21 Years since our League Cup win in 2002

[BRFCS.com]

Twenty bits of trivia about the 2002 League Cup victory 20 years on:

https://brfcs.com/magazine/articles/twenty20:-cardiff-revisited/185

[Displaced Rover]

Jeff Kenna being on the bench in the QF is the most bizarre fact. I thought he'd been long gone by that point!

[Mattyblue]

He’d been away on loan a lot by then, but from memory our injuries were so bad he was recalled... still won. 👌

[Upside Down]

The more I think about it I realise what an absolute privilege it was to be there and experience our club win a major trophy. 

Magic. 

[Mattyblue]

In today’s Sunday Times, good lad Souey…

 

[Herbie6590]

 

[Herbie6590]

 

[Herbie6590]

https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/articles/worthy-winners!/372

[Norbert Rassragr]

This final was why I came to loathe Spurs. The arrogance of their fans before the game, dismissing us as a small team and how they were going back to their 'rightful' position as a European team was hard to listen on all the radio shows. Then we won!

[matt83]

2 hours ago, Norbert Rassragr said:

This final was why I came to loathe Spurs. The arrogance of their fans before the game, dismissing us as a small team and how they were going back to their 'rightful' position as a European team was hard to listen on all the radio shows. Then we won!

A couple of our mates went to Cardiff uni so they knew the city inside out so a load of us went down for the weekend. They’d allocated all the shit pubs to rovers fans and all the decent pubs to spurs fans (typical and mildly irritating). So the night before we exclusively spent time with spurs fans and you’re right the arrogance was astounding. Like we were there for a day out and they were there to win.

League form was iffy and few injuries but I was adamant we were the better side and we were going to win (even as a pessimist) but they were acting as though it was the equivalent of the citeh of today playing Chorley. Weird. Can’t recall but we may well have finished above them in the league that season, either way it was far closer than any one that I spoke to would admit. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by matt83

[Mattyblue]

9th them vs 10th us, so nowt in it as teams that year.

Then we finished a mile above them the season after… finishing the campaign with a 4-0 hammering down at WHL.

Not many clubs fans as haughty as theirs with absolutely bugger all to back it up.

 

[Admiral Nelsen]

 

27 minutes ago, matt83 said:

A couple of our mates went to Cardiff uni so they knew the city inside out so a load of us went down for the weekend. They’d allocated all the shit pubs to rovers fans and all the decent pubs to spurs fans (typical and mildly irritating). So the night before we exclusively spent time with spurs fans and you’re right the arrogance was astounding. Like we were there for a day out and they were there to win.

League form was iffy and few injuries but I was adamant we were the better side and we were going to win (even as a pessimist) but they were acting as though it was the equivalent of the citeh of today playing Chorley. Weird. Can’t recall but we may well have finished above them in the league that season, either way it was far closer than any one that I spoke to would admit. 

 

I've just had a look to jog my memory - we finished one place below them but we were still in the top half and finished with a better goal difference. To be fair to them, we had a ridiculously good last few months and still finished below them, so I can half understand why they wouldn't rate us too highly when we were still firmly in a relegation battle & on shocking league form. Other than maybe Cole and Berg, a lot of them wouldn't have had the faintest notion of how good some of our players actually were, especially seeing as some of them were a part of a relegated team a couple of years earlier.

 

There would've been some sour grapes after the game with Brad being on such inspired form that day, but they would've finally recognised how good we were 12 months later when we secured a top 6 finish by pumping them 4-0 at White Hart Lane. 

[matt83]

4 minutes ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

 

 

I've just had a look to jog my memory - we finished one place below them but we were still in the top half and finished with a better goal difference. To be fair to them, we had a ridiculously good last few months and still finished below them, so I can half understand why they wouldn't rate us too highly when we were still firmly in a relegation battle & on shocking league form. Other than maybe Cole and Berg, a lot of them wouldn't have had the faintest notion of how good some of our players actually were, especially seeing as some of them were a part of a relegated team a couple of years earlier.

 

There would've been some sour grapes after the game with Brad being on such inspired form that day, but they would've finally recognised how good we were 12 months later when we secured a top 6 finish by pumping them 4-0 at White Hart Lane. 

I genuinely thought we’d win but objectively it was a 50:50 no more than a 55:45 in their favour but with all the chat it was like a pub team were playing the mighty spurs. I kept saying to them you’re truly blessed to watch the first English club to lift 3 major trophies in 3 centuries like it was guaranteed our way. I’d like to think one of the many many spurs fans I said it to reflected on it and thought fair dos. 

[tomphil]

Anyone who throws the entitled nonsense at Rovers fans has never spent much time in the company of Spurs.

Showed themselves right up that day both before and after.

[onlyoneDuff]

Just stumbled across this thread..enjoyed reading the memories of those who were there..was in the desert at the time..

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Never fails to make you proud...we really did have some special players back then.

[wilsdenrover]

I think our coach sang all the way back to Ewood 😀

[wilsdenrover]

3 hours ago, tomphil said:

Anyone who throws the entitled nonsense at Rovers fans has never spent much time in the company of Spurs.

Showed themselves right up that day both before and after.

Made it even sweeter…

[Proudtobeblue&white]

Wow, how it rained!!!

[Upside Down]

The best thing about their arrogant attitude is that they seemed to forget about the fact we'd already beaten them in the league earlier in the season. 

Entitled dick heads supporting (and I use that term loosely as most of them had buggered off with 10mins still to play) a shit club. They will never be anything compared to the mighty Rovers. 

I waved my Premier League winners flag with pride that day.

[roverandout]

Remembered being at the fa cup semi final against Chelsea in 2007 at Old Trafford.  Met a few Chelsea fans who seemed to be OK. Me and my family had Rovers tops on,we decided to go for a drink before the game so we went inside a pub as we entered the whole pub was full of Chelsea fans so we said 'NOPE' and we backed out as quickly and quitely as we could.

[Officer Barbrady]

5 hours ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Never fails to make you proud...we really did have some special players back then.

I second this.Regardless of how our fortunes have deffo not been what we have wanted them to be over the past decade or so, we still have won more and have better history than a ton of other clubs above us and below us will ever have.Rovers are my pride and joy and always will be.

We will get back to the top at some point, I truly think we will.Just have to keep the faith as we always have.Otherwise what's the point of watching?

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

12 hours ago, Officer Barbrady said:

We will get back to the top at some point, I truly think we will.Just have to keep the faith as we always have.Otherwise what's the point of watching?

Absolutely...its just knowing what we had and now knowing what we have become can grind you down a touch,and some.

[wilsdenrover]

10 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Absolutely...its just knowing what we had and now knowing what we have become can grind you down a touch,and some.

Which is worse, to have had and lost or to have never had?

Rovers have given me some of the best days of my life - and there’s nothing ‘they’ can do to take them away 

Edited February 25, 2023 by wilsdenrover

[Upside Down]

The problem is that we didn't lose it, it was deliberately taken away.