In this week's instalment of our series commemorating the 50th-anniversary of the 1974/75 FA Cup-winning campaign, we catch-up with former West Ham United defender PAUL BRUSH, who reached the FA Youth Cup final in his first season as an apprentice...
Think Paul Brush. Think left-back.
After seeing him make some 250 combined outings for West Ham United and then Crystal Palace, that is how supporters of both teams will remember the ever-dependable defender.
But half-a-century ago, as a teenage striker, Brush had gained an enviable East End reputation for sweeping in the goals for fun.
Indeed, after joining the Boleyn Ground staff, the eager apprentice netted 16 times during a 1974/75 campaign that saw the Hammers reach the FA Youth Cup final.
Having grown up on the Club’s doorstep, Plaistow-born Paul had been on West Ham’s radar during his formative years.
“Most of us who played for Newham Schools trained with the Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays and, getting hold of a Claret and Blue kit, we formed ‘Poplar Boys’ to play at weekends, too,” recalls Brushy. “Tony Carr – who became Director of the Academy of Football – was an up and coming coach and he’d meet us outside Poplar Swimming Baths on Sunday mornings and ensure we played the West Ham way.
“We had the likes of Alan Curbishley – I’d played with him since the age of six – and were very successful, even reaching the quarter-finals of an all-England tournament for our age group only to have a bad day at the office. Fourteen of us went on to join professional clubs.”
In 1974, Brush was also captain of nearby Cumberland School, who became joint-holders of the English Schools Football Association U16 Cup, while Poplar Boys reached a final of their own on a night of destiny for the youngster.
“Winning at the Boleyn Ground, Ronnie Boyce presented our trophies,” continues Paul. “Ron Greenwood, who’d watched from the stands then invited some parents into the Manager’s office, where he offered apprentice terms, while we all waited downstairs. Fortunately, alongside ‘Curbs’, I was one of eight lads taken on that summer.
“Arriving for pre-season training, a very confident Scouser – Alvin Martin (!) – was on trial, while Geoff Pike was in the year above us. We’d a good squad of youth players and, back then, had opportunities to train on the same pitch as the seniors.
“We could see it was possible to progress if we stayed focused and, with Curbs being named on the bench just a few games into 1974/75, he became a shining example as to how quickly you’d get from apprentice to first team by applying yourself properly.
“With smaller squads in those days, the seniors knew the youth players and there was a really good interaction between everyone. We also got chance to play for the reserves in the Football Combination, which generally kicked-off at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. Serious affairs, played in the main stadium, the score mattered, while a couple of first-teamers would usually be trying to regain fitness or form.
“Aged 16 or 17, I’d play with and against senior players I’d only watched from the terraces. Coming up against men, we experienced a far more physical side to the game than we see in today’s U21 matches.
“Playing for the reserves down at Plymouth Argyle one night, I’d looked across at Billy Bonds, who was coming back from injury, and thought: ‘Crikey, Bonzo, I’ve got a picture of you on my wall at home!’
“The Youth Team never really steamrolled anyone but we did win games by playing the West Ham way of passing and moving.”
Indeed, that West Ham way saw the Claret and Blue colts take enormous strides during a 1974/75 FA Youth Cup campaign that began with a second round win at Charlton Athletic (3-1) ahead of a home victory over Watford (2-0).
“It was our chance to appear in the biggest competition there was for our age group,” observes Paul, who then got himself on the goal trail, alongside Pike, in a 2-0 triumph over Liverpool in the fourth round. “The West Ham fans will always support their local boys and I’m told there were 1,774 spectators at Upton Park that night. They created my first ‘proper’ atmosphere and, although Liverpool had good players with good reputations, we deserved to beat them. We went home thinking: ‘We’ve got chances of winning something here.’
“The Youth Cup gave us opportunities to play at other well-known stadiums – The Valley, Stamford Bridge, Ayresome Park and Portman Road. That’s huge for a kid, both physically and mentally. It was different pressure compared to the Chadwell Heath training ground on Saturday mornings, where 200-odd people stood along the touchline.
“Those first-team pitches were massive, but it was fantastic to play in front of more people at a ground you’ve only ever seen on television. Crowds didn’t bother me, I only ever wanted to play well and reach the next round.
“I just needed to keep getting my run in the team, while hoping the players around me would play well, too. Collectively, our confidence was growing and that’ll always come with believing you’ll get a result and then actually getting that result.”
After the Reds came the Blues.
“Most of the Chelsea boys were from the East End,” reveals Brush, who netted once more in a quarter-final derby clash at Upton Park that brought many personal rivalries to the fore, in a 2-2 draw witnessed by an increased 4,000-plus crowd. “We’d known lots of them from many years of local school, district and Sunday morning football, when they’d play for Senrab over on Wanstead Flats. There was a totally different edge against Chelsea compared to Liverpool.
“The replay at Stamford Bridge then took place in proper mud,” he smiles after striking for the third time in the tournament, while Pike – who would end up as the Hammers' top-scorer with four – also netted in a 2-1 win over those Blues. “We also beat them 6-5 on aggregate in the South-East Counties Division One Cup final a few months later.”
While John Lyall’s seniors were leading their own charge towards the FA Cup final, the juniors then came from behind to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 on aggregate in their two-legged FA Youth Cup semi-final.
“By now, our respective cup runs were the only things we ever spoke about at Chadwell Heath and there was a real buzz in that old wooden shack of a pavilion. John arranged for us to be taken back to Stamford Bridge by minibus for the first-team’s semi-final replay victory over Ipswich Town (2-1) and then we sat behind the goal on Wembley’s old benches for the final against Fulham (2-0).”
But while Lyall’s lads lifted the FA Cup, the Hammers youngsters sadly fell at their own final hurdle.
“With the likes of John Wark, Russell Osman, Keith Bertschin and David Geddes, Ipswich were much better than us,” concedes Brushy, after the teenage Tractor Boys followed-up their 3-1 win at Upton Park with a 2-0 victory at Portman Road across two legs watched by over 25,000 people. “Just like Alvin, ‘Pikey’, Curbs and myself, those four all made it into their first team.
“Although we didn’t have a good final, we did really well throughout our overall season and there’s still a strong bond between us all, 50 years on. Dave Danson, our ‘keeper, gets us together each year and it’s great seeing everyone again. It’s lovely that those not fortunate enough to break through have still followed our careers and they’re genuinely pleased for us – a couple are even Season Ticket Holders at London Stadium!”
Notwithstanding that 16-goal haul in 1974/75, there was to be a cataclysmic career-changing moment for Brush as early as a surreal second Saturday of the following campaign, against Crystal Palace.
“I’ll never forget 23 August 1975,” insists Paul. “That morning, I’d scored at Queens Park Rangers (2-2) in the South-East Counties League before being driven from South Ruislip to Selhurst Park, where I was substitute for the injury-hit reserves against Crystal Palace.
“Bobby Ferguson – one of our ‘keepers – scored after starting as an outfield player (!) and when John Domfe gashed his leg, I had to come on as full-back because I was the only left-footer in the team. Somehow, we won 3-1 and, with the match having just been played in front of me, I’d seen a whole new ball-game. Bill Lansdowne – the reserves’ manager – reckoned I’d be better defensively and now invested time coaching me. I’d known I could tackle but playing in defence had always been furthest from my mind.
“Fate plays a big hand in football but whenever you get any chance, you have to take it. After appearing as that makeshift left-back, I then stayed in that position for a decade. Playing that second game on that single Saturday shaped my entire career. It’s funny how things turn out.”
Ironically, after making 186 appearances down West Ham way and collecting an FA Cup winners’ medal as substitute against Arsenal (1-0) in 1980’s final, Paul again found himself heading to the Palace.
“That move at the start of 1985/86 came out of the blue and with no agent, I negotiated my own contract,” confides ‘Basil’. “Selhurst Park was the right place for me to go at that stage of my life, although I got lost heading to Mitcham for my first day’s training!
“With promising youngsters – Ian Wright, John Salako, Geoff Thomas and Alan Pardew – manager Steve Coppell had seen me as a senior player,” concludes Paul, who now coaches privately, while acting as a Club Ambassador at London Stadium on matchdays. “Last year, I was on a seminar at St George’s Park, where I bumped into Sir Gareth Southgate, who reminded me that he used to clean my boots as a Palace apprentice. Like I say, it’s funny how things turn out in football...”
