On the 5th May 1973

Brian Clough, the only man with a decent hair cut but I preferred the cut of Bobby Charlton's Jib

 

We went to Wembley Stadium
Twas on the fifth of May
Nineteen hundred and seventy three
What a ****ing day

We showed them how to drink their beer
We showed them how to sup
We even showed the bastards how
To win the F.A. Cup

 

Dad still angry about that! Went to every home and away game in those days. Never missed any game in 4 seasons but couldn’t get a ticket! Yet his mate, who’d only been to a dozen games that season managed! Happy we won the cup, livid about how ****e the club treated fans with the ballot!

 

Fantastic memories. Family aside, the greatest day of my life.

 

I listened to the semi v arsenal on the radio. Commentary was all arsenal, no credit given to Sunderland. The match was due to be on match of the day but the beeb switched to the other semi. Typical BBC arsenal bias. Arsenal has always been the apple of their eye. I was at the final though and watched Leeds put the ball past Monty. Then was gobsmacked when I realised Monty had actually saved it with a miraculous double save.

 

Was a shame we couldn't of repeated it in 92 or at least won the league cup in 2014.
Typical we win at Wembley under lockdown ffs.
But whatever anyone thinks of that trophy it's certainly nice to break the Wembley hoodoo.
I hope that bodes well soon

 

....yes,what a day! I will never forget the great trip to Wembley....

 

The atmosphere at the Man City game was electric, but that day at Wembley was indescribable. Never heard noise like it.

Our fans treated it like a kid on a day out to a Theme Park. They were determined to enjoy the day no matter what. The performance by the Lads on the pitch was remarkable and every single one of us responded in kind.

A truly magical, unforgettable experience that I hope our younger fans can experience themselves one day.

 

Fantastic memories, the best ever, it could never ever be repeated. The town went mad, and the sporting world had seen nothing like it. Magic.

 

I remember it as -----
We showed them how to chant
And we showed them how to sup
We even showed Newcastle how
To win the FA Cup

 

Well that's bollocks, isn't it . . . . it certainly doesn't sound right ('cos it isn't), having no 'ring' to it and it wouldn't be easy to sing
Your memory's knackered (even more so than mine)

 

That save undoubtedly helped win the cup on the day, but if you watch highlights of City, Luton and Arsenal games you remember that he made many outstanding stops that got us through each round

 

I was there behind the goal , on the day you were under the impression that Leeds were all over us and you went to the very end fearing the worst . Was years later that I watched the full game on Video and it was totally different to what I remembered we were at least their equals and could have have scored more goals , I think it was fear that they were going to score that clouded my thinking . Great day and an excellent result !!!

 

I love threads like this. They just make you smile.

What other memories have you got from the build up, the day and afterwards?

 

The only time an orange ball has been used in a cup final
The first final without royalty present ??
First to win cup without an international in the side
Bobby Kerr the smallest ever captain
Bobby Kerr almost dropping it
Bob Stokoe probably the most unfashionably dressed manager ever !

 

The train journey down at half five in the morning was brilliant.
The sea of red and white as we walked down Wembley Way.
The non-stop singing of our fans.

I was sitting at one of the sides, but the only time I heard the Leeds fans all game was when they thought Lorimer had scored..... Then a huge noise went up at our end, and I discovered later that Monty had saved it. Never saw it live, there was a group of lads sitting in front of us, each holding up a letter spelling Sunderland. They held it up as the cross came in from Reaney, and the next thing I saw, it was a throw in to Leeds.

Jumping into my Dad's arms at full time. Looking around, some people laughing and punching the air, others in tears.

Must have got the tube to Euston, I can't remember, but when we got there, the noise from our Fans in Euston Station will live with me til my dying day. It was deafening! Rattles were popular at the time and they were going off all the time too.

Truly a day that dreams are made of.

 

I was also behind the goal, there was ten of us hired a mini bus and drove through the night, the atmosphere was fantastic all day, I never really thought we would get beat, surely they wouldn't let all those fans down?
Was stood next to an old guy who turned away from the pitch with half an hour to go ,he just couldn't watch the match, kept saying what's happening over and over.
Drifting away after the game, I was with two of my brother's but not together during the match we came across a Rolls Royce in the car park with the boot open and four blokes having a drink and picnic, turned out they were directors from Bolton Wanderers and insisted on giving us a good drink and some grub, they were so pleased we'd won, never forget that day, we stopped off the M1 somewhere and found a pub in Leicestershire I think to watch match of the day in the bar when a coach load of Leeds fans turned up with the same idea and we thought there would be bother but far from it in fact the licensee had to ask us all to leave as he wanted to go to bed.
People say it was the greatest day of their lives and it certainly was for me, I was 24 at the time and the wife was pregnant with our first, she's not into football but thought she might have the baby that day watching the match back home.
Just pleased to have had that experience watching the lads and hope there are better times ahead under our new owner.

 

We had relations who lived at Harlow in Essex who kindly let us stay with them , I can’t recall exactly how many people actually stayed with them but in the end the house resembled a well populated squat . Fish and chip suppers were the order of the day on the Friday night followed by a visit to the Garden Tiger Pub , needless to say the regulars were all converted in to SAFC supporters for the weekend . After closing it was back to our aunt and uncles and our shaky down beds ready for the big day at Wembley . Their neighbours had got in to the spirit of things with red and white bunting , rosettes, balloons , decorating their houses which was lovely along with best wishes for the match . On our return from the match we were afforded a heroes welcome , that night was curry night then a return to our adopted local The Garden Tiger where a few drinks was the order of the day . Back up the road on the Sunday - But what a Weekend and what memories !!!

 

I envy every single one of you lucky buggers that were at Wembley on that wonderful day, not in a spiteful way but as a fan who would have loved it as much as you did. I've got some great memories of the Lads but you lot have the best of them all.

Thanks for sharing your stories, I never tire of hearing them.

Was great hearing 'Ha Way the Lads, Ha Way the Lads, Ha Way the Lads, Ha Way' sang at the right tempo lol.