Unarguably the greatest day in the history of Southampton Football Club, but what was it like on the day itself ? Read on for a fans eye view of a day that has never been forgotten by those lucky enough to be there.

The run up to the 1976 FA Cup Final between Southampton & Manchester United was more than just 90 minutes of football at Wembley Stadium, it was about a City going football crazy for a month, ever since the final whistle of the win over Crystal Palace in the semi final.

In the subsequent 4 weeks after that epic win, cup fever had taken hold.

The first question most had to ask was would they get a ticket, the official allocation was 25,000 for each finalist and and with Manchester United's massive support they would be snapping up the allocations of 50,000 that went to the various FA's in the country.

For 14,294 Saints supporters the answer was that their ticket was guaranteed, these were those that had attended the home game against Oldham Athletic back in January, around 6,000 season ticket holders in the stands plus 8,294 on the terraces who received a voucher as they went in the turnstile guaranteeing them tickets for big matches.

Some threw their vouchers away, the cynical fans who expected another season of failure, but for the rest of us the vouchers were carefully stashed away.

For the record Saints won 3-2, Mike Channon, Peter Osgood & Bobby Stokes scoring the goals.

So when the tickets went on sale in mid April the die hards knew they were sorted, but the 14 year old me and several thousand others still queued from around 7am on the Sunday morning they went on sale.

Back then there were no telephone sales or on line ticketing, you had to queue up and buy it, when I got there the queue stretched from the ticket office in the Dell Car Park, into Milton Road and it was at at the turnstiles for the East Stand I joined it.

It was all part of the FA Cup experience and after a few hours I had the ticket in my hand.

After that the tickets were put on sale in various tranches, those that could produce a Bradford ticket or semi final ticket were next up and that covering enough fans to sell the tickets.

The last few thousand went on sale on the Sunday before the final and it was strange to turn up at the Dell for the final game of the season at home to Hull to find the biggest queue before the game was those preparing to queue for around 18 hours to secure their ticket.

A few days before the game, the team were leaving for Frinton on Sea, the same hotel they had stayed before the semi, as it was the School Easter Holidays I went along to see them off.

Whilst there I could buy a programme for the final which I did and managed to get the autograph of every player bar Mel Blyth who still lived in Surrey and was being picked up along the way.

It was an entertaining couple of hours and Peter Osgood was in his element, he spoke for ages outside in the car park and unlike today's prima donnas had time for everyone.

The team waved off it was now just a few sleeps to the big day itself.

I went up on the train to Waterloo with a couple of lads from school, I had turned 15 just a few days before.

Now this would be a little safer that the trip to Bradford in that we played in Red & White and so did Manchester United, so we could wear our colours, my yellow & blue scarf was safely tucked down the front of my trousers, for two reasons firstly so I would not be identified as a Saints fan by the Red Army of United who were notorious and secondly, if I was then it would offer some protection from a Doc Marten boot to the balls.

The rumour was that thousands of United fans who had been wrecking away grounds all season would be turning up without tickets, the trick was to get into Wembley undercover, because if you were a Southampton supporter you definitely had a ticket and would be robbed, or that was the tales doing the rounds.

My ticket was in a plastic bag taped to the bottom of my leg inside my own Doc Marten boot, hopefully they would never think of looking there.

The early train journey to Waterloo was not packed but there was a few Saints fans, when we pulled into Waterloo the mood was pensive.

The tube to Wembley saw everyone silent, then we pulled into a station and suddenly the noise hit you, the Red Army was in town and in our carriage and their favourite song was "If you haven't got a ticket clap your hands"

We got to Wembley without any hassle though and alighted Wembley Park station at around 11 o clock.

We got around 100 yards and then turned back, it was pointless staying there was barely a Saints fan in site, just thousands of United fans.

We got back on the tube, went back along the line a few stops, got served in an off licence and sat in a park for an hour or so having some under age beers.

We headed back to Wembley around 1pm, the scheduled opening time of the gates, we just wanted to make sure we got in safely and didn't get our tickets robbed.

The ground was 75% Manchester United, we had a few seated blocks and the rear section of the old Wembley terracing, in between us and the pitch the lower section was packed with United fans, as was the whole of the other end.

We were very much in the minority.

Soon it was 2.55pm and out came the teams, we knew Saints would be wearing a new yellow and blue kit by Admiral, but nobody knew the design, the team emerging from the tunnel was the first sight for all of us.

The game was nerve wracking United were the favourites and came at us like a train, somehow we kept them out and by the half hour mark had some form of control of the game and could have taken the lead, Mick Channon having the best chance.

The second half started like the first, United out of the traps and trying to blitz us, they had the best chance and hit the bar, but we were starting to look like we could get something.

Then as the game entered the last 15-20 minutes the United fans now quiet a gutteral chant went up from the 20,000 Saints fans behind the goal, never heard before it was simple but effective, "Yellllllows, Yellllllows ' Yellllllllllows, it just went on and on, it is hard to describe the tune, it was not come on you yellllllows, just Yellllllllows with both halves of the word elongated.

Something special was happening, could we dare to dream ?

In the 83rd minute that happened, an Ian Turner goal kick went high down the centre, it was was possibly flicked on by Peter Osgood, certainly it distracted the United midfield for a second and quickly Mike Channon passed to Jim McCalliog who then hit a through ball to Bobby Stokes, no one dared hope, but then the ball went hard and low to the diving left hand of Alex Stepney and it was in the net.

I can remember that goal now, I can remember the Saints fans screaming shouting, jumping up and down and hugging complete strangers.

Then the game restarted and we had the longest 7 minutes of our lives in front of us.

Saints held firm and the game ended strangely, not with the ball in play but with Ian Turner trying to take his time taking a free kick, referee Clive Thomas just grabbed the ball and blew for time.

In the Tunnel end rear terraces it was bedlam we had won the cup.

The rest was a bit of a blur, I can remember Peter Rodrigues picking up the cup from the Queen and then the lap of honour and parading the cup to us all.

Then they were down the tunnel and 25,000 Saints fans went "F*** how do we get out of here alive"

The answer was hide the Yellow & Blue and join a long queue for the tube and try to look as p*ssed off as the thousands of United fans in the queue.

On the tube it was subdued and then after the United fans had got off for Euston or wherever the tube arrived at Waterloo and those on the train could again let out their emotions.

On arrival in Southampton the party was already in full swing, cars parading up and down, people standing on bus stops and all the pubs full of people singing and dancing, most of these had not been to Wembley.

We went and had a couple of drinks, no one asked us our age, it was just get that down you lad.

I stayed to the last bus home, I had no money left, I bumped into loads of lads i knew from the match who were my age and we just savoured the moment before heading home.

I had just had one of the best days of my life, sadly I have never experienced the like of it again since.

All Photos Via Reuters