Iconic Moments in Football No.90
“The Crazy Gang have beaten The Culture Club!” cried John Motson from the television gantry as the referee blew the final whistle of the 1988 FA Cup Final. No one is quite sure about why Motson referred to Liverpool as ‘The Culture Club’, but it certainly made for a memorable quote!
Wimbledon were widely referred to as the Crazy Gang. The players thrived on the nickname, with pranks and clowning around being commonplace around the club. It wasn’t bullying, more character-building and no one was safe from having their clothes cut up or other such shenanigans.
Wimbledon weren’t known a tactical masterminds. They made their way up through the divisions in the 1980’s through route one football. A long punt upfield from the goalkeeper or defender and hope that a striker would get on the end of it and bang the ball in the back of the net. It was ugly, but it worked.
The players at Wimbledon tried to intimidate their rivals. Vinnie Jones would walk into the dressing room before a game with a ghetto-blaster over his shoulder, playing music at top volume. He and his team mates would shout and scream to try and unsettle the opposition in the dressing room next door.
As the teams waited in the tunnel, Wimbledon players would then try further intimidation tactics. Shouting at opponents, threatening them and sometimes staring them down. Anything to try and get the upper hand psychologically.
The aforementioned Vinnie Jones was one of, if not the most feared player in the Wimbledon squad in 1988. He was always getting in to fights on the pitch and was a fearsome tackler. Jones had earmarked Steve McMahon, Liverpool’s tough-tackling midfielder before the 1988 FA Cup Final. He wanted to stamp his authority down early in the game and let McMahon know he meant business and wasn’t in the least bit frightened of him.
In the opening couple of minutes, Liverpool’s Ray Houghton had the ball wide on the right wing. He spotted Steve McMahon in space in the middle of the pitch and played a slow pass along the lush Wembley turf to him.
Vinnie Jones saw this as a great opportunity to get his man. He was fifteen yards away from McMahon at the moment Houghton laid the ball off and had already started sprinting towards his target.
Within a second of taking his first touch of the ball, McMahon was clattered into by Jones, who slid in and sent the Liverpool midfielder up in the air before landing in a heap. Instead of rolling around in pain, McMahon jumped to his feet and said something to Jones before the two players jogged away!
The referee Brian Hill was about ten yards away from the incident. He blew his whistle and ran straight over to Jones and warned him not to repeat the foul. He then indicated a free kick to Liverpool and the game resumed!
Watching the incident now in 2021, it is certain that Jones would have been red carded if it happened in today’s game. He would probably get a lengthy ban to boot, but in 1988 he didn’t even get a booking!
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