Topic: Lost Cup Finals (which one hurt you most?)

[mikeb58]

On the way out we were in traffic behind a Liverpool coach and some kid was standing on a little wall with his arms up in a cantona mask, then the sun roof opened and something flew out n knocked him off his wall, cheered me right up. I think it was a can.

Haha...made me laugh that, I can just imagine the sun roof opening and some pissed off Red taking perfect aim at this kid 

[Crosby Nick]

i have seen that crazy gang doc, its bollocks. digger said we just had an off day - thats good enough for me. although wimbledon had no history they were mid table club at the time. less of a shock than city losing to wigan etc

I could be wrong but I think they had drawn at Anfield that season hadn't they?

[Jookie]

snip

Thanks for sharing mate. Just shows how personal circumstances can influence how we view certain games.

I won't go into it here but 2005 Final has some personal significance beyond us winning the most incredible final ever. It always bittersweet when I look back at that period in my life. I can't look back at the games in isolation. Personal circumstances at the time cast a shadow on certain games.

For me 2007 was a more sedate affair. I was in a very happy period of my life, plus the warm glow of Istanbul was still present. The loss hurt but, as others have said, maybe not as much as a CL loss should. With the team we had and the manager we had, it felt only like a matter of time before we got back to a final again. How wrong could I have been!

I know people who went the game in 2007 and feel very differently. Maybe due to circumstances around the game in and how certain people in our fanbase acted in and around that final. Sometimes I think I 'feel' the result more if I've gone the game. That's why I hate 1996 so much. Not just the loss or the performance or Jamie Redknapp. It was the atmosphere and feel of the whole day around that final. Contrasted massively with the 86, 88, 89 and 92 FA Cup Finals.

[paulrazor]

I could be wrong but I think they had drawn at Anfield that season hadn't they?

no, we drew at Plough Lane

though the previous season they did beat us at anfield

[ArthurDent]

FA Cup 1977. We could have had the treble.

[mikeb58]

Thanks for sharing mate. Just shows how personal circumstances can influence how we view certain games.

I won't go into it here but 2005 Final has some personal significance beyond us winning the most incredible final ever. It always bittersweet when I look back at that period in my life. I can't look back at the games in isolation. Personal circumstances at the time cast a shadow on certain games.

For me 2007 was a more sedate affair. I was in a very happy period of my life, plus the warm glow of Istanbul was still present. The loss hurt but, as others have said, maybe not as much as a CL loss should.

Yeah, agree and Hellrazors post on the pevious page sums up what I meant in the OP about certain defeats hurting more for reasons beyond  just the footy itself.

[Yorkykopite]

Lovely opening post.

The bitterest defeat was the first - losing to Arsenal in 1971. I was 9 but had been 'in training' for the final for weeks. The shock when Charlie George scored was like being thrown into icy water. I've never properly recovered in fact. Ever since that day I unconsciously developed a little bit of internal chain mail to protect myself against defeat. Life would be impossible without it.

But I still can't look at that Charlie George goal.

[Red_Mist]

In 1996 I put my fist through the living room wall when Cantona scored in a pathetic fit of pique, which has more to do with the crappy thinness of our living room wall than me having any kind of Bruce Lee powers. Thank god it was a pre-fab council house. A solid Victorian terrace and I'd have smashed my hand to pieces. I remember the embarrassment when the missus came home and said, what's happened here? 

I guess that one hurt a lot, in more ways than one.

[UntouchableLuis]

The 07 defeat in Athens was tough but we were so good then and had won big trophies recently so it wasn't too painful compared to say the 2012 Chelsea defeat in the FA cup because we needed that trophy at that point really. And it's Chelea.

The carling cup defeats under Rafa and Klopp were such a shame but maybe it spurred us on in 2005 and maybe it will spur us on this season in Europe!

Nothing tops the pain of letting the league slide away a few seasons back. 09 was bad enough but I've never felt anything like the hurt when we lost to Chelsea in 2014. I know it's not a cup final but in some ways it was!

[Felch Aid]

96 was so hard to take. Shite match and that lot with him winning it in a pub full of mancs. Urrgh.

2007 was hard. Was in the stdium and not playing Crouch fucked us up.

13/14 season. That chelsea game. I knew it was the game to win. Took me a whole year to get that out of my system.

[Gnurglan]

Juventus in '85. Because of what happened that night, much more than the result. Still can't believe the game was played.

After that, it's Wimbledon.

Possibly the worst though, is when we lost the league title to Arsenal.

[Mutton Geoff]

1966 Borussia Dortmund  at Hampden Park first time i felt truly gutted and i was about 14. My first experience of losing a final. The few  defeats since suck but that one has stayed with me .

[NorthamptonKopite]

Haven't seen many lost finals in my lifetime. Chelsea in the FA Cup final a few years back was very gutting. Was down at Wembley for the day also which probably made it worse. I thought Athens wasn't actually as bad. At that time I felt like we could and would win it all again in the next few years anyway, so I took for granted our success at that point under Rafa. Also I think there was a feeling that we owed them one after Istanbul. These days final losses feel worse for me because I know it can be our last one in a while. I was Naive back in 07 and never imagined the barren years and shite seasons that were to come.

[mikeb58]

Lovely opening post.

The bitterest defeat was the first - losing to Arsenal in 1971. I was 9 but had been 'in training' for the final for weeks. The shock when Charlie George scored was like being thrown into icy water. I've never properly recovered in fact. Ever since that day I unconsciously developed a little bit of internal chain mail to protect myself against defeat. Life would be impossible without it.

But I still can't look at that Charlie George goal.

We where worn out that day, totally knackered. Think Shankly actually blamed the jerseys, said the material didn't allow the players to cool down etc.

Also George's goal may have been worthy to win a Final, but once again we where done with a dodgy goal as well. Their first goal was utter crap, it took them years to work out it was Eddie Kelly that actually scuffed it in, believe he was the first ever sub to score in a Cup Final as well!

[mikeb58]

1966 Borussia Dortmund  at Hampden Park first time i felt truly gutted and i was about 14. My first experience of losing a final. The few  defeats since suck but that one has stayed with me .

Haha..at last somebody has felt the same way as me about that game, this one as I said in my OP has never gone away.

Just a young boy at the time, but realised that night what LFC meant to me.

[Yorkykopite]

We where worn out that day, totally knackered. Think Shankly actually blamed the jerseys, said the material didn't allow the players to cool down etc.

Also George's goal may have been worthy to win a Final, but once again we where done with a dodgy goal as well. Their first goal was utter crap, it took them years to work out it was Eddie Kelly that actually scuffed it in, believe he was the first ever sub to score in a Cup Final as well!

It was a very hot day wasn't it? I think all our players were in long sleeves for some reason. Heighway was magnificent, I remember that. As was the travelling Kop.

There was a silver lining although no Liverpool supporter knew it at the time. A new signing was watching from the stands. I guess even if we'd been told his name it would have meant nothing. But within weeks of the start of the new season the football world knew we'd unearthed a genuine superstar.

[mikeb58]

It was a very hot day wasn't it? I think all our players were in long sleeves for some reason. Heighway was magnificent, I remember that. As was the travelling Kop.

There was a silver lining although no Liverpool supporter knew it at the time. A new signing was watching from the stands. I guess even if we'd been told his name it would have meant nothing. But within weeks of the start of the new season the football world knew we'd unearthed a genuine superstar.

Aye...scored 12 minutes into his debut as well, he became my hero for the next few years!

[Branno]

didn't we lose a cup final and it was the first ever game we had lost when Rush had scored .

[Crosby Nick]

96 was so hard to take. Shite match and that lot with him winning it in a pub full of mancs. Urrgh.

2007 was hard. Was in the stdium and not playing Crouch fucked us up.

13/14 season. That chelsea game. I knew it was the game to win. Took me a whole year to get that out of my system.

Yeah 13/14 was such an emotionally draining spell. Week to week it looked like out dreams were actually coming true only for the rug to be pulled from under us in circumstances that even the most spiteful Manc or Chelsea fan couldn't have scripted.

Burst into tears at full time and football hadn't made me do that since the Arsenal game of 89 I think.

[Branno]

Will still always respect Torres not knocking it in 😓

[BCCC]

1977, still have nightmares about Stuart Pearson and their scrappy goals today only offset by the beauty of the Jimmy Case equaliser. Luckily at the time it was mostly forgotten only a few days later.

[Crosby Nick]

Will still always respect Torres not knocking it in 😓

Never even seen that go in. From the moment he rounded Mignolet I had to switch off. Never had a feeling like it watching football, even as a kid when a random league defeat used to feel Iike the end of the world.

[Justin Siderbox]

didn't we lose a cup final and it was the first ever game we had lost when Rush had scored .

Yes v Arsenal 87.  Rush scored for us to take the lead and Charlie Nicholas (I think) scored a brace to win it (he defo got one).  Was absolutely gutted.

96 FA cup still gets me.  Rob Jones and Redknapp stood and watched Cantona's shot sail between the two of them when one of them just needed to stick their head on it to clear.

Agree on the league in 89 too.  Not a cup final but after all that had gone on and to lose it in that way was so difficult to take.  Seem to remember we kicked off v Arsenal with 7-8 players in the starting line up who at some point had played in the back four during the season.  We played brilliantly from the start of the year to get us to the point we could win it, then went defensive for the most important league game of all.  And their first went straight in from an indirect free kick.  So many things wrong about that result.

[fowlermagic]

There has been a few and while the recent ones sort of don't hurt as much anymore as I don't live n breath the game like I did as a teenager I still regret the CL loss in 2007. If we only went out there with our best team we would have won it but too much respect for Milan and that was it. The loss against Utd when Cantona scored was a tough one and of course when Sanchez scored for Wimbledon was a kick in the balls. Best side I have ever seen for us and just caught cold on the day by the crazy gang. I guess the losses should be harder now as Cup finals don't come around as often as we are lucky to be in one every 3 or 4 years now.

[DonkeyWan]

White suit final. Everyone remembers the Cantona goal, but it was Keane that did all the damage that day.

[NigelManx]

CL 2007. Was gutted as we had the team to win for sure..Followed by Manure 1977 for me the two that stand out..

[RedRabbit]

96? FA cup. Cantona goal. Fella standing next to me in the pub, draped in a flag, hit the floor face first when they scored. He was still there an hour later when I left. He may still be there for all I know. So, as much for him as myself.

[Alf Garnett!]

Possibly the worst though, is when we lost the league title to Arsenal.

Cheers G,

I thought i'd erased that memory.

I was in the Kemlyn rd right next to the gooners & there was banter flying big time.

That brought back singing 'we'll do the double again' right up to the last kick of the game..and that indirect free kick went straight in.

That is right up there with the biggest disappointments i've ever had watching the reds.

[stevied]

Wimbledon was shit mainly because i was in with them , Athens hurt because i had a 6 hour coach journey back to Zante without a win plus it was mayhem at the port, but 77 to those twats hurt the most, but then i remember all the ones we won and life is good again

[Gulli84]

Last Fa cup final with chelsea

[paulrazor]

Agree on the league in 89 too.  Not a cup final but after all that had gone on and to lose it in that way was so difficult to take.  Seem to remember we kicked off v Arsenal with 7-8 players in the starting line up who at some point had played in the back four during the season.  We played brilliantly from the start of the year to get us to the point we could win it, then went defensive for the most important league game of all.  And their first went straight in from an indirect free kick.  So many things wrong about that result.

to be fair it was an awkward one, we didnt need to win the game, we could even afford to lose it. if we left ourselves open at the back by going all out attack when we didnt need too we would have looked silly

was also the players 8th or 9th game in about 23 days

to be fair the free kick was glanced in by smith,

[That Kennedy moment]

It's still the 1977 FA Cup Final for me.

Seven years old. I was a happy kid. Nothing rich or privileged about my upbringing, but I had a contented childhood. Life was great. I had never known real unhappiness, let alone anger. There were some emotions that had yet to enter my life.

But when we lost to that bunch of washed-up, toothless, pot-bellied twats I felt something I'd never experienced - real rage. I didn't know what it was... I didn't know how to contain it.

I tried to kick the glass out of the living-room door and hurt my foot. Stormed upstairs crying, embarrassed, humiliated, angry. Cried most of the afternoon. Refused to go outside and play with my mates when they came knocking. Heard my mum explain to them in a deliberately loud and patronising voice that I was 'sulking' because we'd lost - Oh fuck off - and that they were very sweet to come and call for me but they shouldn't let me ruin their game if I was in that kind of mood. He'll grow out of it.

Well, you know what Mum, 39 years later and I still haven't.

So let's batter these horrible Manc twats tonight! Come on you Reds!

[paulrazor]

Yeah, agree and Hellrazors post on the pevious page sums up what I meant in the OP about certain defeats hurting more for reasons beyond  just the footy itself.

Thanks for sharing mate. Just shows how personal circumstances can influence how we view certain games.

i agree with this, its funny how it all comes together isnt it

2005 was like that too albeit with a much better end result, i honestly felt i was out there on the pitch that night kicking and heading every ball with the team. every single ball, it was me who snapped my groin and "faked" an injury and got booed off halfway through the first half, it was me who headed that goal to get it back to the 1-3, it was me who was told one minute at half time to have a shower only to be brought back on and clear it off the line, it was me who stretched every sinew to make 2-3 interventions in extra time, it was me who didnt quite intercept a through ball for their third goal.

that was another tough year, if 2007 was tough it was nothing compared to 2005. I was more convinced than in 2007 we would do it, but it didnt look good for a while. the Gerrard goal brought it all to life, it was like in Rocky 4, Rocky is being absolutely pulverised by Drago,

Milan were doing that to us, all of a sudden Rocky hits this right hander and Drago is bleeding, and he is clearly shaken. Thats what happened Milan that night, the Gerrard goal humanized them, we landed a haymaker, they bled, we could beat them, they were normal after all. the year was saved.

[That Kennedy moment]

didn't we lose a cup final and it was the first ever game we had lost when Rush had scored .

Littlewoods Cup Final in 1987.

[Alf]

Was gutted we lost the league cup final in 2005, they'd run out of ideas & we went and stuck the ball in the back of the net for them. Was pretty of sick them until the next time we had them at Anfield.

[That Kennedy moment]

Strange that Wimbledon one, for some reason I saw it coming, the missed pen just summed that shitty day up.

Strange day, that. The atmosphere was off from the moment we got into Wembley. It just didn't feel like a Cup Final, more like a mismatch. We never really got up for it either on or off the pitch. Remember walking back down Wembley Way afterwards with a few hundred Dons fans in the middle of a sea of red. They were so over the moon that we were almost happy for them - there was a lot of goodwill towards their fans that day.

Partly it was cos we were so dominant at the time, we fully expected to be in the mix every year.

I also think that winning the Double in 86 was so momentous, it almost felt like it would be taking the piss a bit to have won another in 1988. But if any team deserved to take the piss, it was that 87-88 side.

[paulrazor]

it almost felt like it would be taking the piss a bit to have won another in 1988. But if any team deserved to take the piss, it was that 87-88 side.

wonderfully put

bit before my time that one but I'm pretty sure i remember hearing the result on the radio and my Mam saying big brother was going to be upset

Chelsea in 2014 wasnt a cup final but as some rightly point out if felt that way, I was convinced we would not only beat them but beat them convincingly, they hadnt a full team out in any way shape or form. I felt physically sick for days after it.

If there was ever one more game you wanted a crack at that was it. I really would have given a lot to turn the clock back a few days and try again. it still hurts sometimes

[Crosby Nick]

The Wimbledon game...Beardsley's disallowed goal came at 0-0 didn't it? Ridiculous refereeing yet you barely see any mention of it. Brought the play back to give us a free kick on the edge of the box that we wasted. Think they scored about 5 minutes later and the whole complexion changed.

By the way, surprised no one has mentioned Arsenal 1950 yet. Bunch of Jonny Come Latelys in here.

[Yorkykopite]

By the way, surprised no one has mentioned Arsenal 1950 yet. Bunch of Jonny Come Latelys in here.

I'd got used to it by then. The toughest for me was the 1914 Cup Final. Freeman's goal for Burnley was miles offside and Ephraim Longworth had a shot cleared off the line. From where I was standing the ball looked over but that Geordie bastard Herbert Bamlett didn't even consult his linesmen.

It was disappointing when the Great War was announced a few weeks later but for me Bamlett's decision was still the worst one of 1914. 

[poopscoop]

League cup final replay against Forest. No real significance to it in the grand scheme of things as we went on to win it every other year for seasons after that. But the festering wound of injustice after that diving shit O'Hare flew more than five yards into the box after a kick from Thommo has lived in me ever since. Not only was it not a penalty, Terry Mac had a perfectly good equaliser ruled out. Losing finals is one thing, being cheated out of a win is another entirely.
I content myself most days with looking how Forest are doing these days and have come to respect the Buddhist belief in Karma.
A plague be upon you O'Hare, wherever you are!