THE CUP FINAL THAT CHANGED MY LIFE AND THE GAME.. FOREVER
TREVOR BROOKING
Phistory.
ICTURES of the game adorn the walls at the home of Sir Trevor Brooking – mementoes of his winning goal in an FA Cup Final that holds a momentous place in football
His clubwest Ham have not won a trophy since that sunny day atwembley in 1980, when Brooking headed in the only goal of a 1-0 victory against favourites Arsenal.
It was the last time, as well, that a Second Division side defied the odds to lift the Cup.
This was also the Cup Final that changed the rules of football; it prompted the introduction of a straight red card for professional fouls when there was overwhelming outrage about an incident in which Arsenal defender Willie Young cynically hacked down 17-year-old Paul Allen as he was running clear on goal for the Hammers.
In several ways, football has never been the same again.
“Yes, it was the defining match of my career,” says Brooking, who won 47 caps for England as one of the most creative footballers of his generation and was knighted for his services to sport as a player and administrator.
“People look back on their careers and 40 years later I can honestly say it was the most meaningful match of my life. It is the game that has lived with me forever.
“Not a week goes by without somebody mentioning it, if you’re in town or in a cab. It’s amazing how many taxi drivers are Arsenal fans.
“It takes them about a minute to talk about it. It’s the usual introduction: ‘It just hit you on the head, didn’t it?’
“It’s sad for me to see that in recent years the FA Cup has been overshadowed by the money in the game and the Premier League. In those days everybody in the country watched the Cup Final.
“There are other matches I remember with England andwest Ham.a lot of people talk about the 1976 European Cupwinners’ Cup semi-final win against Eintracht Frankfurt as my best game – I scored a couple of goals.
“As an occasion, as a moment, though, it’s the Cup Final.as I talk now in my lounge, there are two photos of the match up on the wall. It’s been a part of my life for 40 years.”
They were different days.
West Ham finished only seventh in the Second Division that season, but they were a side boasting six England internationals in their team atwembley – Brooking,alan Devonshire, Stuart ‘Pancho’ Pearson,alvin Martin, Phil Parkes and Frank Lampard (senior).
“Almost everybody thought we would lose as a Second Division side,” says Brooking. “But some of us had played in and won an FA Cup final in 1975 when we beat Fulham and we knew what to expect.
“We didn’t fear anyone, even as a Second Division club. None of us, at any stage, thought we were going to lose that final.we were a confident group.
“We trusted each other.we knew we could beat anyone.
“It was a sunny day, and perhaps that slowed everyone down to my pace!we were able to pass the ball around as we liked to do.we played the ball out from the back.what you saw that day was the fruition of 19 years of Ron Greenwood and John Lyall and their philosophy. By that time Ron was England manager.”
West Ham outclassed their First Division opponents, the reigning Cup holders Arsenal, who had needed four matches to beat Liverpool in the semifinals, winning on a third replay.
“Maybe that tired them out,” says Brooking, who scored in the 13th minute with a rare header, having set up the attack with a trademark shimmy in midfield. I remember getting the ball in midfield for the goal and passing it out to Alan Devonshire on the left flank. Pat
Jennings palmed the cross beyond the far post and then David Cross had a shot blocked. It went to the feet of Pancho and like any striker, he didn’t want to pass.
“He had a shot on goal and luckily for me it wasn’t on target. He dragged it across the face of goal and the ball was coming straight at me.
“If I’d stood still it would have just clipped me on the ear. By just falling back instinctively I was able to use the power of his shot and divert the ball into the net.”
The watching world took a while to know it was Brooking’s goal.thetv
screens flashed up Pearson’s name and it was nearly a minute before replays showed what had actually happened.
Yes, they were different days, and Brooking laughs at the memory.
“The commentator was Brian Moore, he was a lovely fella, and after the game he interviewed me and started by saying; ‘You will forgive me, won’t you?’
“I wondered what he was talking about.and he said; ‘The goal, the goal. I never got you for the goal. I was so embarrassed because it was the Cup Final – and I got caught out.’”
Everybody instantly saw the professional foul incident, and were outraged that Young was only booked.
The furore was heightened because Allen was only 17 and denied a moment of history.
“You’ll never see a more blatant example of a cheap foul saving a goal,” says Brooking.
“There was a massive feeling around football that it must never happen again. It isn’t what you should resort to in a match.
“In those days there were some tough people in the game, Billy Bremner, Tommy Smith, Norman Hunter. I certainly always wore my shin pads, and as an attacking player – I was brought down a few times like that.
“You accepted it more then, perhaps because it happened far more frequently.
“Now, unfortunately, it’s gone the other way and you merely have to blow on somebody and they go down looking for pens and free-kicks.
“That’s a sad reflection on the current game.
“It was good afterwards that everyone agreed it was outrageous and the rules were changed to make it a straight red card offence.”