More memories of the FA Cup 1991-2008 in Lincolnshire and beyond

Before leaving Boston and returning to Edinburgh on this scene setting journey explaining my fascination with the FA Cup I feel I must widen the net beyond Boston United. Whilst the York Street experience was the main course during our stay in Boston, there were a few tasty side dishes to savour. My son Brian and I would go to the football every Saturday. With Boston United obviously only playing at home on alternate Saturdays this provided opportunities to see some of the other teams in the area play and the FA Cup was always uppermost in our thoughts in planning our fixture list. Between the years 1992 and 2006 we scoured the surrounding area for FA Cup ties if the Pilgrims were away from home. We went to FA Cup qualifying round matches in Spalding, Holbeach, Wisbech, Bourne, Stamford. Lincoln Moorlands, Lincoln United, Grantham, Retford, Worksop, Fakenham, Kings Lynn and Gainsborough. Additionally we saw some cracking later round ties including games at Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Peterborough, Mansfield, Lincoln City and Newcastle United. We were also fortunate enough to see the famous semi final tie in 1997 at Old Trafford when Chesterfield and a Middlesbrough team featuring Juninho, Emerson and Ravanelli drew 3-3. 

               

                       

With Boston United typically exempt until the fourth qualifying round then as the early qualifying rounds were drawn there was always one team that Brian and I would look out for and that was Boston Town. Boston Town are Boston’s second team and play in the United Counties League (UCL) three tiers below the league that Boston United play in. During our time in Boston it was ever thus. Boston United typically attract about 1000 punters to their matches. Town typically attract about 100 spectators to their league games. It was always great to see them play. It was also cheap and you could get a pint at half time but the atmosphere was less intense and obviously the standard of football was not as good. The first time I went to see Boston Town was on Tuesday the 22^nd October 1991 under the floodlights at their Tattershall Road ground.  The attendance was 47 – I know this because I counted them. The opposition for this UCL fixture was Stewarts and Lloyds of Corby then known as Hamlet S & L. 

I had been down in Boston for about a week and I was getting used to hearing Bostonian accents – I was even practising my ‘all right mate’ greeting. So, I was surprised to hear the S & L players cajoling each other and advising each other using Scots accents. I thought I was having some sort of Stirling University flashback, a sort of aural hallucination. The explanation became clear to me a few years later. Corby residents are typically second or third generation Scots whose forefathers came down from Glasgow in the fifties to find work in the town. Many Corby residents have never been to Scotland but speak with Scots accents. In researching this post I looked out the programme from this match and it was of interest to see Boston United legend Chris Cook turning out for Town. He was to return to York Street and play for United for a couple more seasons for an Indian Summer and confirm his legendary status. It was also interesting to be reminded that the programme editor was my good friend Andy Sandall. Andy was one of the good guys in local non league football in the early nineties and once notoriously arranged for the Boston College staff team to take on a Boston Town XI on the hallowed Tattershall Road pitch. I still have the bruises. Andy later, in the mid nineties, invited me to write a ‘Scottish Slant’ column for the match programme. Given that only 100 people watched their games, not everyone bought a programme and that those who did buy probably did not read the whole publication, I had a very small audience. A bit like writing this blog really. However, despite all this one of my warmest feelings at a football match was having a pint in the Social Club at Town’s Tattershall Road ground before a match and noticing a guy reading the page of the programme where my article was housed and a big grin coming over his face as he read one of my comedy-gold football soundbytes.

Brian and I occasionally followed Boston Town away in the FA Cup also and in September 1995 we travelled to see if Town David could topple the Goliath that was Kings Lynn FC of the Beazer Homes League. 

Kings Lynn got good crowds and 1157 turned up to see what promised to be an enthralling tie. The reason that this tie was more memorable than others we attended was that Town had two men sent off in the first 25 minutes of the match and it is enough of a disadvantage trying to take on a team from a couple of divisions higher without giving them a 2 player start. Kings Lynn won 5-1. One of the most fascinating features of the FA Cup is the David and Goliath struggle. I must have watched over 100 FA Cup ties in my 17 years in Boston and saw many such David v Goliath tussles. Other than seeing Boston United fall to a series of lower league teams in the early nineties I never did see a genuinely tiny David fell the mythical giant. Perhaps that particular treat awaits me on the Road to Wembley from Scotland 2016-17.

The Donkin family returned to Midlothian in 2008 and a chance for me to watch Hearts every week and also a chance to find out more about the romance of the Scottish FA Cup.

Boston United and the magic of the FA Cup 1991-2008

So the now 5 strong Donkin family arrive in Boston in October 1991. My wife Anne and I we now have a young family – my wonderful son Brian and two beautiful daughters Joanna and Morag. Given my twin footballing fascinations of the plight of the football underdog and also the FA Cup early rounds then Boston suited me just fine. I was quickly to develop an affection for Boston United who when we arrived were plying their trade in the Nationwide Conference. I was taken aback by the size of the crowds and also the standard of football. As ‘The Pilgrims’ were a non league team I imagined they would be playing a similar standard to teams like Vale of Leithen and Spartans who I had watched on days off from Hearts in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup. The first game I attended at Boston United’s York Street ground was to change my perceptions. On the 19^th October 1991 Boston United entertained Wycombe Wanderers in front of almost 2000 fans. With Martin O’Neil in the away dug out and a thrilling 2-2 draw being played out on the pitch I was hooked immediately. I was in the habit of watching football every Saturday during the football season and having seen the fare on offer at York Street I thought ‘that will do me nicely’.

Over the next 15 years my son Brian and I were to attend 95% of the home games played at York Street. The team experienced some ups and downs in this period and famously appointed Steve Evans (until recently the manager of Leeds United) in 1998. He managed Boston United to promotion from the Southern Football League to the Football Conference in 2000 and subsequently to the Football League in 2002. Both promotions have since been overshadowed by revelations of off-the-field cheating. Evans was suspended by Boston as manager on 4 July 2002 after a much-publicised Football Association (The FA) investigation into "contract irregularities". He later resigned as manager of the club in September 2002, after still being suspended by the club. He was found guilty by The FA in December 2002 of impeding an FA inquiry into contract irregularities. Evans was also suspended from the game for 20 months in January 2003 for involvement of the affairs of Boston, in which players' contracts lodged with the FA contained false salary details. Evans was further accused of impeding the inquiry and fined £8,000. Evans lodged an appeal against charges in May 2003, but The FA rejected his appeal later that month and the punishment stood. In my day-job at Boston College at the time I dealt with Steve in a professional capacity when helping to manage the ‘Football for Life’ scheme – a partnership arrangement between the College and the Football Club. I found him to be a thoroughly objectionable character who, in my opinion, treated our students / his youth players with disdain. In short, I think Steve Evans is a bad man !

Steve Evans on the touchline in typical pose

Steve Evans leaving court and not keen to speak to the press. Club Secretary John Blackwell walks ahead

 Despite the shadow cast over Uniteds’ achievements in this era Brian and I, and many others that we went to the matches with, had some very enjoyable Saturday afternoons at York Street. For a while the group of us from the staff of Boston College who went to the games on a Saturday numbered about 10. These were good times watching football. The routine would be a couple of beers before the match in the BUFC Social Club, watch the match, then retire to the Social Club for a couple more beers and watch the full time scores and reports come through. On the pitch The Pilgrims played some great stuff and it was a real privilege to see local legend Chris Cook (the only man to score for Boston United at Wembley – FA Trophy Final 1985 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1nIbMuF3sg ) in the twilight of his career and also everyone’s favourite player the man who between 1992 and 2004 played over 500 games in goal for Boston United the one and only Paul ‘Baldy’ Bastock. Incredibly Bastock is still playing – for Stamford Town at the age of 46. It would be a wonderful diversion if the Road to Wembley took me to Stamford in this coming season.

Chris Cook - Legend and Old War Horse

Baldy Bastock - Top Man and Great Keeper

   So much fun and so many laughs watching Boston United in that era. One incident sticks in my memory. Once a season the Red Cross would have a ‘blanket collection’ at half time to raise funds. On the occasion in question we had indulged in the pre match libations and about ten of us were in the main stand feeling pretty merry. At half time we did the decent thing and went down from our seats to the front of the stand and threw some change onto the blanket being held at all corners by four members of the Red Cross. One of our group, Kris Dowse, had probably overdone the pre match drinking and was in outrageous mode. Ten minutes into the second half an opposition player suffered a serious injury and could not continue. The same four Red Cross guys ran on with a stretcher and he was put on it. As the stretcher with the prostrate, distraught player was being carried round in front of us in the stand, Kris rushed out of his seat down the steps to the front and then threw an assortment of change over the guy on the stretcher as if the blanket collection was getting a re-run. A cry of ‘there you go mate’ from Kris and a response of ‘what the fuck’ from the player. Ridiculous !

The highlight of each season in Boston for me and my son was watching Boston United’s FA Cup run. We made it our goal to go to every Boston United FA Cup tie home and away and we indeed managed this for our first twelve years in Boston. There was always an excitement when the draw was made, wondering would it be an easy tie would it involve travel. Over the next twelve years the road to Wembley from Boston took us to places like Braintree, Heybridge, Maldon, Bedworth, Chester, Knypersely Ilkeston, Congelton, Burton and Northampton. Additionally some weird and wonderful teams visited York Street to play in this most famous of all cup competitions. Our Boston based FA Cup campaign got off to a relatively slow start as Boston went out early in the cup in each of our first four seasons in Lincolnshire. Minnows Aveley, Canvey Island and Wisbech all left York Street still in the cup with the home team weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth with their FA Cup dreams in tatters for another year. Then in season 1996-97 our prayers were answered when the Pilgrims went on a cup run that saw them win 5 matches score 25 goals and eventually lose to Football League side Chester in North Wales. A match that provided a great day out for me, my laddie and a whole group of us from Boston College. I haven’t checked the records but I think it will be many years since a team that won the FA Cup actually scored 25 goals during their campaign. The following season Boston won away in Kynpersley before losing in round 1 to Ilkeston. By this time I was writing occasional match reports for Ken Fox’s Boston United web site and for the Ilkeston match I had to sadly report racist abuse being hurled at Boston players by Ilkeston ‘fans’ – not nice. I was surprised to see that my report is still on line and can be accessed via  http://www.bufc.drfox.org.uk/N151197.html  

Me and Brian with the FA Cup at the Boston United Social Club 

 The next season Boston lost a horrible match and a massive upset was caused when a team from way down the football pyramid took the scalp of (in non league terms) the mighty Pilgrims. In October 1998 the Bostonians travelled to Congleton in Cheshire in the FA Cup to take on the local team. Boston dominated the first half but could not get the ball in the net. Two minutes into the second half the referee awarded a highly dodgy penalty to the home team and the kicker sent Bastock the wrong way to give Congleton a highly undeserved lead. Boston huffed and puffed without joy and then with ten minutes to go Caretaker Manager Chris Cook threw on the teenage substitute and Boston College student Leigh Taylor. Two minutes to go and Leigh swivelled on the edge of the box and struck a fine fierce shot that hit the underside of the bar. Standing right behind the goal, Brian and I watched in disbelief as the ball bounced down 6 inches in front of the line and then bounced out. Final score Congleton 1 Boston United 0 and Boston out of the cup in circumstances almost as humiliating as England’s loss to Iceland two nights ago. I have often reflected that if Leigh Taylor’s wonderful half-volley had hit the bar half an inch lower it would have bounced down over the line and Boston would have drawn 1-1, taken Congleton back to York Street and thrashed them and Caretaker Manager and Club Legend Chris Cook would almost certainly have been given the job on a permanent basis. Instead Chris was relieved of his temporary duties the following week and the club appointed Steve Evans and the rest is history!

More FA Cup action was enjoyed in the seasons that followed. Visits to Northampton and Macclesfield and home ties against Brigg and Hartlepool were on the agenda for Brian and I - following Boston United in the Cup. My love affair with the FA Cup had been consummated. I hope to prove my lifetime devotion to the greatest cup competition in football between August 2016 and May 2017. Really looking forward to it. 

Late eighties in Edinburgh - Despair at Dens but great times on the terracing

As a football fanatic and a Hearts fan I always think of the years between 1986 and 1991 as the halcyon days. Such great times, such great friendships forged through following Hearts and such exciting times on the pitch.

After a slow start to season 1985-86 Hearts started a long unbeaten run on the 5^th October with an inauspicious 1-1 draw at Tynecastle against Dundee. The run was to last over 30 games and ultimately end in heartbreak and despair missing out on the league title and the Scottish Cup on successive Saturdays in May. In the autumn months I was going to the Hearts games with a variety of people: relatives, workmates, friends and neighbours and by now I was in the habit of never missing a match at Tynecastle. One of the neighbours was Davie Greig, who we had just bought our house from, and after Hearts had beaten Rangers in the Scottish Cup in a 3-2 thriller in January he suggested that I should go to the next round with him and his mates. The 4^th round tie against Hamilton away was postponed due to bad weather and went ahead on a midweek night on the 3^rd March. Davie and I met with his brother Richard, Mike Mellis and Graeme Ogilvie at a pub in the Chesser area of Edinburgh at 5.00 pm. The first time I met these guys – all became good friends and the late Graeme Ogilvie was to become a great pal and is sadly missed by all who knew him. Given my habits while at Uni (see earlier posts) and his job as a policeman we were a strange combination but Graeme was no ordinary policeman. He had the ability to know intuitively what was right and wrong immediately, a great sympathy / empathy for his fellow man and a great sense of fair play – fantastic personality traits for a copper. I think it is fair to say that as well as being a mate I was also in awe of this colossus of a man.

On the night of the 3^rd March 1986 we had 5 pints between 5.00pm and 6.30pm and I was not used to this rate of consumption and was a bit worse for wear even before we got in the car to go to Hamilton. I remember a couple of things about the conversations in the pub. Early on in the dialogue Davie announced that he only hated three types of people; the English, Hibs supporters and Catholics. I told him that I was brought up a catholic, was English and briefly favoured Hibs following the family move up from England. Raucous laughter at the banality of Davie’s pronouncement ensued. The first of many times that laughter rang through the air when the boys were bevvying. The other snippet I remember is that Richard said I would get to know them all a lot better when the kissing and cuddling starts following a Hearts goal. I thought he was joking but as I found out a couple of hours later he was not. I was to enjoy many many man hugs with these guys over the years that followed. Hearts won the match 2-1 with Gary McKay and (inevitably) John Robertson on target. Lots of drink on an empty stomach had resulted in me getting double vision. To bring the game into focus I watched the first half with my left hand over my left eye. This gesture was to be mimicked by my new pals every time the fifth round of drinks was ordered prior to the games that followed. 

That was it. The bond was set. We never missed a game for the rest of that season – home and away. Hearts unbeaten run continued until Hearts lost 2-0 at Dundee on the final day of the league season. Needing only a draw to win the title Hearts were broken by Dundee journeyman Albert Kidd who came on as a second half substitute to score twice in the last 7 minutes. I was distraught but the thing that upset me most is that having scored Kidd celebrated as if he had just scored the winning goal in the cup final. No team outwith the Old Firm has come as near as that to winning the title since. We were distraught. As we left the ground and passed the grassy hill outside the stadium we passed by hundreds of maroon clad fans some weeping, some comforting each other and others just looking blankly into the middle distance with vacant looks on their faces. Had I been transported to this scene without prior notice I would have assumed that there had been some sort of nuclear bomb explosion in the Dens Park area of Dundee. In the car going back to Edinburgh no-one spoke until we reached the Forth Road Bridge. 

Albert Kidd celebrates in sickening fashion

Too much too take

Dens Park 1986 - being awake during a nightmare

Too much to bear

The following Saturday Hearts lost 3-0 to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final and we all went out and got absolutely immortal afterwards. By 11.00 pm the gloom had turned to glee as we started to reflect on the most amazing season in Hearts recent history. It was a great night. ‘Hearts Hearts Glorious Hearts’ rang out in the night air in Gorgie.

During the summer of 1986 Rangers appointed Graeme Souness as player manager of Rangers, Celtic strengthened in response and the face of Scottish football was changed back to the old routine. No provincial team has got as close to the league title since. However we had wonderful times watching Hearts in the five seasons that followed the tumultuous 1985-86 season. Other than a second place finish in season 1987-88 Hearts were placed in mid table but this return to mediocrity did not dampen our enthusiasm as we followed Hearts avidly and the pre match drink flowed like torrents tumbling down Niagra Falls. Great times.

In the summer of 1991 I applied for a job in Boston Lincolnshire and I was successful. My love affair with the FA Cup was about to be re-ignited. 

1979 to 1985 George Best at Hibs and Big Frank Liddell at Hearts !

Season 1979-80 was a great season for me personally. Football dominated my thoughts, morning nooon and night. Like the previous season my Dad and I, in most cases, were going to Hibs home games one week and Hearts home games the next. This was the last season that this was to happen as our differing new allegiances in Scottish football took root. For some time my Dad had been a big Hibs fan and he had started to feel a wee bit of the animosity towards Hearts that is almost obligatory amongst the Hibs following. Similarly I was now fully committed to supporting the Gorgie Boys and was beginning to feel increasingly uncomfortable about attending matches at Easter Road and cheering on Hibs. Almost 40 years later I must be one of only a handful of season ticket holders at Tynecastle who has a soft spot for out great rivals from across the city.

One of the attractions of embarking on the Road to Wembley from Scotland is to take myself (mostly) out of the tribal nature of Scottish football for a season. Most Saturday mornings I play golf with Les Cranston a great pal of mine, a kind and reasonable man with a sympathetic nature -  and a big Hibby. Recently I told him that I bear Hibs no ill will and that when the chant goes up at Tynie ‘stand up if you hate Hibees’ I can be spotted as the one guy in the Gorgie Road stand sitting down. He told me that when the same chant goes up at the other end of the ground with ‘Hibees’ deleted and ‘Jambos’ inserted that he is the one leading the singing!  A timely reminder of the deep held and heartfelt divisions between the two clubs. So season 1979-80 was the season after which me and my Dad went separate ways on a Saturday.

Possibly a contributory factor to this ‘amicabale split’ was that Hibs had a totally wretched season in 1979-80 and finished bottom of the league winning only 6 games, although George Best signing for Hibs and playing in a number of matches brightened up things for everyone (see pic below). In the Scottish Cup Hibs hobbled into the semi final where they were walloped 5-0 by Celtic. 

Meanwhile over at Tynecastle Hearts, following their relegation the previous season, were in the process of wining the Division One Championship to secure promotion back to the Premier Division at the first attempt. The final game of the season saw them thrillingly snatch the title from league leaders Airdrie by defeating them 1-0 at Tynecastle with a powerfully headed goal in the last couple of minutes from Frank Liddell. I was delirious with happiness – an almost religious experience. When Frank Liddell led the team out arms aloft (see pic below) for a lap of honour shortly after the final whistle I wept with joy. Surely this was what football was all about. My Dad applauded in a very matter of fact way and it was clear from this point on he was Hibs property and my heart belonged to Hearts. From this point on when we met up to go to the football it was to see various minor Scottish teams on the Road to Hampden.

From my earliest memory (see the South Bank v Shldon post early in this blog) my Dad had been fascinated by the plight of the minnow in the cup competitions. This fascination has been transmitted through the genes to me. From 1979 to 1985 my old man and I saw some great early round David and Goliath Scottish Cup ties together – taking a break now and then from the Hibs and Hearts devotion. The games between Stenhousmuir and Spartans January 1981, Vale of Leithen and Stranraer February 1982, East Stirling and Fraseburgh January 1984 spring to mind. However, one Scottish Cup game in this era sticks in the memory. On the 8^th December 1984 me, my wife Anne, my Mam and my Dad went up to Stirling for a bit of a day out – a pub lunch followed by some Christmas shopping for the women and an afternoon at the football for the men. All good gender stereo-typical behaviour in the 1980s. The men witnessed Stirling Albion 20 Selkirk 0. I believe this is still a record score for the Scottish Cup in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. When we were walking out the ground and making our way back to the centre of Stirling three old guys all donning the traditional flat cap were walking in front of us. It was clear that the middle of the three was a man who was difficult to impress and liked a good moan. The old guy on his left pleaded ‘come on Tam even you must be happy with that’ and the guy on his right noted ‘Tam, £1 to get in and 20 goals – that’s 5p a goal’. Tam was unimpressed and after a couple more cock-a-hoop and euphoric rejoinders from his pals he finally spoke: “Christ ! It should have been 40 !” . 

The following season I was to attend a Scottish Cup tie between Hamilton Accies and Hearts at Douglas Park. That night was the first time I met Graeme Ogilvie and great times were ahead watching football with Graeme, Davie Greig, Richard Greig and Mike Mellis.  

High times at University but football is the drug

So after my short sojourn to France I now return to setting the scene for my Road to Wembley from Scotland 2016-17.

As we left it I had just started at Stirling University in September 1975. My love of all things football and cup football in particular had wained. I had discovered progressive rock music and cannabis resin and football seemed a bit passé. I have just looked up the Scottish Cup from 1975-76 and although my beloved Hearts reached the final that season, the whole thing passed me by as I spent the whole season in a drug soaked stupor. I am pretty sure that the only football match that I attended that season was the England v Scotland game at Hampden Park in May 1976. That was scary ! At this time I still considered myself to be more English than Scottish and I went to the match with a fellow Stirling University student from Teesside David Hodgson. We kept pretty quiet as there was a lot of anti English sentiment about at that time, but when England opened the scoring we made the mistake of cheering. We soon realised we were the only ones in the Rangers end at Hampden that afternoon who did so. About 20 Police made their way up the terracing through the crowds towards us. I was looking round to see where the trouble was behind us. When they reached us they surrounded us for our own safety. Just like an opposition defence when Will Grigg is on fire I was terrified. I looked straight ahead but I could hear the voices: “c’moan oafficer – yur a fucking Scotsman tae – pit the fuckin boot in!”. Scotland equalised and early in the second half Dalglish famously scored the winning goal by putting the ball through the legs of Ray Clemence. The Police dispersed and the same guys who had been ready to do us in offered us whisky from a hip flask, asked where we were from and kindly showed us what a Scotsman wore underneath his kilt.

Season 1976-77 passed me by in a similar way as the previous season. However, the student lifestyle had caught up with me and I was asked to leave the University in February 1977 having failed all my December exams plus the re-sits and come back in September to repeat my failed semester three. For eight months I worked in temporary jobs in the civil service and enjoyed working and returned to Stirling University ready to do the small amount of study that was needed in the late seventies to pass a University degree course. Working in the real world had also re-kindled my interest in football and although I was still not attending many matches I was following the progress of Hibs and Hearts by reading the sports pages of the Evening News and the Scotsman and then taking part, what I considered to be knowledgeably, in conversations about the beautiful game with my workmates. As part of my new student regime in 1977-78 I was spending more weekends at home rather than on campus with all it’s attendant temptations and started going to football matches again – inevitably with my Dad. At this time we were still going to see both Hibs and Hearts and I was starting to lean towards the Jambos. We did also attend an early round Scottish Cup tie that season. In January 1978 we traveled to the Scottish borders to the village of Innerleithen to see the local non league team Vale of Leithen take on Forfar. Against all the odds the locals won 4-1. I was once again smitten by the romance of the cup and this time the romance was to last a lifetime.

In the summer of 1978 romance of a different type was in the air and I started going out with Anne. We were to be married in June 1979. With Anne living and working in Edinburgh I was spending every weekend in Auld Reekie rather than at Stirling University. My Dad and I had got in to the habit of watching Hibs and Hearts on alternate Saturdays so Saturday afternoons became sacred and you never had to leave Edinburgh to see the match - great. Hearts got relegated that season but I was hooked. Always a supporter of the underdog I loved the hopelessness of their plight as in truth they were down from about February onwards. I also got to know and love the fickleness of the football fan. I recall one Saturday standing in the enclosure at Tynecastle and the hapless Hearts centre forward played a long cross-field pass. As the ball hung in the air it looked as if it was going to fall well short of it’s intended target then it got there partly because the recipient moved smartly towards the ball. The guy beside me hollered “Gibson …. That is fucking ……. (pause) brilliant !!” Despair and devotion within the one short sentence.

In the summer of 1979 my adult life was defined. I was a married man, a graduate, I had a proper job to go to and I was a Hearts supporter …. and the romance of the Cup was back on my agenda.

Will Grigg creates a Bohemian Rhapsody in Paris

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you will know it is established to record the road to the FA Cup final at Wembley in May 2017 from Scotland and the intention is to convert the blog into a book at the end of the season. So, this post will probably not appear in the book. However, as I am writing a blog about football it would be remiss of me not to report on my experiences of the last few days. I am just back from Paris where I had the privilege of watching Northern Ireland play Germany in the Parc Des Princes in Euro 2016 – not the FA Cup I know but Will Grigg did play his first ever senior game of football in the FA Cup - for Stratford Town against Hednesford on September 15^th 2007. More about Will later.

I have a great friend called Derek Poots who hails from Belfast who I know from the old debauched days in Edinburgh in the early 80s. Derek somehow managed to acquire 6 tickets for this match. Derek now lives in Sussex had to call off at short notice so I travelled to Paris to spend two days with four guys who I hardly knew; two of his brothers, his son and his best pal. I had a great time – these guys were great company. The atmosphere in bohemian Paris was superb with the Parisiens welcoming football supporters from all nations. The city was full of people walking around with replica football shirts on greeting each other warmly in the streets, shaking hands and general bonhomie was in the air. The TV news footage of tear gas, water canon and rampant hooliganism that I had seen before flying out was at odds with what I was seeing with my own eyes. For the couple of days I was in Paris Germany, Iceland, Austria and of course Northern Ireland were in town. All were welcomed with the Ulstermen (and women) and the Icelandics getting a particularly warm reception from the locals. The bars were full, the spirits were high and the beer was drunk.

The main story of the match and of the two days however is Will Grigg. Will Grigg is a journeyman footballer who plies his trade as a centre forward for Wigan Athletic in League Two. Before joining Wigan Athletic he played for those giants of English football Walsall, Brentford and MK Dons. His connections to Northern Ireland are not entirely obvious from a quick scan of Google search results. For example, his Wikipedia page reports that he was born and went to school in Solihull in the West Midlands. Other internet sites report that he was born into an Aston Villa supporting family. It appears that Grigg qualifies to play for Northern Ireland through the grandparents rule. His record for his adopted country is not very impressive. He has been used sparingly since making his debut in June 2012 and has amassed only 8 caps scoring only 1 goal in four years. Many reports suggest that he was fortunate to be selected for the Northern Ireland squad for the Euros. To date, after the three group games have been completed, he has yet to make an appearance. He has not been selected for any of the starting line ups and he has not made an appearance as substitute. Yet despite all this he has become the most eulogised and sung-about player in the whole of the Euros. The Northern Irish anthem has become “Will Grigg’s on fire” a song that smacks of eccentric tomfoolery that you just have to love.

Only last month a Wigan Athletic supporter clad in a Wigan replica top and with a tambourine in his hand, turned on his web cam in his bedroom and recorded two very amateurish musical tributes to his hero Will Grigg. The first part of the now famous Youtube clip is an amended rendition of Alicia Keys’ This Girl is on Fire. This effort has not caught fire but his second attempt, a version of the Dance Classic ‘Freed from Desire’, has gone viral. The clip has to be watched (trust me) and has attracted 1.4 million views thus far. It can be found via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUlSmCGj1r8 As you will see the lyrics “Freed from Desire – Mind and Senses Purified” have been replaced by “Will Grigg’s on fire – Your Defence is Terrified” – genius. Now fast forward six weeks and you have the chant being the main song essayed by the Northern Ireland Supporters. This is what I saw on Tuesday evening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQFxKGfHbPs The clip is great and gives a flavour of what it was like to be there but does not fully do the Northern Irish fans justice. This chant was repeated continuously for 9 minutes in the second half of the match – the place was literally bouncing. It goes something like this:

Oooohhhh …..  Oohhhhh ….. OOhhhhh  ….. OOOOOhhhhh

(4 bars accompanied by rhythmic hand clapping)

Will Grigg’s on fire

Your Defence is Terrified

Will Grigg’s on fire

Your Defence is Terrified

Will Grigg’s on fire

Your Defence is Terrified

Will Grigg’s on fire

OOOh (pause)

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

(the na na na’s have to be accompanied by a flailing of the arms in a paddle motion)

Repeat the whole process for several minutes. Please do try this at home – you won’t regret it.

The match was great. Germany played well but could not get the ball in the net more than once. The Ulstermen fought hard and made it difficult for the Germans and the match finished 1-0. When the match was over the Northern Irish fans initially started singing “We’re not going home” as an acknowledgement that a narrow defeat was probably enough for them to qualify for the next round. Then a collective thought seemed to be transmitted round 20000 fans. ‘Perhaps we don’t need to go back to our temporary homes yet’. So they stayed and they sang one song over and over again – yes, you guessed it, Will Griggs on Fire! After 30 minutes the stewards had given up any hope of moving the fans on and started to take selfies with them. Then a moment of unexpected hospitality by the French hosts. They started playing the original ‘Freed by Desire’ over the PA system so that the fans could join in. The karaoke sub titles appeared at the bottom of the screen and someone had helpfully changed the chorus to text to ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire your defence is terrified”. German supporters had walked round to the Irish end and were joining in. We eventually left the ground 45 minutes after the final whistle with thousands still in the ground giving Will the big Up. We visited a few bars before turning in and ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’ was the only song in town. My last memory of Tuesday evening was lying in my bed at about 0130 and hearing 8 Austrians and 5 Germans in the bar over the road singing ‘Vill Griggs on Fire’.

On Saturday Northern Ireland will play Wales in the round of the last sixteen. I can only imagine that maybe the earth will explode if Will Grigg comes on a substitute.

My first experience of cup football in Scotland

So the Donkin family moved to Midlothian in December 1970 and a whole new football scene was there to be explored. Edinburgh had two football teams Hibs and Hearts and there was a plethora of minor teams to go to watch and a new cup competition to fall in love with; the Scottish Cup. By December I had long since forgiven my Dad for his decision not to take me to the Middlesbrough v Man United FA Cup quarter final in March and we were actively seeking games to go to together. Hibs had a fantastic team at that time and we became regulars at Easter Road. Hearts were less successful and a bit more workmanlike but we also went to see them too. I reckon I missed out on the Scottish Cup in season 70-71 and I believe the first Scottish Cup tie I watched was the quarter final replay between Hearts and Celtic in March 1972. Over 40000 people were crushed into Tynecastle Stadium and there was not much room to breathe let alone move. All very exciting for a 14 year old who was just about tall enough to see the match between a forest of heads. I remember feeling very grown up because I made my way to this midweek match with a school pal who supported Celtic (I went to a catholic secondary school) and the arrangement was to meet my Dad afterwards for a lift home. When I met up with the old man he had a massive wet patch down the back of his trousers. The pre match drinking and the inability to move had encouraged a Hearts supporter directly behind him to try to urinate into an empty beer can on the terracing. Quite clearly his plan had failed. It was about this time my Dad went off Hearts a bit but I was warming to the workmanlike outfit from Gorgie. Although at this stage we were still spending more time at Easter Road rather than Tynecastle. Celtic won the match 1-0. Lou Macari scored for Celtic and Kenny Dalglish was a menace all night long. The Celtic team also included ‘Lisbon Lions’ Jim Craig, Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeil and Bobby Lennox.

I was pleased to discover early on that the Scottish FA Cup was organised along similar lines to the FA Cup, with non-league teams playing in a qualifying competition and lower league teams playing in rounds 1 and 2 with the survivors being joined by ‘the big boys’ in round 3. Between 1972 and 1975 my Dad and I went to a number of Scottish Cup ties involving some of the minnows of Scottish football. We watched games involving Ferranti Thistle, Vale of Leithen, Civil Service Strollers, East Stirlingshire and Stenhousemuir – among others. In September 1975 I was to move to Stirling University and become a drug soaked, music obsessed student. Football was no longer cool in my world. I left for Stirling as a Hibs sympathiser. I was to graduate four years later, with my interest in the beautiful game rekindled, as a Hearts fan. The Boro were a distant memory.

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round draw date set and more memories of my early fascination with the FA Cup

I found out yesterday that the draw for the all important ‘Extra Preliminary Round’ of the FA Cup 2016-17 will take place on Friday July the 8^th. This will determine at what ground the journey will begin. The tie that is staged nearest to the Scottish border is where I will be heading to see the FA Cup tie on Saturday the 6^th August. Teams that are in the frame to be the first destination are Alnwick Town, Morpeth Town, Penrith and Ashington. I am already agog with anticipation.

After my initial introduction to the ‘Romance of the Cup’ in September 1966 at South Bank I remained fascinated by the competition but as a wee boy I was at my Dad’s mercy as to what ties I could see. We had moved from Newcastle to Redcar in 1965 and the whole family were Newcastle United supporters – except me. Everyone at my new school supported Middlesbrough and as a young incomer I did not want to be the odd one out so I became a Boro fan.  I believe the next FA Cup tie I saw was the second round match between Middlesbrough and York City at Ayresome Park in November 1966. Interestingly neither South Bank’s Normanby Road ground nor Middlesbrough’s ex-home Ayresome Park no longer exist. Being a nostalgic sort of guy I think this is a real shame – especially in the case of Ayresome Park a ground with an incredible atmosphere and great tradition. Times move on and Middlesbrough have played at the well-appointed Riverside Stadium since 1995. Their new ground is about a mile and a half from South Bank.

Other memories of the FA Cup from about this time include seeing the exploits of Tow Law Town reported on local TV. In season 67-68 they reached the second round of the FA Cup and before losing to Shrewsbury Town they had battled through 4 qualifying rounds and one round of the competition proper. I recall being so disappointed when they got knocked out (even though I barely knew where Tow Law was) as I cherished the hope that the 1968 Cup Final would be Middlesbrough v Tow Law Town.

The family moved again in December 1970 and this time we moved to Scotland. In the last full season before we moved Middlesbrough had a great cup run that captured the imagination of not just me but everybody living in the Teesside area. In round three, in January 1970, the Boro beat West Ham United. The West Ham team included Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst from the England World Cup winning team. With the 1970 Mexico World Cup still to take place England were still world champions. The Hammers also had Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard Senior and Harry Redknap playing. The superstars were no match for the likes of John Hickton, Hugh McIlmoyle and Derrick Downing. I was in awe as the Boro won 2-1 with over 32,000 fans, including me, packed in to Ayresome Park. The place was rocking and I was in seventh heaven. Also in the Boro line up that day was goalkeeper Willie Whigham who was renowned as being the ugliest player of his generation. My Dad used to tell me he intended to get a framed picture of the legendary custodian and place it on the mantelpiece to keep my younger brother Martin away from the fire. In round 4 the Boro were drawn at home to York City and won comfortably and I was there. In round 5 the Boro were drawn at home again – this time Carlisle United visited and again I was there. Then the draw for the quarter finals and Middlesbrough were given a home tie against Manchester United. It was eighteen months earlier that Man United had famously won the European Cup and their 1970 team included Brian Kidd, Bobby Charlton and of course George Best. The draw was made on a Monday lunchtime and a group of school pals had gathered round a pocket radio to hear the incredible news. I could not wait to get home to talk to my Dad about it. Later that evening my Dad gave the 12 year old Chris Donkin some unexpected news. He told me I could not go – it would be too busy and too dangerous. I was devastated. Football is quite ridiculous. Since that evening some 56 years ago, like all people in their fifties, I have experienced sad losses, seen tragic family events unfold and experienced personal and professional disappointments …. but rarely (if ever) have I felt as devastated as I did that evening. The Boro from Division Two held the mighty Man United to record a creditable draw. Man United won the replay and 10 months later the Donkin family moved to Penicuik Midlothian and for a while my flirtation with the romance of the FA Cup was over.

Why, what and for who is it all about ?

Why am I doing this?

Strangely enough this is something I have wanted to do since the age of 9. In September 1966 three months after England had won the World Cup at Wembley my Dad took me on the train from our then home town of Redcar to see an FA Cup 1^st Qualifying Round match between South Bank FC from near Middlesbrough and Shildon from County Durham. As a wide-eyed nine year old I was smitten by the romance of the cup. An exciting game unfolded and the home team won 4-3. On the train back I wanted to know what happened next. My Dad explained that South Bank would now play in the second qualifying round and that Shildon were knocked out: ‘ … but what happens if South Bank win in the next round also ?’: my Dad said ‘well if South Bank keep winning they will end up in the FA Cup Final next May !’ …. WOW. Right there and then I had this idea that it would be so great to go to all the games along the road to Wembley. This has never been possible until now. Having just slipped in to semi retirement I now have the time and the money to be able to afford to do this. I am conscious that this has been done before so my unique ‘road’ is going to be to give the journey a Scottish slant. Every match I attend I will be seeking to get a Scottish perspective on the event.

The other reason I am doing this is another long term ambition – to write a book. I do feel there is a book in all of us and this is mine. So, the plan is to document the journey, round by round – town by town, and at each stage report the voyage as a blog. Then next summer I intend to top and tail the text, correct all the grammatical mistakes and turn a big handle and convert the blog in to a book … and get it published.

Who is it for?

Principally I am doing this for myself, to fulfill a lifelong ambition. However, I am dedicating the project to the following three people. This book, if it gets that far, is dedicated to three of the best men I have known – all big football men and two of them no longer with us - George Willis Donkin (my Dad) and 'The Inspector' Graeme Ogilvie (my best pal and sadly missed). The book is also dedicated to my son Brian who when we lived in Boston in Lincolnshire for 17 years (1991-2008) we followed Boston United in the cup each year until they got knocked out.

The book is also for anyone who wants to read it. At the moment this is a big unknown but I hope to get a lot of people involved in the project. For example, at each staging post along the road I will be contacting the clubs whose matches I will be going to see and asking them for their Scottish connections. Hopefully also friends, family and friends from the footballing fraternity who I have not me yet will find it interesting enough to read. All feedback by email (chris@donkinitex.co.uk) twitter (@donkinitex) the facebook page (The Road to Wembley from Scotland) or by responses to this blog are welcome.

What I hope to get out of it?

As someone who has had a career in education you will not be surprised that I hope to learn something ! In the early rounds I hope to learn what makes football tick at community level. In the later rounds I hope to learn more about how the beautiful game is evolving in England. I also hope to learn more about the continuing influence of the Scots on football in England. More widely I hope to be able to see through football the contribution made to life in England by the Scots.

The road to Wembley from Scotland by Chris Donkin

Hi everyone

My name is Chris Donkin, a 58 year old man living in Penicuik Midlothian. I am about to embark on a 10 month project that will take me from a football ground close to the Scottish border on Saturday the 6th August 2016 to Wembley Stadium in May 2017.

The idea is quite simple. Once the draw for the Extra Preliminary round of the FA Cup is made I will establish which of these ties will be staged closest to the Scotland / England border. I will attend that match and I will then follow the winner into the Preliminary round. The winners of that match will then be followed into the first qualifying round ... and so on ... and so on - until I end up at the FA Cup final next May. Had I been 'on the road' in season 15-16 I would have started at Penrith v Jarrow Roofing in August 2015 and ended up watching Manchester United beat Crystal Palace last month. For each match I will be trying to find a Scottish link and reporting not just on the match but the circumstances surrounding the tie.

It promises to be an exciting and interesting project. Please join me on this journey of a lifetime !