Chelsea v Bradford - most astonishing FA Cup result EVER ?

[Eeyore]

Good to hear Mourinho talking of shame and embarrassment. Too many managers in the Premier League don't give a damn anymore.

 

[perseus]

What about Hereford v Newcastle - 1972? Recall it was played on a ploughed field and Ray Crawford scored from within his own half (nearly)

Hereford United v Newcastle United was a football match played on 5 February 1972 at Edgar Street, Hereford. The match was an FA Cup Third Round Replay after the first match had resulted in a 2–2 draw. The result, a 2–1 extra time victory for Hereford, is notable for being arguably the greatest shock of all time in the history of the FA Cup. It was the first time a non-league club had beaten a top-flight club in a competitive fixture since Yeovil Town's victory over Sunderland in 1949.

Good enough for number 3, perhaps even number 2 on the list as they won after a replay. They also came from 0-1 down and won in ET. Ronnie Radford was the one with the hero goal to equalise. (wiki)

Todays result has somewhat scuppered Bradford Park Avenue. They were opponents when I first started watching the Albion and we lost. With a new manager at the time, but it was the first season I had seen the Albion when we were not relegated.

 

[Brovion]

I think these things are impossible to quantify, but no mention of Ronnie Radford and Hereford? Non-league sides beating top-tier sides must surely rate higher that third tier-sides winning away at first-tier ones. (After all Oxford did it to us!) Especially true in this era of squad rotation and big clubs not taking the Cup seriously.

That's not decrying Bradford City's result in any way at all and it is indeed one of the great shocks. Given my age I still think the Colchester/Leeds one was bigger. You youngsters have no idea how powerful Leeds were back in the 70s.

EDIT: Apologies to Norman Potting who DID mention it!

 

[Easy 10]

I think these things are impossible to quantify, but no mention of Ronnie Radford and Hereford? Non-league sides beating top-tier sides must surely rate higher that third tier-sides winning away at first-tier ones. (After all Oxford did it to us!) Especially true in this era of squad rotation and big clubs not taking the Cup seriously.

That's not decrying Bradford City's result in any way at all and it is indeed one of the great shocks. Given my age I still think the Colchester/Leeds one was bigger. You youngsters have no idea how powerful Leeds were back in the 70s.

EDIT: Apologies to Norman Potting who DID mention it!

Non-league sides winning against top flight sides at their own little ground is one thing. Third division sides coming back from 2-0 down away from home at not just a top tier side, but a side of Chelsea's calibre who are the top team in the country and likely to go on to be Champions is quite another. You then have to factor in the utterly VAST disparity between the elite clubs these days and everyone else, the gap has never been bigger.

So yes, for my money Bradford's result yesterday eclipses Hereford, Sutton and Colchester.

 

[cheshunt seagull]

Like me you have got confused Crawford scored for Colchester v Leeds Hereford scorers were Ronnie Radford and Ricky George.

1-2 years later Crawford joined the Albion's coaching staff. I remember him bringing the youth team, with Tony Towner, to train on my school's pitches. He gave, a 13 year old who was just watching., the whistle and asked me to referee their 5-a-side practice..seemed like a really nice bloke.

For me Leeds Colchester, was always the biggest shock given Leeds total dominance at the time, but the sequence of the goals at Chelsea yesterday puts that at least on a par.

 

[Razzoo]

Just watched the highlights and grinned like a loon throughout, well done City. Marvellous Scenes.

 

[perseus]

Just watched the highlights and grinned like a loon throughout, well done City. Marvellous Scenes.

The tactics appeared to be in the first half. Give the ball away, let in too ever so simple goals and lure Chelsea into a sense of complacency. We are quite good at giving the ball away.

Chelsea could not be bothered to challenge for the ball, at times.

 

[Return of the Rev]

My fourth Bradford fa cup game this season and what a cracker! Well done to the team and the 6500 fantastic bantams out yesterday! A football high on par with hereford v newcastle!

 

[Bodian]

Non-league sides winning against top flight sides at their own little ground is one thing. Third division sides coming back from 2-0 down away from home at not just a top tier side, but a side of Chelsea's calibre who are the top team in the country and likely to go on to be Champions is quite another. You then have to factor in the utterly VAST disparity between the elite clubs these days and everyone else, the gap has never been bigger.

So yes, for my money Bradford's result yesterday eclipses Hereford, Sutton and Colchester.

I agree to a big degree. Yesterday's result was quite something. But I think it's virtually impossible to factor in the differences in player's attitudes between, say Newcastle in 1972 and Chelsea yesterday. Newcastle losing to Hereford would have been absolutely gutting for them because the Cup then was so important to everyone - Newcastle would have been fighting to win, yet lost. Whereas the cup means so much less now, that I can't imagine the Chelsea team having nightmares about what's happened. And the difference extends itself to the performance - Bradford played excellently, but, as good as it was, the fourth goal should have been snuffed out before he got through - or covered by the bloke loitering on the edge of the box. I bet the Chelsea defence wouldn't have let him through if it had been a league game. And it's that slight lackadaisical attitude that brings about a 'yard off the pace' thing - which makes the crucial difference.

And because we, as fans, also have a different outlook on the cup, I think that yesterday wasn't 'astonishing' as in the OP's question. Unexpected, surprising, and great - yes. But, we're getting used to Premier League teams going out to lower teams now, and although this was more unlikely than most - were we actually 'astonished'?

 

[Brovion]

Non-league sides winning against top flight sides at their own little ground is one thing. Third division sides coming back from 2-0 down away from home at not just a top tier side, but a side of Chelsea's calibre who are the top team in the country and likely to go on to be Champions is quite another. You then have to factor in the utterly VAST disparity between the elite clubs these days and everyone else, the gap has never been bigger.

So yes, for my money Bradford's result yesterday eclipses Hereford, Sutton and Colchester.

I don't disagree - but I don't 100% agree either. Chelsea made what, nine changes from their last match? You can argue that they're all top class players - but I bet that starting eleven hadn't played together as a team that much (if at all) before yesterday. It's a bit like you probably wouldn't back a scratch All-Star eleven (or even the English National side) in a one-off game against a full-strength "know-each-others-game-backwards" Chelsea or Man City.

But like I say these things are impossible to quantify.

 

[dangull]

Also the uefa cup as a prize doesn't really inspire many of the top clubs anymore.

Can't see why the uefa cup is incorporated into the champions league, in a similar fashion to how the inter toto used to operate.
Yes it would increase the qualifying rounds, but the first group stages of the champions league are normally pretty dull.
Always felt cup winners, plus 3rd, 4th and 5th could go into a knockout. With the big hitters coming into the competition later, like rd 3 of the fa cup.

The winners of the Europa league cup gets a champions league spot this year.

 

[Del Fenner]

You lot have forgotten non-league Palace winning away at First Division Newcastle, in the season that they won the Football League.

 

[atfc village]

1986 Top flight Birmingham losing at home to non lge Altrincham is up there and being biased 1987 4th Div Aldershot beating top flight league cup holders Oxford 3 0 .Fair play to Bradford though.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

1991 West Brom 2 Woking 4 must be up there.

Good call,hat-trick man Tim ?? Did'nt WBA sack their manager on that result ?

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Try this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRDH0qV5Jf4

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Did'nt both Blyth Spartans and Telford United knock-out at the time First division Stoke City out of The Cup ?

 

[atfc village]

Good call,hat-trick man Tim ?? Did'nt WBA sack their manager on that result ?

Buzaglo.

 

[atfc village]

Did'nt both Blyth Spartans and Telford United knock-out at the time First division Stoke City out of The Cup ?

Stoke were div 2 when Blyth beat them.