The Club have posted a nice piece on Peter Mellor. My first thoughts on seeing it were the disappointment of the Cup Final and his two howlers. The article, quite rightly, points out however that if it hadn't been for Peter we wouldn't have been in the final. Apart from the final my abiding memory of him was the semi-final replay against Birmingham (I wasn't at the Carlisle game !). We had been so unlucky not to win the first game - it was one of those matches when the team were terrific but you came away kind of deflated, thinking we had lost our chance. What I remember about Peter and the replay wasn't so much his saves (and he made a good few) but the battering he took. (Kenny Burns nearly took his legs off on one occasion). That cup run was also reminiscent of the great Euro Trail and just as exhausting - 11 games to reach the final. We played against and beat some top teams, although it's hard to think of Hull, Notts Forrest (Brian Clough and all), Carlsle and Birmingham as 'top' now. And we had injuries in the final just as in Hamburg - what if BZ had been fit against Atletico, what if Les Strong hadn't missed Wembley ? Great times though. Oh and here's the article - http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/september/23/memory-lane
Nice article Cottager - things were different back then - I liked the bit about him fixing cars and Bobby Moore's lagers!! You missed a top team - Everton in the 5th or 6th round from memory. I went to both of the Birmingham games. I completely agree about the 1st game - you didn't feel we could be as good again. I also remember that the Fulham fans were in the Lepping Lane end. Fortunately our support was not so numerious then - I believe we took about 15,000 to Hillsborough - double our average gate at the time, but it does send a shiver down your spine when you think about Hillsborough. I have been in crushes in different grounds and it was only luck that those sorts of events didn't happen more often. As for the replay at Maine Road, I can remember we were battered for the 120 minutes. We were already talking about only having to go to Highbury for the 2nd replay when we knicked our goal in the dying seconds. I have 2 abiding memories - my absolute euphoria for Fulham - my team - getting to the FA Cup final and looking across to the Birmingham supporters - both sets of supporters were standing on the old Kippax terrraces which ran the length of the pitch - and seeing them absolutely devastated - they had a massive support - about 35,000 to our 15,000 and they really thought this was their time, but it wasn't to be. To think that they have still never got to a FA Cup Final and now are in the Championship - only goes to show the rollercoaster of supporting a side come what may.
I was 14 at the time and my Dad worked shifts so couldn't go but I remember him listening to it on the radio and getting up and dancing a little jig of sheer joy in the living room when Fulham scored. Never, ever forget that.
You guys are all somewhat older than me... For some perspective, we won promotion to the Premier League when I was 14. I remember listening to the radio when Boa Morte's goal against Huddersfield confirmed our promotion, and it is still my favourite moment as a Fulham fan (ahead of most of the Europa League run). I wonder if the feelings were comparable, Fulhaman?
Quite possibly. We all hold our little special moments as football fans. Another for me - non Fulham related, actually, was Bob Stokoe running onto the Wembley pitch in his trilby hat, raincoat and track suit after Sunderland had won the FA Cup, largely thanks to a stunning double save from Jim Montgomery.
