As Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest prepare for Wednesday night's Capital One Cup clash live on Sky Sports, we look back at the classic 1991 FA Cup Final between the two teams in conversation with former Spurs forward Paul Walsh.
Wednesday 24 September 2014 16:03, UK
Wednesday’s Capital One Cup tie between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest will no doubt stir memories for supporters of a certain vintage. The teams have played each other numerous times since, but this will always be remembered as a rerun of the 1991 FA Cup Final.
There were two narratives going into the match. Having lit up the Wembley semi-final with a brilliant strike against Arsenal, this was Paul Gascoigne’s chance to once again be the hero for Spurs in the Cup Final itself. Alternatively, could legendary Forest manager Brian Clough finally get his hands on the trophy? As it turned out, the day would not go as either man planned…
Brian Clough
Clough had won just about everything there was to win in an extraordinary career. There had been league titles with both Derby County and Nottingham Forest as well as those back-to-back European Cup wins. He’d even won the League Cup at Wembley in each of the previous two seasons prior to the 1991 FA Cup Final. But this was his first appearance in English football’s showpiece fixture.
Ever the eccentric, he entered the field holding hands with Tottenham manager Terry Venables. His opposite number insists it was at Clough’s instigation. He was in the tunnel saying ‘Look after me won’t you. I don’t want to fall over’,” Venables told Sky Sports. “As I come out he grips my right hand with his left hand and I'm clamped. I'm clamped!”
Paul Gascoigne
If Clough was nervous, Gascoigne was also feeling the occasion intensely. Speaking to Spurs team-mate Paul Walsh about that season, it’s clear that Gascoigne was the focus of attention for supporters, media and colleagues alike. “Without Gazza that season we wouldn’t have got there anyway,” says Walsh. “He was fantastic in most of the rounds but never more so than against Arsenal. It was an unbelievable 30-yard free-kick into the top corner.”
“What people overlook a little bit is that he’d been out with a hernia operation and he hadn’t played for six weeks prior to that. So to put in that sort of performance in the semi-final and drag Tottenham to the final was just fantastic. Without him we wouldn’t have been there. There’s just no getting away from that.
“In the final he was a little bit hyped up because in a way it was all about Gazza in the build-up. The whole thing revolved around him. We stayed in the Royal Lancaster right in the middle of town. There wasn’t a lot to do and Gazza was always a bit uptight and frustrated, wanting to let off a bit of steam. I think that’s why when we went into the game he was a bit like a raging bull.
“He stabbed Garry Parker in the chest early on and Roger Milford could have sent him off purely on that tackle but he didn’t even book him. Unfortunately, that led to Gazza going on and putting in a second ridiculous challenge that knackered his own knee. Stuart Pearce then went and rattled one in the top corner from the free-kick.”
While Spurs were more than a little fortunate to still have 11 players on the pitch, things showed little sign of going their way. Already a goal down, there was the additional blow of seeing Gary Lineker waste the chance to equalise from the spot as his first-half penalty was saved by Mark Crossley. Ten minutes into the second half, Paul Stewart did grab an equaliser and the game went into extra time.
The Winner
“One of my main memories of that day is Brian Clough in extra time not getting off the bench,” adds Walsh. “He just sat there and didn’t even talk to his players. That was a little bit weird, but then he was a bit unusual and did things a little differently. Maybe he thought the players knew what to do.”
Walsh certainly knew what to do, making a significant contribution after coming on as a substitute for Vinny Samways in the latter stages of normal time. “It was nice to get on as a sub and do a bit,” he says. Indeed, Walsh played his part in what turned out to be winning goal.
“I headed the ball towards goal and it came back off the crossbar before getting cleared for a corner. When the corner came in it got flicked on and unfortunately for Des Walker he got caught between two minds and the ball flew into the top corner. That was pretty much it.” The score finished 2-1. For the fifth time that century, Spurs had won the FA Cup when the year ended in one.
The Aftermath
With the trophy secured and the fans in celebratory mood in the capital, the elation of the Tottenham players was tempered by the knowledge that the star man was lying in his hospital bed. Walsh recalls the curious scenes that followed.
“After the game we all appreciated everything Gazza had done in that run. So the first thing we did is that the wives, the girlfriends and all the staff came with us and we took the FA Cup to the Princess Grace Hospital where he was staying.
“He looked absolutely devastated because he knew it was a serious injury. He’d already got the Lazio move lined up so I suppose at that stage he didn’t know whether this was going to put that move in jeopardy.
“The party was still good after once everyone had a few drinks at the Royal Lancaster. Chas and Dave had done the Cup final record and they were there. It was a proper knees up. But it was always in the back of your thoughts about Gazza because he deserved it more than anybody.”
