England the Cups

The English Cups were interesting, because of the teams reaching the finals stages. Manchester City reached the semi-finals of both the F.A. And the League cups. Woolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United both reached semi-finals, just like they did the previous year, but switched the cups – the Wolves reached the F.A. semi-finals and the Hammers – the League Cup semi-finals. Woolverhampton was eliminated this time – not easily, only after a replay – but West Ham reached a final again. Ipswich Town obviously played strongly on three fronts, for, along with trying to win the English championship and the UEFA Cup, they reached the semi-finals of the F.A. Cup. Liverpool, like the Wolves and the Hammers, reached the semi-finals just like the previous year, but of different cup – the Football League Cup this time and more successfully than the previous year, when, after 4 matches they bowed down to Arsenal – this time they eliminated Manchester City and moved to the final. Where they faced West Ham United – an interesting battle of the best Second Divison club and the top European team, having rather weak season at home. The final at Wembley ended in 1-1 tie and replay followed. The second match was played on fools day – 1st of April – in Birmingham at Villa Park. There was a winner this time – Goddard scored a goal for the Hammers, but Dalglish and Ray Kennedy gave the victory to Liverpool. A small margin, not an easy win, but Liverpool got the English League Cup.

For the record, Liverpool was lucky wearing their second kit. Thompson and Rush do not look happy, but the final was not a walk in the park – the boys are not smiling, but carry the League Cup and what could be better?

The Hammers were unable to win another cup, but they fought bravely, unfortunately losing by a goal. Not bad for a second division team playing against the European champions.

Liverpool added one more trophy to their voluminous collection, but perhaps the most important part of this victory was saving the season – they were not convincing in the championship and so far English mentality valued international success less than domestic one. By winning the English League Cup, Liverpool compensated for losing the championship.

The F.A. Cup final opposed Manchester City to Tottenham Hotspur. One team desperately trying to stay among the top English clubs versus bright up and coming vintage of a honorable club, coming out from recent crisis and eagerly wanting to prove they were really good. So one match was not enough – just like the English League Cup final, this one was tied at 1-1 and a replay was scheduled. Nobody wanted to give up, that was sure. The irony of the original final was that Tommy Hutchinson scored both goals – in his one net, benefiting the Spurs, and then for his own team.

In the replay, there were 5 goals scored and the Spurs prevailed 3-2. The Argentine world champion Ricardo Villa was the hero, scoring twice. If the League Final was a triumph of ‘the establishment’ in a sense, here the new boys pushed aside the old feet.

May be one should be feeling sorry for City – they lost the final, which was the last chance for players at the end of their careers and glorious past: Corrigan, Power, Booth, Hutchinson, Tueart. But their presence was also the reason the Spurs were the more deserving team: Manchester City was plunging into a crisis, failing to rebuild and sticking to veterans for too long: those listed above were still the key players and all of them were one step away from retirement. And behind them was only Phil Boyer… no wonder City lost the cup.

As for Tottenham, a trophy was needed to prove they were back: not just a new team, but a new winning team. By now, only Steve Perryman was the link with the last strong squad the Spurs had – and they had it almost a decade ago. Back again and quite exciting too – Ardiles, Hoddle, Archibald, Villa, to name but a few. They proved their worth. Perhaps strange for an English club of that time, but Tottenham had three foreign players, when permitted to field only two – the Yugoslav Aleksic was perhaps kept on the bench too often for his liking, but his presence in the team was wise decision: Ricardo Villa was not settling all too well in England, was uneven in his performance, and ultimately – on his way out. Aleksic was not just a fancy eternal reserve, but part of the future of rapidly getting stronger squad.

Lastly, the F. A. Charity Shield was contested – it was not as exciting final of finals yet and still statisticians are not including it in the general overviews of English seasons, but it opposed the league champion to the F.A. Cup winners: in theory, the strongest teams of the just finished year. Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur. They produced no winner – the match ended 2-2.

Equal teams should be pictured together – and they were. Both touching the shield, no one having it.