), rises to the surface.

There had been ‘combative’ challenges aplenty in the first game, but the replay became a byword for confrontation – the second largest TV audience ever recorded by the BBC for a sporting event (second only to the 1966 World Cup Final), exposed to a level of violence not usually permitted before the nine o’clock watershed.

As the players took opportunities to provoke or settle scores, so the litany of offences began heading for calculator country; Baldwin on Cooper, Hunter and Charlton on Osgood, Clarke on McCreadie, Webb and Harris on Gray – yet despite the physicality, there was just one booking (Hutchinson late on for, you guessed it, time-wasting), little resembling Premiership petulance and much absorbing football.

After being the subject of a robust challenge when contesting a cross with Jones, Bonetti was left with restricted movement, although even at full fitness may not have stopped a shot from the same striker that gave Leeds a 35th minute lead.

In the second half Leeds continue to dominate, only to rue missed chances when with twelve minutes left Cooke crosses into the penalty area – unmarked, Osgood dives to head the equaliser, thus maintaining his record of scoring in every round of the FA Cup, the twelfth and currently last player to do so.

Before the final whistle, Hutchinson fired into the side-netting and Jones headed narrowly over, but there is an inevitability about extra-time – just as emerges a sense that Leeds, having been in the hunt for three trophies only a month before, will not take any reward from their 17th match in 57 days.

Ultimately, they are consigned to finish the season empty-handed on failing to clear a trademark Hutchinson long-throw, Webb heading the winner from close range in the first period of extra-time – and in front for the first time over the two games, Chelsea see their way to a 2-1 victory.

For Chelsea there was joy unconfined in their first FA Cup triumph, while all Leeds could do was shrug off a season promising untold success as it drew to a conclusion yet delivered nothing tangible in terms of glory. One senses, however, the experience had a galvanizing effect on team spirit as the next four years all yield a trophy.

So, is it stretching a point to say the fancy-Dans had beaten the Philistines in winning the FA Cup?

Goodness me yes, on this evidence the expressionists and enforcers, Debbie Harry’s and Dirty Harry’s, are split almost evenly between the two teams. Equating it to rock music, for the moment The Kinks had outsmarted Led Zeppelin – although look where each band was four years later.

Reflecting on 1970 it does seem a distinctly mixed year – The Beatles break-up, no new Stones album and England failing at the World Cup, offset by ‘Live at Leeds,’ ‘Moondance‘ and two riveting FA Cup Finals.

As for my team, 1969-70 brought a first round FA Cup struggle against non-league opposition, followed by defeat in round two at the hands of a side from the division below – an FA Cup campaign in keeping with many more to follow.

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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback and as an Amazon Kindle book.