EXCLUSIVE: My Wembley memories, by Harry Redknapp

My first Wembley memories are not very happy ones. In the fifties players suffered terrible injuries, including brave Ray Wood, the Manchester United 'keeper in the 1957 Final.

United were going for the first double of the 20th century, against Aston Villa, and Wood had the ball in his arms. He was shoulder-charged by Peter McParland, who ended up scoring twice.

Ironically, Peter has since become a good friend of mine. Wood suffered a fractured cheekbone and I recall them trying to pull his heavy shirt off him to give it to Jackie Blanchflower.

He was unconscious, but there were no subs so they patched him up and sent him back out to play on the wing, dosed up with smelling salts.

He wobbled around, looking like he'd been hit by Ali! He couldn't run, so he ended up back in goal.

I was 10 and remember sitting watching on TV at home. It was dramatic as Villa won 2-1. I thought 'one day, I'd like some of the magic of the FA Cup'.

WEST HAM WIN THE WORLD CUP

I didn't go to the game — couldn't get a ticket — but I watched on TV. I was still living at home with my parents, in Stepney, and remember the streets being empty.

I was a West Ham player at the time and, seeing Bobby lifting the World Cup, and Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters scoring the goals, people in the East End were soon saying it was the day West Ham won the World Cup.

That picture of Bobby holding the World Cup is the greatest sports image and it still brings a tear to my eye. I love that picture.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Watching Jamie playing at Wembley always made me proud, like his England debut against Colombia, but this memory isn't very cheerful — his broken ankle against Scotland in 1996.

England were poor in the first half, but Jamie came off the bench and changed the game with his passing and then, five minutes from the end, he came down awkwardly after going up for a header.

I remember trying to get down into the medical room to find out the damage. It was the end of his Euro '96. Wembley wasn't a nice place that day.

CLEVER TREVOR

Visiting Wembley for the 1975 FA Cup Final, three years after I had left West Ham, to watch them play against Fulham and bring the trophy back to the East End.

Bobby Moore was a great friend and watching him play for Fulham that day, against our old team, was strange. The West Ham line-up that day was the last all-English team to win the Cup.

I went back there to watch in 1980 when they beat Arsenal 1-0.

Trevor Brooking scored a rare header.

It's the last time a team outside the top league won the Cup— I hope nothing changes that this season!

NEW WEMBLEY

What a great idea to have a statue of Bobby Moore built outside the stadium; a fitting tribute to a fantastic fella.

It stands tall in front of the new stadium, looking down Wembley Way. It's the first thing you see when you arrive.

The stadium opened to great fanfare last season and I went to the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United with Frank Lampard's mum and dad. It wasn't a classic, it was a dour game.

Let's hope we can do something about it if we get the chance, but we've got to beat West Bromwich first and that won't be easy.