Thefirst90minutes’ January Transfer Window signing David Holliday presents his debut article regarding the magic of the FA Cup...
Away from the Premiership, with its top four domination, the FA cup and League cup have become even more competitive over the last few seasons. Last season saw two of the most unusual FA cup Semi-finals ever with only one Premiership team out of four. Barnsley (who happened to be in the relegation zone) knocked out Liverpool and Chelsea on the road to the Semi-finals.
Barnsley, Cardiff and West Brom proved that teams outside the Premiership could play the top teams and win. Already this season we have seen Hartlepool beat Stoke and they will hope to continue their cup form against West Ham. Other League 1 or lower teams left in the FA cup include: Millwall, Cheltenham, Torquay and Kettering Town. In the League Cup this season we have already seen: Brighton beating multi-millionaires Man City (Who needs Robinho?) and Northampton beat Bolton and then lose to Sunderland on penalties.
The last League 1 team to reach the FA cup Semi was Wycombe Wanderers in 2001. In fact Wycombe Wanderers are the only Football League side to reach the Semi-Finals of the FA Trophy, the FA Amateur Cup, the Football League Trophy, the League Cup and the most prestigious of all, the FA Cup.
Throughout football history there have been many “Giant killers”. The last time a non-league team beat top-flight opposition was Sutton United's victory over Coventry City in 1988–89. Another notable result was in 1969 when in the fifth round, Mansfield Town of the Third Division were drawn at home to West Ham United, who were standing sixth in the First Division and who had three World Cup winners in their side: Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst along with youngsters Billy Bonds and Trevor Brooking. The game was postponed five times before it finally went ahead on 26 February 1969, on what turned out to be one of the greatest nights in Mansfield’s history. In front of 21,117 at Field Mill, Mansfield won 3–0 and became the fourth team in FA cup history to knock out clubs from five different leagues in the same competition.
Other giant killings include: Hereford united shocking Newcastle United in 1972 with one of the most famous goals in the history of the cup coming from the boot of Ronnie Radford.
In 1975, Wimbledon became nationally famous during a spectacular FA Cup run. They were the first non-league team that century to beat a First Division team at their own ground, when they defeated Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor in the third round. In the fourth round they held the reigning First Division Champions, Leeds United to a 0–0 draw at Elland Road, with goalkeeper Dickie Guy saving a penalty from Peter Lorimer, before narrowly losing to an own goal in the replay at Selhurst Park, in front of over 40,000 spectators. Wimbledon went on to win the FA Cup as a First Division side in 1988.
All these examples of giant killings should spur on lower League teams to beating higher division opponents. There is nothing better than seeing Forest Green put 3 goals past Derby or Blyth Spartans nearly beating Blackburn. It’s what the FA cup is made for.
So who knows? This season we might see Kettering Town or Torquay lifting the FA cup!
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