A flick through the record books will reveal that Fulham’s League Cup foray in season 1976-77 consisted of a fairly mundane series of games. Five matches in total, without a hint of reaching the latter stages, hardly suggests anything out of the ordinary. Scratch a bit deeper than the basic stats, however, and it’s a different story.
That five-game saga contained extreme highs and lows, a host of famous names, magic moments, deep controversy and more than a whiff of skulduggery. Fulham supporters who attended the games may well recall that period with at least a tad of discomfort.
Peterborough’s reward for taking three games to knock Reading out in the first round was an away tie at Craven Cottage on 31 August in round two. All very humdrum on paper. And yet the fixture had an intriguing subplot.
In early August manager Alec Stock announced that the club had all but sealed an audacious transatlantic double deal – the return of prodigal son Rodney Marsh and, even more newsworthy, the return to English football of George Best more than two-and-a-half years since he’d walked out on Manchester United.
Marsh, a maverick forward most recently with Tampa Bay Rowdies but who’d made his professional debut for Fulham in March 1963, was “pleased to be coming home”. Best, a footballing genius in his heyday, who had rediscovered his passion for football with Los Angeles Aztecs, just wanted to play – “All I want to do is get out on the field and be allowed to play.”
As the tie with Peterborough neared, Marsh had become a Fulham player and was set to make his second debut for the club. Best, though, remained in limbo, with the Football League in no hurry to sanction his switch.
Another famous name Bobby Moore was also still in the Fulham ranks, having himself just returned from a summer spell with San Antonio Thunder. The rest of the line-up against Posh was Peter Mellor, John Cutbush, Les Strong, Alan Slough, Ernie Howe, Terry Bullivant, John Evanson, Viv Busby and Les Barrett.
Marsh went very close with a clever late free-kick but was otherwise a bit ring rusty. Barrett gave Fulham a 32nd-minute lead with a cross that dipped beyond Eric Steele only for Bob Doyle to head home a leveller ten minutes into the second half.
A week later at a jam-packed London Road there were several jeers from the home fans as a certain George Best took to the field – the Irishman had at last been given clearance to play for the Whites and had celebrated at the weekend by scoring the winner against Bristol Rovers just 71 seconds into his League debut for Fulham – but, as was his wont, Bestie went on to mesmerise players and supporters alike.
Actually, Marsh was arguably Fulham’s star player on the night, but even he was left open-mouthed five minutes before the break. Best received the ball just outside the penalty area ‘D’ with, apparently, nowhere to go and with the Posh centre-halves deliberating over which of them would clatter the static and still slightly overweight superstar. Instead Best arrogantly flipped the ball into the air and volleyed the ball oh-so-sweetly beyond Steele and into the top corner of the net. The 16,476 present were stunned into total jaw-dropping silence, which, after a second or so, not only transformed into a deafening roar of approval but also a standing ovation.
Fulham’s second wasn’t as spectacular: skipper Alan Slough persevered to make the most of a classy through ball from Marsh and Fulham were into the next round to face Bolton at the Cottage.
And it was Best – naturally – who headed Fulham in front after, would you believe, 71 seconds, winning a race with Bolton keeper Barry Siddall to nod in a long pass from that man Marsh. The Trotters responded with goals from Roy Greaves and Peter Reid only for Slough to set up John Mitchell for a leveller. Another replay!
Before that, though, it was party time as the Best and Marsh roadshow went into overdrive against Hereford United in the League. ‘SHEER MAGIC” ran one newspaper headline as the brilliance of the showmen’s silky skills was matched by their gleaming smiles of unadulterated enjoyment. Even the man in charge, Alan Robinson, had fun – “Easily the best match I have refereed for a long, long time,” he said after goals from Slough, John Evanson and Marsh (2) gave Fulham a memorable 4-1 victory. It was then that things turned a bit murky.
Another referee, Lester Shapter, took centre stage at Southampton, where ‘fun’ was consigned to the back seat on the day that red and yellow cards were introduced. The Saints were worthy winners, if not by 4-1 – a result made that bit easier by the 67th-minute sending off of Best.
Fulham felt hard done by as the hosts netted their second of the afternoon and Shapter seemed all too eager to brandish his pristine red card as the visitors protested they should have had a free-kick. The reason for the dismissal? “Foul and abusive language”, said the ref afterwards; it was a charge that could have been levelled at a clutch of players – something even Saints boss Lawrie McMenemy acknowledged after the game – but only Best was sent on his way.
The phlegmatic Bobby Moore noted: “If every player who did what George Best did had been sent off, there would have been no more than three players left on the pitch by the finish.” It also deflected the glare from a series of tough tackles that went unpunished, including one on Marsh that saw him limp off before the end. Moore’s comment may well have been filed away by the powers-that-be…
The League Cup replay at Burnden Park just days later looked to be going Fulham’s way as goals from Mitchell and Howe gave Fulham a 2-1 lead with the clock ticking down. Extraordinary scenes ensued however as, despite no major stoppages, referee Kevin McNally allowed play to continue well after the 90-minute mark. Mike Walsh netted an equaliser six minutes into added time, and the final whistle wasn’t blown until a further two minutes had been played.
As the teams were milling around before the start of extra time Bobby Moore was shown a red card for querying the ref’s timekeeping, a decision that prompted Alec Stock to call his players off the pitch. With the Fulham contingent back in the dressing-room McNally gave them an ultimatum: “I’m giving you two minutes to get your team back onto the pitch – without Mr Moore. Otherwise you will forfeit the game.”
Fulham’s ten men held out for the remaining 30 minutes and so the tie went to a third game. Alec Stock was unimpressed. “When a fella can’t tell the time it must be the moment for us all to pack in,” he snapped. “It’s a pity this happened, but I feel it was a reaction from Saturday when we had George Best sent off for arguing.
“We have really copped it this week. Yet the club have received a letter from the FA saying that last season we were the best behaved side in the League.”
John Mitchell remains bewildered today. “Even all these years later I remember that as a very bizarre evening,” he says. “The referee seemed to relish the opportunity of sending off Bobby, even though he was only communicating what we all thought – and doing so a lot more politely than some of us would have done!
“They were bruising encounters with Bolton – but, hey, that’s how it was in those days, there was so much more physical contact allowed back then. It was a case of getting on with it, although when someone overstepped the mark you’d expect them to get punished. Bestie’s ankles were in a right state thanks to the treatment he’d received since returning to England, yet he was dismissed for complaining about it.
“I was black and blue,” recalls Fulham’s centre-forward, “and took a blow to my jaw from Sam Allardyce that really hurt. That, and a number of other ‘misdemeanours’ went unpunished. Not that we were angels either, especially by the third game when we were feeling more than a little hard done by.”
Ultimately a wonderful effort from Neil Whatmore settled matters at St Andrews and Bolton went on to reach the semi-finals. Fulham were left to concentrate on the League and the FA Cup – although by the New Year they had to do so without Alec Stock who’d been replaced by coach Bobby Campbell as the influence of chairman-elect Ernie Clay began to take effect.
David Lloyd
David is editor of There's Only One F In Fulham- find out more at
http://www.sportingmemoriesnetwork.com/latest-smn-news/theres-only-one-f-in-fulham/
Memory added on October 23, 2014
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