Craig Forrest: ‘FA Cup still important’

Craig Forrest in action during his playing days. (CP)

Sportsnet soccer commentator Craig Forrest featured in a number of big matches during his playing career in England – including in the FA Cup.

A standout goalkeeper for Canada’s national team, Forrest enjoyed tenures with Ipswich Town, Chelsea and West Ham United a club level before retiring in 2002.

SPORTSNET.ca spoke with Forrest to get his take on the tournament and his memories of playing in the competition.

Saturday programming alert: Watch Manchester City v Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup final live on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World. Coverage begins at 11:30am ET/8:30am PT.

Sunday programming alert: Watch Stoke City v Tottenham (live on all four Sportsnet channels at 8am ET), Fulham v Liverpool (live on Sportsnet World at 9:30am ET) and Manchester United v Swansea City (live on all four Sportsnet channels at 10:30am ET). NOTE: This will be Alex Ferguson’s last home game in charge of Manchester United at Old Trafford. The team will also be officially presented the trophy for winning this season’s Premiership crown.

What was it like to play in the FA Cup? What’s so special about it?

I loved the FA Cup. I loved playing in it. The only thing was with Ipswich winning it in 1978, it was still fresh in people’s minds when I was there and the expectations were incredibly high. The fans saw their team as a massive club and expected that we were going to push for titles and trophies. It was a little unfortunate for us because we were always fighting against the past. But I loved the competition. Back when I played, every team wanted to win it. It’s old, it has a lot of history and prestige – everybody wanted to get to Wembley and play in the final.

How did the dynamics of an FA Cup game differ from a Premiership fixture?

Well, you always had to worry about what position you were in the league when you played in the FA Cup, especially if you were a Championship team fighting for promotion or a Premiership team in a relegation battle. But at the same time, it was financially important for teams to have good Cup runs in order to balance the books and keep their heads above water. There was always extra ticket and TV revenue if you made it far in the FA Cup, so it was important to do well in the tournament. Every game, be it FA Cup or in the league, was always high-pressured, but playing in the FA Cup was very special. When I was at West Ham, the chances of winning the league were zero, so our priority was securing a good league position and going on a good Cup run.

Was there a lot of tension and drama around the draw for each round?

Oh God, yeah! Usually you’d get easier teams in the third round but then you got harder opponents as you went along. And after you won each round, it was always interesting to get in front of the television to see the draw and what the marquee match would be and you always wished the ball with your team name was pulled out of the pot first, because that meant you’d be playing at home. And then if you got a big team, a lot of the backroom staff loved it because you’re going to have a big gate, chances are TV would be there to show it, which was a big deal because not every game was on TV like it is now.

During the 1997-98 season, West Ham made it to the quarter-finals. What was it like for you to play a prominent role in that Cup run?

It was so special. West Ham had a great FA Cup history. Frank Lampard Senior won it with them and he was an assistant with Harry Redknapp when I was there, so there was this sense of having to get the club back there in the final.

That was a young team with Frank Lampard Junior, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole at the start of their careers.

And Michael Carrick, too! Too bad we couldn’t hold on to those guys. That would have been some team for a few years.

In the fifth round that year, West Ham drew Blackburn 2-2 at home and then beat them in a penalty shootout in the replay at Ewood Park to move on to the quarter-finals. What were your memories of that tie?

Those were both great games. I thought we deserved to win at home and then we went there and it was a tight game; they scored late in the replay to force extra time. Then it went to penalties, and we figured we had a pretty good chance at it. I always found penalties quite fun as a goalkeeper.

Really?

Yeah, because there was no pressure on you. I mean, when has a goalkeeper ever lost a shootout and been blamed? But you get blamed in regulation if you make a mistake. In a penalty shootout, goalkeepers have a chance to become heroes by making a big save. And that’s what happened in the replay versus Blackburn. Colin Hendry drove a shot right down the middle and I got it with my trailing leg. And then Steve Lomas won it for us by scoring on the next kick. That was pretty exciting.

Aside from both games against Blackburn, you also backstopped West Ham to victories over Emley and Manchester City in the third and fourth rounds. But you didn’t play in the quarter-finals against Arsenal, which went to replay. Why?

I was injured. Bernard Lama came to the club during the January transfer window that year – he was trying show himself off to get into France’s World Cup squad. That was interesting. He was pushing to get into the first team all the time, and going into the manager’s office to try to replace me. He was a bit of a backstabber. But he played against Arsenal because I was injured – I had abdominal pain and a pelvic problem, so I could hardly move or turn. It was tough to miss out on a game like that, but it’s the nature of the business.

Do you have a favourite FA Cup memory from your playing career?

Oh, it would have to be the fourth-round tie in 2001 at Old Trafford with West Ham when Paolo Di Canio scored that famous goal on Fabien Barthez. I was on the bench but I remember Di Canio coming down the right wing, cutting in on goal and was clean in on Barthez, and Barthez shot up his arm right away to signal offside. He just stood there trying to con Di Canio he was offside and then when Paolo shot Barthez gave it up and tried to stop it. Di Canio never bought it and the reason why was because he told me afterwards that as the ball was played through, he saw the linesman was running down the line. So he knew right away he was onside and that Barthez was screwing with him. We won 1-nil.

Does the FA Cup still matter these days?

I think so. Priorities have changed for clubs but outside of the big teams, a lot of teams still want to win it. For most teams, they want to win it because they have no chance of winning the league and they want to reward their fans with a trophy. For Championship clubs, it still really matters. It’s still important, in my view.

How do you think Saturday’s final between Manchester City and Wigan will play out?

I don’t think Wigan has much of a chance. Manchester City has way too much for them. Wigan plays a good style of football and I really enjoy watching them, but it’ll be very tough for them. I think Man City will win it comfortably.

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