Mick did fall over a lot, it's true. Mainly because he was too fast for the defender. Incidentally, my Clive Thomas autobiography By The Book came through the letterbox today. That was quite quick of ebay. I shall see if I can find out what he says about Stokes' goal.
Wow, 40 minutes long. I shall have to get a cup of tea and bickies for this one. [Pause for 40 minutes] And if anything it was too short. Wonderful. Thanks Saints. That's a keeper.
What a brilliant 40 minutes, even if it has made me cry again. They all come across as genuinely nice guys, especially when talking about Osgood and Stokes with real affection.
Ossie was my first football hero who was not from Saints. When he headed in Chelsea's equaliser against Leeds Utd in the 1970 FA Cup Final Replay, my worship was set, but I'd always liked him as a footballer. He played with a smile and with such skill. When, later in his career, he joined Saints I couldn't believe it. The only time my jaw dropped further was when Kevin Keegan signed, a few years later. I remember telling some of my mates... Peter Osgood has signed for Saints, and their reaction was... Yeah, so what? At least Chelsea supporters know how good he was. Bobby Stokes was the surprise to me in the FA Cup Final. He'd got into the side a few years after I started going to The Dell and I wasn't that impressed, to be honest. He was slight, didn't seem to have much about him, and he was only filling in for better players who were coming back from injury. Then, when Saints dropped into Division Two, he sort of found his level, I felt. Even so, he wasn't a week-in, week-out regular in the side, and it didn't surprise me when Saints were going to sell him to Pompey. So when he surprisingly scored in the 83rd minute that was probably the first emotional connection I'd had with the player. Anything else has come from that. The guys obviously loved him and that's good enough for me, but I have to say that I thought he was a bit of a waste of space in his earlier Saints career, and plenty of other fans thought so too. But he certainly made his mark in history. And he never did learn to drive that Granada.
Brilliant, brilliant stuff, and I also shed the odd tear watching that. It was particularly moving when Hughie Fisher was talking about the realisation of what winning the Cup meant to the fans and people of Southampton. His words "If only we'd known that when we were playing" resonates down the years and applies to many of the players of today, not just of Southampton, but across the leagues. Lovely words also from Tommy Doc and Big Lawrie, indeed from all the players interviewed, especially Pedro Rodrigues, who seems to still maintain his captain's role in the team reunions. Finally, how sad it is that the whole team can't be there tomorrow. Considering how many celebrities have died just in the first few months of this year, I suppose having nearly a complete squad intact after 40 years is something to be thankful for, but there will be two huge gaps in the lineup tomorrow. RIP Stokesy and Ossie
In the photo where the players are all suited & booted, who is that on the bottom row to the right of Jim McCalliog? All I can think of is Gerry O'Brien, but he was surely not in the 76 cup squad.
In all the Saints programmes from his time I believe it's Gerry O'Brien. [confirmed by my copy of ITN]. I know WHU used to have an O'brien. Looks odd. Why the Gerry O'Brien question anyway? Reasonable player. Played wearing a moustache, no less.
Thanks guys, I remember Gerry O'brien and Tommy Jenkinks strutting round various drinking holes in town like a pair of peacocks, didn't think he was anything to do with the cup final team?