By Joe Bernstein. Thursday, 02 December 2004.
FA CUP GAFFER TAPES: Peterborough boss Barry Fry remembers when he went to Wembley with Manchester United.
Peterborough manager Barry Fry has seen a million FA Cup shocks but hopes his League One side won’t fall victim to Bath City on Saturday.What is your most memorable FA Cup story?I was Birmingham’s manager in 1995 when we held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at St Andrews and 1-1 at Anfield. Unfortunately, they beat us 4-0 in the shoot-out and the press lads asked me why we hadn’t scored a penalty.I said it was down to our team spirit. "When our first penalty-taker missed, the other lads didn’t want him to be on his own, so they missed theirs as well."I’ve had some great FA Cup moments. At Hillingdon we went all the way to Torquay and beat them 2-1. But I have been on the receiving end as well; Birmingham lost to Kidderminster and we missed a penalty as well.When was your first FA Cup Final?I was nine years old when my Dad took me to Blackpool-Bolton in 1953. We stood behind the goal and saw a classic game that Blackpool won 4-3.They called it the "Matthews Final" but I couldn’t work it out because I had seen Stan Mortensen score a hat-trick. I just couldn’t figure it out at all.Since then, I’ve been to nearly every FA Cup Final. I love it. Wembley was like a second home to me but I’ve also been to the Millennium Stadium since it was played there.Which was your favourite final?The greatest one for me was 1963 because I was involved. I was on Manchester United’s books at the time and believe it or not, we were underdogs against Leicester City who had Gordon Banks in their goal.United won the game 3-1 and although I wasn’t part of the first team, I was in the United party that stayed overnight in London and then came back on the train with the cup on Sunday.We went out on a parade through the city centre of Manchester and thousands turned out to see us. It was fantastic.What will you be saying to your Peterborough team against Bath?Don’t be complacent or otherwise you will end up with egg on your face. There is always a Cup shock somewhere and there will be this weekend. I just don’t want it to be at London Road.Which Peterborough player should we look out for?My captain Curtis Woodhouse. He was a £1million player when Birmingham bought him in 2001 and he’s still only 24. He is my "Captain Marvel" and can get back to the same level he was when Birmingham paid all that money for him.
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