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The tactical switch that floored mighty Liverpool
Ask Bristol City supporters of a certain age to recall their most treasured football memory and Anfield invariably dominates conversation. Winning promotion to the First Division in 1976 represents an obvious highlight, as does Paul Cheeseley's spectacular headed winner against the mighty Arsenal at Highbury in the same year.
Playing keep ball with Coventry at Highfield Road to preserve their top-flight status is equally dear to the red half of Bristol.
But for sheer drama and surprise, the goal that knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in January 1994 surely takes some beating.
With one glorious swish of his left boot, Brian Tinnion toppled an institution and signalled the end of Graeme Souness's reign as manager.
Watched by almost 7,000 travelling fans, the class of '94 etched their names into the club's roll of honour in glorious fashion.
No-one from Bristol who was there that night will ever forget the spine-tingling sight of thousands of Scousers standing to applaud City's Cup heroes off the pitch after their shock 1-0 third-round replay win. What none of them realised at the time, was that Liverpool's downfall had been masterminded a few days' earlier in the Ashton Gate canteen. That is where Robins manager Russell Osman and assistant, Tony Fawthrop, plotted the tactical switch that made the Bristol club the talk of the sporting nation for a few days 17 years ago.
Now scouting for Everton, Fawthrop remembers, in minute detail, his conversation with Osman.
"We'd already played Liverpool twice, once in a game that was abandoned when the floodlights failed and again in a 1-1 draw at our place," recalls Fawthrop.
"We felt confident we could beat them and I came up with this idea I thought would cause them a few problems in the replay at Anfield. Because they always went with a 4-4-2 formation, I felt there would be plenty of space for an advanced midfielder to play just behind the strikers.
"Brian Tinnion was normally a left-sided player, but we came up with this plan to switch him to the middle. The really clever part, was that we didn't make the change until half-time, even though we'd decided the tactic days earlier.
"It's difficult for a side to adjust to a tactical change straight after half-time and that's how it proved."
When City striker Wayne Allison went up for an aerial challenge with Neil 'Razor' Ruddock on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area, the ball broke to Tinnion, whose instinctive left-footed response curled beyond the reach of European Cup-winning goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.
Osman and his staff leapt from the bench, thousands of Bristolians packed into the Anfield Road end were transported into delirium, but the man whose idea had brought Liverpool to their knees was nowhere to be seen.
"A big part of my job back then was scouting and looking at players and that's what I was doing that night," reveals Fawthrop. "City knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup and I wasn't even there!
"But I still felt like celebrating, because I'd helped with the plan that had won us the game."
City's victory sent shockwaves through the country and Souness was sacked 48 hours later.
Yet Fawthrop was not surprised by the result.
"I was quietly-confident we would beat them at Anfield," he says. "When we played them in the first game at Ashton Gate and the lights went out, we were definitely the better side.
"We all thought our chance might have gone after that, but when we drew the rearranged tie 1-1 and were again the better side, we knew we could take Liverpool. Player for player we matched them and we were very confident going to Anfield."
Souness paid with his job and Roy Evans was left to halt a decline that had been apparent since Liverpool lifted the FA Cup in 1992.
Yet Fawthrop is quick to contradict those who suggest City took advantage of a fading team.
He says: "They are still Premiership players with Premiership facilities and resources and it's still a major feat for a club like Bristol City to upset them in their own backyard.
"Liverpool had great individuals in that team and for the likes of Andy Llewellyn and Junior Bent to knock them out of the Cup was a fantastic achievement."
Liverpool's highly-paid stars accepted defeat with good grace and Ruddock, an acknowledged hard man, demonstrated his respect when sending a crate a beer into the City dressing room after the final whistle.
"That was big of Liverpool," recalls Fawthrop. "They were desperate to win the game, but they respected our lads for what they had done. Their players were all excellent with our lads afterwards. I think they knew what it meant."
Copyright - ThisisBristol.co.uk
Playing keep ball with Coventry at Highfield Road to preserve their top-flight status is equally dear to the red half of Bristol.
But for sheer drama and surprise, the goal that knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in January 1994 surely takes some beating.
With one glorious swish of his left boot, Brian Tinnion toppled an institution and signalled the end of Graeme Souness's reign as manager.
Watched by almost 7,000 travelling fans, the class of '94 etched their names into the club's roll of honour in glorious fashion.
No-one from Bristol who was there that night will ever forget the spine-tingling sight of thousands of Scousers standing to applaud City's Cup heroes off the pitch after their shock 1-0 third-round replay win. What none of them realised at the time, was that Liverpool's downfall had been masterminded a few days' earlier in the Ashton Gate canteen. That is where Robins manager Russell Osman and assistant, Tony Fawthrop, plotted the tactical switch that made the Bristol club the talk of the sporting nation for a few days 17 years ago.
Now scouting for Everton, Fawthrop remembers, in minute detail, his conversation with Osman.
"We'd already played Liverpool twice, once in a game that was abandoned when the floodlights failed and again in a 1-1 draw at our place," recalls Fawthrop.
"We felt confident we could beat them and I came up with this idea I thought would cause them a few problems in the replay at Anfield. Because they always went with a 4-4-2 formation, I felt there would be plenty of space for an advanced midfielder to play just behind the strikers.
"Brian Tinnion was normally a left-sided player, but we came up with this plan to switch him to the middle. The really clever part, was that we didn't make the change until half-time, even though we'd decided the tactic days earlier.
"It's difficult for a side to adjust to a tactical change straight after half-time and that's how it proved."
When City striker Wayne Allison went up for an aerial challenge with Neil 'Razor' Ruddock on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area, the ball broke to Tinnion, whose instinctive left-footed response curled beyond the reach of European Cup-winning goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.
Osman and his staff leapt from the bench, thousands of Bristolians packed into the Anfield Road end were transported into delirium, but the man whose idea had brought Liverpool to their knees was nowhere to be seen.
"A big part of my job back then was scouting and looking at players and that's what I was doing that night," reveals Fawthrop. "City knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup and I wasn't even there!
"But I still felt like celebrating, because I'd helped with the plan that had won us the game."
City's victory sent shockwaves through the country and Souness was sacked 48 hours later.
Yet Fawthrop was not surprised by the result.
"I was quietly-confident we would beat them at Anfield," he says. "When we played them in the first game at Ashton Gate and the lights went out, we were definitely the better side.
"We all thought our chance might have gone after that, but when we drew the rearranged tie 1-1 and were again the better side, we knew we could take Liverpool. Player for player we matched them and we were very confident going to Anfield."
Souness paid with his job and Roy Evans was left to halt a decline that had been apparent since Liverpool lifted the FA Cup in 1992.
Yet Fawthrop is quick to contradict those who suggest City took advantage of a fading team.
He says: "They are still Premiership players with Premiership facilities and resources and it's still a major feat for a club like Bristol City to upset them in their own backyard.
"Liverpool had great individuals in that team and for the likes of Andy Llewellyn and Junior Bent to knock them out of the Cup was a fantastic achievement."
Liverpool's highly-paid stars accepted defeat with good grace and Ruddock, an acknowledged hard man, demonstrated his respect when sending a crate a beer into the City dressing room after the final whistle.
"That was big of Liverpool," recalls Fawthrop. "They were desperate to win the game, but they respected our lads for what they had done. Their players were all excellent with our lads afterwards. I think they knew what it meant."
Copyright - ThisisBristol.co.uk
