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JOSE HOLEBAS will take his place in Watford’s FA Cup final line-up – but his predecessor at left-back, Wilf Rostron, wasn’t so lucky.
Where Holebas had his soft red card against West Ham rescinded, earning him a reprieve for the biggest occasion of his career, Rostron – captain of the side Graham Taylor led to Wembley in 1984 – was denied the privilege.
Undeservedly sent off in a local derby at Luton three weeks earlier by Roger Milford, Rostron (right, above) was condemned to watching Watford slump to a 2-0 defeat by Everton.
Now 62, and a community worker in his native Sunderland, Rostron is relieved Holebas (right, below) will at least pick up a medal.
“I would have hated to see another Watford player go down the same road as me at the Cup final – it’s no fun,” he said.
“I’m glad he’s off the hook. At least he had the safety net of an appeal. That wasn’t available 35 years ago – if you got sent off, whether or not you deserved it, that was it: You were banned.
“Did I deserve it? No, but I knew, pretty much straight away, what it meant because I remember shouting up the tunnel at the other guy who was sent off with me (Luton defender Paul Elliott), ‘Hey, thanks a lot – I’ll miss the Cup final now.’
“There’s no point in being bitter, but I only got one red card in my career, and it cost me the only chance I ever had of playing at Wembley.
“As a Sunderland boy, the only Cup final I went to was in 1973. I was standing in the Leeds end – I don’t know how that happened.”
Taylor was so incensed by Milford’s parody of justice that he grabbed the official by the throat in the tunnel afterwards.
Later that night, he took his wife Rita to see a Shakespeare play in Stratford-uponAvon but hated every minute – nothing wrong with the acting, but he was so upset by his captain’s cruel fate.
And it was a tough watch from the sidelines for Rostron as Watford’s defence were schooled by Everton’s streetwise forwards.
He said: “I just felt helpless sitting on the sidelines.
“I wished I could have been on the pitch, helping those young lads to settle down.
“But the worst part was that on the day itself, we just didn’t play anywhere near our best. I’ll be watching on TV this time, hoping for the best. City are definitely favourites... but that doesn’t mean Watford can’t win.”
‘I shouted at Paul Elliott in the tunnel: Thanks a lot, I’ll miss the Cup Final now’