Fifty years on from West Ham United’s FA Cup triumph over Fulham, head coach Graham Potter joined the Any Old Irons to commemorate the landmark occasion with the Club’s most loyal supporters.
The Any Old Irons, who were also celebrating their tenth anniversary, is a social group of West Ham fans aged over 65 supported by the Club’s official charity, the West Ham United Foundation. With social isolation and loneliness recognised as major public health challenges among older people, the group helps tackle those issues by bringing together elderly Hammers for bimonthly social gatherings.
The group’s tenth birthday coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1975 FA Cup win, and the 61st anniversary of West Ham’s 1964 triumph, as more than 100 members from the Hadleigh and Newham branches gathered for a special event in Barking.
A celebration of all things West Ham, the day featured multiple Q&As with Claret & Blue legends, including two members of the Boys of ’75, Sir Trevor Brooking and Pat Holland, as well as icons from the eighties and nineties, including former captain Alvin Martin, Alan Dickens, Alan Curbishley and Kenny Brown.
Potter made a surprise appearance after training, much to the delight of attendees.
“It was incredible,” he said. “Real love in the room. As soon as you walk in, you can feel the connection.
“[The Any Old Irons] is such a great initiative, bringing people together with the Club. Remembering the past, the legendary players and managers from the past, with just a fantastic atmosphere. It sums up, I think, the great things about our Club.
“It's a massive Club with a huge fan base, but a real family feel as well. It's really nice. It's a real privilege for me. And I'm just very, very grateful to be here.
“The [interactions] were fun! As you'd imagine, we need to win a bit more, of course. But at the same time, really supportive, really positive, and just a group full of people that really, really care about the Club. I love being part of the Club, I love how it connects together, friendships and families. It's really special.”
Remembering West Ham’s most successful period, legendary head coach John Lyall, whose anniversary had passed just a few weeks earlier in April, was a big part of the day’s conversations.
Reflecting on Lyall's legacy, Potter continued: “He's a legendary football manager, someone that anybody in the game knows, especially from my era. As a kid I used to have the Panini stickers, and John Lyall was a manager for West Ham that I remember well. It's just great to be here and to be part of this history. We should never forget who we are and the identity and togetherness and connection with our local community and our fan base is just so important.”
Son of John Lyall, Murray, who often frequents the Any Old Irons events in east London and Essex helped fund the event and paid homage to the legendary coaching duo that held the reigns for the Hammers for almost 30 years during the Club’s most successful period. Ron Greenwood and John Lyall, who between them won three FA Cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup are remembered so fondly, no more so than by the Any Old Irons.
“Ron Greenwood and John Lyall were so much more than managers,” Murray said. “They ran the club from top to bottom and stamped their personalities on it to such an extent that they became the very fabric of the Club.
“Both men brought unrivalled success to West Ham and without doubt they are the most successful managers in the Club's history. But more than that they were responsible for creating many of the traditions that West Ham is renowned for even today. They were both instrumental in West Ham United being known as "The Academy of Football" with an enviable conveyor belt of home-grown talent and a free-flowing style of entertaining football.
“With the passing of these two brilliant managers, the world lost two great football men, but more importantly, two men of honour and integrity who were respected by all those fortunate enough to come into contact with them.”
In his first season as head coach in 1974/75, John Lyall, filling the shoes of legendary coach Ron Greenwood, Lyall guided West Ham to FA Cup glory. Part of the squad etched into West Ham folklore, “Patsy” Holland, who played a key role in both of the Hammers’ goals that day, spoke about being called in to start the final and the camaraderie of the Boys of '75, the last group comprised entirely of English players to win the oldest cup competition in world football.
“We played Arsenal on a Monday night,” he recalled. “John Lyall called me in his office, he said, ‘You're playing tonight and you're playing on Saturday. Don't you let me down.’
“You walked out on the Wembley pitch and it felt like the film ‘Gladiator’, when they go to the Coliseum. I look around and I thought, ‘what am I doing here?’ The atmosphere just sucked you in.
“We didn't play particularly well in the first half and I kept looking over, hoping my number never went up! And then I struck back in a little bit, the right back came out with the ball and showed me just a little bit too much. I went to close him down and then laid the ball back for Billy Jennings and that was his strike, saved by the goalkeeper, and Alan Taylor had come on to finish it off. Five minutes later, we were 2-0 up! It was just a great day and at the end of it, you're running around the pitch celebrating and it's just a wonderful feeling.
“When you see the reaction of the supporters when you're telling your stories. It just shows how much it means to the Club. Things like the Cup final, '75 and '80, they'll stay with those supporters all their lives.
“It's a great privilege [to attend the Any Old Irons anniversary] really because they're the ones who come rain or shine, they support the side religiously. So, it's fantastic to see their passion and their loyalty. And when you meet them, they're always warm and friendly and chat away and sometimes they've got better knowledge of the game than I've got and I've played in it!”
One of the 100,000 supporters at Wembley that day was Don Adams, Chair of the Any Old Irons committee, who reflected fondly on a day he’ll never forget, and the role his tax rebate played in getting him there.
“Obviously it's every supporter's dream to see their team playing at Wembley, more importantly, to see them winning at Wembley!
“In 1975 I had recently married and in those days, depending on what part of the tax year that you married in, you got a tax rebate. Somebody that I worked with belonged to a non-league club who'd been issued two FA Cup final tickets. Nobody in the club wanted them because none of them supported West Ham!
“My colleague knew I was a West Ham supporter and of course you're not allowed to resell Cup final tickets. So he said if I could make a donation to his club, he would donate the tickets to us. So what I did in the end, I used my tax rebate to make a donation to the club and acquire two FA Cup final tickets!
“As you can imagine, the atmosphere was absolutely buzzing. In those days, coming out of the underground, walking up Wembley Way, being part of that atmosphere and part of that history and just trying to soak it in. The fans probably put as much energy as the team did in celebrating as some of the players do out on the pitch!”
“The Any Old Irons party has been a wonderful experience. I know Murray Lyall has worked tirelessly to bring it all together. We've had committee members, particularly Sue, who's put in dozens if not hundreds of hours work to co-ordinate and get the day started and make it the success it's been.
“Looking around the room and seeing the amount of pleasure that people have gotten, the amount of enjoyment, that to me makes it all worthwhile!”
