Off to Wembley : 1985

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Eggs said:
..no wonder we lost, should’ve gone straight from Holland. Better preparation and we’d have won the Double.
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Really makes you wonder what the reasoning was to travel back to Merseyside from Rotterdam. I’d guess they landed well into the early hours of the morning on Thursday and then travel back to London in the Friday. Surely if we’d gone straight to the hotel in London the players could have had a proper cool down on Thursday and not be faced with another long coach journey on the Friday.
 
I'm another one who believes our preparation for that FA Cup final played a part in our defeat that day.

The team should have stayed over in Rotterdam after our win, done some training over there on the Thursday before travelling to Wembley on the Friday morning.

I read in Graeme Sharp's autobiography that when the team landed back in Liverpool he and Andy Gray went to Gray's gaff to watch a video of the match into the small hours (and perhaps washed down with a beer or two). Not ideal when you've got another Final in a few days and a chance to make absolute history as the first side to do the domestic double and add a European trophy in the same season.

A huge opportunity missed as we were comfortably better than Man Utd.
 
Having been to most of the games that season including Wembley and since having met a few of the players since plus Howard became a personal friend years later, I’ve asked the question several times why they feel we lost vs Man Utd that day.

The same answer usually comes back that they were euphoric / in disbelief about what they’d achieved in Rotterdam. The previous week most thought that beating Vienna was a far harder task than United. Like most men they’d been away, achieved something historic and just wanted to get back to their families. That’s why they didn’t go straight to London. A couple of them delayed that by going round to (I think) Sharpy’s to rewatch the match as soon they got back. Then they didn’t go to London on Friday until later than planned because it took a while to round them all up - according to Howard - no mischief, no alcohol implied, just that they’d all been away and for whatever reason it took longer for all of them to eventually all turn up and get on the road.
 

The Penalty Box Dancer said:
I think it's funny how everyone remembers the semi-final 2nd leg against Bayern more than the actual final. I get how great of an evening it was but surely the final is more memorable?
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Most people who went to Rotterdam left the day before and started drinking then, had a couple of hours kip on the ferry, then a few hours later started drinking again so it would be a lot harder to remember.
 
The Penalty Box Dancer said:
I think it's funny how everyone remembers the semi-final 2nd leg against Bayern more than the actual final. I get how great of an evening it was but surely the final is more memorable?
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The atmosphere in that ground that night was unbelievable. I know it has been mentioned by all the players and staff, but the atmosphere that night was like nothing I’ve ever experienced following Everton. The Ferguson header against United is second, but it’s some way behind the Bayern game. It was two top teams pitted against one another. Kendall himself said it felt like a final as whoever won that game would have beaten Rapid in the final and so he was proved right.
 
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