This used to be thee most exciting day in the footballing calendar. Somehow in todays 24/7 exposure of the game, it doesn’t have the same spine tingling feeling that it used to generate when I was a kid.
There was always a massive decision to be made back in them days….do I watch it on ITV or on BBC ?
Who had the best build up ?
Coverage seemed to start at 9am, reviews of the previous rounds not necessarily with any coverage (not like today where every goal from every round is shown). Outside Wembley chatting with the fans, even encouraging ticketless fans to go along as “someone would get given 2 free tickets,” in the coaches with the teams on the way to the ground, chatting with the players on the pitch (in what seemed like glorious sunshine year after year). A bit of Saint & Greavsie. John Motson with every stat you could ever dream of. A never ending stream of pundits, who like todays pundits talked utter shite (except Andy Gray).
Then who provided the best commentary ? Gubba / Davies / Motson for the BBC or the late great Brian Moore for ITV.
Then there was the game itself, the atmosphere, 100,000 people packed in and all singing, waving flags, happy and normally well behaved. And more often than not, a good game.
And then me and all my mates would talk about the game for a few days, knowing that we would have to wait at least 3 1/2 months for the new season to start (unless of course Liverpool had reached a European cup final the following week).
Today reminds of the 1980 game between Fulham and West Ham, a team from the top flight and one from the next tier down – a chance for the non-glamorous clubs fans to have a great day out. Rather than the usual Liverpool / Chelsea / Man U / Arsenal blah blah.
Good luck to todays gladiators of Portsmouth and err to Cardiff as well.
