21 Years since our League Cup win in 2002

[oozy]

Just came across the full replay of the League Cup Final from 2002 on YouTube. Wasn't aware it was online, and thought others might want to watch it too.

What a team we had then, and such happier times! A few things came to mind as I watched:

How good was Brad. Those 3 saves from Ferdinand were just a testament to his quality.

We took 30,000. The commentators mentioned it being a third of the town, and joked about the last person leaving switching the lights off. A town really behind their club! The numbers weren't actually that surprising though, considering we averaged 25k as late as 2011.

How old were the Spurs forward line! Sherwood was the spring chicken at 33, with Poyet(34), Ferdinand(35) and Sheringham at 36.  Age must have played a factor as the game progressed, and we weren't overly tested after Cole scored.

All were trumped though by (Wales manager) Mark Hughes at 38. How did he last 90 mins!

What a player Matt Jansen was. Eriksson has a lot to answer for wasting our golden generation, but taking Keown over Matty in 2002 was arguably his biggest crime!

Watching it reminds me of the Wigan debate when they were relegated and won the cup, and whether they would have preferred staying up. In hindsight, I would side with winning the cup for the memories!

I'm sure the club will commemorate it, and let's hope it's a double celebration as we clinch promotion this year. Would love to hear others' memories of the day.

[roversfan99]

Totally agree on your point about the cup v survival debate. Winning the Worthington Cup was in my second year as a fan as I was only young but it is still a day that will never be topped. Winning a cup is a rare thing for most clubs but tends to be the best memories. We were also fortunate to see our team play in Europe and it frustrates me as a football fan to see mid table/bottom half Premier League teams surrendering cup runs and even European runs so easily to "concentrate" on the monotony of a league season. That season the Cup win helped to generate promotion for comfortable survival too. Great memories.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

A special memory,the Media darlings put to the Sword in front of the Nation by the famous Blue n White.

The atmosphere inside the enclosed Stadium was fantastic...an unforgettable occasion.

£5 on Matt Jansen to score first and Rovers to win 2-1 was the Cherry on the Cake!!

Edited January 5, 2022 by SIMON GARNERS 194

[Oldgregg86]

Cup over survival all day for me. Living in Wigan I can say the majority here feel the same. One of the best days of my life and they come around so infrequent.  Kind of adds to my point about the league one title . We can spend the next 100 years yo-yo ing between divisions but no one can take that day away from us. No one will forget it who was there. No one cares about finishing 16th in the prem and it’s forgotten within 18 months

[4,000 Holes]

Tremendous article about the semi-final first leg at Hillsborough here: https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/articles/confessions-of-a-teenage-mascot/137

[Displaced Rover]

Thoughts:

Was a super day (weather aside!). I really enjoyed the drive home listening to disgruntled Spurs fans on the phone ins.

Definite penalty for NEJ tackle on Sheringham late on.

Sad that Tugay and Flitcroft both suspended, but still we got to see the mighty Yordi (sp?) make his debut...

As others have said, I'd always want a cup run from Rovers. However, poorly mismanaged we have been (and may well continue to be), no one can take our memories.

[simongarnerisgod]

had to laugh at sheringhams miserable face at the final whistle,like all the spurs team,the biased media and their arrogant fans,they though they only had to turn up to win,interestingly if sheringham has`nt gone down like a shot duck he might well have had a penalty,fantastic day apart from the mini bus we hired,the suspension was **** and the bloody fifth gear did`nt work😄,was worth it though

[Hasta]

I never get why teams like Palace or Everton who are safety mid-table rest players for cup games. That final against Spurs is second only to the 92 play off final in glorious moments I’ve attended regarding Rovers.  
 

Two of my biggest disappointments were in semi finals. We were so close to playing in the first FA cup final at the new Wembley, and also the league cup semi we lost at old Trafford 3-2 on aggregate in 2006. Had Bellamy played that game instead of Kuqi I thought we’d have won, and gone on to play Wigan in a second league cup final in 4 years.
 

 

[Oldgregg86]

I love how all the spurs fans were friendly yet over confident to the point of patronising pre game like they only had to turn up to win. I still get goosebumps when rocking all over the world comes on. One of the few nice things and memories I have with my dad. He wasn’t a football fan and spent little time with me growing up and out the blue had got tickets and booked the train. Fabulous day and memories I will treasure forever. Swap that for premiership survival for one more season. Not a chance 

[Ulrich]

And Tim went home with nothing!  That'll teach you to move away from the Rovers Sherwood

[Upside Down]

What an amazing day. We got to Cardiff and went into this massive pub that was packed and the first people we encountered were the people we sat next to every week at Ewood. 

I recently watched the replay of the game, it was incredibly exciting and quite a tight match.

The Spurs fans were absolutely piss poor, most of them were gone ten minutes before the end. What a joke.

I remember one of those tosser pundits before the game saying they couldn't see anything other than a Spurs win because "Blackburn lack striking power". All I can say is Ha Ha.

What a day, a once in a lifetime experience that most football fans will never be fortunate enough to have. 

[Mike E]

I think I've told the story before, but a couple of years ago my cousin was doing some sort of property deal with Hughesy.

He's an Arsenal fan, but he knew how much I liked Hughes so invites me into the Zoom conversation.

I told Sparky how much I loved his performance in the Worthy Cup final, especially playing in midfield when traditionally a striker.

He replied: 'I like it when people tell me about that day. It's one of my favourite medals because you don't win many at 38. But being played in midfield, I thought Graeme was trying to fucking kill me!'

[Blue blood]

My key memories:

Breakfast at the travel lodge in windy bottom or trumpington or some other such random place on a level with Cardiff in Emgland. Were joined by some "friendly" (read condescending) Spuds fans. "Tell me," they asked, "what do you really think of Souness?" "Do you really think Cole is a good forward?" Think they had their questions answered far better in the game then any answer I gave them. "We can't be overconfident," they said. "Anything could happen." Smug buggers. It did. 

 

Getting to Cardiff and it raining cats and dogs, a total deluge. And virtually nowhere was open. Remember huddling in a shopping arcade along with a ton of other Rovers and Spuds fans - not that any of the shops were open but it was at least under cover. Every pub and cafe was packed out. 

 

Who would have thought Hughes in midfield and Taylor right back would work? But it did. I'll be honest, I expected us to lose, Flitty and Tugay were big misses. When we scored first my first thought was at least we've had our moment in the game. When they equalised I thought that our moment had gone. 

 

But it hadn't gone. Can remember us growing into it as the second half went on. Can remember my Dad grabbing me and saying this is our moment, we need to capitalise on this. And we did. Fantastic goal from Cole. What do I think of him? His control for the goal was amazing. And kudos for Matty for forcing the defence into the error. Watching the ball roll into the net was an amazing feeling. 

 

Wasn't Brad fantastic? Save after save from an incredible one on one from Ferdinand (?) early on through to a few right at the death. Deserved MOTM. Incredible performance. One of the best keeping displays I have ever seen. 

 

Full time the Spuds end emptying quicker than a fire drill. 

 

Clapping and cheering so much at the end that my throat was hoarse and my hands hurt. Funnily enough the song I remember most is Rocking All Over The World as they did the lap of honour. That's the celebration picture in my memory. 

 

The drive back. Blimey getting out of Cardiff was tough, took hours. Arrived home in the early hours of the morning but me and my sister went to 6th form and school the next day despite this to celebrate (proudly wearing my Rovers shirt.) Not often you have bragging rights. Glory bunting was rife even back in the day. 

 

Overall one of the best days of my life. Magical. Flipping fantastic. A team you could be proud of hammering arrogant opposition. Never thought it would end like that when watching the 30 man rumble in the Oldham game way back in September. 

[riverholmes]

Thanks for sharing this. There's something fascinating about watching two strikers play in a 4-4-2. The combined creative and physical struggle is very visible as they try to connect and spring the opposition defence. It's even more the case with players like Cole and Jansen. The element of scrappiness and fortune in the goals makes them all the more beautiful.

I had forgotten that Tiny Taylor played at right back and how good he was in this game, albeit, I'm not sure Spurs tested him as they could have with Ziege in the team.

Edit: It has to be said that our route to the final was rather fortunate. If I remember rightly, we faced a reserve Arsenal team (albeit, Wenger's reserve teams were nifty) and then, I think, Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-final.

Edited January 6, 2022 by riverholmes

[SuperBrfc]

What a day. Made all the sweeter by the fact that the media and everybody else had already given the trophy to Spurs before a ball had been kicked. Brad was unbelievable as was Hughes in a central midfield role. Cole getting the winner in a cup final for Rovers. That's what £8m got you back then. Brilliant. It was quite simply a special time.

I won't ever subscribe to the view, held by some, that this is a 'mickey mouse' cup. It sounds all the more ridiculous when it comes from fans of Norwich, Southampton, Palace, Watford, Burnley etc whose teams offer no excitement in the league. Why turn your nose up at a trophy or the idea of a cup run? Football's about winning at the end of the day.

I'm just glad Souey and Hughes didn't take the "Oh United and Arsenal are too good, we've just got to focus on staying up" approach that we see some take in the cup competitions today.

[DeeCee]

I was back in my pub at just after 8pm, 90+ down the M5, me and my mate Brian (originally from Bamber Bridge) were hoarse before we got home 🍺👍👌

Amazing day. 

[Tim Southampton Rover]

12 hours ago, SuperBrfc said:

Made all the sweeter by the fact that the media and everybody else had already given the trophy to Spurs before a ball had been kicked.

To be fair, I think a lot of us fans were also slightly convinced it could be a very tough game. We were on an awful run of form where we had lost 4 in a row + injuries and suspensions. Just made the day even sweeter that the team came together and got a great result. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Tim Southampton Rover

[roverandout]

17 hours ago, Hasta said:

I never get why teams like Palace or Everton who are safety mid-table rest players for cup games. That final against Spurs is second only to the 92 play off final in glorious moments I’ve attended regarding Rovers.  
 

Two of my biggest disappointments were in semi finals. We were so close to playing in the first FA cup final at the new Wembley, and also the league cup semi we lost at old Trafford 3-2 on aggregate in 2006. Had Bellamy played that game instead of Kuqi I thought we’d have won, and gone on to play Wigan in a second league cup final in 4 years.
 

 

Was at the Chelsea semi final at Old Trafford.  We walked into a pub me and my brother in law and neice before the game, with our rovers tops on. It was a Chelsea pub so we quickly walked out.

[oldjamfan1]

Bitter sweet memories for me. Sweet being the day itself, as others have said the atmosphere was incredible, especially with the roof being closed. 
My best mate was married to a Cardiff girl so we stayed down there for a couple of days. Unbelievable weekend.

But it also brings back sad memories as my older brother had just passed away a few weeks earlier at the age of 41 and our host for the weekend, my best mate, also died in his 40s as well a few years later. 
 

What memories though 💙🤍🍻

 

[Herbie6590]

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[Herbie6590]

 

[Claytons Left Boot]

Great couple of nights in Ross-on-Wye which we used as a base. Spurs thought that they only had to turn up to get the trophy. What a shame. We shifted our allocation of 30k tickets without them going on general sale. Crawled out of Cardiff after the game, it seemed to take an age, even when we reached the M4. When we reached the A449, we went our way, the Spurs fans carried on down the M4. There was a services type area with eateries at that junction which was absolutely awash with Rovers fans in their shirts. Never seen so many away from any stadium we’ve played at, looked superb. Top game too, watched it in full a couple of months ago. Small town, big history, big trophy cabinet. Can’t take away the memories.

[Upside Down]

Funnily enough going into it I never thought we would lose. Don't know why but I just had a feeling.

[Armchair supporter supremo]

On 05/01/2022 at 13:52, oozy said:

Just came across the full replay of the League Cup Final from 2002 on YouTube. Wasn't aware it was online, and thought others might want to watch it too.

What a team we had then, and such happier times! A few things came to mind as I watched:

How good was Brad. Those 3 saves from Ferdinand were just a testament to his quality.

We took 30,000. The commentators mentioned it being a third of the town, and joked about the last person leaving switching the lights off. A town really behind their club! The numbers weren't actually that surprising though, considering we averaged 25k as late as 2011.

How old were the Spurs forward line! Sherwood was the spring chicken at 33, with Poyet(34), Ferdinand(35) and Sheringham at 36.  Age must have played a factor as the game progressed, and we weren't overly tested after Cole scored.

All were trumped though by (Wales manager) Mark Hughes at 38. How did he last 90 mins!

What a player Matt Jansen was. Eriksson has a lot to answer for wasting our golden generation, but taking Keown over Matty in 2002 was arguably his biggest crime!

Watching it reminds me of the Wigan debate when they were relegated and won the cup, and whether they would have preferred staying up. In hindsight, I would side with winning the cup for the memories!

I'm sure the club will commemorate it, and let's hope it's a double celebration as we clinch promotion this year. Would love to hear others' memories of the day.

Great game, great performance and an incredible atmosphere 

 

Nobody gave us a real chance going into the game and the arrogant spurs fans especially thought they where going to just walk all over us, but we COMPLETELY bossed them defensively and took our chances when we got them

Edited January 8, 2022 by Armchair supporter supremo

[BRFCS.com]

It's 20 years exactly since we reached the final by beating Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-final second leg. There's some great newspaper cuttings on the front page to celebrate!

https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/articles/the-road-to-cardiff.../161