Memorable FA Cup 4th round ties

[Didsbury Dave]

I'm going to nominate QPR away in 1993.

This was a time of optimism amongst city fans. We appeared to have ridden our first fall from grace under Swales in the 1980s, and had a good team built around a spine of coton, Curle, Quinn, white etc, Howard Kendall then Peter Reid had us challenging at the top of the table for once and we were developing a new platt lane stand. We still weren't title material, but the club felt quite stable, our financial troubles seemed to be behind us and the FA Cup represented our best chance of ending our trophy draut. And in those days the fa cup still retained its full traditional magic as money wasn't quite yet the god of football. We took a big following to loftus road and were allocated the terracing and seats behind the goal along with a terrace up the side; probably 6000 or so. Before the game the pubs of the Area were packed with racous city fans. I travelled without a ticket and bought one on the day in the seats up the side, and as the game kicked off it was obvious hundreds of blues had done the same.

The atmosphere was a proper old school, surging on the terraces, huge noise from the city fans. It was a tense, ding dong game and then late on city bagged two, a screamer from David white and a tap in from Michel Vonk. Cue the largely dead fa cup classic song which sent the hairs on the backof your neck up in these situations, when you really believed that your name was on the cup; "we're on the march with Reidy's army,we're all going to wembley". It remains to me the best ever football song. When you start the second rendition with the twin towers in your heart, it was truly special to be following your team.

Qpr bagged a late goal, adding tension to this heady brew, until the final whistle sent us into delirium. We marched out of the ground with a dream in our heart and a return to glory in our minds.

Of course we imploded against spurs in the quarter final to a riot, and this precipitated our second modern day plummet into the doldrums. And when we returned the FA Cup wasnt what it was and in some ways football wasnt either. But for that day, at the end of am era, we were kings.

Apologies, got a bit carried away with the memories there. What's your favourite FA Cup 4th round memory?

 

[DTKOAG]

Norwich 1981 won 6-0.
Reached the final that year with the signings of Gow,Hutchinson,Reeves etc.. Again another false dawn and relegation within 2 years.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Norwich 1981 won 6-0.
Reached the final that year with the signings of Gow,Hutchinson,Reeves etc.. Again another false dawn and relegation within 2 years.

Was in j block for that one, 11 years old. Great time to support city then, just when bond had worked his magic.

 

[DTKOAG]

Norwich 1981 won 6-0.
Reached the final that year with the signings of Gow,Hutchinson,Reeves etc.. Again another false dawn and relegation within 2 years.

Was in j block for that one, 11 years old. Great time to support city then, just when bond had worked his magic.

Remember Bond trying to comfort his son Kevin who was in Norwich's defence that day and falling from Swales seat next to the tunnel..

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

I have to say this was probably my favourite 4th round too.

I was in London visiting some mates that week and my dad managed to sort me out a couple of tickets in the City end at the last minute, which he sent down by courier on the train, which made me feel like Billy Big Bollocks at the time if I'm honest. I picked the tickets up from Euston on the morning of the game, went to an ATM and left the fucking envelope with them in by the machine! Needless to say when I ran back after realising a couple of minutes later, they were gone.

Me and my mate decided to go down to Loftus Road anyway and we managed to get in the City end - along the side. We were right next to the tunnel. I'm pretty certain we were stood up, but I can't be entirely sure. Whilst it wasn't as much fun in there as behind the goal I had a perfect view for White's goal which absolutely flew into the net. I think Vonk's followed pretty soon after. Les Ferdinand, I think it was, scored for QPR very late on, possibly in injury time. I had a storming night out in London after that. It was a truly epic weekend.

Most blues, myself included, thought our name was on the cup that year, a dream which was all too inevitably shattered at the embarrassment that was our Quarter Final against Spurs. I think a little something in most City fans died with that cup run as it finally dawned on us that we were destined to be disappointed in perpetuity, although that prediction, as we all know, was ultimately as wide of the mark as us winning the 1993 FA Cup.

 

[Dodge MCFC]

Was Blackpool away a 4th round tie when we had Paul Moulden playing upfront for us and Blackpool had Paul Stewart ? Anyway proper carnage that day ....... we lost 2-1 , there was a riot and one stand lost most of its roof , as good old City fuck ups go that day was right up there alright !

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Was Blackpool away a 4th round tie when we had Paul Moulden playing upfront for us and Blackpool had Paul Stewart ? Anyway proper carnage that day ....... we lost 2-1 , there was a riot and one stand lost most of its roof , as good old City fuck ups go that day was right up there alright !

Not the same tie to which you refer, but I remember the 1988 FA Cup run included a fourth round tie at Blackpool, which at the time really was a terrible ground. We were losing 1-0 and in the very last minute the mother of all goalmouth scrambles ended with the ball falling to Lakey who shot - the ball hit the post, came out and bounced against a defender and in to the net. The City fans went absolutely mental and I banged my knee against the crush barrier - real mixture of joy and pain.

Good cup run that year.

Edit: just found it on Youtube - it's terrible quality but definitely worth a watch. The goal's from about 3.10.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0AZ5ZII4dU[/youtube]

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Was Blackpool away a 4th round tie when we had Paul Moulden playing upfront for us and Blackpool had Paul Stewart ? Anyway proper carnage that day ....... we lost 2-1 , there was a riot and one stand lost most of its roof , as good old City fuck ups go that day was right up there alright !

Not the same, but I remember the 1988 FA Cup run included a fourth round tie at Blackpool, which at the time really was a terrible ground. We were losing 1-0 and in the very last minute the mother of all goalmouth scrambles ended with the ball falling to Lakey who shot - the ball hit the post, came out and bounced against a defender and in to the net. The City fans went absolutely mental and I banged my knee against the crush barrier - real mixture of joy and pain.

Good cup run that year.

Edit: just found it on Youtube - it's terrible quality but definitely worth a watch. The goal's from about 3.10.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0AZ5ZII4dU[/youtube]

We had 2 or maybe 3 cup ties at Blackpool. The first in the mid 80s was a messy one. City smashed the place up.

 

[Oils]

I'm going to nominate QPR away in 1993.

This was a time of optimism amongst city fans. We appeared to have ridden our first fall from grace under Swales in the 1980s, and had a good team built around a spine of coton, Curle, Quinn, white etc, Howard Kendall then Peter Reid had us challenging at the top of the table for once and we were developing a new platt lane stand. We still weren't title material, but the club felt quite stable, our financial troubles seemed to be behind us and the FA Cup represented our best chance of ending our trophy draut. And in those days the fa cup still retained its full traditional magic as money wasn't quite yet the god of football. We took a big following to loftus road and were allocated the terracing and seats behind the goal along with a terrace up the side; probably 6000 or so. Before the game the pubs of the Area were packed with racous city fans. I travelled without a ticket and bought one on the day in the seats up the side, and as the game kicked off it was obvious hundreds of blues had done the same.

The atmosphere was a proper old school, surging on the terraces, huge noise from the city fans. It was a tense, ding dong game and then late on city bagged two, a screamer from David white and a tap in from Michel Vonk. Cue the largely dead fa cup classic song which sent the hairs on the backof your neck up in these situations, when you really believed that your name was on the cup; "we're on the march with Reidy's army,we're all going to wembley". It remains to me the best ever football song. When you start the second rendition with the twin towers in your heart, it was truly special to be following your team.

Qpr bagged a late goal, adding tension to this heady brew, until the final whistle sent us into delirium. We marched out of the ground with a dream in our heart and a return to glory in our minds.

Of course we imploded against spurs in the quarter final to a riot, and this precipitated our second modern day plummet into the doldrums. And when we returned the FA Cup wasnt what it was and in some ways football wasnt either. But for that day, at the end of am era, we were kings.

Apologies, got a bit carried away with the memories there. What's your favourite FA Cup 4th round memory?

Was talking about this game the other day and how packed the standing was that day...dangerously so! Remember the atmosphere was amazing and White's goal like it was yesterday. Day spoilt only by a brick being thrown thro our coach window just as we left the ground, meaning 2 hours in the pub before it was replaced and numerous piss stops on the way home....happy days

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Was Blackpool away a 4th round tie when we had Paul Moulden playing upfront for us and Blackpool had Paul Stewart ? Anyway proper carnage that day ....... we lost 2-1 , there was a riot and one stand lost most of its roof , as good old City fuck ups go that day was right up there alright !

Not the same, but I remember the 1988 FA Cup run included a fourth round tie at Blackpool, which at the time really was a terrible ground. We were losing 1-0 and in the very last minute the mother of all goalmouth scrambles ended with the ball falling to Lakey who shot - the ball hit the post, came out and bounced against a defender and in to the net. The City fans went absolutely mental and I banged my knee against the crush barrier - real mixture of joy and pain.

Good cup run that year.

Edit: just found it on Youtube - it's terrible quality but definitely worth a watch. The goal's from about 3.10.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0AZ5ZII4dU[/youtube]

We had 2 or maybe 3 cup ties at Blackpool. The first in the mid 80s was a messy one. City smashed the place up.

That we did. I remember the bloke stood in front of me was so pissed he kept singing "we're on the march with Billy's army" even though McNeil hadn't managed us for over a year! Perhaps he'd been drinking non-stop in Blackpool since the previous match!