1983 FA Cup semi final

[Westdene Seagull]

I remember it well but for the wrong reasons. My brother and I were in the scouts and there was a scout trip on the day. Didn't have tickets for the match ( pocket money didn't stretch far enough and parents weren't interested in football ). Instead we went on the trip. Next day our father proudly announced at dinner that he'd been offered free tickets to the match but turned them down as he thought we'd rather go on the Scout trip

 

[getofftheropes]

30 Rustington lads had a few in that pub,whataday

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

you weren't the only one, mate got nicked at Victoria before the game for D and D,you needed to be with the right people those days
regards
DRr

 

[Grapes of Wrath]

A great day and i still say that jimmy case freekick was the best in history. It started of heading for one corner then swerved to the other...unbelievable.

Probably my all time favourite Albion goal. It was certainly an amazing goal and an absolutely top top day!

Thanks to the guy who posted the You tube link, I had forgotten how rammed in we were.

Loads of memories have been stirred by various posts, cheers guy's.

 

[ewe2]

WHAT a day (hot) ! However the debate is still there......Did Jimmy and the team bank on FA cup glory,and not first division safety ? I know the money was not as today,however our decline was our destiny when Smith failed to score and we failed to keep our place in the league.

 

[Brovion]

30 years! Blimey! Like others I don't remember the singer, but I do remember seeing the band playing and being told afterwards they'd played GOSBTS (couldn't really hear). But yeah, What. A. Day. And the celebrations in Brighton afterwards were absolutely MENTAL.

Always really hard to separate that and Newcastle 1979 as the best Albion days, sometimes I think one, sometimes the other. Those of you who only know the modern FA Cup (which no one, including the FA, gives much of a toss about), won't believe it, but thirty years ago reaching the final was a REALLY big deal. After all those years of watching and dreaming it was incredible to think that we were finally going to be a part of such a national, even a global, event. We were going to walk up Wembley Way, sing 'Abide With Me', and cheer on little old unknown Brighton as the whole world watched.

*Sigh*

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

30 years! Blimey! Like others I don't remember the singer, but I do remember seeing the band playing and being told afterwards they'd played GOSBTS (couldn't really hear). But yeah, What. A. Day. And the celebrations in Brighton afterwards were absolutely MENTAL.

Always really hard to separate that and Newcastle 1979 as the best Albion days, sometimes I think one, sometimes the other. Those of you who only know the modern FA Cup (which no one, including the FA, gives much of a toss about), won't believe it, but thirty years ago reaching the final was a REALLY big deal. After all those years of watching and dreaming it was incredible to think that we were finally going to be a part of such a national, even a global, event. We were going to walk up Wembley Way, sing 'Abide With Me', and cheer on little old unknown Brighton as the whole world watched.

*Sigh*

That was a pretty perfect post mate. :thumbup:

 

[Brovion]

WHAT a day (hot) ! However the debate is still there......Did Jimmy and the team bank on FA cup glory,and not first division safety ? I know the money was not as today,however our decline was our destiny when Smith failed to score and we failed to keep our place in the league.

I think that's more a modern debate. Obviously I can't speak for you but every single person I knew when the hypothetical 'win the Cup or stay up*?' question was asked replied "win the Cup". The consensus was that even if we'd, as usual, got knocked out in an earlier round and thus had 'concentrated on the league' and survived it would only have been a stay of execution - the inevitable relegation would have happened in a season or two anyway and so it was better to go out in a blaze of glory. After all the club was already in decline; gates had dwindled to an average of 14,500 as the novelty of being in the top flight had long, long since worn off and people had tired of seeing us lose almost every week. That wasn't going to change any time soon. Indeed there was a large body of thought that said getting relegated could even be a 'good thing' has we'd obviously (ha!) win a lot more games in a lower division and thus the crowds would come back as they always did when the team was doing well.

*EDIT: The answer was invariably the same even if the question was only 'Get to Wembley or stay up?'

That was a pretty perfect post mate. :thumbup:

Thanks!