Replay Requiem (FA Cup) – Football in Berkshire

Like everything else in life, football evolves. Any change will inevitably generate opposition, but the test of time will prove its efficacy. So, in my lifetime, the use of goal average to rank teams with the same number of points or back-passes to the goalkeeper is barely remembered, let alone regretted. The digital revolution has thrown paper tickets and, for many, printed programs into the dustbin of history. The football fan in me doesn’t like the play-offs, but I accept the play-offs are here to stay. Likewise, the widespread use of “away” lines rather than teams only changing players when necessary will be infuriating, but I understand the commercial importance. But one season in, I can’t stomach the ending of the reruns, and I don’t think I ever will.

For me, the concept of replays is the essence of knockout football. The aim of a cup match is to end with the winner progressing to the next round. These are rights earned on the playing field. For a team to advance, they must prove their superiority over their opponents by winning matches. Both teams are equal on the playing field until this happens, whatever their league status.

My early football memories are dominated by the drama of FA Cup replays. As a child I was fascinated by Arsenal’s Cup past of the 1970s, starting with their storied third round in 1979 against Jack Charlton’s Sheffield Wednesday who were then in Division Three. This means five games and I’ll happily go to bed early and turn on the radio for live commentary after 8pm to watch the latest instalment. This happened again to the Gunners in the spring of 1980 when they needed four games to qualify for the FA Cup semi-final against Football League Champions Liverpool. This replay was not a glorious display of football – far from it. This is draining stuff and incredibly gripping to listen to, thanks to the scholarly commentary of Bryon Butler and Peter Jones.

As the decade wore on, it was the FA Cup Final itself that was repeated in three consecutive seasons. Nothing was more dramatic than 1981 when Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City traded goals twice before Ricky Villa settled the contest with his immortal goal. Each replay was a special event as it was broadcast live on TV and offered the opportunity to stay up late on a school night; even though the last two replays were both boring, they still provided days of conversation thanks to the anticipation of the second game.

At the end of the decade I went on my own personal re-odyssey, attending seven of Reading’s games in the first two rounds of the FA Cup at the end of 1989, when they overcame the odds to beat Bristol Rovers, only to be humbled by three draws against Welling United.

Until the 1990s, if a cup competition had no replays, it was not considered a Mickey Mouse-like tinpot – like The Full Members Cup. By contrast, my last visit to the Finchampstead Road ground in Wokingham Town was for a Berks & Bucks Senior Cup replay. By now the writing was on the wall for replay. This is seen as an inconvenience due to a very modern disdain for anything unpredictable. Initially, it was the police who decided that ten days’ notice was required for their attendance at the rematch – although surely this could have been done temporarily before the first match? This then led to a penalty shootout being called after the first replay several seasons later. At least this can still accommodate that beautiful expression, “one more bite of the cherry”.

Maidenhead United are usually underdogs in most cup games, but things were different when the Magpies were drawn to Kent League Whitstable Town in 2003. The Oystermen would not give up on their superiors; a goalless first match followed by a goalless rematch. Unfortunately, this meant a penalty at York Road. Maidenhead won a shootout that left traveling fans in tears; I feel the pain. This is no way to lose a cup game.

In contrast, Stafford Rangers comfortably won their first round replay at York Road in 2006, but what was important was that the match went ahead, as Maidenhead managed to draw with just nine men in the first game. They – as no one will ever say again – “earned the right” to replay.

Related: ‘Pandemonium’ – Relive Maidenhead United’s FA Cup tie with Port Vale

More recently, Chippenham Town and Taunton Town took Maidenhead to a replay at York Road and left with honour, having pushed their hosts all the way. However, it was the fall of 2015 that cemented the power of replay. In their first FA Cup match, Maidenhead United broke out of jail at Winchester. After playing almost the entire match with ten men, United equalized before winning the replay. This happened again in August in the first half when James Mulley equalized at Vale Park with the last kick of the match to send Port Vale back to Berkshire for a replay in what would be the first game to be broadcast live at York Road. Once again, it is the days of waiting that must be cherished. The identity of the next opponent was revealed the following Monday; tickets quickly sold out by the end of the week. Personally, that meant an intense half-hour telephone conversation with commentator Jon Champion as he attempted to extract every bit of information that might be useful on the night. In the game itself, Alan Massey’s strike to give Maidenhead the lead had us all dreaming for a few minutes before reality returned and the Valiants ran out comfortable winners.

This is where the memories end. There will be no more stories, no more jockeying for tickets or drawing up programmes, no more worrying about whether the squad will have enough fit players or whether short breaks from work will be granted. Instead, it was decided that this random aspect of football trophies should be removed. The power of the super clubs is exerting its power. In a truly appalling move, the National League took a very timid stance, deciding that their thirty pieces of silver would be awarded in the form of a completely unpopular new competition featuring age group teams from the Premier League.

To really add salt to the wound, this decision was followed by Maidenhead almost beating a Football League opponent for the first time. Crawley Town almost lost at York Road before a last-minute equalizer took the game into extra time, when they scored a stoppage-time winner. The Magpies may not win the replay at Broadfield, but at least I can dream about it for a week or so.

This is what really bothered me about the end of the rewatch. It’s the end of uncertainty, the end of the extension of the dream, the end of the sporting idea that until you beat me, you can’t escape. Nothing more can be added to the memories created by Ronnie Radford, Ricky Villa and Alan Massey. Instead, we must know our position, work hard and stick to what is often forgotten in league football.