Were you there? Sitting or standing? How did you get tickets? Were you an adult or child? Any stories? As for me, well I got a ticket because they gave out vouchers a few weeks before at one of the home games, unannounced and by surprise. That voucher was for a final ticket if we got there. I thought that was a very fair way to do it. Especially seeing as how we weren't even selling out at home in that season for some reason. I had a bet at the start of the season for us to win the cup at 33/1. I had £5 on it. Each round we got through, I would get this bet out and show it around the pub. If it won, I would get a framed photo of the team with the cup. EVERYONE was a hornet then. It was a big surprise. I got approached by dozens of people who I had never heard mention football before, never mind Watford, who it turned out were the most massive loyal hornet ever since they were born and wondered if I could get them tickets? On the day, I had to work early turn 6-2 on the railway. Because I was coming from Euston to Wembley central, the trains were full of Everton fans and they knew I was a Watford supporter, but they were ok. On the walk to the ground though, some of the scallies wanted to stab me for my ticket but fortunately there were some cops around so they farked orf. As for the game itself, well probably the best was the build up and Luther walking round in his suit. How we wished he was playing for us. I left at the final whistle and didn't stay to see the cup get presented or anything. In the pub later, I ceremoniously burnt the betting slip in the ashtray to jeers and catcalls from all assembled. Still it was a great day. We were in the final!
I went early and bought a ticket off a tout, £5 face value for £70. I always remember it had Norwich City FC stamped on the back. Don't remember much of the game at all
Queued on Occupation Road and bought one for £5. Behind the goal, was an utterly sh*te match, remember sitting down on the terrace in the second half as I was so bored with it. We lost the final when Rostron was sent off at lu*on a couple of weeks beforehand.
I was there, I don't remember how I got my tickets, but I was definitely there!!! We had a pre match drink in a place in Wembley High Road, I think it was called "The Village Inn" and it was full of Everton fans, but we had no trouble, in fact I think we bought round with some of them, and they bought them back. As for the match we could and possibly should have been 3-0 up in the first 15 minutes, but it went down hill from there. However I still don't think the Andy Gray goal should have stood. All in all it was a great experience and the loosers parade in Watford Town centre was good too. I also agree about the Rostron ban, it probably cost us the win!!!
My Dad and I drove up from Cornwall without tickets and bought some from a tout for £50 each. Decent spot behind the goal into which Gray ‘’scored’ and a good view of the besuited Luther. After the match an Everton fan offered to swap scarves with me but I refused, have always felt a bit guilty about seeming unfriendly. Tube was very lively on the way in, unsurprisingly very quiet on the way back.
I queued for a few hours for tickets and went via the metro line with a few mates. Always remember the startled little old ladies with their shopping bags at Northwood and Northwood Hill ready to board the train as they would do each Saturday only to be met with a full carriage and a chorus of “sing when you’re shopping, you never sing when you’re shopping” and “Have my baby Johnny Barnes, Have my baby Johnny Barnes”. The game itself was of course a real disappointment and I don’t remember the journey home. If only that chance with the keeper out of position had gone in rather than wide (Taylor?) and the ref had the cojones to disallow the Gray “goal”.
‘We’ll be running round Wembley with our willies hanging out, singing “I’ve got a bigger one than yours”’.
I got my ticket quite easily as if I remember correctly S.T. Holders were guaranteed one, my late Father had a voucher and queued for about 5 hours a few days later, he managed to get one in the same “ Pen “ as myself so all good there. We parked in a car park behind the shops in Wembley High Road which I knew. We were in a section next to Everton supporters who had their head in their hands when Les Taylor went through and nearly scored! We were doing ok until Everton scored their first, by Sharp after 38 mins, with the Andy Gray goal on 51 mins knocking the stuffing out of us we never really looked like coming back. The Everton supporters were all saying hard luck after the game and offering their commiserations, Jimmy Hill made the point on MOTD that we were happy to be there and enjoy the day, Everton went to win the cup which I think was actually correct. We found a £10 note walking across a bridge on the way back to the car, which I gave to my Father. Considering it wasn’t that long (8 seasons) since we had been in the old 4th division to get to the cup Final was pretty amazing I can’t see that happening to a club ever again. PS I thought the banner “ John Barnes lays more balls then Joan Collins “ was brill!
Amusingly I got 4 tickets by picking up vouchers others discarded! Great day but the disappointment levels that evening were through the roof
Yes it was absolutely disgraceful. Barrymore thought it was funny to keep confusing Luther and JB because they were both black and so must look the same. Would not be allowed today but at the time the players just had to smile, god knows what they actually thought about it. Have hated the guy ever since. I genuinely couldn't believe it. Cringeworthy. Knew nothing about the club. Was just a small but high profile TV "gig" for him.
I queued for hours on Occupation Road with some mates, listening to radio reports on the snooker from Sheffield. Ricky high street had loads of shops with yellow and red stuff in the windows. Before the match went to a pub in Croxley (can’t remember its name but it was on the Ricky road at the top of the hill, but not the one by the mini roundabout). I agree that Wilf Rostron’s absence was a huge blow and that Gray’s “goal” should never have been allowed. After the match we went back to the same pub in Croxley. The atmosphere was actually very upbeat - anyone looking in would have thought we had won. It was a great day - especially considering I had seen my first Watford match only seven years earlier and that match was at home to Stockport in the fourth division.
I was working so my Mum queued in occupation road and inadvertently tried to palm off a forged fiver . Apparently ticket office with the amount of cash taken were able to detect different feel of the not. Not sure where she got in from. Tube on the met line from Watford. Game a bit of a non event, a few players didn't perform on the day. Atmosphere didn't get going to the last few mins and the lap of honour, bit like the last few mins v city
I was there with my mate thanks to the vouchers in the back of the ST. ISTR that the club wasn't accepting SF ticket stubs as 'proof' to get tickets as somehow I managed to get four tickets to Brum for that match & my mate and I went to that with my Dad & Grandad (I had hoped to get them to the final). I was slightly miffed to see so many 'fans' from my school in the 'Wood there. They had never attended any matches...
I was 8 years old, my dad managed to get tickets for him, myself and two of my brothers. I have the stub somewhere, it was a £5 terrace ticket. We were against the concrete wall which separated the front tier and back tier, so I was able to see; we were on the bend behind the goal which Gray scored in the second half. I don't remember a great deal about the game.
I had loads of tickets. Was going to join the queue in Occupation Road and walked past some friends who had queued up all night, so did the "old stop for a chat" and 5 mins later, jibbed in the line with them. Can't remember the exact way, but you went into the ground and then an entrance into a room, bought your ticket and left by another door to exit back out onto Occupation Road. We noticed that you could cut across to the In entrance within the ground and all the stewards were outside the ground. We went round and round till we run out of cash. Sold all the tickets face value down the pub and we all went together. I didnt live in Watford and Wembley stadium was part of our stomping ground anyway, never missed a Cup Final, International, Concert or even Bruno/ Witherspoon World Heavyweight fight from 1981 till the late 80's, easiest ground in the world to jib into. So tickets or not, I would of been in there.
My mates and I got several tickets through me being a season ticket holder and them having tokens from previous games. This meant our mums could go and get seats. A friend of mine queued for ages to get them. (Thanks Chris.) I was able to reciprocate years later by queuing at Wembley for a final replay ticket for the Palace/Man U game so that his dad could go to Cup Final. On the day in ‘84 my mum was involved with a jumble sale in the morning, which I had agreed to help at. This meant we were all a bit late heading off to Wembley and we only got there at about 2pm, meaning we were right at the back of the terrace. I always regretted that and made sure I was at the ‘99 play-off final much earlier. I remember the friendly atmosphere between the fans, which was unusual for the time, and singing “We’ll be back!” after the final whistle. It only took 35 years…
I was a regular, but for some forgotten reason had to miss the match where vouchers were unexpectedly given out. A Watford-supporting work colleague said he might be able to help, and his wife (also a fan, but who I'd never met) found a friend who had a spare ticket. Met the friend outside the ground and he insisted that I pay no more than face value. That was the only time I ever saw him. I bought a season ticket for the next season, and have had one ever since. Lesson learnt. .
Got my ticket easy enough as a ST holder. A friend of my then girlfriend knew a bloke organising a chartered double-decker for regulars at the Hammer In Hand, so we went on that. A great laugh with the 'luggage' compartment bit behind the driver stacked with crates of beer. We arrived quite early and were directed to the 'bus and coach' parking area, where we continued to imbibe. Until a coach full of Everton scallies parked alongside and clocked what they hoped was going to prove to be free beers, so decided to attempt to storm the bus and nick it all. No doubt thinking that the 'Watford Family Club' thing applied to everyone in Watford, they thought it would be easy, having no idea of the clientele of the Hammer back then. On the bus was a sizeable contingent of 'road engineers' who worked for Murphy's IIRC who proceeded to man the entry platform of the bus armed with the crates containing the empty bottles, taking great delight in shouting out their running total every time one belted a Scouser over the head with one. The OB soon arrived to put a stop to things, but the incident certainly coloured my view of the so-called 'Friendly Final'. Inside the ground, the whole place stank of p155, and once we'd missed those good early chances, it sort of became obvious which way the match would pan out. Little did we know that was the first stirrings of a really good Everton team. Can't remember much about the journey home.
I can't remember how I got tickets but presume my dad sorted it. Was on the terracing and couldn't see a thing. It was a decent day out but not up there as one of my favourites possibly as I was too young to have a beer!
I was 11 and living in Woolacombe in North Devon, felt completely cut off from it all. Was still in a bad mood about the result on Monday so threw a pork pie at someone in Ilfracombe from the school bus.
Loved woolacombe. Went there for 5 successive summers as a kid as me and siblings refused to go anywhere else ! Went back 16 years ago for my stag weekend. Body boarding, beach cricket and listening to The Cure blaring out at 2am from rental cottage after “special cigarettes”.
Travelling down from Sheffield the day before, meeting up with loads of family and friends at the Rifle that night. Giddy wasn't in it. Private coach from a lay-by on the A41 to Wembley. Painless. Starting a chant of 'COYHs' on the steps going in. Joyous. The match itself. Gutted. Post-match singing 'Elton John's Taylor-made Army. Therapeutic (no flags to wave back then). Waiting an absolute age for the coach going back, whilst coach after coach of Evertonians went past, gloating. I fcuking hate Everton. Debrief at the Rifle. Perfect. Open-top bus parade for our very special (losing!!!) Club. It was like we'd won!!! Train back to Sheffield a day or two later, with my sister. I was still wearing my Watford scarf. Some youths who eventually got off at Leicester were taking the pi$$ from further down the carriage for a lot of the journey.. My sister didn't want me to, 'ahem', confront them. Still wish I had to this day. There would only have been one winner. I fcuking hate Leicester. Strange, but also amazing, how so many memories can lay dormant for so long but can be brought back to life with relative ease. Keep the Faith SCG
I was there, 13 at the time, had a season ticket so could access a ticket with the voucher but remember queuing for hours at the Vic to get it. We were sitting on wooden benches, or at least there were wooden benches to sit on! As mentioned above I remember Luther walking round before the game. Also remember walking up to Wembley with so much colour and noise and so many people. Didn't really do ourselves justice that day, maybe just one huge achievement too many for the team, shame but was massive for WFC.
I was a child but old enough to have already asked my father what I should be. Think I got a ticket via the vouchers but can't remember. I remember being overcome with emotion when the team came out and the sea of yellow on the terrace. I recall seeing someone older I knew crying with joy and pride and i too had tears in my eyes. It felt amazing to be there. The game was poor but I hated Andy Gray and couldn't believe his goal stood. Stayed to the end and our support was still noisy even when Everton went up to get the cup with songs of "we're proud of you" and "we'll be back".
