On This Day – 7th January
The year is 1984 and FA Cup Third Round day. Cup holders Manchester United have been drawn away to Bournemouth, who are struggling in the Third Division. Their manager is former West Ham player Harry Redknapp.
United’s boss Ron Atkinson is without their key defenders Gordon McQueen and Kevin Moran. He did still have big names such as Frank Stapleton and Norman Whiteside in his starting eleven. United had also only lost one away game all season. Things weren’t looking good for Bournemouth and the odds were firmly against them.
But with all the proverbial ‘David against Goliath’ matches in the FA Cup, little attention is paid to the recent form and status of the players. This is because time and again in the FA Cup over the years, the small team have caused an upset and beaten the bigger club.
That was the case on the south coast when goals from Milton Graham and Ian Thompson gave Bournemouth a famous 2-0 win over the Cup holders Manchester United and dumped them out of the FA Cup!
One of the greatest giantkillings in FA Cup history had taken place and Bournemouth manager described it as when interviewed:
“…the greatest day of my life, and I’m sure it’s the greatest day of all the players’ lives”.
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