Crops: The Alex Cropley Story

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The players involved realised how disappointing the game had been. Bob Latchford admitted “It was a horror show” and Andy Gray felt that “we had let the crowd down by dishing up a boring show”. The Liverpool Echo claimed it was “The Final ruined by tension”, the Birmingham Mail added that it was “Ninety minutes of emptiness”. Perhaps Brian Glanville summarised it best, viewing it as “dull and uneventful as a seaside town in winter”. The highlight was the referee Gordon Kew calling all 22 players together to find a pair of bandsmen’s spurs which had been lost during the half time interval! Both teams undertook a pointless lap of honour at the end, which Andy Gray refused to join. So on Wednesday 13th March, a crowd of 54,749 gathered to witness the last game in the saga.In contrast to the dour matches that had preceded it, this replay ended up being a classic. Everton dominated proceedings in the first half and it came as no surprise when in the 38th minute Ken Mc Naught nodded the ball down for Bob Latchford, Villa’s nemesis to score the opening goal. For the first time in the tie, Everton were in the lead. However, Everton knew one goal would not be enough as Latchford himself said: “Villa were too good a side not to respond”. Cropley was diagnosed as suffering from dementia in December 2020. [16] He also has an older son, Ross, who played for Aston Villa

Cropley. who played in Villa’s 1977 League Cup final victory, was everything 66-year-old Brian expected him to be: modest, kind and courteous.Tiredness now became an increasing influence on the game as an additional thirty minutes was the last thing both teams needed. Aston Villa had played three games in eight days, whilst Everton had played four in eleven. On 104 minutes, Gidman came off and Gordon Smith took his place. The game entered the final ninety seconds and for both sets of players, the dreaded prospect of a penalty shoot- out loomed. After an incredible 328 minutes of football, the teams could still not be separated. Tommy Preston started the 1955 season deputising for the ill Lawrie Reilly and would rarely, barring injuries be out of the side during the next ten years.

Alex Cropley: I was a spent force by the time I arrived". Portsmouth Today.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015 . Retrieved 20 May 2017. The Scottish League Cup final of 1972 remains one of the greatest club matches ever played in this country. Turnbull's Hibs beat Stein's Celtic 2-1 and it was an extraordinary game of skill and pace: the absolute essence of football. Andy Umeed also contributed 49 as Somerset added 190 to their overnight 214-2 in an extended morning comprising 32.4 overs.Somerset were bowled out for 167 and trailed after the first innings by 295 runs, but Essex did not enforce the follow-on and ended the day on 15-1 - a lead of 310. Latterly Tommy was to be found at Easter Road on match days as a guest of the club. He died on 16 April 2015, aged 82. Jimmy McColl served the club as a player, assistant trainer, trainer, reserve team manager and finally odd job man around the ground. Westley decided to rest his bowlers rather than go immediately again, and in seven evening overs lost Browne leg-before to Overton. He would die for the shirt – what a man to have in your trench. In today’s money he’d be worth millions.”