A full eight weeks after this fixture was first played, Aston Villa finally booked their place in the quarter finals of the inaugural League Cup, scoring five times against their lower league opposition. Villa of course were the competition’s first winners, beating Rotherham United in the final.
The first attempt had ended 3-3 at Villa Park, whilst the first replay at Home Park ended goalless. Thespoiler happily admits it pines for the days of the endless replay, a terrific addition to the cold, winter nights. Police - make it happen!
Coventry City 5 Nottingham Forest 4
28/11/90
Having won the previous two installments of the League Cup, Forest arrived at Highfield Road confident of protecting a 22 match unbeaten run in the competition. Terry Butcher’s Coventry were doing what Coventry always did back then - they were just outside the relegation zone.
Forest had beaten Cov in the 1990 Littlewoods Cup semi, and the Sky Blues came out looking keen to take revenge. Very keen in fact. A Kevin Gallacher hat-trick and a goal from Steve Livingstone (watch out for a dreadful blooper from Stuart Pearce in the build up,) put them 4-0 up after just 35 minutes.
Half-time arrived with the score incredibly at 4-3, after two from Nigel Clough and a scrappy Gary Crosby goal put Forest within distance of forcing a replay. Garry Parker soon made it 4-4 after the break, with a typical Parker screamer. Yet it was to be Coventry who had the last laugh as Livingstone scored again, 25 minutes from time.
Post-match, Brian Clough was as quotable as ever, remarking:
“Fingers crossed, I’m still in work. But blow me, after that defensive performance, our chairman would have every right to think about giving me the sack.”
Arsenal 2 Manchester United 6
28/11/90
Having taken part in a 21 man brawl a month earlier, the tie of the round between Arsenal and Manchester United, promised a real treat. And we weren’t disappointed.
On the greatest ever night of League Cup action (Villa and Middlesbrough also shared five goals in a thriller), a new star was born at Highbury. 19 yr old Lee Sharpe’s hat-trick (including a sublime first) and goals from Blackmore, Hughes and the awesome Danny Wallace (after a wonderful touch from Sharpe,) served notice of the type of football United would spend the next 18 years playing. Within 20 months, they were Champions.
Arsenal would go on to win the league that season, conceding just 18 all season and losing just one under the raised arms of George Graham, yet having disposed of Liverpool in the previous round, United now accounted for the other best team in the land, in the days when the League Cup was still a competition for first XIs.
As well as a breakthrough for Sharpe, that evening’s ITV highlights also proved a breakthrough for Clive Tyldesley, at that time a third choice commentator behind Brian Moore and Alan Parry. But the dramatic nature of events at Highbury meant the nation stayed up to hear Clive call the goals. He too never looked back, and his slight Utd bias to this day perhaps dates back to this match.
United lost in the final that season, whilst Sharpe later revealed in his book that Fergie still gave him the hairdryer treatment in training the next day, for giving an unauthorised post-match interview to the newspapers.
As Spurs fans jauntily swagger down the street, whistling the Champions League theme tune, and Everton supporters sit hunched in their garages considering their very existence, its worth remembering that the Opening Day is often as misleading as a blood substitution in rugby union.
There may be plenty of examples of markers being laid down for the entire season on day one, but Spoiler correspondent Eliot Pollak recalls five matches which prove that even a blind hen pecks the odd bit of corn.
19th August 1995
Aston Villa 3 Manchester United 1
The apotheosis of opening day anomalies. First half goals from Ian Taylor, Mark Draper and Dwight Yorke saw the Holte End bouncing with optimism, while Alan Hansen told the nation later on Match of the Day that Fergie’s summer boot sale of Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis was unlikely to bring success. “You win nothing with kids,” deadpanned Hansen, turning up his nose at Beckham, Scholes, the Neville brothers and Nicky Butt.
By May, United had won the double, and the stunning 25 yard consolation a certain Mr D.Beckham whacked in at Villa Park that afternoon, was soon to be his trademark.
17th August 1996
Coventry City 0 Nottingham Forest 3
Frank Clark certainly wasn’t one of the most charismatic of Premier League managers, but he proved competent, at least until the 1996-97 season. A Kevin Campbell hat-trick and stellar performances from summer signings Dean Saunders and Nikola Jerkan more than accounted for Big Fat Ron’s Coventry City. The Sky Blues were booed from the pitch, and Atkinson’s wisdom in splashing out £3m on the 31-year-old Gary McAllister was cast into question by the following day’s press reports.
Forest ended the season bottom, and even worse, with Harry Bassett in charge. Campbell only scored three more league goals the entire season, whilst Coventry, as always in the 90s, survived on the final day.
7th August 1999
Chelsea 4 Sunderland 0
An unusually early start to the Premiership season,
Can anyone stop the Manchester Utd quintuple? (Er, apart from Inter Milan, that is)
[Video: Eduardo’s incredible side-footed effort against Burnley]
Burnley and Coventry were dismissed from the FA Cup this weekend, meaning this year’s tournament will be an all-Premier League affair.
As is expected, Manchester Utd are favourites to lift the FA Cup for the twelfth time, but Phil Neville believes this will be the Toffees’ year. Is T-Bag right, or will England’s second favourite domestic prize go to someone else? Let us know your thoughts below…
Chelsea draw lower league opposition all the time in the domestic cups but what is their record like away from home against them? This interactive wizard that we have produced with Betfair provides all the answers.
There are fish representing the last twenty lower league teams Chelsea have faced on the road. Can you spot a lucrative betting pattern for tomorrow’s match against Coventry. Is there a time where the first goal is often scored? Which team usually scores first? Click here to find out now.
Bonus Stat: Did you know Chelsea have won just one of their last nine away games against Coventry?
On Tuesday night, Blackburn Rovers were dumped out of the FA Cup by Coventry City, the side who also spanked them 4-1 at Ewood Park in the same competition last year. Striker Jason Roberts has landed himself in hot water after a 17-year-old Sky Blue fan let him know how rubbish his team is. The Sun reports:
Premier League ace Jason Roberts punched a jubilant 17-year-old fan in the face after the lad’s side dumped Blackburn out of the FA Cup, it was claimed yesterday.
Police were called when the striker, 30, allegedly flipped as he boarded his team’s coach home.
Shocked witnesses, including an off-duty cop, said the £3million star vaulted a barrier to belt the jeering Coventry City supporter.
A ‘member of Coventry City staff’ (that’ll be a steward) said the youngster had facial injuries from the shocking incident, but no arrests have been made.
If the mouthy fan wants revenge, he’ll get at least two opportunities next season when the clubs meet in the Championship.
We’re barely ten days into the new season and already the weather is playing havoc with the ability of some of the more sensitive stars to perform their duties satisfactorily. Vidic says it’s too rainy. Savage says its too cold. Now Newcastle’s not-for-much-longer midfielder James Milner has joined the list.
Although he left Coventry’s Ricoh Arena with the Man of the Match champagne in his handbag on Tuesday, Milner wasn’t having anything to do with reporters eager to discover who he might be planning to share it with. Why the silence? Could Milner be another victim of this season’s weather madness?
In Lee Ryder’s Blog on the Tyne in yesterday’s Newcastle Chronicle, he describes a similar episode
Name of the Day: Anyone who saw AFC Wimbledon demolish Bromley in the Blue Square Conference South yesterday will have noticed a feature on a rather unfortunately-named lady player in the matchday programme
Hairless man linked with job because he speaks Portuguese
The BBC are telling us that Coventry assistant manager Steve Kean is being lined up for the number two job at Chelsea. It’s not because of the wealth of experience he has gathered at the likes of Fulham and Real Sociedad, but pretty much just because he can speak Portuguese:
Chelsea are set to open talks with Coventry on a potential offer for Kean’s services, but he told BBC Scotland he was eager to avoid troublesome contractual issues.
“It probably makes sense, because I can speak Portuguese, but I don’t want to say to much without getting anyone into trouble,” added Kean.
In other news, Paul Ince is about to be announced as Blackburn boss because he once did some GCSE coursework on the Industrial Revolution in Lancashire, and Ronaldinho is off to Milan because he finds it easier to pronounce than ‘Manchester City’.
Angry bonus: As The Guardian rightly say, finding footage of Big Phil losing his temper is a bit like falling asleep listening to Coldplay. Check out the last minute of this video for lots of angry finger pointing and mad staring eyes…
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