Bring me your cup

I was the same age as my eldest son, Matthew, is now, when Southampton went to Wembley and won the F.A. Cup. The year was 1976 and I watched the game on the TV at home while my Grandpa fell asleep after lunch. He was visiting from the Isle of Wight and sadly it's one of the things I most remember him for, although after my Dad did it for years, I have now inherited that ability. Turns out it's a family skill!

I couldn't get a ticket for the Final as I hadn't been to enough games/didn't have a season ticket/had parents who thought football was a very dangerous spectator sport (which to be honest it could be in the 1970's). We beat Man Utd 1-0 and film of that game still makes me emotional.

As cup winners we got to play in the Charity shield the following August, against Liverpool and I was there for that, my first visit to Wembley stadium. we lost 1-0!

The next time they got to Wembley was in 1979, for the League cup final against Nottingham Forest. The game being the day after my 20th birthday. I was very lucky to work with the wife of one the Saints players and he obtained tickets for me. I don't remember much of the day, except that we scored first after 16 minutes and some idiot behind me started going crazy and chanting "we've won the cup, we've won the cup". Sure enough.....  we lost 3-2.

Our next Wembley final was 1992 and the ZDS Cup final again against Forest, managed by the great Brian Clough. His team included Roy Keane and they took a two goal lead. Saints fought back and Matt le Tissier scored (with a header!) and then Kevin Moore equalised. Sadly Forest won it extra time and so again we lost to them 3-2 at Wembley. Was I there...no I lived in Guernsey then and getting to the game was too tricky. If you look at any footage of that game (and you can on Youtube) Saints lost the toss and wore their away kit, which for that season was an all blue affair. We look like Pompey and that is not a good look!

One sad post-script to that game is that Kevin Moore, who is the same age as me, has recently been diagnosed with dementia, very sad at any age but particularly for some one of his age.

We've not been there since as the 2003 F A Cup final was at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium as Wembley being re-built.

Last night however Saints earned the right to play their first game at the new Wembley as they beat MK Dons 3-1 (4-1 on agrregate) to reach the final of the Johnson's Paint Trophy final. There we will play Carlisle Utd and having been at last night's game according to the announcer at the end of the match, I (& my sons) are entilted to tickets for the final. We've been there for an England game, but watching the Saints there will be awesome!

COYR