Ex-Portsmouth and Sheffield Wednesday man Mark Chamberlain: Liverpool star injured me on purpose in FA Cup semi-final - I have proof
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Mark Chamberlain is adamant Ronnie Whelan was on a mission to injure him in the 1992 FA Cup semi-final - and claims a Liverpool player has confirmed it.
Pompey’s dangerman was on the receiving end of an awful challenge from the Republic of Ireland international in the opening minutes of the Highbury fixture in April 1992.
Chamberlain sustained ligament damage to his right knee, forcing him off after 10 minutes and ruling him out for the remainder of the season, while Whelan wasn’t even booked.
In the former England winger’s absence, Jim Smith’s men came agonisingly close to pulling off a remarkable FA Cup upset after Darren Anderton had opened the scoring.
However, Liverpool levelled with three minutes and 53 seconds remaining to take the match into a reply - to make matters worse, the goalscorer was Whelan.
According to Chamberlain in new book Played Up Pompey Four, John Barnes has since confirmed Liverpool’s intent to injure the Blues’ popular attacker.
Although he insists he has no ill-feelings for Whelan, who never apologised.
‘Whelan’s tackle five minutes into our FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool in April 1992 was rubbish. It was naughty, and he meant to injure me. To this day, people come up and say “That tackle was awful. Whelan shouldn’t have been on the pitch to equalise. We should have won the game”.
‘For me, it was a sending off - yet he wasn’t even booked. I tried to carry on for a little while, but that was it, my involvement over after 10 minutes. My season ended with knee ligament damage.
‘It emanated from me intercepting the ball inside our box and then winning a tackle as I tried to drive out into space. At that moment, Whelan came in and caught me high, nowhere near the ball, taking me on the right knee, it was horrible.
‘I recently watched it back on YouTube - I like to see some of my old games now and again - and, strangely enough, that knee started to hurt as I did so. To this day, Whelan has never apologised.
‘I have no ill feelings towards him, that’s the way tackling was back then. As a winger, I was used to it and I didn’t mind a bit of physicality. Graeme Souness wasn’t the nicest guy in the world on the pitch and Bryan Robson was strong but fair. They competed, they wanted to win.
‘I had faced Liverpool for six seasons in the old First Division and there were good games against them. They would have known my qualities and no doubt said “We’ll sort him out”. That’s what football’s like and it’s exactly how my managers approached facing John Barnes.
‘For our Villa Park semi-final replay, my wife Wendie walked past Liverpool’s team bus just as Whelan stepped off and had a go. “You kicked my husband,” she said. “Why did you do that? You didn’t even say sorry”. Apparently he just shrugged his shoulders.’
In Chamberlain’s absence for the replay, Pompey lost 3-1 on penalties to Liverpool following a goalless draw.
The Reds went on to lift the FA Cup after beating Sunderland 2-0 in the Wembley final, through goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush.
Chamberlain added: ‘When assessing the extent of that Highbury injury, I was sent for an MRI scan, which identified I had nicked my ligaments - thankfully I’d be back for the start of the following season.
‘Then the doctor added “How’s your broken foot, though?”. It turned out I had fractured my right foot earlier in the season without realising!
‘It could be traced back to a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough in August 1991, when I attempted to clear the ball and instead kicked an opponent’s studs as he put his foot in to block. For months afterwards I was struggling, with the foot locking up after an hour of training, leaving me limping.
‘Jim Smith once pulled me in and asked what the problem was, yet I didn’t know. Now, seven months later, everything was explained. I had a go at our physio Neil Sillett: “Tell the boss I’ve been playing with a broken foot. I wasn’t taking the mickey!”.’
Played Up Pompey Four is priced £18.99 and available from the Pompey Store and Waterstone’s in Portsmouth, Fareham, Chichester, Petersfield and Whiteley.
It can also be ordered online from Amazon. For player-autographed copies, email [email protected]
Meanwhile, tickets for the Played Up Pompey Four launch evening at Fratton Park are on sale, with Chamberlain, Harry Redknapp, Gareth Evans, Kit Symons, Danny Rose, Richie Reynolds and Tommy Youlden those confirming their attendance.
Taking place on Friday, September 27, all ticket proceeds are to be donated to Pompey In The Community and the Pompey History Society.