Your memories of Spurs in finals

[Daisuk]

I thought about this, we really haven't been in many finals since I started following. From memory:

1991 (FA Cup Final) - first Spurs match I remember watching, and the day I usually say was the day I started following Spurs - watched it at home with my cousin and his pal, who were both Spurs-fans.
1999 (League Cup Final) - I was 14 at the time, had been to White Hart Lane for the first time only the week before (1-0 win over Villa, Sherwood goal) - had to cheat out of a game my team was playing that day to watch it (none of the players, nor the coach on my team believed I was sick, as I said I was). Saw it all alone in my parents' living room - ran around the room like madman when we scored the winner.
2001 (League Cup Final) - saw it at the Spurs pub in Oslo (Bohemen), which was absolutely packed to the brim. Great atmosphere. I don't remember much of the game, other than it being a huge disappointment.
2008 (League Cup Final) - saw it in the same pub, one of my fondest Spurs memories. I was so nervous at the end I was lying on the floor with my eyes closed - I cried at the final whistle. So drunk and happy. Loved it.
2009 (League Cup Final) - saw this on at the pub at the square in Prague (was there on a school trip), can't remember the name of it - lots of Yanited fans. I really thought we deserved the win, but we lost on pens. Was so tinkled off after this one. Went to a tattoo parlour to tattoo the crest on my leg afterwards, but it was closed - never got that tattoo in the end.
2015 (League Cup Final) - saw this at the Spurs pub in Oslo (Bohemen), but it never really felt like a game we were in - just remember the day as one big disappointment. Bought some weed off a random dude around the corner from the pub and went home to my place with a pal and had a really nice evening after the game though.
2019 (Champions League Final) - same pub, the build-up was great, nervous, I thought we'd have a real chance - and we did, but I didn't even have time to take a pre-match tinkle before we had conceded the first goal. Another disappointment. Almost punched a scouser on the way out of the pub who had the nerve to laugh in my face. fudging clam.

So that's 3 wins out of 7 (and the first one ... well, it doesn't really count). I think we're due another win on Sunday, to be fair. Have some fudging mercy, football gods, for fudge's sake.

 

[harr1984]

I went to the 2008 one where we beat Chelsea, great day. As a Spurs fan you don’t get enough of these occasions, and I won’t be listening to anyone trying to play it down if we win that it’s only the League Cup etc. Winning a final doesn’t come along often for us in modern football and beating a team as complete as City would be amazing....

 

[Gutter Boy]

I remember 91 very vividly and very fondly. It seemed all fate was against us, but we turned it around so heroically.

99 was slightly mixed feelings because of the George Graham cloud. We were crap (in general and on that day), but it was good to see players like Ginola and Anderton pick up a trophy for us. Check out the recent Quickly Kevin podcast for Vega explaining how he played the whole game with a broken ankle!

01 my only memory is an aged out-of-position Mark Hughes bossing the midfield, particularly embarrassing Tim Sherwood

08 I was very drunk and very jubilant. A bit like 91, it seemed everything was against us, but for once we turned it round

09 and 15 I've pretty much erased from memory and don't remember

19 was a great day, but ultimately ruined by the dodgy handball decision. We'll always have Amsterdam though.

 

[billyiddo]

The first final i remember was the '99 League Cup (no real memory of 91) watched it as a 14 year old in a pub near Wembley with one of my mates, as both of our Dads went to the game, bastards

Weekend in Chepstow for the 2002 (?) League Cup final that we lost v Blackburn under Hoddle - Cardiff was fully booked by Blackburn fans as their semi was played out before ours and no one had expected us to get through having drawn Chelsea. That 5-1 at the Lane was something else and the place was absoloutely rocking. Don't recall much of the final, typical Spurs not turning up type performance iirc - not sure if we were favourites but i think there was an air of expectation among the fans that the trophy was all but ours, my first taste of Spursyness!

 

[treepits]

1987 was my first final, it never occurred to my 10 year old self that we would lose, especially after the first two minutes. My dad still feels guilty for inflicting on me the life of a Spurs fan

 

[Trixster]

I tend to avoid watching as I have a long held belief I jinx the team, but two that stick in my mind are 91 & 08. 99 has an honourable mention as I went crazy when Nielsen got the last minute winner

91 sat in my mates house, him and his family were all Forest fans which made it all the better.
08 sat in the local watching the game and spilled a table full of drinks when Woodgate scored, nearly again when the whistle went lol. Then proceeded into town (Lincoln at the time) and wandered into the usual haunt where I was greeted by several Spurs shirts, one loud shout of "Yiddo's" later and we joined this large group and around an hour later I have no memory of what else happened that evening.

 

[Hotspur75]

Great thread. I still have faint memories of the 87 cup final, but the 91 final got me hooked on Spurs. I attended the 99 League Cup Final at the old Wembley thanks to a friend who had been given tickets by the Dutch FA - fantastic stadium. Thing I remember best is that Ginola had a mare, but unlike most other goals I saw us score live, the Nielsen goal still remains in my memory from the position I first saw it, not from the highlights I've seen since. Stayed the night at Feltham near Heathrow and sung so loud on the way there at 1am/2am that I must have woken up a lot of people who were used to sleeping through the night right below the arriving airplanes. Saw the 02 final in a pub in Amsterdam. Was really hurt after losing, vowed to never go back there only to end up there to see us being trounced by Chelsea 4-0 in a semi not much later. Strange how the defeats leave the deepest memories, because I don't remember where I saw the 08 League Cup final - I think in a different Amsterdam pub, where I also saw the 09 and 15 finals. For the CL final I was in New Jersey, convinced that our luck from the QF and SF would last. Really strange feeling to go outside after the game with the sun still shining. I think it's for that reason that it did not hurt as much. Score: 3 out of 7,5. Not very good is it. This final will be the first one I will see at home. Maybe that helps?

 

[lurker of old]

87 was just pain and misery. In the expectation of victory I got loaded and then went on a massive bender when we lost. Ouch!
That 5-1 at the Lane was something else and the place was absolutely rocking. Don't recall much of the final, typical Spurs not turning up type performance iirc
We were denied a blatant pen (Sheringham I think) which would have equalised, but yes the 5-1 was an absolute joy, WHL at its finest.
2008 - joy again and since then, woe and more woe.....

 

[Bullet]

OK. Hazy memories. I grew up about 20 minutes from Coventry.

My mum made me go to cubs. She thought it was beneficial to young boys somehow.

At cubs we won a competition to sit in a fire engine, as far as I can recall and then within weeks we won some other competition which meant we were invited to the Coventry training ground and were happy to get the autographs of the star Cov players... I vaguely remember shuffling along and getting a piece of paper signed by all of their players and thinking they looked huge and then going home and trying to decipher their signatures with my brother.

Meanwhile, Spurs won the FA Cup in 81 and 82 and won the UEFA in 84 so I was nicely interested by that point and we were a brilliant team in 87; a really top team...so as a very young and naive 13 year old when Spurs fought their way to the FA Cup Final vs Cov, I was very excited and expected an easy win.

My neighbours were Cov fans but I was not worried, I was sure as sure can be, we had all the star players. Ghoddle in his pomp. I was co-cky. Confident. Arrogant.

Oh dear me. Cyril Regis. Bennett. Houchen. Mabbutt. I couldn't believe it. Heartbreak.

Ah well, 3 years later it was Italia90; the tournament started very slowly, lots of 1-0s, then the Belgium eruption from Platt, then I joyously sat and watched Gazza and Waddle and Lineker take on ze Germans and surely it would end in happiness, right?

Then in 91 aged a verrry naive 17... I was sat in the lounge of my childhood home for the semi final against the All Conquering Goons when we got that freekick, I was begging to the football Gods, scarf wrapped around my neck, Spurs shirt on, sure we would lose just like in 87 and 90, then somehow when Gazza took a freekick from 500 yards, BLAMMO! I still don't really understand how we beat the Goons, surely that was not possible? Oh yeah and then there was a final when Des Walker scored for us and Roy Keane cried.

But anyway the next one I remember was Leicester in 99 - I took myself and girlfriend to Wembley environs to soak up the atmosphere, didn't buy a ticket, just wandered about and had a drink and went to a pub near the ground. Somehow the big screen was on the blink and would only show black and white so I watched the whole final about 500 yards from the game but in black and white. So nervous, so sure Martin O'Neill would have worked out some master class to beat us e.g. Savage winding up Edinburgh. Or that Swedish man-marker he utilised to destroy 1 player. As the game drew to a close, as Iversen laboured up the right and pointlessly shot/crossed into the keeper but Allan Nielsen scored the pub ERUPTED and I went insane, very happy days.

Then I remember agreeing to meet my brother in a snooker club in Sutton to watch the Blackburn final - such a disappointment, we had loads of chances but Big Les couldn't do the job, everything went straight at Friedel... and flippin donkey Andy Cole dinking it over someone (Judas? Probably King) and plinking it past the keeper... I couldn't believe it. My Liverpool supporting brother consoled me in the most condescending Liverpool way ever; I shall presumably think about that day when he is lying cold in his grave and I look down on his coffin. 1-0.

Then in 2008 I moved house on February 23rd and suddenly I realised I had to find a pub to watch the final vs Cheatski on the 24th... so I went to the nearest pub which was very quiet and asked them to put the TV on. 3 hours later I was drunk and excited and screaming and insane and literally ran home to continue the party in my front room. I never went back to that pub in case they recognised me. I moved house but I still wonder what they thought of their new neighbour. I mean, my neighbour was a Spurs fan too but he must have thought "Jeez what do we have here?" as I blasted Chas n Dave and danced round the room. What a night. To beat the Billionaire Cheats with Zokora et al. Amazing, still can't really believe we beat the Billionaire Cheats.

Thankfully I don't remember all the of the more recent failures mentioned above, they were just non-events. I remember Son playing left wing back and sliding in to give away a penalty. Just lots of meh and lots of nah and lots of pfffft we never even looked like winning in a million years.

 

[DaveT316]

Great idea for a thread.

1991 - I had my 8th birthday and had friends round to watch the game. I say ‘watch the game’, we were kicking a tennis ball around the lounge more than watching the action. My Mum made cupcakes iced with the initials of each player, Spurs in blue, Forest in red, unsurprisingly.

1999 - One of my first trips to a pub with my sister, her boyfriend and a mate. I was 15, I drank four pints of Carlsberg, I was brickfaced. I remember my sister telling me I screamed so much with Nielsen scored my veins popped out of my temple and everyone stared at me in the pub. It wasn’t a busy pub.

2001 - I don’t remember too much about the game. I think I watched it at home and remember Friedel making a few decent saves and us missing some sitters, Sir Les with a header, his bread and butter, I think.

2008 - I was living with my sister at the time and I remember having an argument about setting up dinner as Woodgate’s header went in, which I missed. It was a great feeling after.

2009 - I barely remember this, where I was or who I was with.

2015 - Down in Streatham at a mate’s and on the beers. I don’t remember too much about the details of the game, apart from the goals.

2019 - What a day this was. I had a mate come up to St Albans and we got some drinks in, walking around the park soaking it all up, pub hopping and getting a takeaway. I had my flags out on my balcony and was set fair for an unforgettable evening. Until 20 seconds in...

Fingers crossed for Sunday. COYS!

 

[nelto]

1971 and 1973 League Cup Finals, I was 9 and 11 respectively, don’t remember an awful lot, at that age – of course we were going to win! And we did.

1972 UEFA Cup – ditto to above

1981 FA Cup – watched both games from the comfort of my living room. Villa!

1982 League Cup Final - First Wembley defeat, I’m still not over it. Didn’t want to lose that record.

1982 FA Cup –Possibly the most boring final in history, I had no doubt that we’d win, just get on with it ffs!

1984 UEFA Cup – Dancing around the living room, before having to go into work on a night shift, not even a celebratory beer.

1987 FA Cup – In the pub with mates, mainly Utd & Liverpool types. Tortured by them, Coventry ffs. How the fudge did we lose that?

1991 – Semi-final. Ok, not a final, but my crowning glory as a Spurs fan. I was fudging there!

1991 – Final. Couldn’t get a ticket. Had to work on the Saturday to boot. I was actually with a client, one nil down. Gazza wrecked, Lineker offside goal, when he wasn’t, Lineker penalty miss, then the magical moment from Stewart, followed by Des Walker. There was a TV on in the background, I had to apologise and excuse myself. Got a bit peace to watch extra time.

1999 League Cup Final – job done. Savage you clam. I was at Wales v Northern Ireland in 2004 when Savage got sent off. How I celebrated. His first sending off, which put him out of the England match, he cried and I laughed!

2002 League Cup Final – little or no memory. WTF? Dunno why?

2008 League Cup Final – living room with a well-stocked beer fridge, with my mate and now fellow season ticket holder. Went to grab another beer in extra time – gone! Big fudger sheepishly announced that he’d been “power drinking!” due to nerves. Think we finished off on wine to celebrate.

2009 League Cup Final – meh…

2015 League Cup Final. I had enough loyalty points to get to this one. Never held out much hope tbh. and it turned out that way.

2019 CL Final – Went to the Lane. Met @paxtonwolf. Got absolutely tinkled after the writing was on the wall, thanks Moussa. Best part of the night was going down to the Market Place end after the match and having a fudge it all sing song.

2021 League Cup Final - I will be in the living room once more, as a ST holder I should be there, bleedin' COVID. How we will beat City I don't know, but it's a final and a one off, so COYS!!!!!!

 

[glasgowspur]

81 cup final replay was parents night at school to discuss which o levels you would take.
I was a wreck and tried to hurry my dad round it quick style.
After lots of glowing reports, that totally surprised my dad, (and proved to be completely wrong) we came out and looking at me over the roof of the purple marina dad said "So what would you like to do when you leave school, a teacher?"
I just looked at him dumbfounded and thought, do you know me at all!
I just shrugged and said game starts in 20 minutes.

84 eufa cup final I had the house to myself and started off quite calm, by 60 mins I was nervous as hell, et and pens I was a wreck.
When my parents came home about an hour after the game i was sitting eating a massive bowl of cornflakes. Mum could never get over that.
I missed the 91 cup final, it was my grans funeral. Caught glimpses of it on the TV in the bar at the wake.

 

[markysimmo]

1984 UEFA Cup – Watched at home on ITV with my Dad as an 11 year old

1987 FA Cup – Watched every minute of the build up certain we would absolute smash them and Allen would make it to 50 goals, crazy game and spent hours in shock and tears afterwards

1991 – Semi-final - Watched in our local with loads of Arsenal fan mates, a very boozy day

1991 – Final - Got a ticket, went with my Dad, amazing day, can't believe it's 30 years since we've won it, an absolute disgrace in my book

1999 League Cup Final – Got a ticket, went with my Dad and pals, another great day at old Wembley, tube journey back to Liverpool St was awesome the tube was rocking

2002 League Cup Final – Spent £350 each for me and my dad to fly down to Cardiff on the day on a club VIP trip, display was an absolute pile of toss, one off kit was so smart though

2008 League Cup Final – Got a ticket with all of my ST pals, was in the Torch from 10am, very messy day, great build up to an amazing win, mates all went on all night celebrating but I went home as had the worse migraine ever, plus side was sitting on the train home feeling very smug with loads of Chelsea fans

2009 League Cup Final – Got a ticket with my ST pals, really good booze up, felt we were the better team in the game too but lost of penalties, remember Foster being called the penalty kicks hero when he only saved one

2015 League Cup Final - Got my ticket, awesome day, terrible match and journey home experience

2019 CL Final – Got a ticket with my ST pals, flew over for a day trip, biggest mistake ever, my pals have a great 3 days, flight was delayed, transfers took forever meaning I was at the fan park for 30 mins and only saw one of my pals who had flew in from Australia for a whole 10 minutes, tube journey was a brilliant sing off with some Pool fans, walk to the stadium in the heat was a joke, everything else was badly organised and a load of gonad*s

2021 League Cup Final - Watching at home on my own, I fancy come 6.30pm we will be celebrating a famous win !!

 

[Baleforce]

fear, anger, hate, suffering

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

1991 - 12 years old, dad took me and we were sitting about 10 seats along from Chas and bloody Dave, got my programme signed by them, great souvenir. Was an amazing day but I think topped by the semi that year, that is still the best game/event I’ve ever attended.

1999 - we flew out on holiday that morning! Dad took his Sky card with us and we raced to the villa in time to watch it! Terrible game but good result!


2002 - we stayed at Celtic Manor, same as the players by chance! Teddy, Les and a few others were playing cards in to the early hours! Still don’t know how we didn’t win that game, didn’t play great but Les missed a hat-trick of sitters! Felt quite emotional after that one, particularly sad. Think I’d convinced myself we couldn’t lose?

2008 - fantastic result, soo nervous all game, average view, we were quite low down behind the goal. Drinking in the premier inn after the game and Youness Kaboul turns up for some reason!! Quick chat and then he went off to meet the others I think?

2009 - very disappointing, nothing in the game. No stories!

2015 - I don’t remember this, I can’t even remember who we played?

2019 - after much debate I came back to Uk and watched in a boozer in Essex with mates. None of us could get tickets for the match so thought we’d haul up in a local boozer where we’d be guaranteed a good view and could hear the tv and watch it all together.

2021 - lunchtime BBQ and.......

 

[paxtonwolf]

1971 and 1973 League Cup Finals, I was 9 and 11 respectively, don’t remember an awful lot, at that age – of course we were going to win! And we did.

1972 UEFA Cup – ditto to above

1981 FA Cup – watched both games from the comfort of my living room. Villa!

1982 League Cup Final - First Wembley defeat, I’m still not over it. Didn’t want to lose that record.

1982 FA Cup –Possibly the most boring final in history, I had no doubt that we’d win, just get on with it ffs!

1984 UEFA Cup – Dancing around the living room, before having to go into work on a night shift, not even a celebratory beer.

1987 FA Cup – In the pub with mates, mainly Utd & Liverpool types. Tortured by them, Coventry ffs. How the fudge did we lose that?

1991 – Semi-final. Ok, not a final, but my crowning glory as a Spurs fan. I was fudging there!

1991 – Final. Couldn’t get a ticket. Had to work on the Saturday to boot. I was actually with a client, one nil down. Gazza wrecked, Lineker offside goal, when he wasn’t, Lineker pelanty miss, then the magical moment from Stewart, followed by Des Walker. There was a TV on in the background, I had to apologise and excuse myself. Got a bit peace to watch extra time.

1999 League Cup Final – job done. Savage you clam. I was at Wales v Northern Ireland in 2004 when Savage got sent off. How I celebrated. His first sending off, which put him out of the England match, he cried and I laughed!

2002 League Cup Final – little or no memory. WTF? Dunno why?

2008 League Cup Final – living room with a well-stocked beer fridge, with my mate and now fellow season ticket holder. Went to grab another beer in extra time – gone! Big fudger sheepishly announced that he’d been “power drinking!” due to nerves. Think we finished off on wine to celebrate.

2009 League Cup Final – meh…

2015 League Cup Final. I had enough loyalty points to get to this one. Never held out much hope tbh. and it turned out that way.

2019 CL Final – Went to the Lane. Met @paxtonwolf. Got absolutely tinkled after the writing was on the wall, thanks Moussa. Best part of the night was going down to the Market Place end after the match and having a fudge it all sing song.

2021 League Cup Final - I will be in the living room once more, as a ST holder I should be there, bleedin' COVID. How we will beat City I don't know, but it's a final and a one off, so COYS!!!!!!

9 and 11 for the those 2 LC Finals in the 70s. We must be bang on the same age too.

I was so amazed when we bumped into each other in the concourse that night. And impressed how you knew it was me. It was really good to finally meet someone from this forum after all the years I have been on there. Hopefully I get to meet a few more in the coming seasons.

As somebody mentioned (and I have said to a fair few people myself), what an atmosphere it was inside the ground that night....for 30 seconds at least. Saying that as the match went I was convinced we were going to equalise and win it in Extra-Time. The events that led to us reaching the final stretching back to the Group Stages, I was sure our name was on it

 

[parklane1]

Being such a old fart i have seen/been at a lot of finals going back to 62 so i will not bore you with all the stories. One that was a bit different though was out games against City in 81.

I was living in the States at the time and there was no way i could get back to England for the games, i was working at major building company on a new shopping centre in Torrance, California. We watched the first game on a Mexican TV channel which was not really that good to be honest but at least we got to see it. However for the replay it was a actual working day for us and with the time difference we had to be there as we were shooting levels.

There was no radio coverage of the game so here is what we decided to do, i had a mate back in England who would give my Old lady a telephone call at our house every time there was goal scored, she then would phone our works office with the score and they would pass it on to a Mexican worker named Fred ( i kid you not that was his name) and he would then come and let us know the score.

Now the problem was that we were working on the top deck of the building ( 4th floor) and there were no stairways yet put in, we were too high for him to shout so we could hear him so what he had to do was climb up a ladder we had up against the building, what with all the goals that were scored during the game he was pretty knackered by the time the game finished . One of the other English guys up on the top deck with me was a City fan so we had a interesting tinkle taking moments at times.

We actually had a bet on the game of a BIG pack of beer to the winner, the idea was the winner would take it home as a prize but we ended up sitting on the car park and drunk the lot ( got a few of the Yanks and of course Fred for his outstanding ladder climbing tinkled), which was fun but the 50 mile drive home after ( tinkled ) was not.

Happy days.

 

[paxtonwolf]

I will give it a go. Apologies if it is too long a read

1971 League Cup Final
- At that time I had chosen Spurs to be my football team, as Pat Jennings was my Goalkeeping idol, but was more into Rugby League So I not even sure I watched the final

1972 UEFA Cup – Sat at home watching on TV. Still remember that save by SuperPat from Danny Hegan

1973 League Cup Final - Vague memories of this one on the box. With the combover blasting the only goal

1981 FA Cup – 1st game watched at my mates house. Pompey Steve, felt deflated. Was out for the first half of the replay, got home at HT, heckled by my City-supporting parents, so watched the 2nd half in my bedroom. Stamped on the floor when the final whistle went ran downstairs singing. Mum and Dad didnt speak to for 2 days...sore losers!

1982 League Cup Final - What a team this was. Didn't think we could lose this. Damn that Ronnie Whelan. One of few times I have truly thought I might see us win the league

1982 FA Cup – Again, like most of these final. Watched on TV. But games were dull affairs, not surprisingly, the team were on fumes, IIRC at one stage we were on for the lot. So was relieved we at least got something out of the season

1984 UEFA Cup – What a finish. I ran the room like Tony Parks when he made that save

1987 FA Cup – At home again. No nerves on the day. We dont lose FA Cup finals. Ran out to my Dad in the garden bragging we had scored the fastest goal in an FA Cup Final. Quite convinced Clive Allen would get another for the 50. Not sure what wrong after that

1991 – Final. Pre-match I wasnt even worried about this. Thought we were nailed on. Was going out with some girl who knew nothing about footie and she bet me a tenner Forest would win. I took the money off her too. Think that was when it went downhill. Was living on my own back then, the Saturday night out drinking started early that day

1999 League Cup Final – First final as a married man. At the time Mrs PaxtonWolf wasn't a big footie fan (sorted that...) so watched in the spare room and thoroughly enjoyed Mr Savage's exit and the late Neilsen winner

2002 League Cup Final – like many, I have vague memories of this. I did watch it on the box but have appeared to successfully erased the lowlights from my memory

2008 League Cup Final – At home watching on TV with Mrs PW who was now a fully-fledged Spurs fan (I created a monster), gutted we missed out on a first live final by 5 LPs. But both revelled in Woodgate's winner, and Berbatov's penalty (with Zakora's back turned)

2009 League Cup Final – Yay, first live final. What a letdown. Back row of the 3rd tier. Stayed till the end of the shoutout even though we all knew we were never going to win it, as we didnt on penalties back then

2015 League Cup Final. A 2nd live final. Remember being sat on the tube opposite some Chelsea who were convinced they would lose when the team news filtered through. I was still not convinced as, by then, years of mainly disappointment had taught not to be over-confident anymore

2019 CL Final – Drove down to the Lane. Bumped into @nelto Our name was on the trophy surely, after the run to the final. This was it,the night I had been waiting nearly 50 years for. My Spurs to win the big one. As mentioned, even at 1-0 down we would still equalize and go onto win it...surely. Then heartbroken, as Origi wrapped it up. It was a long drive home during the early hours. Proud we had reached the final, still am, but gutted, horribly gutted, we lost to those clams.

2021 LC Final. Glued to the box, like most of us, wondering how we are going to stop City winning it again, but praying we can

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

I've not got great memories of the finals I've been to, most have either been drab or too tense. The only one I think we won comfortably was against Burnley in 62, I probably the most emmotional for me was when we beat City as it was first final I was at without my Dad. I got most joy out of beating Woolwich in the semi final than at and final victory.
Missed 2 finals as we were on holiday, listened of Coventry match on World Service by a pool in Florida and the Anderlecht game in my car on way back from Gatwick got home to see penal ties.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

The three that I've been to :

1982 League Cup Final. Me and my Dad. We were leading until the final few minutes when Ronnie Whelan equalised. He scored again in extra time to win it for Liverpool. My dad, an Irishman, seemed to take it personally that another Irishman had been responsible for our loss. For years and years after he was outraged at that. All a bit of an odd over-reaction as he was a very easy going person normally, but mention that final or Ronnie Whelan and his hackles engaged and ducking for cover for best advised.

1984 UEFA Cup Final. Me and Dad again. What can I say. An unbelievable night. The quality of the game is irrelevant now. There is nothing like winning a trophy on your home ground and I feel so privileged to have witnessed it. I can't even begin to describe the euphoria. The penalty shoot-out was so, so, so tense. I had a yellow and blue striped hat and I literally chewed a hole in it. I still have the hat-with-the-hole. The singing for Danny Thomas was incredible and it brings me out in goose-bumps even thinking of it now.

1987 FA Cup Final. I was a student, studying abroad in France. Applied for a ticket as a member, I remember my mum telling me on the phone I'd got a ticket in the post. Being a poor student I had to travel home by the cheap coach route. My boyfriend at the time was a Chelsea fan (yes, I know, I don't have a good track record in that respect) but fortunately most of his mates were Spurs fans, so I blagged a lift with them to Wembley. Lost in extra time to an unfortunate OG. Back in the pub at home afterwards I recall non-Spurs fans hilariously offering to buy me a Gynn-and- Tonic. (For those unaware, Mickey Gynn was a Coventry player).

Other finals have been watched at home or in the pub. For the CL Final I went to Madrid and watched it in a bar. Without doubt the most expensive 90 minutes of football ever. And the most disappointing. But I'd do it again at the drop of a hat, given the chance.

Edit Forgot to add the 1982 FA Cup final replay v QPR. I recall queuing for hours around the outside of WHL for a ticket. It was my sister's first even Spurs game and I think she only ever went to one after that. II've always felt it was a waste of a ticket that should have gone to a true supporter.