Blast from the past
13th May 2006 – Gnarls Barkley was number one with ‘Crazy’ and I, along with thousands of others, was on my way to a pretty mad game of football. For this ‘blast from the past’ I thought I’d re-visit my own Cup Final day back in 2006…
The day started at around 6.30am in sunny Bracknell, from where I travelled to Oxford to meet up with a friend from university, a fellow Hammer. From the dreaming spires we took the train to Cardiff – standing room only in a carriage full of Scousers, a sea of red shirts and scarves and a cacophony of laughter. We shared stories of our seasons so far and previous trips to The Millennium Stadium for both sides – the time flew by.
Before long we were in a pub near the stadium singing ‘Bubbles’, a converted theatre where the acoustics made the famous old ditty sound that bit extra special – the whole day, the whole experience was just that, a bit extra special. The previous time the Hammers had reached the FA Cup Final, I was still three years away from being born. For any Hammer currently under the age of 40, 2006 is the only Hammers Cup Final we have any memory of – we’re not all lucky enough to have seen 1964, 1975 and 1980 with Moore, Peters, Hurst, Brooking and Bonds only seen in TV clips rather than in the flesh. The 13th May 2006 was ‘our time’…
Having met up with a few more Hammers to soak up the atmosphere, we headed into the stadium for the third time in three years; we were directly behind the goal in the second row from the back of the upper tier. ‘Abide With Me’, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone and ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’, red and white and claret and blue – a feast for the senses. Team news was positive – Matthew Etherington and Dean Ashton fit enough to start, although neither would last the 90 minutes, let alone the 120. The noise from the 71,140 in the stadium was a cracking crescendo at kick-off – and on 21 minutes, one end of the stadium erupted. Deano found himself in space and played a delightful ball in behind the Liverpool backline for loanee right-back Lionel Scaloni to run onto. The Argentine’s cross for the lurking Marlon Harewood was intercepted at the near post by Jamie Carragher, the Liverpool centre-half only succeeding in diverting the ball into his own net.
Seven minutes later, we really were in dreamland – Etherington, my favourite player at the time, jinked his way into a shooting position before firing in a drive which Reina should have held but spilled. Ashton, seizing the moment, darted in to steer the ball into the net. 2-0 up in the Cup Final – a deafening chorus of ‘Ole, ole, ole, ole, Deano, Deano’ rained down from the stands. This was ‘our time’…
The Reds halved the deficit within four minutes – Steven Gerrard pinged a ball over the heads of Danny Gabbidon and Anton Ferdinand, the West Ham centre-halves who had enjoyed such a fine season. Djibril Cisse expertly volleyed beyond Shaka Hislop – “what a Cup Final we’ve got here now” exclaimed John Motson, commentating for the BBC.
Half-time, 2-1 up, but we all remembered Istanbul – the year before, Liverpool had come back from 3-0 down at half-time against AC Milan in the Champions League Final. On 54 minutes, they had their equaliser, Gerrard pouncing on a loose ball from a Peter Crouch knockdown to fire home. But back came the Hammers, Konchesky’s speculative cross finding the far corner of the net past a stranded, grasping, desperate Reina. 3-2 with 64 minutes played – this was ‘our time’…
The next 26 minutes seemed like an eternity – longing for the whistle as our heroes in white battled for every ball, doing us proud with every tackle, every pass, every block. With the 90 minutes in their dying embers, the ball was kicked out by West Ham to allow a Liverpool player treatment. The Reds returned the ball from the throw but Scaloni was put under pressure – instead of shepherding it out for a goal-kick or coaxing a foul, Scaloni whacked it with neither direction nor distance. It fell eventually to John Arne Riise who played a ball forward which was, again, cleared but only as far as Gerrard, 35 yards out. The PA announcer declared there were four minutes of added time – keen to see out every last second and not be left aimlessly wondering when the whistle would sound, I looked to my watch for a split-second. When I looked back up, the ball was travelling like an exocet into the corner of Hislop’s goal. I hadn’t seen Gerrard’s boot connect with the ball but I saw the net bulge and the red wall behind the goal rise in relief. I slumped in my seat, dejected – the first time I’d sat down since getting out of the car in Oxford all those hours before.
On to extra-time – again the Hammers plucked up their spirits and were the more likely winners. Nigel Reo-Coker helped on Yossi Benayoun’s free-kick, only for Reina to turn the effort onto the inside of the post, the ball rebounding to a struggling Harewood who couldn’t capitalise on the gift. The 125th FA Cup Final went to penalties – Bobby Zamora missed the Hammers’ first but Sami Hyypia saw his effort saved by Hislop, Teddy Sheringham scoring to level the shoot-out. The dream faded when Reina saved from Konchesky and finally died when the Spaniard kept out Ferdinand’s spot-kick, Liverpool winning the shoot-out 3-1.
Unlike many disingenuous losing fans in recent Cup Finals, the majority of the Claret and Blue Army stayed behind to watch the victors lift the Cup. Some of us even joined in a chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – it was that kind of day. Spilling out into the streets, Liverpool fans offered their commiserations, shaking our hands and informing us that, had we had their number eight, the trophy would have been London-bound.
Obviously, ten years on, the result still hurts. But the disappointment is outweighed by a pride in West Ham United that day – we produced an incredible performance that will live long in the memory, not just of our club’s history, but in that of the best club competition in the world. They say no-one remembers the losers – I don’t think that’s true of West Ham in 2006. The day, the game and the experience were all totally magical and the fans and players of Liverpool had a decent part to play in that too. A decade on, however, tonight is the time for us to claim revenge for what should have been in 2006 and maybe make 2016 ‘our time’ instead…
Liverpool: Pepe Reina, Steve Finnan, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, John Arne Riise, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Sissoko, Xabi Alonso (Jan Kromkamp), Harry Kewell (Fernando Morientes), Peter Crouch (Dietmar Hamann), Djibril Cisse.
West Ham United: Shaka Hislop, Lionel Scaloni, Danny Gabbidon, Anton Ferdinand, Paul Konchesky, Yossi Benayoun, Nigel Reo-Coker, Carl Fletcher (Christian Dailly), Matthew Etherington (Teddy Sheringham), Marlon Harewood, Dean Ashton (Bobby Zamora).
Aside from the Final in 2006, West Ham’s remaining FA Cup record against Liverpool is as follows:
1901 – West Ham 0-1 Liverpool (Intermediate round)
1914 – West Ham 1-1 Liverpool (3rd round)
1914 – Liverpool 5-1 West Ham (3rd round replay)
1963 – Liverpool 1-0 West Ham (Quarter-Final)
1976 –West Ham 0-2 Liverpool (3rd round)
Club Connections
Victor Moses and Andy Carroll welcome their former club to the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday. A whole host of players join them in having turned out for both West Ham United and Liverpool, particularly over the last twenty years. These include:
Goalkeepers: Charles Cotton, David James.
Defenders: Rob Jones, David Burrows, Glen Johnson, Paul Konchesky, Neil Ruddock, Thomas Stanley, Rigobert Song, Julian Dicks.
Midfielders: Don Hutchison, Yossi Benayoun, Paul Ince, Ray Houghton, Javier Mascherano, Stewart Downing, Mike Marsh.
Strikers: Craig Bellamy, Titi Camara, Robbie Keane, Neil Mellor, Danny Shone, Tom Bradshaw.
George Kay made 237 league appearances for the Hammers between 1919 and 1926, becoming the first-ever player to play more than 200 matches for the club. Kay was also the West Ham captain in the 1923 FA Cup Final. He went on to manage Liverpool between 1936 and 1951, winning the First Division title in 1947.
With a nod to the final season at the Boleyn Ground, this season’s match previews for home games will focus on one of the more high-profile names to have played for both clubs. Today’s focus falls on an Academy graduate who returned to Upton Park after a spell at Liverpool. Joe Cole was a prodigious young talent who was linked with a £10m move to Manchester United before he’d even made his professional debut. Likened to Paul Gascoigne, Cole made his debut at the age of 17 in January 1999 in a 1-1 FA Cup draw at home against Swansea; his league debut arrived eight days later in a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford. Cole was a key figure in the Hammers’ FA Youth Cup winning team in 1999 and also played his part in the senior team’s InterToto Cup success later that summer. His first goal for the club came in a 3-2 League Cup win at Birmingham in November 1999 while his first league strike came in the 5-4 win over Bradford in February 2000 (clips of both goals below).
Cole scored five goals in 2000/01, including one in the 3-0 win at Coventry and strikes in the 1-1 home draws with Bradford and Coventry. He also notched crucial goals in the 3-1 home win over Derby and 3-0 home victory over Southampton as the under-performing Hammers secured their survival in the top flight the weekend before Harry Redknapp’s departure.
Cole made his England debut in May 2001 and scored his first goal under new Hammers manager Glenn Roeder in the 3-0 FA Cup third round win at Macclesfield in January 2002. The skilful midfielder was part of England’s 2002 World Cup squad and got his 2002/03 campaign off to a flyer, scoring from distance to give the Irons the lead against champions Arsenal only for the Gunners to eventually claim a 2-2 draw at Upton Park. The season was a turbulent one, with Cole one of the few players to emerge with credit from a campaign which would end in relegation. Joey also scored in the 2-1 home defeat to Birmingham, the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, the 3-2 FA Cup third round home win over Nottingham Forest and the 2-2 home draw with Newcastle. He was named captain by Roeder in January 2003 and was voted Hammer of the Year by the club’s supporters at the season’s end.
Cole left West Ham United in the summer of 2003 to sign for Chelsea in a £6.6m deal, having scored 13 goals in 150 appearances for the Hammers. After seven years at Stamford Bridge, Cole joined Roy Hodgson’s Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer of 2010. Cole made his Liverpool debut in August 2010 against Rabotnicki in the Europa League, creating the opening goal for David Ngog in a 2-0 win. His league debut against Arsenal at Anfield lasted just 45 minutes though, as he was sent off for a challenge on Laurent Koscielny. Cole missed a penalty against Trabzonspor in the Europa League third qualifying round first leg but did score his first goal for the club against Steaua Bucharest in a Europa League match at Anfield the following month. He scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in a 2-1 win against Bolton in January 2011 and scored his first and only goal of Kenny Dalglish’s reign in a 5-0 win against Birmingham at Anfield in April.
Cole spent the 2011/12 season on loan at French side Lille but his Anfield career looked more promising after Brendan Rodgers took over – in November 2012, Cole was given a start against BSC Young Boys in the Europa League, providing a cross for Jonjo Shelvey to score the opener and then scoring Liverpool’s second himself in the 2-2 draw. On 9th December 2012, he scored Liverpool’s second at Upton Park as the Reds beat West Ham 3–2.
Joey returned to the Boleyn Ground in early January 2013, signing for Sam Allardyce’s Hammers on a free transfer and set up both goals on his second debut for the club as James Collins scored twice in a 2-2 FA Cup third round draw with Manchester United. He scored in the 1-1 home draw with Q.P.R. and the 3-2 home defeat to Tottenham. He started the 2013/14 season with a bang, notching the Hammers’ first goal of the season in a 2-0 home win over Cardiff in August 2013 before scoring in the 3-0 win over Fulham in November. His final goal for the Hammers came in the 3-3 home draw with West Brom in late December 2013. Cole’s final appearance for West Ham came in the 2-0 defeat at Manchester City in May 2014 and he left the club later that summer after his contract expired and he signed for Aston Villa. Cole had scored five goals in 37 appearances in his second spell in east London, taking his totals for the Hammers to 18 goals in 187 matches. He now plays for Coventry in League One.
Referee
Tuesday’s referee will be Roger East; the Wiltshire-based official has been taking charge of Premier League fixtures since 2012 but has only taken charge of one West Ham match in the top flight, that being the 1-1 home draw with Stoke last April.
Possible line-ups
West Ham United could recall Andy Carroll to the starting XI. Emmanuel Emenike is unavailable having not been registered before the original tie at Anfield, but Angelo Ogbonna and Cheikhou Kouyate could return to the squad. Joey O’Brien could make his first start since the Europa League home match against Astra with Sam Byram cup-tied and James Tomkins injured. Darren Randolph could be given the nod after an impressive performance at Anfield. Alex Song’s place is under threat after an underwhelming performance at Southampton with Pedro Obiang ready to step in.
Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge could claim a place in the starting XI for the trip to Upton Park. Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Joe Gomez, Joe Allen, Jordan Rossiter and Danny Ings are out but Phillipe Coutinho and Divock Origi may make the squad. The winners of this fourth round replay will travel to Blackburn in the next round, with a 2pm kick-off scheduled for Sunday the 21st February.
Possible West Ham United XI: Randolph; O’Brien, Collins, Reid, Cresswell; Obiang, Noble; Moses, Payet, Valencia; Carroll.
Possible Liverpool XI: Mignolet; Flanagan, Toure, Caulker, Smith; Stewart, Lucas; Ibe, Sturridge, Teixeira; Benteke.
Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!