Six Great Draws - A Tribute To A Leicester Legend

[kushiro]

You'll know that the Tranmere tie is a repeat of the 2000 League Cup Final. And you probably saw Wes Morgan and Martin O'Neill making the draw earlier this month.

 

That draw made for great entertainment,  mainly because of Martin's stellar performance. People were asking 'What is he on?' and of course, 'Where can I get some?'

 

Here I'd like to use that as the starting point for a celebration of the man's wonderful career, looking back at six key moments. But never mind 'Six Great Goals', 'Six Great Matches' etc.  They've all been done to death. This is Six Great Draws - a tribute to Martin O'Neill with a difference. 

 

 

1) EFL Cup August 2023

 

Just in case you missed it, here's Martin's performance a couple of weeks back.  Watch about two minutes of this to see the best part - up to when the host asks him why he's talking into the balls.

 

 

 

I think we can be pretty sure he was sober -- it was just Martin being Martin. But I'm not sure about the next one:

 

 

2)  December 1992 - Draw for the 3rd Round of the FA Cup.  

 

Martin was manager of non-League Wycombe Wanderers, who were the team of the moment after drawing 2-2 with West Brom in Round Two of the FA Cup. Now he's watching to see who they might face in the next round, IF they could win the replay. 

 

 

 

Splendid stuff. I'm not sure I've ever seen that side of him before.

 

Sadly, they never got to face West Ham, Albion winning the replay 1-0.  They did win the Conference that year, taking them into the Football League, and then they got promotion from Division Three the following season. That's when Leicester first offered him a job - but he decided to stay at Wycombe, where he very nearly got them a third promotion in a row.

 

 

3) January 1971  Irish Cup

 

Continuing the alcoholic theme, Martin's first professional club as a player was Distillery in the Irish League. They were named after the Royal Irish Distillery, which you can see next to the ground here:

 

 

And this is where the story heads off in a more serious direction, for in 1971, just as Martin was breaking into the team, the troubles in Northern Ireland were entering a new phase and football matches were becoming triggers for further sectarian violence. 

 

Distillery had both republican and unionist supporters, but that mix still created tension when they played staunchly loyalist clubs such as Linfield and Glentoran. In 1971, the Irish FA decided that the draw for the Cup would not be strictly random. Teams were placed in three separate bags - Distillery, Derry City and Cliftonville were in one bag, Linfield and Glentoran in another, with the remainder in a third bag.

 

The draw paired Distillery with lower league side Ballycare Comrades.  Distillery won 2-1 and went all the way to the Final, where Martin was the star as they beat Derry City 3-0.

 

 

That took them into the European Cup Winners Cup the following season, when Distillery were drawn to play Barcelona in the First Round. That led to Martin's sensational performance in the Nou Camp and shortly after, his signing for Forest.

 

 

4) World Cup Draw 1982

 

From Distillery, to a brewery - or at least the question of whether FIFA can organize a p***-up.

 

Martin won his first Northern Ireland cap shortly after moving to England, and nine years later manager Billy Bingham took what some saw as a controversial decision - making him, a Catholic, captain of the side. Bingham quite rightly ignored the nay-sayers, and his judgement was vindicated when Martin led the team to their first World Cup finals since 1958. 

 

The squad that qualified for Spain was truly a band of brothers - Catholics and Protestants all together under O'Neill's inspired leadership. Traveling to games the Protestant players would sing 'The Sash' and the Catholics would repsond with republican anthems,  but it was all done in a spirit of great friendship and mutual respect.

 

On January 16th 1982 as the draw was made for the finals, O'Neill was a guest in the ITV studio. 

 

 

 

Just like the Irish Cup in 1971, this draw wasn't strictly random. FIFA had devised a detailed procedure to avoid having two South American nations in the same group. If a European team were drawn, they would go into either Brazil's group or Argentina's group. But...

 

 

 

 

Belgium and Scotland were in the same pot as Northern Ireland, who were eventually drawn in a group with Spain, Yugoslavia and Honduras. 

 

With O'Neill inspiring them, the Irish famously beat the hosts to make it through the first group stage, leading to that moment he's never forgotten - his goal against France being scandalously ruled out for offside. They could have been in the semi-finals of the World Cup, but instead France went through to play West Germany in that all-time classic.

 

5) 1986 World Cup Finals

 

This is an extraordinary picture. It shows Martin being stretchered off at Meadow Lane after a challenge by Shrewsbury Town's Paul Tester on February 2nd 1985.  There's something almost funereal about the scene - you could mistake the stretcher bearers for pallbearers.

 

 

Perhaps it's the knowledge of the significance of that moment that gives the image its solemn air. His knee injury was so serious that it effectively ended his career. He never played another senior game. 

 

You might recognize the figure second from left. It's Alan Young, the County substitute that day. He came on for Martin and they lost 3-1. 

 

Here's another photo from that day, low in quality, but capturing the moment Tester challenged him.

 

 

 

It's painful just looking at it, isn't it?

 

At that time, the next World Cup was 16 months away. Martin wanted to round off his career by leading Northern Ireland in the finals in Mexico. He played in early qualifiers, and then without him, the Irish did indeed make the finals after finishing second in England's group. 

 

Martin had a desperate 14 month battle to regain his fitness, and his motivaiton to make it back in time only increased when the draw for the finals was held on December 15th. The Irish were placed in a group alongside Brazil, Spain and Algeria.  

 

So there was the dream - to round off his career by playing against that great Brazil side. He redoubled his efforts to get his body ready for Mexico.

 

But it wasn't to be. Martin had signed for Fulham, and he was tried out in a reserve game at Swindon on April 22nd, just weeks before the finals. He quickly realised it was hopeless. The Irish went to Mexico without him, and went out in the group stage, losing to Brazil 3-0.

 

 

6)  Worthington Cup Semi-Finals, 1999/2000 

 

December 15th 1999. The Worthington Cup quarter final at Upton Park finishes West Ham 2 Aston Villa 2 and a penalty shoot out is necessary.  After five penalties each it's still level, so it goes to sudden death. The man who misses the crucial penalty is, unbelievably, Gareth Southgate. Just over three years since his heartbreaking miss against Germany in Euro 96, he steps up again and once more sees the keeper make a save.  

 

Villa were out.

 

 

The draw for the semi-finals was made straight after the game, and West Ham were drawn to play either Leicester City or Fulham, with the Hammers at home in the first leg. 

 

Our tie against Fulham was due to take place three weeks later, but before that day came around, something extraordinary happened. 

 

In that game against Villa, Harry Redknapp had brought on substitute Manny Omoyinmi eight minutes before the end of extra time. The Nigerian made no significant contribution in those eight minutes, nor did he take one of the Hammers' spot kicks. 

 

A few days later, it was discovered that he shouldn't have been on the bench at all. 

 

While he was on loan at Gillingham earlier that season, he had played in the Worthington Cup against Bolton Wanderers. That meant of course that he was Cup-tied, and inelligible for West Ham.

 

Villa demanded a rematch, and the Football League had a very easy judgement to make. The rules are clear. The match would indeed have to be replayed. 

 

Villa went back to Upton Park on January 11th and won 3-1.  West Ham were out, and this summary of the draw back on December 15th could be binned too:

 

 

The following day we beat Fulham on penalties after a dramatic 3-3 draw. 

 

West Ham v Leicester in the Worthington Cup semi-final was a phantom fixture - all we can do is wonder what might have happened if we'd faced Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Paolo di Canio and all the others.

 

But instead it was Villa.

 

Then Tranmere in the Final  - the climax of Martin's glorious four and a half Filbert years. 

 

Great days.

 

Let's hope there's a few MON chants in the away end tomorrow night.

Edited 28 August 2023 by kushiro

[joeybside]

Beyond outstanding as always

[kushiro]

A few more things to add:

 

1) A reminder that if anyone taped that Leicester - Villa semi-final in 2000 from Sky's TV coverage and still has the VHS, I would give anything to get hold of it (I'm working on a MON project)

 

2)  In the programme for the first leg of that semi-final, nine members of the media were asked who would go to Wembley. Nine said Villa, none chose Leicester. 

 

3) That West Ham oversight about Omoyinmi's eligibility led to the resignation of their secretary Graham Mackrell. He'd only just joined them from Sheffield Wednesday. He'd been in charge of safety when the Hillsborough disaster happened in 1989, and in 2019 he was the first person to be found guilty of a criminal offence in relation to the tragedy:

Hillsborough disaster: Safety officer Graham Mackrell fined £6,500 - BBC News

 

4) Here's what happened in that West Ham - Villa game:

 

 

 

 

Edited 28 August 2023 by kushiro

[kushiro]

A fascinating quote from ex-Leicester defender John O'Neill:

 

When I went to Leicester the late Jimmy Bloomfield, a lovely man, was manager, and I heard they’d been disappointed about not signing Martin. They’d spoken to their scout in Northern Ireland at the time and asked why he hadn’t recommended him because of his outstanding form at Forest. The man said that for long periods he hadn’t been in the game he’d watched, and then he’d suddenly pop up and score the winner. The chap couldn’t make up his mind about him.

 

We nearly signed him as a player in 1971. But our ex-boss Matt Gillies took him to Forest:

 

 

 

 

[Drink Water]

Quality thread.

[kushiro]

Just giving this a bump before tonight's draw for anyone who didn't see it the other day.