1972 FA Cup Final - Arsenal v Leeds United Quiz

Answer:

Those 20 players in the list all made first-team appearances during the 1971-72 season. Hunter, Lorimer and Madeley were ever-present, playing 42 of 42 league games; Bremner and Charlton played 41 games. At the other end, Edwards and Mann made one appearance each and Galvin played three league games.

The 1972 FA Cup Final was played on Saturday 6th May at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the Centenary Final (the first was played in March 1872). To celebrate the occasion, there was a pre-match parade by all of the 37 previous winners. The flags of those 37 clubs were carried out onto the pitch, together with players in each team's colours (the number of players per club matched the number of FA Cup wins by that club). Aston Villa led the parade with seven wins, followed by Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United with six each. Arsenal were part of the parade, with four wins. Leeds United weren't there...they were not one of the 37, as they'd never won the FA Cup.

The first free kick of the match was awarded after just two seconds, when Clarke blocked Allan Ball as he was leaving the centre circle upon kick-off. At the 48 second mark left-back Bob McNab fouled Lorimer as he ran down the right hand touch line. This set a record for the earliest booking at Wembley Stadium; and the first-ever in an FA Cup Final. It was still 0-0 at half time and then, early in the second half, someone in the crowd, at the Leeds end, yelled out "Full House!"...as every player on the pitch, apart from the two goalkeepers, had been penalised (conceded a free-kick) at least once. Nonetheless, by the end of the match, "only" four players had been booked (McNab and Charlie George, plus Bremner and Hunter).

The only goal in the match came in the 53rd minute. Madeley fed the ball to Lorimer who sent it down the right wing to Jones, who went past McNab and then sent a cross into the box. Clarke scored with a flying stooped-diving header; and that's where the score remained at full time. Leeds United had won their first-ever FA Cup. The match was broadcast live Down Under, in black and white. Kick-off was at midnight. Most of us slept in on Sunday morning.

Clarke described the moment he scored as follows: "As it was coming towards me, I thought, "Volley, right foot volley" and I fancied it. Then, all of a sudden, the ball started to dip, and I realised it wasn't going to reach me, so I thought, "Dive." You only have a second to make your mind up, so I just took off and headed it."

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This was the line-up... 1 Harvey, 2 Reaney, 3 Madeley, 4 Bremner, 5 Charlton, 6 Hunter, 7 Lorimer, 8 Clarke, 9 Jones, 10 Giles and 11 Gray. Bates was the unused substitute, wearing No. 12. The starting 11 was missing two team regulars: Sprake (goalkeeper) - he had injured himself on 5th April and was not chosen by Don Revie, the manager, even though he had recovered and was available. Cooper (left back) had suffered a horrific leg fracture three days later on 8th April, five minutes before the end of the match at Stoke City. He was out of the game for two years.

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Leeds and Arsenal had met four years earlier in the 1968 League Cup Final (won by Leeds 1-0, with a goal by Cooper in the 20th). They thus became the first two teams to face each other in both English cup finals...8 of the 11 who played in the 1972 FA Cup Final had played in the 1968 League Cup Final. The three who hadn't were Harvey, Clarke and Jones (the other three in 1968 were Sprake, Cooper and Jimmy Greenhoff). Arsenal had seven play in both 1968 and 1972.

The second time the same two teams had played in a League Cup Final and an FA Cup Final occurred four years later. The 1976 League Cup Final was played between Manchester City and Newcastle United (City won 2-1). They had previously met in the 1955 FA Cup Final (won 3-1 by Newcastle).

Arsenal were the defending cup holders and defending league champions, having won both the FA Cup and the Football League title in 1971 ("The Double"). Leeds had the opportunity to emulate that rare achievement, on the Monday night after their FA Cup Final triumph.

They had a postponed league game to play...and it was (cruelly) rescheduled by The Football League to that Monday night, a mere two days after the Cup Final. Leeds needed a draw or a win, away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, to win the league title but...it wasn't meant to be. They lost 2-1 and Derby County remained at the top of the table and were crowned league champions with 58 points; it was their first-ever League title. Leeds finished second (a point in arrears), for the *third* consecutive season (Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester City had all finished together on 57 points; Leeds had a superior goal average). They finished second behind Arsenal in the previous season; and second behind Everton in the season before that. Indeed, this was the fifth occasion in eight seasons that Leeds had finished second (1965 and 1966 were the first two). They'd won their first-ever league title in between, in 1969.

The club released a single for the Centenary Cup Final. The song was, unsurprisingly, titled "Leeds United". It reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Charts. The "B" side is the better-known song "Leeds Leeds Leeds", aka "Marching On Together", which is (still) regularly sung by the fans at Elland Road (their home ground); and away at other Leeds United matches.