Remembered! When the FA Cup third round took 66 DAYS

[davieG]

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/remembered-when-fa-cup-third-round-took-66-days-261-postponements-and-flame-throwers

 

If you don't want to read all of it this 2nd page bit is all about the Leicester City - Ice Kings

 

Oil drums and burning coke

A nightwatchman sat up throughout Friday night to ensure all was safe. These braziers remained on the pitch until about 11am on a Saturday morning

- Gordon Banks

If anything, this rupture of the season helped Leicester. In the summer of 1962, groundsman Bill Taylor had relaid the Filbert Street pitch, treating the topsoil with a blend of fertiliser and weed-killer that generated enough heat from the chemical reaction to mitigate the frosts.

As Gordon Banks recalls in his memoirs: “The groundsman augmented this affect by placing oil drums filled with burning coke at various points around the pitch, which raised the air temperature enough to ward off the severest frost. A nightwatchman sat up throughout Friday night to ensure all was safe. These braziers remained on the pitch until about 11am on a Saturday morning. An hour later, when the referee arrived to inspect the pitch it was playable and the game was given the go-ahead.”

So after beating Grimsby Town 3-1 only four days later than originally scheduled, Leicester were able to play their fourth-round tie, at home against Ipswich, at the end of January. While many clubs didn’t play a match for 10 weeks, the Foxes were back in action in five. Even before the third round had finished, Leicester had beaten Ipswich 3-1 to ensure their place in the last 16.

Under manager Matt Gillies, Leicester played a short passing game in which impish inside-left Davie Gibson and indefatigable left-winger Mike Stringfellow swapped positions and hit angled posses into the box for centre-forward Ken Keyworth, who had started out as a deep-lying midfielder, to run onto. Behind them, Frank McLintock often ran into the space vacated by his back-tracking inside-right Graham Cross.

All this short passing and interchanging divided pundits, some journalists hailing it as creative, others groaning that it was defensive. When City returned to action, they changed tack a little – hitting more longer balls to the wingers – and were so effective, winning nine games in a row in all competitions, that they were dubbed the “Ice Kings”.

image: https://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/inline-image/public/banks-leicester.jpg?itok=f5VbSVxk

Banks played in odd boots to help combat the Big Freeze

Yet things, as Banks’s memoirs make clear, were hardly back to normal. “The pitch had partly frozen over again come three o'clock, especially the end under the shadow of the towering double-decker stand.” Knowing that half the pitch was still frozen, Banks took to the field in odd boots: on his right foot he had his normal leather-studded boot; on his left a boot with moulded rubber studs better suited to hard surfaces.

He would carry the other two odd boots under his arm and switch as soon as he knew which end City were defending in the first half. He also filed down his leather-studs because the exposed nail heads gripped the frozen ground better. (Luckily for Banks, officials had not yet started checking players’ studs.) Though he says: “I was always careful not to expose them in such a way that could cause injury”, such a ruse would be illegal today.

image: https://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/inline-image/public/luton-swindon-dog.jpg?itok=7TTuIGyQ

Luton's pitch gets a bit ruff

With no heating in his house, Banks ate more hot dinners to keep warm, gaining a few insulating pounds in the process. McLintock followed suit but recalled: “That was a rotten winter to live through. No matter how much coal we threw on the fire or gallons of hot steaming soup we shovelled down, we went weeks without being warm.”

 

 

 

[Voll Blau]

Slightly off topic, but did anyone on here ever go to any second replays on neutral grounds involving Leicester, or any second replays where Filbert Street was the neutral venue? Mad to think that used to be a thing.

[1972 Fox]

7 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

Slightly off topic, but did anyone on here ever go to any second replays on neutral grounds involving Leicester, or any second replays where Filbert Street was the neutral venue? Mad to think that used to be a thing.

I didn't go to any Leicester 2nd replays on neutral grounds but did go to some neutral replays at Filbert Street in the 70's. Leeds v Ipswich, Arsenal v Sheff Wed and Southampton v Grimsby. I think the first two attracted attendances of over 35,000. Not such a big crowd for the Saints v Grimsby though. Great memories of seeing these teams in the FA Cup as a kid. The FA Cup seemed to mean so much more in those days. Would still love us to win it now though to complete our domestic treble of major trophies.

[Keyworth63]

Thanks for posting, davieG!

I was too young to appreciate the new system LCFC were playing at that time, so it's good to see a detailed description of it. I do remember seeing a televised interview with Graham Cross in which he said winning the Cup was more important than the league to him - not sure exactly how long before the Final this happened though.  I also remember that in their last league game a week before the final they fielded a much weakened side, along with a list of "injuries" to some key players. I suppose at that point the league title was out of reach.

[davieG]

2 hours ago, Keyworth63 said:

Thanks for posting, davieG!

I was too young to appreciate the new system LCFC were playing at that time, so it's good to see a detailed description of it. I do remember seeing a televised interview with Graham Cross in which he said winning the Cup was more important than the league to him - not sure exactly how long before the Final this happened though.  I also remember that in their last league game a week before the final they fielded a much weakened side, along with a list of "injuries" to some key players. I suppose at that point the league title was out of reach.

Just looked at the FT history section to remind me.

 

We were 2nd at the semi-final stage but then had 4 away games on the trot from  the 4th - 18th May which we lost, rearrange I think because of the previous winter problems.

 

The Final was then on the 25th so you can see the problems we faced. MU were near the bottom as well.

 

https://www.foxestalk.co.uk/history/browse/?season=1962

[Keyworth63]

Just delved into that link.  Last game vs. Birmingham (lost3-2) - Banks, King, Appleton, Gibson and Stringfellow were absent. If they won this last game it would have put them in 3rd.

[norwichfox]

7 hours ago, davieG said:

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/remembered-when-fa-cup-third-round-took-66-days-261-postponements-and-flame-throwers

 

If you don't want to read all of it this 2nd page bit is all about the Leicester City - Ice Kings

 

Oil drums and burning coke

A nightwatchman sat up throughout Friday night to ensure all was safe. These braziers remained on the pitch until about 11am on a Saturday morning

- Gordon Banks

If anything, this rupture of the season helped Leicester. In the summer of 1962, groundsman Bill Taylor had relaid the Filbert Street pitch, treating the topsoil with a blend of fertiliser and weed-killer that generated enough heat from the chemical reaction to mitigate the frosts.

As Gordon Banks recalls in his memoirs: “The groundsman augmented this affect by placing oil drums filled with burning coke at various points around the pitch, which raised the air temperature enough to ward off the severest frost. A nightwatchman sat up throughout Friday night to ensure all was safe. These braziers remained on the pitch until about 11am on a Saturday morning. An hour later, when the referee arrived to inspect the pitch it was playable and the game was given the go-ahead.”

So after beating Grimsby Town 3-1 only four days later than originally scheduled, Leicester were able to play their fourth-round tie, at home against Ipswich, at the end of January. While many clubs didn’t play a match for 10 weeks, the Foxes were back in action in five. Even before the third round had finished, Leicester had beaten Ipswich 3-1 to ensure their place in the last 16.

Under manager Matt Gillies, Leicester played a short passing game in which impish inside-left Davie Gibson and indefatigable left-winger Mike Stringfellow swapped positions and hit angled posses into the box for centre-forward Ken Keyworth, who had started out as a deep-lying midfielder, to run onto. Behind them, Frank McLintock often ran into the space vacated by his back-tracking inside-right Graham Cross.

All this short passing and interchanging divided pundits, some journalists hailing it as creative, others groaning that it was defensive. When City returned to action, they changed tack a little – hitting more longer balls to the wingers – and were so effective, winning nine games in a row in all competitions, that they were dubbed the “Ice Kings”.

image: https://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/inline-image/public/banks-leicester.jpg?itok=f5VbSVxk

Banks played in odd boots to help combat the Big Freeze

Yet things, as Banks’s memoirs make clear, were hardly back to normal. “The pitch had partly frozen over again come three o'clock, especially the end under the shadow of the towering double-decker stand.” Knowing that half the pitch was still frozen, Banks took to the field in odd boots: on his right foot he had his normal leather-studded boot; on his left a boot with moulded rubber studs better suited to hard surfaces.

He would carry the other two odd boots under his arm and switch as soon as he knew which end City were defending in the first half. He also filed down his leather-studs because the exposed nail heads gripped the frozen ground better. (Luckily for Banks, officials had not yet started checking players’ studs.) Though he says: “I was always careful not to expose them in such a way that could cause injury”, such a ruse would be illegal today.

image: https://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/inline-image/public/luton-swindon-dog.jpg?itok=7TTuIGyQ

Luton's pitch gets a bit ruff

With no heating in his house, Banks ate more hot dinners to keep warm, gaining a few insulating pounds in the process. McLintock followed suit but recalled: “That was a rotten winter to live through. No matter how much coal we threw on the fire or gallons of hot steaming soup we shovelled down, we went weeks without being warm.”

 

 

 

My most favourite season next to winning the Premier League, many thanks for reviving those great memories davieG