Wembley has become one of world football’s most revered football stadiums over the last 100 years, but only survived its infancy thanks to a Scotsman and some greyhounds.
The first FA Cup final at what was then called the Empire Stadium took place on April 28, 1923.
The stadium had been built in 300 days, at a cost of £750,000, for the following year’s British Empire Exhibition, which was held to demonstrate Britain’s enduring colonial strength in the wake of the First World War.
There were concerns over whether the 1923 final between Bolton and West Ham would even manage to draw a full house to the 125,000-capacity stadium, but ultimately it took mounted police to clear the pitch in order for the match to kick off due to overcrowding.
It has been estimated that well over 200,000 people gained access to the stadium for the match, which became known as ‘The White Horse Final’ after a light grey horse called Billy, ridden by policeman George Albert Scorey and who showed up white in the black and white images of the time, helped clear spectators from the pitch.
Bolton beat West Ham 2-0 in a match which kicked off around 45 minutes late.
Despite the popularity of that contest, the exhibition itself which followed in 1924 and 1925 was considered a commercial failure, and the stadium was all set for demolition had it not been for the intervention of two key individuals.
Sir James Stevenson, a Scot who was chairman of the exhibition committee, lobbied for the stadium to remain open, while Arthur Elvin stepped in to stop it going to the dogs by organising greyhound races on the stadium’s track, starting in 1927, which made Wembley financially viable.
Wembley is most closely associated with football but has hosted a myriad of other sports over the years – some more successfully than others.
The NFL has enjoyed great success in bringing its International Series of regular-season matches to the stadium, which has also hosted some enthralling boxing contests from Cassius Clay v Henry Cooper in 1963 to Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
An attempt to popularise ski jumping in the UK by hosting a Winter Sports Exhibition – in late May – featuring a 150-foot jump constructed out of scaffolding did not catch on quite so well, and appears set to remain a one-off.
In an era before football enjoyed blanket coverage, the FA Cup final at Wembley was for many years one of the only games to be regularly televised internationally, making it a venue players all around the world dreamt of playing at.
Pele, the Brazil great who died late last year, said it was his biggest regret that he never played a match at Wembley, which he described as “a cathedral of football”.
The old stadium’s place in English football folklore was secured when it played host to the 1966 World Cup final, with the home team winning the trophy thanks to a 4-2 extra-time victory over West Germany.
By the 1990s, however, there were fresh calls for the stadium, now beginning to show its age, to be bulldozed.
Playing host to England’s matches at Euro ’96, with ‘Three Lions’ ringing out from the stands, was the old stadium’s last great hurrah, with its final match a sad, soggy affair in October 2000 as England slipped to a 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Germany which prompted the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan.
The rebuild, which cost over £700million, featured an arch to replace the famous Twin Towers as the stadium’s most eye-catching element.
It remains a go-to destination for national and international football events, and has already hosted two Champions League finals since it reopened in 2007.
What should have been one of its most memorable occasions turned into arguably its darkest day, as England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties in July 2021.
The match was overshadowed by chaos outside and within the stadium. Individuals under the influence of drink and drugs created disorder, with around 2,000 people without tickets gaining entry.
Baroness Casey, who led an independent review into what went wrong on the day, highlighted a catalogue of “near-misses” which could have led to fatalities.
The final Wembley deserved came just over a year later, as England triumphed in extra time against Germany at Women’s Euro 2022.
The five UK and Ireland football associations are hoping to convince UEFA’s executive committee later this year to make Wembley the centrepiece of another Euros – this time the men’s competition in 2028.
Thanks to those who helped it through the uncertainty of its earliest days, the stadium could reasonably hope to still be hosting top-level sports in another 100 years’ time.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag hails ‘massively important’ Jonny Evans
Erik ten Hag praised “massively important” Jonny Evans after the defender was drafted into the starting line-up and helped Manchester United to a 1-0 victory against Burnley.
The 35-year-old made his first start for the club since 2015 and, as well as helping secure a much-needed clean sheet, set up Bruno Fernandes for the only goal after having an earlier header ruled out.
Evans re-signed for the club earlier this month following his release by Leicester, and boss Ten Hag said: “We have problems and in this moment a lot is against us: injuries, decisions and we have all seen the examples.
“We are very happy to have a player like Jonny Evans in the squad. He comes in and he is calm, composed, he has character and a good skill-set. Even when you have things against you, you can bounce back and then you have the character in the team to do that.
“In the summer, I heard he was in to train with the under-23s, I said ‘Fletch (technical director Darren Fletcher), come bring him in with the first team. Maybe he can help us’.
“I already saw in pre-season with the schedule, the problems with the numbers in the squad. We decided to sign him because I think he can really contribute to the squad and today you have seen how massively important he can be.”
Fernandes’ first-time volley from Evans’ ball over the top was a moment of real quality in a game where Ten Hag knew United could not afford another slip-up after three losses in a row.
“This was a must-win and we knew that,” said the Dutchman, who had no complaints about the disallowed goal with Rasmus Hojland deemed to be offside and interfering in front of goalkeeper James Trafford.
“The team responded on the pitch. You could see the togetherness in the dressing room. It was a squad performance.”
Burnley are still looking for their first win following promotion back to the Premier League and have picked up only one point from their first five games.
But manager Vincent Kompany was pleased with the performance of his side, who hit the post in the first half through Zeki Amdouni and had several other good opportunities.
“We had two or three massive chances, really big,” said the Clarets’ boss. “The one from Jay Rod (Rodriguez) where he is controlling the ball in front of the keeper and then slices it, the one from (Jacob) Bruun Larsen, one-on-one with the keeper, just takes his touch a little bit too far.
“Then obviously the one from Zeki Amdouni that hits the post and rolls out. I don’t think you get many more big chances against a team like United. We have to take the positives from it and learn from the things we could do better.
“I am a rational mind, I thought 14 new players, and you see City, United, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham all within the first 10 games and you know this might be a difficult start but, if I look at the performance today, our moment will come.”
Mauricio Pochettino believes PSG stint stood him in good stead for Chelsea job
Mauricio Pochettino thinks the 18 months he spent in charge of Paris St Germain kitted him out to tackle the complicated task of turning Chelsea’s fortunes around.
Under the Argentinian, PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions in 2022 having missed out to Lille the previous campaign after he had replaced the sacked Thomas Tuchel mid-season.
Crucially he failed to land the club’s Qatari owners the prize they most coveted, the Champions League, losing in the semi-final to Manchester City in 2021 and to Real Madrid in the last-16 the following year.
It was reported that Pochettino never felt that he enjoyed full authority over the club’s star-studded squad, and was kept by the hierarchy from reining in the erratic behaviour of certain big-name players.
He left in the summer of 2022 and did not work in football again until accepting the job of piecing together Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s expensively assembled side in June.
He said the experience of managing in the famously chaotic environment of the French champions helped him as a coach, but acknowledged that the challenge he faces at Stamford Bridge is of a different order.
“I think it helps,” said Pochettino. “It helps to take things in a different way. Of course, experience is a really important point in football, in how you are going to deal with things.
“It would be arrogant to say that because I was there, now I can manage everything. The demands always are completely different.
“But when you add experience and experience of different clubs, different countries, different cultures, I think it gives us the capacity as a coaching staff to help in a better way the players and then the club that wants to develop some new ideas or new projects, like we are now doing.”
Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday when Pochettino will come up against another coach who knows intimately the unique demands of life at PSG, Unai Emery.
Emery managed the club for two seasons between 2016-18, winning the title in his second year but joining the list of coaches unable to fulfil the club’s frustrated Champions League ambitions, twice going out in the last 16.
He returned Villa to Europe for the first time in 12 years last season, finishing seventh in the Premier League after taking over from Steven Gerrard in October.
“For myself and for Unai, (the job) is not to prove anything,” said Pochettino. “I think it is to try to help (our) clubs to achieve what the clubs want. I never feel that I need to prove something.
“We (Pochettino and assistant Jesus Perez) arrived at PSG and in one year and a half we won three (trophies). We proved that we can win.
“But you can win with a team that normally wins when you are in a project ready to win. In that case, Unai and myself are building something. He is building at Aston Villa a very nice project, and we are starting to build a very good project for the long-term at Chelsea.
“I think it’s not easy to win with PSG, it’s not easy to win with different clubs. We need to give the credit for the coaches and players that win with different teams, because for different reasons, you feel the pressure in a club like PSG. You cannot (have) any excuses.
“But the Premier League is the most important competition and the most competitive, and if you can win here, I think the feeling for sure that the credit is bigger.”
Alistair Johnston hails ‘machine’ Daizen Maeda after Celtic’s win at Livingston
Alistair Johnston hailed team-mate Daizen Maeda as a “machine” after the Celtic forward capped a fine performance against Livingston with his side’s third goal.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were ahead through a Reo Hatate penalty when Joe Hart was sent off for a foul on Mo Sangare.
However, Celtic extended their advantage through Matt O’Riley before claiming a third from Maeda in stoppage time.
Johnston hailed the Japanese international as an inspiration for his tireless running.
The Celtic full-back said: “He’s a machine. That’s the simplest way to look at it.
“You look back at the Rangers match and he was just flying around the pitch for 90 minutes and it was the same in this match as well. He’s got an unbelievable engine.
“He’s a nightmare to play or train against. Just ask any of our full-backs who have to go up against him. He’s just constant.
“He’s like this every day, which makes it really difficult for us, although it’s good to train against a guy like that. You can never take a minute off.
“He really does count for two on that side as you think you bypass him with the ball and he’s doubling down, pressing the guy again.
“It’s amazing to watch from my side across the pitch as you know the guy doesn’t know what’s coming as all of a sudden Daizen is there again. He’s a joy to have in your team, he’s such a weapon.
“He just helps us out in so many ways; the attacking side we see the goal he scored in the 90th minute and then the defensive side as well. He’s really special to have.”
Livingston manager David Martindale praised Celtic’s performance and rubbished the notion that they have not been as good since Ange Postecoglou left the club.
“I watched them on Tuesday (in the Champions League against Feyenoord) and I thought they were fantastic in the press, trying to get the ball back,” he said.
“There have been a few things floating about ‘they are not the same’ or ‘they’ve not clicked’, but I think you saw a wee bit of a change with the Champions League and then today.
“I think they showed true character and true spirit when they went down to 10 men. But we shoot ourselves in the foot by giving away a really avoidable second goal. When I look at all three goals, they’re really avoidable.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
