Albrighton’s Charlie Blakemore will draw on the memories of one of Shropshire sport’s most historic occasions in an attempt to prolong his FA Cup fairytale this weekend.Blakemore was one of 11,000 footballing fanatics who joined a mass exodus to Everton in February 1985 to watch the old Telford United tackle the might of Everton in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
An awe-inspiring performance from Stan Storton’s non-Leaguers ultimately fell short as they were defeated 3-0 after holding one of English football super-powers of the time for the best part of an hour.
But that memory will be fresh in Blakemore’s mind as his BGB Southern League outfit Chasetown prepare for Saturday’s David and Goliath third round tussle with mighty Cardiff City .
“I remember going up to Everton and Telford were absolutely brilliant,” said Blakemore, whose team have created history by becoming the smallest ever to reach the last 64 of the competition.
“They showed what the FA Cup is all about and they had a great history of giant-killing at that time.
“I remember going to the Bucks Head quite a few times and watching Football League teams come a cropper time and again.
“That shows you what can happen and what Telford achieved in the 1980s will definitely be an inspiration for me as we prepare for Saturday.”
More than two decades on and Chasetown - complete with former AFC Telford strike duo Kyle Perry and Dean Perrow in their ranks - are already establishing a similar reputation to that of Storton’s heroes in the 1980s and early ’90s.
The Church Street minnows reached the first round proper two seasons ago, before eclipsing that staggering achievement by knocking out Port Vale in round two of this season’s journey.
But Blakemore is under no illusions about the task facing his side this weekend for a tie which they are huge 8-1 underdogs.
“It was a massive gulf between ourselves and Port Vale, but the gulf between Port Vale and Cardiff is also massive,” he added.
“They have just sold (Chris) Gunter to Spurs for £2.5m and turned down a bid from Wolves for (Joe) Ledley for the same value, which shows you the quality of the players they have there - it’s a different world.
“It’s about trying to bridge the gap on the day, but I can guarantee one thing - none of my players will switch off because they will be so focussed.”
A trip to Wolves’ state-of-the-art training ground to finalise their strategy for Saturday’s lunchtime showdown tomorrow will be followed by an overnight stop at the Patshull Park Hotel on the Shropshire border.
But for all the perfect preparations, Blakemore is anxious to avoid his side becoming over-awed by playing against a squad which - even allowing for the absence of the injured Robbie Fowler - contains the likes of former Premiership and international stars such as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Trevor Sinclair.
“We have got a great set of lads and I want them to enjoy it,” he added.
“But we have also got a job to do and we want to make life as difficult as possible for Cardiff on Saturday.
“We want to get in their faces and make it as uncomfortable as we can for them.
“But if any of my players are star-struck, they will be sat by me on the bench in three seconds flat,” added Blakemore.
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