FA Cup magic: When 'Arry 'arassed Manchester United in Bournemouth
In anticipation of the FA Cup third round, we take a look back at some of the best giant-killing stories from that stage of the competition.
Such has been the meteoric rise of the tenants of Dean Court, Bournemouth only beat Manchester United in December. The 2-1 win came almost seven years to the day that a 1-1 draw with Rochdale left the Cherries second-bottom in the fourth tier.
Thirty-two years ago, Bournemouth wasn't much better than in those cash-strapped days at the end of the noughties. On Jan. 7, 1984, it sat 22nd in the third tier of English football and had just lost to bottom-placed Port Vale. The FA Cup offered respite, though, as Harry Redknapp - who'd represented Bournemouth as a midfielder in his playing days - had guided his side to wins over Walsall and seventh-tier Windsor & Eton, earning a tie with cup-holder Manchester United in the third round.
In just his first season in management, Harry had not yet become 'Arry. He had not yet become the wheeler-dealer, winding down his window on transfer deadline day, proclaiming a certain player he intended to sign a "good lad." However, at 36, he was honing his crafty Cockney character.
The usual lively five-a-side game between Bournemouth's northern and southern contingents took place on a Friday, and the rest of training in the week preceding the United clash was much the same. In the changing rooms before kickoff, though, Redknapp showed signs that he would become one of the most interesting and talented English managers in the modern game.
"Harry played a bit of a trick," Phil Brignull told the Bournemouth Echo in 2014. Brignull was replaced in defence by current West Brom boss Tony Pulis two years after the win. "He came in about 20 minutes before the game and told us all the Man United players were still in the bar watching the (horse) racing and that's how seriously they were taking it. It probably wasn't true."
Claims that the Red Devils were rather nonchalant about the tie have been disputed by some, with then-manager Ron Atkinson describing the FA Cup before the match as "the best event of its kind in the world - better even than the World Cup."
It wasn't to matter, however, as the Cherries took control at Dean Court - and finally, in the second half, took the lead through Milton Graham.
(Courtesy: Manchester Evening News)
"I tried to run off and celebrate but fell over and they all jumped on top of me," Graham recalled to BBC Sport.
Bournemouth struck again shortly afterward through Ian Thompson and was then able to see out a 2-0 win against a shell-shocked United.
As such an advocate of the competition, Atkinson was disgusted by the performance of his team, which consisted of eight internationals and eight players who had held the trophy aloft the previous May. In an outrageous reversal of fortunes, United overturned a first-leg 2-0 scoreline to beat a Barcelona side featuring Diego Maradona 3-2 in the Cup Winners' Cup two months later. It remains one of the club's most legendary European outings.
That memorable day on the south coast belonged to Bournemouth, however.
"It's got to be the greatest day of my life, and I'm sure it's the greatest day of all the players' lives," Redknapp announced after the game.
The gaffer also noted: "We had less trouble with United than we did with Windsor and Eton."
(Courtesy: The Guardian)
The Bournemouth players hit the booze in the ground's communal bath afterwards, and then went on into town for further refreshments. Unfortunately, their plans were scuppered when trying to enter one of the area's favourite haunts.
"When we arrived at a nightclub, we saw there was a massive queue to get in, so we went to the front to try and jump in and got told, 'We can't tonight, we've got all the Bournemouth players here,'" Brignull recalled. "'Hang on a minute,' we said, 'we are the Bournemouth players!'"
One Cherries hero was particularly keen on dining out on the club's giant-killing. In the one change from routine before the match, Redknapp had treated his squad to a meal at an Italian restaurant named La Lupa in Charminster, according to Paul Wilson of the Guardian. The proprietor, clearly not convinced of the team's chances against the illustrious visitor, looked to Bournemouth's salad-dodging goalkeeper Ian "Nipper" Leigh and offered him free pizza for life if he managed to keep a clean sheet against the likes of Bryan Robson and Frank Stapleton.
Unfortunately for the shot-stopper, the restaurant changed hands and the deal was revoked.
"I had to," said Redknapp, who became the new owner of the establishment. "Nipper was already 5-foot-10 and about 15 stone (210 lbs). He'd have eaten me out of business."
