THERE are some games that live with you forever — and this weekend always brings back loads of memories for me.
But the way the FA Cup is treated these days, I doubt many current players will look back on the competition with the same affection once they’ve retired.
The third round was always one of THE big days of the year.
And the draw itself wasn’t too far behind either.
I was in a West Ham side that had three World Cup winners in Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.
But even though they’d won the biggest competition of all, they would be crowded round the radio with the rest of us to find out who we had drawn.
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There were times we’d rush back into the dressing room from training, still in our kit and caked in mud, before tuning in. It was such a big deal.
And there was certainly no way any manager would even consider playing a weakened team. That was just unheard of.
In fact we’d have special FA Cup training weeks. We would go to Southend for a couple of days and have a walk on the beach to prepare for a game that was always very special.
I’m not talking about the final here — this was the early rounds. And any changes were because of injuries — everyone wanted to play.
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It was just magical, even though I was on the wrong end of a few shocks.
West Ham — with Hurst, Moore, myself, Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Snr and the rest — were beaten by Mansfield in a game that was snowed off FIVE times.
That particular nightmare in early 1969 became known as ‘The Miracle in the Mansfield Mud’ — but sadly it wasn’t the only giant-killing I was involved in.
In January 1997, I was West Ham manager when Wrexham came to Upton Park and broke our hearts with a 90th-minute winner from Kevin Russell.
Then two years later we lost a third-round replay 1-0 away to Swansea, then in the lowest division, after a 1-1 draw at our place.
If there are any shocks these days you always hear the excuse, “Oh, they played a weakened team”.
Well, I’m sorry, but I’m just not having it.
At the start of each season, how many teams have a genuine chance of winning the Premier League? Three or four at best. Sometimes only a couple.
If there are any shocks these days you always hear the excuse, “Oh, they played a weakened team”. Well, I’m sorry, but I’m just not having it.
Harry Redknapp
By the time the FA Cup starts of course some will be fighting to stay up and I can understand why that is the priority with all the money involved.
But the majority pretty much know they are safe, so why not have a go for a trophy? Most of them don’t — and it will be the same this weekend.
If you’re, say, Brentford, Fulham or Aston Villa, this is your chance to win a pot.
When I was at Portsmouth in 2008, we knew we weren’t going to win the league but were seventh or eighth in the table and gave the FA Cup a right good go.
We played our strongest team in every round, beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on the way to the final and ended up winning the thing!
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It was one of the greatest days in Portsmouth’s history, one of the best in my career and gave us memories none of us will ever forget.
There’s a lot that has changed for the better over the years but the FA Cup definitely isn’t one of them — and, sadly, I can only see it getting worse.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
