Unless you have been in the moon or indulging yourself in the forthcoming local elections you will be aware Brighton and Hove Albion play Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley tomorrow (Sunday 23 April). It’s 33 days shy of 40 years since the clubs met in the final at the national stadium.
1) The clubs met in another final – the Townsend Thoresen Cup Final at the Goldstone in early August 1983. Albion lost on penalties.
2) The Albion and United met three times in the 1992-93 season. David Beckham made his debut at the Goldstone in the first leg of a League Cup match in September 1992. After a 1-1 draw, United won the second leg 1-0 at Old Trafford. The two sides met at Old Trafford again in the FA Cup 4th round in January 1993. The Reds won 1-0 again.
3) Albion and United finished 91 league places apart in 1996-97. As of today they are five league places apart.
4) Albion borrowed players such as Paul McGuinness, Paul McShane and Jessie Lingard from United between 1991 and 2014. The Seagulls never managed to sign ex-United superstar Andrei Kanchelskis despite efforts to do so. Kanchelskis lived in East Grinstead and trained with Albion in 2003 and warmed up once pre-match at Withdean – but his agent and the club could never agree a wage structure.
5) Albion have not yet beaten United in the Football Association Challenge Cup … have they, Gordon?
