McCALL PLOTS WEMBLEY JOY
Bradford City manager desperate to enjoy latest trip to national stadium
STUART McCALL’S Wembley memories include scoring twice in an FA Cup final but it is his very first visit as a teenage fan that he savours the most.
Then an apprentice at Bradford City, he made the 400-mile round trip by bus from his Yorkshire home to join the Tartan Army for the 1981 Home Nations clash with England.
Such devotion was rewarded with a 1-0 victory, John Robertson netting from the spot to leave McCall, born in Leeds but destined to make 40 appearances for Scotland, in dreamland.
“That trip in 1981 is the only good memory I have of Wembley,” laughed the 52-year-old, who will be back at the national stadium this weekend as Bradford take on Millwall in the League One playoff final.
“I was 17 back then and I went down on the bus with my mate. Every time we stopped at a service station, he got an England scarf or hat and I got another Scotland souvenir. A ‘See you, Jimmy’ hat or a wig, things like that. I was decked from head to toe in Tartan, too.
“Scotland-England games were second to none back then. People ask if I was in the Scotland end that day, the whole stadium was Scotland! We took over Wembley every other year back then.
“So to win the match was brilliant, something that will stay with me forever. The funny thing about that day is I was back in my local pub in Leeds at 10pm. The landlord thought I had watched the game on TV and said, ‘Are you taking the mick, coming in dressed like that?’
“I just threw the programme down on the bar and told him I’d been to the match. I had caught the Wallace Arnold bus from Golders Green at 6pm, I had to or I wouldn’t have got home that night.
“What I didn’t realise then is that Robertson penalty would be as good as it would get for me at Wembley.
“I went back a couple of years later for a midweek game and Scotland got beat 2-0. Then, I went twice with Everton as a player – in the Simod Cup and the FA Cup final – but lost them both.
“I also played in Euro 96 when we got beat, as Gazza scored that goal. Then again with Scotland as a coach (in 2013), we lost 3-2 that time.
“Finally, I was also there for the League Cup final (that Bradford lost 5-0 to Swansea that same year).” On hearing this tale of woe, The
Yorkshire Post suggests it might be best if McCall stays away on Saturday for fear of jinxing City against Millwall.
“You might be right,” is the lighthearted response from the man who scored twice as Everton lost 3-2 to Liverpool in the 1989 Cup final. “No, seriously, maybe this will be my last visit – though, hopefully, not – and the memory will be as good as my first.
“If it is as good as that first memory, we are in for a treat. That first trip with Scotland in 1981 will live with me forever.”
McCall’s return to Wembley as Bradford manager will be a proud moment. The Bantams are ‘his’ club, two spells as a player being followed by two spells as manager. Promotion to the Championship would, in his own words, “mean everything”. It won’t, though, be easy.
Millwall, who beat Bradford in the play-off semi-finals a year ago, stand in the way of the Yorkshire club and a return to the second tier after 13 years away.
The Lions not only have experience of playing at Wembley from just 12 months ago but, after sealing qualification on the final day of the season with a last minute winner, many at The Den believe this is their year.
City, however, also know plenty about the big occasions. Not only were Rory McArdle, James Meredith and Stephen Darby in the side that reached the League Cup and League Two play-off finals in 2013 but Romain Vincelot, Billy Clarke, Jordy Hiwula and Nicky Law have all played at Wembley.
The club’s manager also has his own career to fall back on, even if those Wembley trips with Everton and Scotland did not end too well.
“There are certain memories that stick with you,” he said. “We lost to England in Euro 96 but Scotland played well and we deserved more than we got. Gary McAllister had his penalty saved by (David) Seaman’s elbow, he was diving the other way. Nothing went right for us.
“It was similar in the 3-2 game when I was on the coaching staff with Scotland. It was a decent game but Ricky Lambert got the winner.
“What we have to make sure the players remember on Saturday is that this is an occasion to relish but remain calm. I don’t want them to be over-excited and be gone after 15 minutes.
“Wembley can be funny, in that you do see a bit of tiredness sometimes. Substitutions are key. Lambert showed that by scoring against us with his first touch.”