We Ask, Can Terry Remember That Far Back?
Arsenal 0 West Ham Utd. 1
Wembley (May 1980)
This is memorable as it is the last time we won a trophy, the 1980 F.A. Cup final, one of the biggest day’s in world sport. Since then it has been 30 years of nothingness, although currently high-flying Manchester City has not won anything for 34 years. Kindly, Manchester United, its cross-city rivals, reminds them of this every time they play against one another, with a huge sign stating just this that they drape across the stands. In this game, West Ham was in the old 2nd Division, while Arsenal was—as always, annoyingly—riding high in the 1st. To say that we were the underdogs would be to say that in a military skirmish, Burkina Faso probably would not do too well against the United States. The claret n’ blue was flying proudly in the cool breeze as West Ham attacked after 10 minutes and the ball skidded into the back of the net off the head of legend Trevor Brooking, who my Mum liked, as he has 9 “O” levels (indicative of a good education, something rare among football players, who, after all, are not paid to explain Fermat’s Last Theorem), and who she met once opening a branch of Lipton’s supermarket in Erith, the town in which I grew up. I think that might have been only one of two headers Brooking ever scored. I met him down Nevada Smith’s (3rd Ave. and 11th St.) when West Ham were promoted to the current Premiership four years ago, and he’s a great chap. Back to this game, it was also notable for a blatant foul of the then youngest player ever to play in an F.A. Cup final, Paul Allen, who was on his way to score with just the goalkeeper to beat, when Willie Young callously stuck his foot out and tripped the young lad up. Today, that would have been a straight red dismissal card, but then, no. It was also notable as Arsenal is my brother’s team (how? why?) and he didn’t talk to me for two months. Two glorious months in which I never for a minute let him forget the final score.
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