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The Friendly Cup

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I''ve always been aware of the friendly cup vs Sunderland but being only 7

in 1985 I didnt really know / had never really heard the details behind

the story, until now - and what a wonderful story it is (especially

given the state of football at the time).

Do any City fans who were at Wembley that day have any stories of their own to share?

http://www.rokerreport.com/2011/9/21/2438838/sunderland-norwich-friendly-cup

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I was young, raucous and drunk!I remember travelling up in tha back/boot of a volvo estate belonging to my mates older brother''s girlfriends dad! (that''s some link!)My mate and I were covered in NCFC union jack and had a crate of lager between us. We arrived at the old Wembley nicely aled and busting for a pee.I don''t remember much about the game - I remember celebrating their missed penalty probably a bit too much more than was sportsmanlike! and I remember Mark Barham running about 90 yds to volley a crossed ball about 2 foot over, which would have sealed it.We mixed with Sunderland, which was unheard of at the time - I suppose that was what made it special - but as a game, it was pretty dour!

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A few seasons ago now, I drove up to Sunderland to watch them against us. Only to find that (at late notice) the match was postponed.  Sunderland officials were very good to us, offering  a selection of food that would have been cooked specifically for the match and giving us a tour of the ground, but when I mentioned the close ties between us due to the League Cup Final, none of the had heard of it !

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I remember that after the match outside Wembley Stadium the Sunderland fans were very generous in their defeat and scarves were swapped and I believe there was a mass football game between both sets of fans before the match.

 

It was somehow fitting and appropriate that the camaraderie forged at that final between both sets of fans was to come together again in 1992 at the first FA Cup semi-finals to be played at Hillsborough Stadium since the tragic events of 1989.

 

Just a shame that both our FA Cup semi-finals of recent times proved to be two of our most non-event matches, ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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does anyone remember going to everton in about 1993 when loads of sunderland fans joined us in the away end?

their game at tranmere had been called off at the last minute and so some of their travelling fans decided to join us in the away end at goodison.

i remember it being great fun as we sang our songs and then chanted, ''sunderland and city'' together. don''t know what the scousers made of it, but i have very fond memories.

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I remember it like it was yesterday, 13 years and finally my club had joined the big time, it was a serious trophy in those days, Liverpool won the previous 4. PS the big time didn''t last too long ...

Anyway the day, I got there and in the ground pretty early so didn''t meet any Sunderland fans and until after the match. There semi final was marred by violence, so as the victors approaching a group of Sunderland fans it was not without some trepidation. Each of them shook my hand, dads hand and just told us how well we played and that we deserved to win, then they gave us their flag (it''s up in the attic somewhere still) and just seemed to disappear off to congratulate some more Norwich fans, bit like the Queen doing a visit somewhere.

In 1992 got to the pubs in Sheffield before the match, it was split 50/50 and the noise was phenomenal, similar noise to Pompey in May, only 2 sets of fans so unique really.

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Yep, great day out.

We were packed behind the goal opposite to the old tunnel end, nice seething mass but great atmosphere in there and the stadium.

Remember the Red Devils parachuting into the stadium pre-match, one of them missed the pitch, hit the roof (literally) slid off and went over and off on the other side.

Greg Downs was mucking about on a BBC camera before the game.

Gary Rowell walked around the pitch afterwards with a Sunderland scarf on one wrist and a Norwich one on the other.

Delayed reaction to our goal-and feeling of despair when their penalty was awarded!

Our Sanders coach being unfeasibly quiet all the way back to Fakenham-I think the old ''uns were worn out and needed their sleep! Still can''t work out how we found it again afterwards with hundreds of coaches and thousands of fans everywhere.

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Great day out, I was 19 and travelled there with a couple of mates (met my family in the car park)

 

On route remember seeing about 30 coaches on the A11 at red lodge with hundreds of guys lined up taking a pee .

 

Great atmosphere before during and after the game , and as many people have posted nothing but congratulations , handshakes , scarf swapping after, we were parked among a number of Sunderland cars in the car park and they were bringing beer over and sharing food, and yes there was one of the biggest games of football I have every seen !

 

My lasting memory was when the team coach came out, we had stayed behind to take photos and I ran up the bank and jumped the fencing .I stood in front of the oncoming bus trying to get it to stop, it did so I crouched down on one need in front to take a picture of Stevie Bruce and a few of the team who had posed with the cup for me. Through the lens I could see the players laughing at me? That’s when I realised that when I leapt the fence the crotch of my jeans had split down both side and halfway down my thighs . Still took the picture regardless.

 

What a day!

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From memory what prompted the friendliness was the Norwich fans chanting for the Sunderland players as they walked round the pitch in front of them, and the Sunderland fans reciprocated by chanting for the Norwich players as they walked round the pitch in front of them......

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Its a great story and Sunderland fans are all sound with little or no trouble when the 2 sides meet.

Sadly for me I will always hate Sunderland for that FA cup semi final in 1992.... I said at the time and i say it now the goal was offside. I was 10 at the time and they ruined a dream for me.... my dad had not long had surgery and said we would go to Wembley if we had won.....I hate you sunderland... I always will hate you....

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Greg Down''s testimonial was on the Monday night, and there was a huge Sunderland flag over the away section.

For such a historic day, my memories are not clear. We travelled up with Ambassador coaches, and when we arrived at Wembley every pub was heaving with Sunderland fans, but they were brilliant, shaking our hands and making us welcome. Dread to think what it would have been like if Chelsea had won through toe semis!

After the game, we were so quiet on the coach; stunned I think, and the Sunderland fans were all singing ''we lost the cup!''. Took nearly two hours to get out the coach park and onto the road.

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Given the overall state of football at the time I think people were seeking some kind of relief factor; football didn''t need to be like it had become...

Without any pre-planning whatsoever the two sets of fans totally embraced that day and football ''went back to how it should be''. The game was poor, but the attitude of the fans made up for it.

The super-friendly atmosphere was certainly a very welcome turning point!

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Not usually given to poetry, in my youth I wrote this (a couple of years after the final, admittedly)

Back in deepest history, in the year of 85,

That was the time the city of Norwich came alive.

City went to Wembley, travelled there with glee,

and the Canaries won the cup that day for everyone to see.

Ken Brown''s green and yellow army were second to none that day,

Green and yellow shitrs and scarves were seen in bright array.

Then after the final whistle came the famous sound,

The song of Norwich City Football Club, it echoed all around.

On the Ball City, never mind the danger,

Steady on, now''s your chance

Hurrah! we''ve scored a goal

The streets of Norwich were filled with people in the pouring rain,

Pensioners, children, mothers, they all of them felt the same.

Norwich had won the Milk Cup, it was a day of history,

Never has Norwich seen a day of such untold glee.

Sunderland played their part, their supporters were fair,

the atomosphere all through the game and afterwards was rare,

The friendly final they called it, remember it you must,

In our troubled times, days like that are pure golddust.

I''m getting shivers just writing this down!!

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Just correcting an unfortunate spelling!

Not usually given to poetry, in my youth I wrote this (a couple of years after the final, admittedly)

Back in deepest history, in the year of 85,

That was the time the city of Norwich came alive.

City went to Wembley, travelled there with glee,

and the Canaries won the cup that day for everyone to see.

Ken Brown''s green and yellow army were second to none that day,

Green and yellow shirts and scarves were seen in bright array.

Then after the final whistle came the famous sound,

The song of Norwich City Football Club, it echoed all around.

On the Ball City, never mind the danger,

Steady on, now''s your chance

Hurrah! we''ve scored a goal

The streets of Norwich were filled with people in the pouring rain,

Pensioners, children, mothers, they all of them felt the same.

Norwich had won the Milk Cup, it was a day of history,

Never has Norwich seen a day of such untold glee.

Sunderland played their part, their supporters were fair,

the atomosphere all through the game and afterwards was rare,

The friendly final they called it, remember it you must,

In our troubled times, days like that are pure golddust.

I''m getting shivers just writing this down!!

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It would be nice to think that the tradition would be upheld tonight. Let''s hope the usual suspects in the lower Barclay, who may not be of an age to remember, don''t start hurling abuse at the Maccems.

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I was nine years old and went to the match with my Dad and Grandad. I don''t remember an awful lot about the game itself (havinbg watched it back a few time since it certainly wasn''t the greatest final ever!) but can remember mingling with the Sunderland fans on the way back to the car. We swapped a City hat for a Sunderland one which I should imagine is still in my parents loft.

 

About fifteen years later I raised the subject of The Friendly Cup with some Sunderland fans (who were singing loudly about their desire to never surrender to the IRA in a pub in Oxford for some reason) and they had no idea what I was talking about.

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