If you have a certain perception of the sort of club Carlisle United was in 2003, it will hardly be altered by the story Roddy Collins tells about the build-up to that year’s LDV Vans Trophy final, which took place 20 years ago today.
It happened, according to the manager, as the Blues gathered at the luxury resort of Celtic Manor in south Wales, a few days before the Millennium Stadium occasion.
The way Collins tells it in his book, The Rodfather, striker Richie Foran was the provocateur. A few drinks on board, Foran allegedly called the boss a six-letter word, going on to accuse him of “slagging me off in the News & Star.”
Collins ordered Foran to go to bed, but half an hour later stormed up to his room and confronted him. Amid a tirade of views, “he [Foran] punched me in the face," Collins writes. "It was a hell of a dig as well. Richie could look after himself.”
The corridors of Celtic Manor had probably never seen what apparently came next: Carlisle’s manager removing his shirt for a “straightener” with his star striker. Foran, according to Collins' account, was aiming for his manager’s head, whilst Collins targeted the player’s body “because I didn’t want to knock him out or mark his face” in case the television cameras picked up on any bruises or scars at the final.
The brawl eventually ended and the men later patched things up. Yet with this in mind as a scene-setting incident, it is a wonder United reached Cardiff in one piece at all.
The fact they had the opportunity in the first place was a surprising matter in itself. Yet the LDV run that year deserves to be remembered in the round, not simply for the Wild West carry-on between Collins and Foran.
It was the Blues’ least likely cup run, given how they floundered in Division Three (the fourth tier) that 2002/3 season, coming very close to losing their Football League status. It was a side that knew as many off-field scrapes as victories, the front end of the newspaper as common a home for United as the back. There was a new colour and relief about Carlisle in the first season after Michael Knighton’s reign, yet the era of John Courtenay (the new owner) and his countryman Collins was not an on-pitch success.
All the more reason that their progress in the LDV stood out. Carlisle, despite their barren league form, defeated Oldham Athletic, Stockport County, Wrexham, Bury and Shrewsbury Town on their way to the final, where they came up against third-tier high-fliers Bristol City in front of a 50,913 crowd.
Collins’ own memories are now tinged with some bitterness. He is adamant that United’s fervent focus on the LDV came at the expense of their league efforts – and that the desire to go all the way in the Trophy was driven by owner Courtenay, not himself.
“I reckon we would have got nearer the play-offs if we’d forgotten about the LDV,” Collins says. “I said, ‘John, forget about that cup’. He said, ‘No, we need the money’. That cost us points.
“I’ve been in relegation dogfights before, when you want to go out of the cup as quick as possible. I didn’t want that cup run.”
Courtenay, who died in 2020, is no longer here to answer Collins’ claims, some of which (play-offs? Really?) are at least debatable. For the players themselves, the determination to get there was real, and the memory of reaching a cup final is not something that can be tarnished, however layered the circumstances.
Stuart Green, the Whitehaven-born midfielder, had rejoined the Blues from Hull City at the business end of the cup run. “When I was at Hull, that competition was largely used by league substitutes and reserves,” he says. “But when I joined Carlisle, everything was geared up to it."
On Collins' version, Green says: “If an owner tells a manager he’s desperate to get to a cup final, I suppose the manager has to replicate that. All I remember is that I signed a few days before the [northern final] first leg, and they were very keen on getting me in for that game.
“Roddy and all the lads were desperate to get to the final.”
The northern final first leg saw an Adam Rundle goal give Carlisle a slender advantage over Shrewsbury. They then protected that 1-0 lead on a night of exhausting tension at Gay Meadow, where a goalless draw clinched their place at Cardiff.
“Packing that far end at Shrewsbury and getting through…you play lots of games in your career, but those are nights you never forget,” says Green.
“In truth, I felt we had a better team the year before when I was on loan. Since then we’d lost some key players and characters like Steve Soley. That next season [2002/3], it was pretty crazy, really – we got to the final, yet there was still a massive chance we would get relegated.”
Carlisle’s side looked, in some areas, better than their predicament suggested, given the presence of such as Green, Matty Glennon, Peter Murphy, Paul Raven and Jon McCarthy. Foran, despite his disciplinary moments, knew where the net was, as did Craig Farrell.
At the back, alongside the seasoned Raven, was Darren Kelly, a £100,000 signing from Derry City. United had taken a big plunge on the defensive potential of Kelly, who always speaks with immense fondness about Carlisle.
“It was a very strange season – and, because things weren’t going well in the league, the cup run was almost a break from the hassles and difficulties,” Kelly now says. “If we’re honest, some teams didn’t take that competition seriously, but we did. We played pretty much full teams in each game and got our rewards.”
United’s determination was reflected in some of their performances en route to Cardiff, such as a 3-2 win over Bury settled by an extra-time Will McDonagh strike. It was also captured on the notorious Irish documentary The Rod Squad, where one scene featured the manager circled by players on Brunton Park’s pitch as Collins made some fervent promises.
“He was saying if we got to the final, we would all get new suits – Louis Copeland would be flown over personally from Ireland and measure us up," Kelly says. “He was as good as his word; I remember getting fitted for the suits. I don’t know if they were £1,000 ones like Roddy had said, but they were suits…”
“It was like we were going to the FA Cup final,” adds Green of the fitting-up day. “It was mental how big it was.”
“No matter what people think about Roddy, he always had the best intentions,” Kelly continues. “Every game we played, he motivated us, did everything he could to get the best out of us.”
Kelly also confirms there was a “decent bonus” up for grabs to the players as well, and does not doubt that the revenue associated with reaching the final, including prize money, will have been alluring to United's owner.
Given how obsessed the club appeared to be with the whole thing, it is perhaps unsurprising when Green recalls that the game before the final, a 0-0 league draw at Oxford United, saw Carlisle give a performance that was, in his words, “absolutely awful”.
“Everybody was set on Cardiff when, really, the Oxford game was more important.”
Then came Celtic Manor, and United’s eventful preparations. Carlisle were considerable underdogs yet more than 12,000 Blues fans went to the Welsh capital in hope. It was their third such final, having played in the Auto-Windscreens Shield at Wembley in 1995 and 1997 – the latest occurring in Cardiff at a time England’s national stadium was being rebuilt.
“Wembley was where everyone wanted to play, but we were still absolutely delighted to be in the final,” remembers Kelly. “I remember the adrenaline, the buzz. We had a very young squad, and Bristol City were flying in Division Two. Lee Peacock [the former United striker, from Workington] was their man of the moment and they had a strong line-up.
“Honestly, I’m getting goosebumps on my arm talking about it. The whole build-up, getting to the ground, seeing blue and white everywhere, seeing the effort everyone went to in order to be there, seeing the Carlisle sections fill up as we were warming up…it’s one of my best days in football.”
Those Carlisle fans had already mingled in their great and thirsty numbers in Cardiff’s public houses, where Courtenay was also conspicuous by his presence. The game itself did not, it’s fair to say, deliver the most sparkling of cup final performances, yet Carlisle frustrated Danny Wilson’s Bristol City for longer than the Robins may have imagined.
Collins was, as ever, a forceful presence on the touchline. “Roddy was a motivator,” says Green. “He would often tell us some of the things he did as a player or with his brother [the boxer, Steve Collins]…tremendous stories. Tactics were there, but he was more on the motivation side. We were ready to go in a huge game.
“Bristol City had a good squad and a massive budget compared to Carlisle United. We weren’t great at the time, struggling for a win in the league, and I can’t remember us posing too much of a threat in the game. It was a bit dull, to be honest. But we did stay in it.”
Green remembers the Cardiff surface as being “a bit sticky” and, on a sunny day, clear-cut opportunities were few. United’s endeavour led to half-chances for Foran and Farrell, while Rundle lifted the crowd with a handful of left-wing dashes. At the other end, they defended determinedly against an opposition side inspired by the likes of Peacock, Christian Roberts and Scott Murray.
Things then pivoted on a spell just inside the final 15 minutes. First, United sub Brian Wake broke promisingly onto a Green pass down the right yet was flagged offside – a decision proved incorrect by replays. A minute later, City replacement Liam Rosenior unlocked Carlisle’s defence by running onto Louis Carey’s pass, and when Glennon parried his shot, Peacock snaffled the rebound against his former club.
“Even when they scored, we still had belief,” insists Kelly. “I then remember getting a God-almighty dead leg and having to come off injured. I was absolutely devastated.”
Carlisle’s spirited efforts were then killed off by a late Rosenior second. Two-nil it finished.
“We got beat off the far better team,” Green concedes, “but we gave it a good go. The occasion itself is something you’ll never forget. Carlisle fans always went in their numbers away from home. Those fans were tremendous."
Carlisle received generous praise after the final, having performed with the diligence that often appeared lacking in the league. “If they continue that vein of form, commitment and passion, they will stay up no problem,” said Steve McMahon, analysing the game on Sky TV.
Peacock, who celebrated delightedly, said he did so because he was “knackered” and fearing extra-time and penalties, while City boss Wilson said: “Carlisle worked their tails off. I can’t believe they are in the position they are in in the league.”
That, though, was all too believable given the wider picture, and was on the minds of players even as they and their families raised a glass to the cup run at a party in the hotel after the game.
“There was an after-party, but I wasn’t interested,” Kelly says. “One, I could barely walk because of the dead leg, and two, I wanted to rest up and try and get fit for the next league game.”
There are differing perspectives on whether the cup run, and Cardiff, affected United’s remaining bid to stay in the Football League. Green is of the opinion that “I don’t think it had much to do with it. We just weren’t good enough as a squad to get enough wins. Once you’re down there it’s hard.”
Kelly, though, reckons United “took such positivity” from the way they had given it their all in the Trophy final. “I feel it was a big factor in keeping us up.”
That job was eventually completed in dramatic circumstances back at Gay Meadow, when a Wake hat-trick plunged Shrewsbury into non-league. Carlisle's survival prevented the surreal double of a cup final and relegation in the same season.
Things got little better for Collins at Carlisle, since he was sacked soon into the following season as the era of Paul Simpson began. The LDV final, then, stood alone as a rare escapade of near-success in a period when struggle and controversy were more common features.
“In fairness to Roddy, for him to get that squad of players to a final was tremendous,” Green reflects. “He and his staff deserve praise for that.
“I’ve still got the shirt and the memories. Carlisle is my local club. I had a tremendous time there in my first loan, not so good a time in the second loan, but I still absolutely love the club. To play in a final for them will stick with me forever. It's stuff you dream of."
It is the case that only the truly successful sides endure, and United’s team of 2003 is not a matter for reunions and reminiscence. “I haven’t really kept in touch with anyone,” Green admits. “As life goes on, you branch off. I heard the tragic news about Craig Farrell [who died last year aged 39]. He was a lovely lad.
“I’m lucky to teach football in primary schools these days, and the first thing the kids say is, ‘Did you play for Carlisle?’. They don’t mention other clubs I played for. The club means a lot to the people in the county. I’m lucky enough I played for them, and I’m delighted see they’re doing well again.”
As is Kelly, who is now sporting director at Hartlepool United. “I can look myself in the mirror and say I was never the best but always gave 100 per cent. That’s my personal life philosophy, to do the very best I can, and that’s how I was at Carlisle.
“I loved my time there. I made friends for life, met my wife there - and I’ve got a file that I’ve put together about that day [in 2003]. I kept the ribbons, programme, loads of photos. The shirt is up on my wall, framed with my medal. It’s there and I’m proud of it.”
Before Hartlepool, Kelly worked for Newport County, where his commute from the north east entailed him staying in the eventually familiar surrounds of Celtic Manor. The corridors were presumably quieter this time. “It took me a while to realise – it was the same place we stayed before the LDV,” Kelly smiles. “It brought it all back.
“If we’d won, it would have been my best day ever in football. But it was still amazing.”
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