There are few football fans who do not love a great FA cup upset, there have been many since this great competition begun in 1871, to name a few; Wimbledon beating the mighty Liverpool in 1988 and of course last year’s winners Wigan toppling the free spending Man City. But there are a few truly great stories that do not receive as much press and attention as I believe they deserve. So I thought I would get nostalgic and take a trip down FA cup memory lane. FA cup fever is real and great cup runs can re-galvanize teams, embarrass the big guns, bring towns together and most of all have fans jumping up and down on the sofas, hoping the underdogs can keep going. These are three events that I remember very well and encapsulate what the FA Cup is about.
Non-league outfit Burton Albion had the chance to host Man Utd in 05-06 season, the team then managed by the up and coming Nigel Clough were ecstatic to have the chance to play such an illustrious club. With the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo on show, United were expected to ease pass Burton but the spirit shown proved that resilience and a bit of luck can even the playing field! Even for just 90 minutes. Burton Albion did not play traditional non-league style football, they liked to pass the ball around and retain possession. Many thought this would be their undoing against the powerful United but actually it through Man United off their game and for the first 45 minutes it was all Burton. Man United got their act together and started to dominant the game but the stubbornness of Burton Albion paid off and they earned a reply at Old Trafford. Figures dotted around at the time state that the reply earned the club around £500,000! Sadly the fairy-tale ended at Old Trafford as the reds ran out 5-0 winners but the non-league side left with their heads held high and it was a fantastic experience for the fans.
With this year’s FA Cup underway and the 4th round draw already done both Southend and Stevenage will be looking to add to the history books and knockout Premier League opposition, will there be more great FA cup runs to come this season?
Matt Palmer
Follow on Twitter @mattpalmersport
This is an extract from an article which first appeared on Opinion Football http://opinionfootball.com/fairy-tale-fa-cup/
Memory added on January 7, 2014
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