Compelling, entertaining and refreshingly honest, One in a Million is the autobiography of Trevor Francis, the subject of the first £1 million transfer fee in football history – a record for all time.
As a 16-year-old, Francis set a record as the youngest player to score four goals in a match, an early indication of an exceptional talent. And so his unique career journey would continue to unfold, encountering a seemingly endless succession of superlatives, larger-than-life characters and astonishing events.
Trevor played professionally not only in England but also in the USA and Scotland, in Italy and Australia. He gained 52 England caps and won the European Cup on his debut in the competition. He played his part in the English revolution at Glasgow Rangers and managed QPR, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City.
Thrillingly, Trevor takes the reader with him into dressing rooms, into boardrooms and on to the field of play. He has a true gift for memorable detail, providing a wealth of revelations and remarkable stories.
(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. April 2019. Hardcover: 256 pages)
During a twenty-five-year managerial career, Danny’s teams have won trophies, promotions, and celebrated last-gasp relegation escapes. Danny managed over a thousand games for Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City, Milton Keynes, Hartlepool United, Swindon Town, Sheffield United, and Chesterfield. Prior to that he had an extensive playing career, pulling on the shirt for Wigan Athletic, Bury, Chesterfield, Nottingham Forest, Scunthorpe United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley, as well as representing Northern Ireland.
A popular character wherever he went, Danny’s journey is littered with hilarious stories of some of the game’s biggest names, including Brian Clough, Ron Atkinson, Viv Anderson, Chris Woods, Jimmy Case, Mick Harford, and Steve Foster.
I Get Knocked Down is a truly fascinating insight into the life of a true football man,
(Publisher: Morgan Lawrence Publishing Services. October 2022. Paperback: 256 pages)
In October 2012, Terry Curran, released his autobiography Regrets of a Football Maverick in conjunction with journalist John Brindley, a warts and all account of life both on and off the field. Nine years later, post-COVID, Curran once again teamed up with Brindley for a second book, “Gimme The Ball”: My Take On The Beautiful Game.
Whereas Regrets of a Football Maverick followed a fairly conventional timeline, i.e. Curran’s childhood, growing up, football career, and life post-football, his second offering takes a slightly different approach in that the various chapters are divided into three parts, My Football Favourites, My Football Career and Modern Day Football.
My Football Favourites is made up of four chapters. The first two look at Curran’s relationship with two of his former bosses, Jack Charlton and Brian Clough and his admiration for George Best. Whilst many of the anecdotes of these three football legends are repeated from Curran’s first book, what comes across more strongly is the respect, admiration and genuine love he still holds for Charlton and Clough despite the, at times, tempestuous relationship they shared. The remaining two chapters within part one, deal with the club that Curran supports and is probably best known for playing – Sheffield Wednesday. First, Curran reflects on how the 1966 FA Cup Final when The Owls blew a two-goal lead to Everton, saw him become a supporter of the club from Hillsborough. He follows this will his view of the heights of the Ron Atkinson and Trevor Francis eras and the lows since as Wednesday continue to bounce between the Championship and League One, without any prospect of a return to the Premier League in sight. What is evident is Curran’s affection for the club and its fans, and his overriding belief that The Owls should be in English football’s top-flight.
Part two of this book, My Football Career, constitutes the biggest section with seven chapters and as its title suggests follows Curran’s path in the game from his first professional club, Doncaster Rovers in 1973 to his final football league appearance for Chesterfield in 1987. Whilst Curran played for more than a dozen clubs, he is best known for his time at Sheffield Wednesday and to a lesser extent spells at Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Southampton and Everton, where at these last two clubs he picked up a Wembley appearance and League Cup runners-up medal and First Division Championship medal respectively. Once again some of the stories and details are repeated from Curran’s first book, but what emerges strongly from this section, are the regrets he has with some of the choices he made in his career and ‘what might have been’ if Curran hadn’t suffered injuries at certain crucial times. Part two also includes Curran’s brief time as a manager on the non-league circuit at Goole and Mossley and his subsequent coaching career. This final chapter within part two provides his forthright opinion of the way youngsters are coached, providing a neat link into the final part and chapter of the book, Modern Day Football.
Within this closing part of the book, Curran offers his views on topics including Gareth Southgate’s reign as England boss, football post-COVID, VAR, BLM, the Premier League, overseas players and coaches and Women’s football. As with his playing days, Curran takes no prisoners and displays the same confidence when offering his opinion on these areas of the game today. Not everyone will agree with his sentiments, but it should be said that Curran is not afraid to say his piece and is being true to himself.
(Publisher: Morgan Lawrence Publishing Services. September 2021. Paperback: 250 pages)
Thanks to the internet, information about players from the past are available after a quick search. For instance Sheffield Wednesday fans of a certain vintage looking for Terry Curran (voted The Owls all-time Cult Hero in a poll run by the BBC), on Wikipedia will find his entry tells us that his professional playing career lasted from 1973 through to 1986, taking in sixteen clubs (including loans) here in England, as well as brief sojourns in Sweden and Greece. Whilst this is useful to an extent in a factual sense, these figures do nothing to provide a detailed picture of the man and his career, and instead raises questions such as why Curran played for so many Clubs, how did he come to play for both Sheffield teams, and what was his relationship with some of the big management names at the time, such as Brian Clough, Jack Charlton, Tommy Docherty and Howard Kendall.
These questions and more are answered in Curran’s 2012 autobiography, Regrets of a Football Maverick. The title itself is telling, with the immediate suggestion to readers that this look back on his career and life has made Curran reflect and so question some of the things he did, given that during his playing career he was a forthright and confident individual, not afraid to say his piece.
One thing to say straight away is that this is a tale from the 1970s and 80s when football and indeed society was very different to that today and as the dustjacket warns (slightly tongue-in-cheek), “Terry Curran’s story may offend the politically correct!”.
In terms of the content of the book, it follows a fairly traditional timeline, with the opening chapter dedicated to Curran’s childhood growing up in Kinsley, a village in West Yorkshire, about eight miles southeast of Wakefield. Immediately within this opening to the book, readers are provided with an insight into an event that was to impact Curran significantly. When he was just eight years old, his parents split with his mother leaving the family home. As Curran writes in the book, “emotionally I was never the same kid…Dad was heart-broken and that had a big influence on me.” This resulted in him stating that, he was “never going to allow any female to get close enough to cause me the same upset. That lack of trust stayed with me for a lot of my adult life” and goes some way to explaining why he was a self-confessed womaniser during his playing career.
The opening chapter also details how Curran came to support Sheffield Wednesday, after being hooked despite The Owls giving up a two-goal lead against Everton in the 1966 FA Cup Final. Readers also get to read about Curran’s youth career playing representative football for the South Kirby Boys District team and for Kinsley Boys which led to offers from league clubs Halifax Town and Doncaster Rovers. Curran opted for Donny given its close proximity to home and his talent was rewarded when manager Maurice Setters offered him a professional contract.
Curran made his debut for Rovers on Saturday 29 September 1973 away at Gillingham, with Doncaster losing 5-1, with a highlight during that season, playing against Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round replay (the Merseysiders went on to lift the trophy). He was making a name for himself in more ways than one, with the Club mistakenly detailing Curran to the press as ‘Terry’ despite him being christened ‘Edward.’ Clubs were expressing interest in the promising young winger with then First Division clubs, Leeds United, Everton and Sheffield United all apparently keen to sign him. However, it was to be beside the River Trent that Curran opted for and a move to Nottingham Forest and manager Brian Clough in August 1975, then languishing in the Second Division. At the time Curran, saw it as, “a chance to play for one of the game’s greatest managers.”
Programme: Fulham v Nottingham Forest 1976/77
Curran devotes a whole chapter to his time at Forest, with his admiration for Clough and his unique style of management evident. Take Curran’s introduction to the rest of the Reds squad, with Clough telling Martin O’Neill, “I’d like to introduce you to the young man who will be taking your place on Saturday.” Curran’s second season at Forest was the 1976/77 campaign, which opened with a fixture at Craven Cottage to play Fulham. The game ended 2-2 with Curran scoring what he considers to be his best ever goal – “picking the ball up on the halfway line, I beat four defenders before lobbing the ball high into the net high beyond goalkeeper Richard Teale.” George Best (who was a football hero for Curran) was in the crowd that day having signed for the SW6 Club and said, “I was really impressed. He (Curran) is a very good player.” That season was to see Forest gain promotion to the top flight, but Curran was to miss a significant part of it with a cruciate ligament injury suffered in October 1976. Having worked his way back into the side in March, the relationship at Forest began to break down with Curran dropped from the team in the run-in and little playing time at the start of the 1977/78 season as the Club took the First Division by storm to finish the campaign as Champions. By the time the title was being lifted at the City Ground, Curran was at Derby County under the watch of Tommy Docherty.
As Forest went onto be European Champions twice and win numerous other domestic trophies under Clough and Taylor it was a case of what have been for Curran. If he had got his head down and waited and remained injury-free, who is to say he might have got a regular place in the side. As Curran reflects, “If only I could have put an older head on my young shoulders. I turned my back on one of the most successful sides of that generation – any generation.”
Curran’s stay at the Baseball Ground was a brief one with 26 appearances and two goals for The Rams and acknowledged, “I didn’t play as consistently well as I know I could have.” Curran’s main other observation from his time at Deby was that “I don’t think Tommy (Docherty) adjusted to the culture shock of…the real world at Derby after being a constant source of national attention at Old Trafford.” So as the 1978/79 campaign started, Curran swapped the East Midlands for Hampshire at Lawrie McMenemy’s Southampton in what was to prove another one season stay.
Programme 1978-79 League Cup Final
It was both a positive and negative experience. On the one-hand it saw Curran make his one and only appearance in a Final at Wembley, as the Saints lost to Forest 3-2, and strike up a great friendship with 1966 World Cup winner, Alan Ball, but on the other, witnessed a difficult relationship with the Southampton boss. Curran’s criticism was centred on McMenemy’s inability to motivate the dressing room and over-reliance on the senior players within the squad which was detrimental to the younger Saint talent. It was also at Southampton that Curran first encountered cortisone injections to deal with pain in his right leg. Like many other players at the time, they were in common use, and it was only years later that the consequences for ex-players has come to light with the overuse of the treatment.
Curran’s beginning of the end at The Dell comes about in strange circumstances. With Southampton having just beaten Leeds United in the League Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg, and whilst out celebrating, Curran is ‘approached’ by Jack Charlton who was then manager of Sheffield Wednesday to drop down two divisions to play at Hillsborough. Despite McMenemy’s plans to make some money out of a deal to send Curran to play football in the United States, in March 1979 The Owls signed Curran.
Programme: The Boxing Day Massacre 1979/80
Given that the blue and white of Wednesday had run through Curran’s veins since he was a young boy perhaps it is no shock that his time in S6 was the happiest of his career. During his stint at the Club he helped them to promotion from the Third Division in the 1979/80 campaign, finishing with 24 league goals and claiming the Divisional Golden Boot Award. One game stands out from that season, a performance that went a long way to giving Curran his Cult-hero status at Hillsborough – the ‘Boxing Day Massacre’ as he destroyed Sheffield United 4-0 in front of a third-tier record gate of 49,309. In the following season Wednesday looked good going into the final part of the campaign for a real tilt at promotion to the top flight, but fell away, with Curran critical of Jack Charlton’s lack of spending in the transfer market. Their relationship continued to be fractious with an infamous scrap between them in the Club gym a sign of the different ways the men view how the game should be played. It came to a head when Curran’s three year deal at Wednesday ended, with the management refusing to meet the new contract demands. Out of the blue, Wednesday’s cross-city rivals Sheffield United came in for Curran, who admits that for the first time in his career he moved for the money.
It proved to be a short and pretty unhappy stay at Bramall Lane, with Curran unimpressed by the coaching and training at the Club and both sets of fans in Sheffield less than enamoured with the maverick winger. Salvation came with a loan spell to First Division Everton during the 1982/83 season. This was made permanent in the following campaign, but once again Curran’s luck was out, picking up an injury in September 1983 that kept him out of the game until April 1984. Having worked his way back to fitness and playing in the FA Cup Semi-Final win over Southampton, the Twin Towers beckoned for Curran. However, three weeks before the Final, he suffered a hamstring injury and with it went any chance of an appearance in an FA Cup Final. Everton were becoming a force and in 1984/85 went onto to become First Division winners. Curran played enough games to earn a medal, but once again his emotional nature landed him in serious trouble and an exit from Goodison Park.
With injuries ahead of a European Cup Winners Cup Semi-Final First Leg in Munich, Curran believed his chances of starting the game were good but wanted this confirmed in training. Howard Kendall said he wouldn’t make a decision until shortly before kick-off, so Curran decided that he wasn’t prepared to go to the airport and travel with the squad. He was never selected in the starting line-up or on the bench again. As Curran reflects, “a crazy decision had once again sealed my exit from a great football club, and I was the obvious loser.” Left with no real option, Curran asked for a free transfer and for the 1985/86 season found himself back in Yorkshire at Huddersfield Town.
This move was effectively the beginning of the end of Curran’s career, with injuries taking a toll on his ability to play week-in, week-out. Despite that he managed seven goals in just over thirty appearances for The Terriers. Retirement though beckoned and over the next few years (1986 – 1989) Curran played for seven clubs (Panionios [Greece], Hull City, Sunderland, Grantham Town, Grimsby Town, Chesterfield and Goole Town) but only making a handful of appearances for each. Whilst at Goole he also managed the team, with fate once again proving unkind to Curran, as the financial position of the Club collapsed leading to the eventual demise of Goole Town. He then tried his hand with Mossley in 1992/93, but it proved to another difficult and brief spell in the dug-out with seven defeats in seven games and inevitably the sack.
At that point Curran walked away from football and went into business. Once again like his football career, he seems to have had more than his fair share of back luck, with a lucrative land sale becoming complicated and ending in a protracted legal case. Back in 2012 when the book was written, Curran was living a more settled life with partner Lynne and two sons, Tom and Jock and had done his coaching badges and was working at the Doncaster Rovers Centre Excellence.
For all the tales of on and off-field shenanigans, fall-outs, goals and girls, there is a serious side to this book. And Curran talks with honesty and openness about the mistakes he made in his playing career and in his personal life, and the implications of his series of injuries and his tempestuous and at times impetuous nature. The reality is that it takes courage and strength to admit when we are wrong and even more to put it into print and make it public.
Therefore the final word should go to Curran himself. “I was supposed to be the rebel who played as if tomorrow didn’t exist. The truth was…that I underachieved. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had I not suffered that terrible injury at Forest and if I’d stayed injury-free when I got my last big chance in the game at Everton. But mostly I got it wrong myself. I picked too many arguments, ruffled too many feathers and took too many wrong turnings.”
(Publisher: Vertical Editions. October 2012. Hardcover: 272 pages)
From watching Sheffield Wednesday and England in the golden year of 1966 to football in the age of Covid 19, Owls idol Terry Curran shoots from the hip as he explores the good, bad and ugly sides of the ‘beautiful game’.
He introduces you to ‘greats’ George Best, Alan Ball and Brian Clough who inspired his own exciting and unpredictable career and reveals his explosive but close relationship with Jack Charlton.
From rock bottom Doncaster Rovers to First Division champions Everton, TC lit up the game with his blistering pace and appetite for the unexpected. Yet his heart was always with The Owls whose rise and fall he writes of as a fan as well as a never-to-be-forgotten player.
A footballer, who always did things his way, TC’s views on modern day football are also ‘out of the box’. He explains why coaching methods have left his club and country behind the times – and calls for radical change.
There’s humour and slapstick from one of football’s great characters who refuses to compromise the principles he learnt playing for Clough’s Forest. Warning: If you pick up this book you won’t want to put it down!
(Publisher: Morgan Lawrence Publishing Services. September 2021. Paperback: 250 pages)
Terry Curran’s confessional is a no holds barred tale of football guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of fans who remember the game’s golden age of Cloughie, Tommy Docherty, Lawrie McMenemy, Jack Charlton and Howard Kendall.
Sheffield Wednesday’s all-time cult hero opens his heart about football in the 1970s and 80s, with great off-field tales to make your hair curl. Brilliant and unpredictable on the pitch, argumentative and hot headed off it, Terry Curran thrilled and entertained, leaving great and unusual memories. Yet in Regrets of a Football Maverick he reveals how his contentious nature caused him to miss out on his destiny.
Highlights include learning from Cloughie, being a saint and a sinner with England World Cup hero Alan Ball, the Boxing Day Massacre and doing a Carlos Tevez at Everton. Terry’s story will transport you back to an era of great games, goals and girls – but not necessarily in that order.
WARNING: Terry Curran’s story may offend the politically correct!
(Publisher: Vertical Editions. October 2012. Hardback: 272 pages)
Another night game – I do love going to watch games under the floodlights, and this one was only about an hour down the road at the DW Stadium in Wigan.
Matchday programme cover
Wigan were formed in 1932, the same year as my Dad was born and spent most of their early life in non-league football. They earned election to the league in the days before automatic promotion and relegation, which was not introduced until 1987. The Latics actually finished in second place in the Northern Premier League in the 1977/78 season, behind Champions Boston United. However, Boston’s ground and facilities did not meet the Football League criteria for a League club, whereas Springfield Park, the then home of Wigan did. They replaced Southport (another ground to visit on the list) for the start of the 1978/79 season. The club languished in the lower echelons of the professional leagues up until the mid-90s. Then in 1995 the club was taken over by former professional footballer and local businessman Dave Whelan (he played for Blackburn Rovers, including an appearance in the 1960 FA Cup, when he broke his leg and later, Crewe Alexandra), famous for the JJB Sports empire. He put together a plan for the club to reach the Premier League which they finally achieved in 2005 and unexpectedly remained until their zenith of the FA Cup Final win over Manchester City in 2013. However, that same season they were sadly also relegated and have remained either in the Championship or League One since. As I write, the club has become embroiled in controversy, as at the start of July 2020, less than a month after a change of ownership, the Club announced it had gone into administration.
The Latics moved from Springfield Park to the DW Stadium for the start of the 1999/2000 season and it is also home to the town’s Rugby League team the Wigan Warriors. I opted for a seat in the Springfield Stand on the west side of the ground on a night when the conditions kept the attendance to under 10,000, but my overall impression was that it was a tidy ground.
Handshakes before kick-off
It was a quiet start to proceedings with the first real chance not coming until about twenty five minutes in, when Wigan’s Antonee Robinson had space in the box but fired over and wide as Wednesday ‘keeper Cameron Dawson advanced out to close him down. Just five minutes later it was the visitors Sheffield Wednesday who nearly went in front. Poor defending from The Latics in giving away possession provided an opportunity for The Owls Newcastle United loanee, Josh Murphy, however much to the relief of the home fans after a driving run, the forward dragged his effort wide. Wednesday though went ahead on thirty-two minutes, Morgan Fox got out wide and his cross was headed in by Murphy who out-muscled his marker on the edge of the six-yard box. Samy Morsy responded for the home side with a shot from 35 yards which Dawson did well to push away. Just before the break, The Owls had another good chance, when from a knock-down, Fox fired wide from the edge of the area. At the half-time whistle, the visitors held a 1-0 advantage.
The home fans didn’t have to wait too long to have something to cheer in the second-half, when on fifty-six minutes, Wigan levelled. After good hold-up play a ball into the box found Keiffer Moore who did well to control and then turn and fire home despite pressure from TheOwls defender Julian Borner. With their tails up after the goal Wigan went in search of a second goal. A good chance came with about fifteen minutes remaining as Cedric Kipre broke into the box following a corner, but his effort lacked power and Dawson was able to save comfortably at his near post. More opportunities came as the game entered the closing stages. Michael Jacobs had a glorious chance to put Wigan ahead from a Jamal Lowe cut back but The Owls ‘keeper Dawson saved well. With just seven minutes remaining, Jamal Lowe got behind the Wednesday rear-guard, but goal-scorer Moore, couldn’t connect properly and another opportunity went begging. With some fans starting to drift away in the last minute of the game, Wigan pumped a hopeful ball into the box and after a flick-on Jamal Lowe was first to the ball and looped his header over Dawson into the Wednesday goal. The Latics though had to endure six minutes of time added-on and survived a last gasp goalmouth scramble to claim all three points in a 2-1 comeback win.
itv seven is the second part of a trilogy which began with I Am Sam.
This second book picks up after the first, with central character Lee Janes taking on life in his own unique way, with his new wife Emily and new baby Sammy. Joining the roller-coater narrative are many of the characters from book one, so that the reader can easily slip once again into the world that Durose-Rayner creates.
As with I Am Sam, itv seven operates in both a fictional and factual context, with the main characters, the fictional creations, set against a factual backdrop – that of Arsenal FC during the 2014/15 season.
In the first book, the author also brings in the ‘real’ world through the documentaries made on ex-Arsenal player Jon Sammels, England in the 1970 World Cup and the Munich Air Disaster. This device is used again as there is a focus on Arsenal, in looking at the 1958/59 and 1972/73 seasons and a documentary focusing on the parallels between them, when the club threw away chances of achieving the league and cup ‘double’. There are also other football-lines such as the betting scandal surrounding Sheffield Wednesday in the 1960s. As a football fan, part of me wants more of that history and analysis, but the writing is clever in that the other plotlines are so compelling that you are caught up in the tempo and desire to find out what happens next in the fictional world of the book.
The story is told through Lee Janes and his ex-wife Jeanette, with chapters roughly split between the two. This enables the reader to see certain storylines from both Lee and his ex-wife’s viewpoint. Interestingly, it also provides an opportunity for Jeanette to reflect on her life with her ex-husband and it starts to fill in some of the background that was explored in the first book.
As with I Am Sam, itv seven has a great tempo, emotional depth and no little humour, which allied with strong plotlines makes it both engaging and absorbing and subsequently difficult to put down. The author also writes in a very visual style which could easily translate to the mediums of television and/or film.
It is a winning formula that Durose-Rayner has established and therefore readers should eagerly anticipate the final part of the trilogy, Queen of Cups.
For my last Capital One Cup game at Fulham talk was of how it felt unlike a match-day with a trek across London during rush-hour to witness a game in a ground less than half full.
This certainly couldn’t be levelled at the fixture I attended tonight as I took my place amongst a full to bursting Hillsborough for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal.
The Owls had reached this stage after a First Round 4-1 win over Mansfield Town, a Second Round 1-0 victory Oxford United and a giant-killing 2-1 win away at Newcastle United. Given their European commitments Arsenal only entered the competition in the Third Round and had beaten North London rivals Tottenham 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
Sheffield station was buzzing, with fans arriving from London mingling with the Wednesday faithful into the damp South Yorkshire night and as a result the trams making the short journey out to the ground were packed.
Wednesday fans were in a confident mood as their team had made a good start to their Championship campaign and “Hi Ho Sheffield Wednesday” rang out loudly as the trams rattled their way to the Leppings Lane stop.
There was a hint of fog in the night sky which swirled in the Hillsborough floodlights and added to the feeling that it might be a night to remember. A quick beer was had and then it was into the Kop, with the crowd, noise and anticipation levels building nicely.
The Owls made just two changes from their last outing at Rotherham, with goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith replacing Keiren Westwood and winger Jeremy Helan coming in for the ineligible Fernando Forestieri. Arsenal had some familiar names in their 18 man squad for the evening, but had six players who didn’t appear in the programme team listings – Glen Kamara, Alex Iwobi, Ismael Bennacer, Krystian Bielik, Matt Macey and Ben Sheaf.
By kick-off the crowd was pumped and ready to give the Londoners a loud and intimidating South Yorkshire welcome.
Arsenal had plenty of possession from the off but were forced into a change after five minutes when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was substituted for Theo Walcott. The Gunners were then hit with another injury blow on nineteen minutes when Walcott had to depart, to be replaced by 17 year old Ismael Bennacer.
Despite seeing plenty of the ball, Olivier Giroud was not troubling the Wednesday defence and the home side took heart from this.
Then on twenty seven minutes the ground erupted as The Owls went ahead. Barry Bannan played the ball to Daniel Pudil on the left and the Czech full back squared the ball to Ross Wallace. The Scot running onto the cross struck his shot into the bottom corner with Petr Cech rooted to the spot.
With the crowd behind them Wednesday started to rampage forward and were unlucky not double their advantage when Wallace curled a free-kick just over. However, the home team weren’t to be denied long and five minutes before the break had a second goal.
Lucas Joao ran at the Arsenal left flank before cutting in and forcing a save from Cech. From the resulting corner an unmarked Joao cleanly headed in with Cech once again flat-footed.
Hillsborough was delirious at the half-time whistle with discussions at the break centring on the fact that surely this was a lead that Wednesday couldn’t throw away.
They needn’t have worried as with six minutes of the restart Wednesday had a third goal. From a free-kick, Bannan fired it to the right where Tom Lees volleyed in a centre which Sam Hutchinson bundled over the line from close range.
The game was up for the Gunners and they should have been 4-0 down when an unmarked Joao headed wide from just eight yards out. As Wednesday eased off, Arsenal for the first time in the evening created a couple of chances. First Per Mertesacker headed against the bar from inside the six yard box and then Joel Campbell volleyed just wide from the right, but it was not to be for the Gunners.
It had indeed been a night to remember for the Wednesday faithful and it was a noisy journey back into the city centre with the jubilant Owl hordes. This had been an evening of atmosphere and passion and even the defeated Arsenal fans must have felt they had been part of something special.
Postscript: It was only after reflecting on the games that I’ve attended so far that a strange link became apparent. The four games so far all have a link to Fulham’s journey to the 1974/75 FA Cup Final.
Fourth Round: Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal. Wednesday’s ground, Hillsborough, was the venue for the Semi-Final game between Fulham and Birmingham City.
Matt Smith’s second half strike earned a point for Fulham equalising substitute Stevie May’s near post header.
Wednesday welcomed back Chris Maguire for his first start since the Cardiff game whilst Fulham gave a debut to Norwich City loan signing Michael Turner at centre half.
The first half gave little for the supporters of either side to cheer as both teams tried to play football on a difficult surface. Wednesday’s rhythm was disrupted by losing Liam Palmer to a leg injury after 25 minutes following a challenge by Scott Parker, then 13 minutes later Will Keane limped off to be replaced by May. Both sides were having trouble controlling the ball on a poor pitch and clear cut chances were few and far between. The best chance of the half fell to May in the 5th minute of first half injury time but he couldn’t control his shot from 8 yards and Bettinelli fell on the ball to snub out the danger.
The second half started much brighter with Wednesday unusually defending the Kop end. A good move from Wednesday resulted in the opening goal. A long ball from Westwood was well held up by Nuhiu who bought Kieran Lee into the play and May’s shot was deflected wide. From the resulting corner, the ball came back to Lewis McGugan whose cross was met by May and his header nestled in the bottom right hand corner of the net giving Wednesday a deserved lead.
May’s first goal since his double against Wigan in November kicked the game into life. Wednesday created another good chance for Nuhiu at the back post but he was unable connect with the ball and Maguire tested Bettinelli low to the keepers left.
The game opened up and Fulham started to create chances of their own. Tim Hoogland’s pile driver was blocked by the head of Claude Dielna and the introduction of Seko Fofana by Kit Symons coincided with Fulham’s best period of the game. Ross McCormack dropped deeper into midfield and caused Wednesday some problems.
Fulham’s equaliser was tinged with controversy as the Wednesday defence stopped thinking referee Andy Woolmer was going to give a free kick for simulation but only Matt Smith played to the whistle blasting a fierce shot in off the underside of the bar.
A strong finish from Fulham bought a two great saves from Westwood and a McCormack free kick went just over the bar, but neither side was able to force a winner.
Wednesday manager Stuart Gray: “It wasn’t a game for the purists. It was a poor game, the players seem to have lost confidence in the pitch. The positive is that we’ve reached the 50 point mark. I’m disappointed that the referee didn’t give a free kick for simulation but you’ve got to play to the whistle.”
Compelling, entertaining and refreshingly honest, One in a Million is the autobiography of Trevor Francis, the subject of the first £1 million transfer fee in football history – a record for all time.
During a twenty-five-year managerial career, Danny’s teams have won trophies, promotions, and celebrated last-gasp relegation escapes. Danny managed over a thousand games for Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City, Milton Keynes, Hartlepool United, Swindon Town, Sheffield United, and Chesterfield. Prior to that he had an extensive playing career, pulling on the shirt for Wigan Athletic, Bury, Chesterfield, Nottingham Forest, Scunthorpe United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley, as well as representing Northern Ireland.
In October 2012, Terry Curran, released his autobiography 
Thanks to the internet, information about players from the past are available after a quick search. For instance Sheffield Wednesday fans of a certain vintage looking for Terry Curran (voted The Owls all-time Cult Hero in a poll run by the BBC), on 
From watching Sheffield Wednesday and England in the golden year of 1966 to football in the age of Covid 19, Owls idol Terry Curran shoots from the hip as he explores the good, bad and ugly sides of the ‘beautiful game’.
itv seven is the second part of a trilogy which began with 
For my last Capital One Cup game at Fulham talk was of how it felt unlike a match-day with a trek across London during rush-hour to witness a game in a ground less than half full.
There was a hint of fog in the night sky which swirled in the Hillsborough floodlights and added to the feeling that it might be a night to remember. A quick beer was had and then it was into the Kop, with the crowd, noise and anticipation levels building nicely.
Hillsborough was delirious at the half-time whistle with discussions at the break centring on the fact that surely this was a lead that Wednesday couldn’t throw away.
Matt Smith’s second half strike earned a point for Fulham equalising substitute Stevie May’s near post header.