Source: Daily_Mail
Close encounters of the third kind! Former FA Cup heroes look back...
[LNB] The FA Cup has produced career-defining moments for many of the most famous players in the game's rich history. [LNB]Here we ask a selection of those who took part in memorable third round matches down the years to recall their personal favourites from a competition which comes in for criticism every season but still retains a special place in many footballers' hearts...[LNB] Wembley wahay! Frank Lampard and John Terry lift the FA Cup last season[LNB]Andy Townsend(former Republic of Ireland captain, now a Sportsmail columnist) 1991: Chelsea 1 Oxford United 3Not the most auspicious day for Chelsea, but a memory that makes me roar with laughter even now.We were 3-0 down at half time and we had been given a chasing by Oxford. [LNB]We arrived back in the dressing room and our manager Bobby Campbell had steam comingout of his ears.He tore into each one of us. It was a dressing room full of characters, such as Dennis Wise, Kerry Dixon and Dave Beasant. [LNB]But we got it from the manager and deservedlyso. [LNB]Anyway, halfway through his rant, he paused to take a sip out of a bottle.He thought it was a Lucozade energy drink, but it turned out to have been replaced with White Horse Oils! [LNB]He grabbed his throat and started choking and we all fell about laughing.It was hilarious.The problem was that we were still laughing when the buzzer went off for us to return to the pitch. [LNB]One Chelsea fan shouted at me: 'Oi, you big-nosed ***! What's so funny? We are losing 3-0, you ****!'It didn't look too good, I see that. I hope the fan is reading this and now understands why. [LNB] True blue: Townsend during his Chelsea days[LNB]Harry Redknapp(manager of Tottenham) 1984: Bournemouth 2Manchester United 0 Beating Manchester United is probably still the one for me. We seemed to play them every year when I was at Bournemouth. [LNB]Every time the draw was made it would be United.The thing was we'd played Windsorand Eton in the second round and could have lost. The game had been called off on the Saturday, so they played us under floodlights. [LNB]It was ankle-deep mud and so dark you couldn't see a thing.We scraped a draw and beat them 2-0 at home in the replay. The winnerswere at home to Man United. [LNB]They came down to Bournemouth and they're the FA Cup holders, they've got a team full of internationals.We got a corner after three minutesand I thought: 'Well, at least we've got a corner'. [LNB]Don't ask me what happened. It was one of those days. I don't think they had a shot at goal. We beat them 2-0 and we were never ever in any danger.[LNB] MiltonGraham scored the first and Ian Thompson, who was a schoolteacherfrom Salisbury, got the second. [LNB]We won easy. We were lucky to beat Windsor and Eton. How we beat them, God only knows. Then we turn Manchester United over2-0. It was unreal. [LNB] Milton's magic: Graham scores as Bournemouth beat Manchester United[LNB]Kevin Ratcliffe (captain of the Everton team that won the FA Cup in 1984)2003: Shrewsbury 2 Everton 1 I was manager of Shrewsbury against my old club. We were strugglingin what was then the Third Division and they were doing well under David Moyes in the Premier League. [LNB]I think it's gone down as one of the biggest upsets in the historyof the competition and it was against the club who had given me so many great memories.We'd beaten Stafford Rangers and Barrow in the first and secondrounds so this really was the big one. [LNB]It was unforgettable, but unfortunately that success didn't rub off on us. Chelsea beat us 4-0 at Gay Meadow in the fourth round and we slipped down the table. We finished bottom, were relegated to the Conference and I left. [LNB]Fond memories: FA Cup was magical for Steve Bruce[LNB]Steve Bruce(Sunderland manager) 1984: Everton 0Gillingham 0I got my move from Gillingham to Norwich because of the FA Cup, so I know what a great opportunitythis can be for teams who are considered underdogs.[LNB]I'd just come back from a broken leg when we were drawn against Evertonin '84. We got a draw at Goodison and I played well. [LNB]We took them back to Priestfieldand it was 0-0 in the last few seconds of extra time when Tony Cascarino took the ball round their keeper and fell over! [LNB]Graeme Sharp (a scorer in Everton's 1984 final win over Watford) 1985: Leeds 0Everton 2 I remember it well. Not because it was a great game but because it was the most intimidating atmosphere I ever played in certainly in Britain, and I played at places like Old Trafford and Anfield many times. [LNB]But Elland Road was something different that day.Leeds weren't the best of teams then, in what was the Second Division. But no game was easy there, no matter how they were doing. It was a tough place to go. [LNB]We thought we knew what to expect but this turned out to be something else again. They were up for it against the side who had won the Cup the year before. We were up for it, as we set out on the defence of the trophy. [LNB]We got a penalty which didn't please their crowd, to put it mildly. I scored and they were even angrier when Kevin Sheedy made it 2-0, claiming that Andy Gray fouled their goalkeeper. [LNB]I thought the fans were going to come on the pitch and at the end we were very relieved to get back to the dressing-room.It turned out to be the start of another run to the final and we won the League title and the European Cup Winners'Cup before ManchesterUnited beat us at Wembley to deny us the treble. [LNB]Ian Rush(former Liverpool striker) 1980: Newcastle 0Chester 2 I had some great times in the FA Cup with Liverpool,but scoring Chester'ssecond goal at a packed St James' Park is a memory I'll never forget. [LNB]Newcastle were ridinghigh at the top of the old Second Division and no-one gave us a chance. We went ahead in the first minute, but Newcastle absolutely battered us after that. [LNB]They did everything but score and I was beginning to wonder whether we could possibly hold out when my big chance arrived. [LNB]A left-wing cross from Brynley Jones hit someone and fell at my feet eight yards out. I took one look up and sidefooted it home, at the end where all the Chester fans were. [LNB]There were about 4,000 of them and most had arrived 15 minutes late after their train was delayed. They missed the first goal but not mine. [LNB] Goal machine: Ian Rush enjoyed FA Cup success with Liverpool[LNB]Nigel Martyn (former Leeds goalkeeper)2002: Cardiff 2Leeds 1 This was a horrible reminder of what can happen when you are up near the top of the Premier League and you travel to a team from a lower division who are really up for it.[LNB] I remember Rio Ferdinand gettingdone by one of their players near the corner flag in the opening minutes and thinking: 'That is going to take a big chunk out of us.'[LNB]Let's just say it was definitely a foul. It was a nasty challenge down the back of his Achilles and we lost him for a few weeks after that. [LNB]Mark Viduka put us in front and even after Graham Kavanagh equalised with a great free-kick I still felt we looked safe enough. [LNB]They pinched it near the end, though, and the place went mad. We had to put up with Sam Hammam dancing along the touchline and milking it.[LNB] Jumping for joy: Sam Hammam enjoyed Cardiff's win over Leeds[LNB]Nigel Winterburn (former Arsenal defender)1992: Wrexham 2Arsenal 1 It was my worst memory. We could have been three or four up inside 20 minutes but then everything fell apart. [LNB]We went out to two quality goals - especially the second one when Mickey Thomas rifled a free kick into the top corner and couldn't do anything about it despite the difference in class. [LNB]It is only a short career and a player might only get to the quarter-final two or three times. Others don't even manage that.I stopped playing seven years ago and I still love listening to the FA Cup draw. [LNB]To have won the tournamenttwice is special for me. [LNB] Slip sliding away: Wrexham's Watkin scores past Tony Adams[LNB]Rob Earnshaw (Nottingham Forest striker)2001: Crewe 2Cardiff 1 The FA Cup's not been bad for me and this was the season when Ifinished top scorer with Sylvain Wiltord of Arsenal. [LNB]I scored six goals in the tournament, including one in the third round at Crewe.[LNB]We went out, but I still won the golden boot as nobody overtook me.[LNB] Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson warns his players against inciting Leeds fans We'll play without fear against Manchester United, vows Leeds United boss Simon Grayson A decade on, Luke Chadwick gets a look in as former Manchester United fledgling reinvents himself at MK Dons The White Pele! Peterborough winger George Boyd hopes to earn his Spurs 'Charity of Middlesbrough stars rescued me' - Barrow defender pays tribute to Riverside support ahead of Sunderland clash The club that saved the cup: Buzzing Barrow on the buses as 8,000 head east to Sunderland [LNB]
