1969 FA Cup Final

Match programme cover

Event

1968–69 FA Cup

Manchester City	Leicester City

1	0

Date

26 April 1969

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Man of the Match

Allan Clarke (Leicester City)

Referee

George McCabe (South Yorkshire)

Attendance

100,000

The 1969 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1968–69 staging of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup. The match was contested between Leicester City and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday 26 April 1969. This was the first FA Cup final since 1951 to take place in the month of April. Three-time winners Manchester City were appearing in their seventh final, whereas Leicester City were seeking to win the competition for the first time, having lost three previous finals.

Each team won six ties to reach the final, and overcame one of the 1968 finalists (West Bromwich Albion and Everton) at the semi-final stage. As Manchester City were reigning league champions and Leicester City were battling to avoid relegation, the Manchester club were strong favourites. The match finished 1–0 to Manchester City. The goal came in the 24th minute, scored by Neil Young.^[1] The victory was Manchester City's fourth FA Cup win.

Route to the final

**Leicester City**
Round	Opposition	Score
3rd	Barnsley (a)	1–1
3rd	Barnsley (h)	2–1
4th	Millwall (a)	1–0
5th	Liverpool (h)	0–0
5th	Liverpool (a)	1–0
6th	Mansfield Town (a)	1–0
Semi-final	West Bromwich Albion (n)	1–0

As both Leicester City and Manchester City were First Division clubs, they entered the competition in the third round.

Leicester City started their cup run against Barnsley, but required a replay to overcome their Third Division opponents 2–1. The first Leicester goal was controversial, as the referee overruled his linesman, who had flagged for a foul. Barnsley equalised with a penalty, but Leicester quickly retook the lead. Later in the second half Leicester claimed a third goal, but the referee adjudged that the ball had not crossed the line.^[2] A 1–0 win at Millwall followed.

In the fifth round, Leicester City faced Liverpool. The match was postponed six times before it eventually took place on 1 March.^[3] A 0–0 draw meant a replay at Anfield. Andy Lochhead gave the Foxes the lead on 34 minutes. Five minutes later McArthurs's handball gave Liverpool a penalty, but Peter Shilton saved Tommy Smith's spot-kick. Liverpool attacked for much of the second half, but Leicester held out to win 1–0.^[4] The quarter final saw a trip to Mansfield Town, who had knocked out clubs from five different divisions. On a pitch described by The Times' Geoffrey Green as "resembling a glutinous swamp", Leicester won 1–0. The goal was a header by Rodney Fern from a Len Glover cross.^[5] The semi-final, played at Hillsborough Stadium, was against cup-holders West Bromwich Albion. In a game of few chances, Allan Clarke scored from an Andy Lochhead knockdown with four minutes remaining.^[6] Leicester City gained their fourth 1–0 win of the competition and reached the final.

**Manchester City**
Round	Opposition	Score
3rd	Luton Town (h)	1–0
4th	Newcastle United (a)	0–0
4th	Newcastle United (h)	2–0
5th	Blackburn Rovers (a)	4–1
6th	Tottenham Hotspur (h)	1–0
Semi-final	Everton (n)	1–0

Manchester City's first tie was against Luton Town of the Third Division, which City won 1–0, Francis Lee the scorer.^[7] In the fourth round, the club were drawn away to Newcastle United, one of only two top-flight clubs with an away draw.^[8] The match finished 0–0, and so was replayed at Maine Road. Manchester City won 2–0, but had to play much of the match with 10 men after Mike Summerbee was sent off.^[9] Like Leicester's fifth round tie, Manchester City's match at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park was delayed multiple times due to poor weather. When it was eventually played Manchester City were comfortable 4–1 winners.^[9] In the sixth round, Manchester City were drawn at home to Tottenham Hotspur. The match was closely contested; in his autobiography, City's Mike Doyle described it as the hardest match of the whole cup run.^[10] As in the third round, City won 1–0 thanks to a Francis Lee goal.^[11]

The semi-final, against Everton, was played at Villa Park. Everton were renowned for their powerful midfield of Ball, Harvey and Kendall, but opted to play more defensively than usual. Manchester City nevertheless paid special attention to this area, and instructed David Connor to man-mark Ball.^[12] Mike Doyle suffered an injury in the first half, and spent 20 minutes off the field. City had the better of the game, but goalscoring chances were missed by Lee and Young.^[13] With little time remaining, Young forced a corner. Young took the corner himself, from which teenager Tommy Booth scored the game's only goal.^[14]

Build-up

Manchester City were appearing in the final for the seventh time. They had won the cup three times previously (in 1904, 1934 and 1956), and had been beaten in the final three times (in 1926, 1933 and 1955). Leicester City were making their fourth cup final appearance, and their third of the decade, having lost on all three previous occasions (in 1949, 1961 and 1963). The clubs had met in the FA Cup in each of the preceding three seasons. In 1966 Manchester City won a fifth round tie 1–0 after a replay, and won again in the third round in 1967.^[15] In the 1967–68 season Leicester finally prevailed. After a 0–0 draw at Maine Road, Leicester City came back from 2–0 down at Filbert Street to win 4–3.^[16]

Manchester City manager Joe Mercer named his team for the final several days in advance. Glyn Pardoe missed training on Monday 21st with a leg injury,^[17] but after the fitness of Pardoe, Tony Coleman and Alan Oakes was tested in a practice match, all three were passed fit.^[18] Leicester City named a 14-man squad before travelling to a training camp in Bisham on the Tuesday.^[18] Manchester City travelled south on the Thursday, staying in Weybridge.^[18] Leicester had fitness doubts over Dave Gibson, Len Glover and John Sjoberg, but initially expected all three to be available for the final.^[17] However, in a practice match against Brentford, Sjoberg had to leave the field with a groin injury.^[19] His place in the team was taken by Alan Woollett.^[20]

Each club received 16,000 tickets for the final from the Football Association.^[21] The match was televised live by the BBC and ITV. Both broadcasters devoted several hours to match build-up, incorporating FA Cup-themed versions of other programmes, such as Cup Final It's a Knockout.^[22]

As the previous season's league champions, Manchester City were strong favourites, particularly as Leicester were embroiled in a struggle to avoid relegation from the First Division. The Times correspondent anticipated that the condition of the pitch would influence the match, stating that "if — as it is said — it is in a good, lush state Manchester will be happy. If, on the other hand, it proves to be heavy, then it could suit Leicester the better."^[20] On the day before the game Joe Mercer criticised the pitch, likening it to a cabbage patch.^[23]

Match

At 21, Leicester's David Nish became the youngest ever captain of a cup finalist.^[24] His opposite number Tony Book became the third oldest at 35.^[20] Book had missed a large part of season through injury,^[25] but upon returning his impact was so great that he shared the award for the 1969 FWA Footballer of the Year.^[20]

As the teams prepared to leave their dressing rooms, Manchester City deliberately delayed their exit by a short period to play on any nerves the Leicester City players may have had.^[26] Manchester City coach Malcolm Allison was not permitted to take his place on the bench, as he was serving a touchline ban. Instead, he had to sit in the stand behind the dugout.^[26] Before kick-off, the players were introduced to the guest of honour, Princess Anne.^[27]

Fears that the contest would be a mismatch proved to be unfounded, with Leicester playing in a more attacking manner than anticipated. The Observer's Hugh McIvanney wrote that "Suggestions that Leicester would attempt to minimise the discrepancy in talents by a concentration on defensive spoiling were exposed as unjust... ...offering the deceptively languid dribbles of Clarke, the thoughtful passes of Roberts and Gibson and the thrustful running of Lochhead as proof that the skills were not all on one side".^[28] Neil Young and Tony Coleman both had early scoring chances for Manchester City, but missed the target. For Leicester City, a dribbling run by Clarke ended in a shot that was saved by Dowd,^[28] and a mishit shot by Len Glover was cleared off the goal-line by a defender.^[29] Manchester City scored midway through the first half. Mike Summerbee crossed the ball from wide on the right, and Young hit a left footed shot high into Peter Shilton's net.^[29] Few further chances occurred in the first half.^[28]

Just after half-time, Leicester City had their strongest scoring chance, when Andy Lochhead received a headed knockdown from Allan Clarke, but Lochhead's shot went high above the goal.^[29] A dominant period by Manchester City then followed, which included a chance for Colin Bell from a free-kick.^[28] Len Glover was forced to move into defence with his team under pressure, but was injured shortly afterward and had to be substituted.^[28] Defender Malcolm Manley came on in his place.^[30]

A poll of journalists named Allan Clarke as man of the match.^[28]

Summary

Manchester City v Leicester City

26 April 1969
15:00 BST

Manchester City	1–0	Leicester City
Young 24'	Report

Wembley, London
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: George McCabe (South Yorkshire)

Manchester City

Leicester City



GK	1	Harry Dowd
RB	2	Tony Book (c)
LB	3	Glyn Pardoe
CB	4	Mike Doyle
CB	5	Tommy Booth
CM	6	Alan Oakes
RW	7	Mike Summerbee
CM	8	Colin Bell
FW	9	Francis Lee
FW	10	Neil Young
LW	11	Tony Coleman
Substitutes:
DF	12	David Connor
Manager:
Joe Mercer



GK	1	Peter Shilton
DF	2	Peter Rodrigues
DF	3	David Nish (c)
MF	4	Bobby Roberts
DF	5	Alan Woollett
DF	6	Graham Cross
MF	7	Rodney Fern
MF	8	Dave Gibson
FW	9	Andy Lochhead
FW	10	Allan Clarke
MF	11	Len Glover	70'
Substitutes:
DF	12	Malcolm Manley	70'
Manager:
Frank O'Farrell

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.
One named substitute.

Post-match

The Manchester City team returned to Manchester the following evening. They travelled by train to Wilmslow, from where they undertook a 13-mile parade in an open-topped bus. 25,000 people lined the route, with a further 3,000 people in Albert Square, where the parade finished.^[31] Three days later, the team paraded the cup in front of their supporters before their match against West Ham United at Maine Road.^[32]

The good conduct of the supporters of both teams was praised in Parliament by MPs Barnett Janner and Tom Boardman.^[33]

Manchester City's cup was their fourth. In winning the trophy, Joe Mercer became the first person to win the league championship and FA Cup as both a captain and a manager.^[29] By winning the competition, Manchester City earned the right to compete in the 1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup. City went on to win the Cup Winners' Cup, beating Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in the final.^[34] Leicester City continued to struggle in their remaining league matches and were relegated to the Second Division. Leicester became only the second club to reach a cup final and suffer relegation in the same season. By coincidence, the other club to have done so was Manchester City, who were subject to the same fate in 1926.^[35]

References

↑ Odgen, Mark (7 January 2011). "Roberto Mancini to lead red-and-black scarf tribute to Manchester City FA Cup hero Neil Young". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
↑ Michael Carey (1969-01-09). "Barnsley's persistence and skill wanes". The Guardian.
↑ Leslie Duxbury (1969-03-02). "Odds are now on Liverpool". The Observer.
↑ Tom German (1969-03-04). "Liverpool's power overcome by Leicester". The Times.
↑ Geoffrey Green (1969-03-10). "Cup win clouded by relegation worry". The Times.
↑ Arthur Hopcraft (1969-03-30). "Clarke gives the killer touch to lucky Leicester". The Observer.
↑ Summerbee, Mike Summerbee: The Autobiography, p. 187.
↑ Geoffrey Green (1969-03-04). "Luck favours big clubs in FA Cup draw". The Times.
1 2 Summerbee, Mike Summerbee: The Autobiography, p. 188.
↑ Doyle, Blue Blood, p. 57.
↑ Summerbee, Mike Summerbee: The Autobiography, pp. 189–90.
↑ Tossell, Big Mal, p. 167.
↑ Geoffrey Green (1969-03-23). "Everton fear defeat too much to win". The Times.
↑ Penney, Blue Heaven, pp. 77–8.
↑ Eric Todd (1969-04-26). "Sparring's over – time for action". The Guardian. p. 16.
↑ Goldstone, Phil; Saffer, David (2005). Manchester City Champions 1967/68. Stroud: Tempus. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7524-3611-1.
1 2 "Squads named for Wembley". The Guardian. 1969-04-22. p. 19.
1 2 3 "Mercer chooses Wembley team". The Times. 1969-04-22. p. 13.
↑ "Sjoberg's injury worries Leicester". The Guardian. 1969-04-24. p. 21.
1 2 3 4 Geoffrey Green (1969-04-26). "Manchester City aim to entertain and win". The Times. p. 12.
↑ "George McCabe, a firm believer in man management". The Guardian. 1969-04-25. p. 22.
↑ Tossell, Big Mal. p. 168.
↑ "Pitch "A cabbage patch"". The Guardian. 1969-04-26. p. 1.
↑ "David Nish". Leicester City FC. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
↑ Geoffrey Green (1969-04-10). "Book travels from building site to Wembley in five years". The Times. p. 12.
1 2 Book, Maine Man, p. 88
↑ Summerbee, Mike Summerbee: The Autobiography, p. 196.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Hugh McIlvanney (1969-04-27). "Manchester prove they are masters". The Observer.
1 2 3 4 Geoffrey Green (1969-04-28). "Manchester City's sights set high". The Times. p. 6.
↑ Pawson, 100 Years of the FA Cup, p. 268.
↑ William Hanley (1969-04-28). "Ebullient welcome for Cup winners". The Guardian. p. 18.
↑ "Pardoe shows his forwards how it's done". The Guardian. 1969-05-01. p. 11.
↑ "Cup crowd praised". The Guardian. 1969-05-02. p. 22.
↑ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 64.
↑ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 63.

Bibliography

Book, Tony; David Clayton (2004). Maine Man. Mainstream publishing. ISBN 1-84018-812-X.
Doyle, Mike; & Clayton, David (2006). Blue Blood: the Mike Doyle Story. Liverpool: Bluecoat. ISBN 1-904438-38-5.
Goldstone, Phil; Saffer, David (2005). Manchester City Champions 1967/68. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-3611-1.
Pawson, Tony (1972). 100 Years of the FA Cup. London: Heinemann. ISBN 0-330-23274-6.
Penney, Ian (1996). Blue Heaven: Manchester City's Greatest Games. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 1-85158-872-8.
Summerbee, Mike (2008). Mike Summerbee: The Autobiography. London: Century. ISBN 978-1-8460-5493-8.
Tossell, David (2008). Big Mal: The High Life and hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-478-8.
Ward, Andrew (1984). The Manchester City Story. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 0-907969-05-4.

External links

FA Cup

Seasons	1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80 1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Finals	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

History Trophy List of finals FA Cup Third-fourth place matches Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Non-league clubs in the 5th Round

1968–69 in English football

« 1967–68

1969–70 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Burnley Chelsea Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Aston Villa Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Bury Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Derby County Fulham Huddersfield Town Hull City Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oxford United Portsmouth Preston North End Sheffield United

Third Division	Barnsley Barrow Bournemouth Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Crewe Alexandra Gillingham Hartlepool United Leyton Orient Luton Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Reading Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Southport Stockport County Swindon Town Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford

Fourth Division	Aldershot Bradford City Bradford Park Avenue Brentford Chester Chesterfield Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Grimsby Town Halifax Town Lincoln City Newport County Notts County Peterborough United Port Vale Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Swansea Town Workington Wrexham York City

Manchester City F.C. matches

FA Cup Finals	1904 1926 1933 1934 1955 1956 1969 1981 2011 2013

League Cup Finals	1970 1974 1976 2014 2016

FA Community Shield	1934 1937 1956 1968 1969 1972 1973 2011 2012 2014

European Cup Winners' Cup Final	1970

Full Members Cup Final	1986

Football League play-off Final	1999 Second Division

Other matches	Manchester United 4–3 Manchester City (2009)

Leicester City F.C. matches

FA Cup Finals	1949 1961 1963 1969

League Cup Finals	1964 1965 1997 1999 2000

FA Community Shields	1971 2016

Football League play-off Finals	1992 Second Division 1993 First Division 1994 First Division 1996 First Division

Other matches	Leicester City 6–6 Arsenal (1930)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.